Not all 2-in-1 products are created equally. For example, dual shampoo and body wash should always be a no. But in the case of laptops, duality is always a plus.
And with back to school shopping in full swing, you need a high-performing option that won’t totally drain your budget. Luckily, Amazon is one step ahead of you by dropping the price of the Lenovo Chromebook C330 2-in-1 convertible laptop to $249.99, for a savings of 17%. Read more...
The TV is sleek, fitting in with modern home decor and it displays exceptional 4K detail. You get a noticeable contrast of dark blacks and bright colors. The screen has more than 8 million pixels, making the resolution breathtaking. Read more...
Jonathan Strange owns a cell phone repair shop in Montgomery, Alabama, and with the nearest Apple Store about 100 miles away, his establishment has become a convenient place for locals to get a broken iPhone fixed.
But lately, his store has been getting a little harder to find online for a reason beyond his control: Google is no longer accepting his ads.
"Even though there's no Apple Store near the customers, we have definitely seen a decrease in traffic to the store," he said.
Strange isn't alone. For months now, Google has been cracking down on ads from third-party repair services. The goal is to stop tech support scams from preying on unsuspecting users through Google ads. However, the ad ban is hurting many legitimate repair services, including Strange's XiRepair shop. "Probably 70 or 80 percent of our customers come from Google. That's not just us, but all across the repair industry. That's how much power [Google has] over us," he said. Read more...
Raise your hand if you've ever lied to the dentist about how often you floss. Don't worry, you're amongst friends. Oh, all of you? Yeah sounds about right.
That's not to say that no one cares about their oral health, it's just that many of us consider flossing pretty annoying. But you know what's more annoying? Being shamed with the old "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look every six months by your dentist. So we have to do it. Doesn't mean we can't try and get creative with it.
George Resch is a Long Island dad who's known for his comedic videos and popular meme account, Tank Sinatra. Being a member of the Flossing Haters Gang, he decided to review and alternative: the waterpik. Read more...
TL;DR: The flavor-preserving Bodum Bistro burr coffee grinder will enhance your overall coffee experience, and you can get one for just $89.99 on Amazon — over $50 off.
No disrespect to Folgers, or Peet’s, or whatever coffee grounds you’re buying every week to ensure you get your caffeine fix each morning, but fresh ground coffee — like, straight from the bean and into your coffee-making device — is just better. It’s a fact. It tastes better, smells better, and you’ll never want to go back once you’ve tried it for yourself.
The thing is, you’ll need a coffee grinder to do that, and a good option is the Bodum Bistro — it’s over $50 off on Amazon, by the way. And even if you already have a grinder, it may not be a burr grinder like this one — burr grinders are the kind coffee snobs swear by, because they crush beans instead of slicing them, making for noticeably more intense flavor. Read more...
TL;DR: Don't let the fact that it's nearly 25 years old fool you — Match continues to be one of the best dating sites for all ages. It's a great happy medium between marriage-centric eharmony and hookup-centric Tinder, and is constantly being bettered with new, modern features to grow with the market.
Lemme just state the obvious real quick: Dating is a pain in the ass.
Lemme just state the obvious real quick: Dating is a pain in the ass.
Blind dates are awkward, people ghost or just want to hookup, and using "I'm too busy with work" is way too easy of an excuse. This is probably a pessimistic outlook, but sometimes, it genuinely seems like your chances of finding a partner dwindle by the day. Read more...
How you dry your hair can make or break your style for the day. Letting it air dry means you’re dealing with your natural hair and, well, sometimes that is not the easiest monster to tame. Using a blow dryer may require extra effort, but it speeds up the drying process and can help deliver a more polished look.
When looking for the perfect tool to dry your hair, your top priority should be your hair’s health. A blow dryer that overheats and fries your hair is not worth the investment. And honestly, that’s what hair dryers are: an investment. When you buy one, you’re expecting to use it daily (or at least a few times a week, depending on your routine), so you want it to last. Read more...
The worst part about travelling is... well, travelling. Nobody likes to spend hours sitting in a cramped space in between two strangers with little to no leg room. In fact, if you think about it, every flight or bus ride is the worst way to begin and end just about every trip. Not to mention all of that wasted time in busy and loud airports or train stations waiting to connect.
If you're someone who travels a lot, then getting a comfy travel pillow is probably the most important thing you could do. Also up there? Investing in some smart luggage, snagging a quality travel adapter, and finding the right thing to binge-watch on your flight. Read more...
On Thursday, Lego revealed its latest collector's item: an ode to everyone's favorite '90s sitcom, Friends. A fastidious recreation of the show's Central Perk coffee shop set, the new toy comes as part of Lego Ideas, a fan-fueled think tank that allows Lego customers to submit ideas for future products.
Complete with studio cameras, lighting fixtures, and minifigures of the entire cast, Lego Central Perk nails a lot of details from the show.
You've got those double doors, perfect for dramatic entrances and exits. There's the iconic stage, from which you can sing of your smelly cat. They've even got a "Reserved" sign, so you too can miraculously secure the same highly appealing couch in the middle of a busy Manhattan café for you and your Lego gang to hog each and every week. Read more...
After years of touting the headphone jack as an important feature on its flagship smartphones, Samsung has finally yielded to the trend and launched the Galaxy Note 10 without the 3.5mm audio connector.
Samsung told Mashable's Ray Wong that the reasons for ditching the headphone jack are partially technical, as the company needed more space to spread out the battery cells in the ultra-thin Note 10. The company also claims the majority of Galaxy Note users have switched to wireless headphones, meaning the time was right to make the change.
It wouldn't be such a big deal (OK, it is to me, but I'm just one user) — technology evolves, phones get thinner, customers change their habits. Change is natural. But there is one odd thing Samsung has done: As noted by Business Insider, the company deleted its old ads for earlier Galaxy models, which prominently featured the headphone jack. Read more...
TL;DR: The intuitive Apple MacBook is on sale for £799 on Currys PC World, saving you £366 on list price.
When it comes to laptops, we don't really want a lot. We aren't asking for the world. All we want is a device that's light, thin, and fast. That's not much, is it?
There are a few devices that tick these three requests, but nothing really comes close to the Apple MacBook. It's not all about the name, although that does come with a certain amount of clout. It's really about the set of impressive features packed into this laptop.
As you've probably noticed, the Democratic race is a pretty packed field. And, as The Late Show's Stephen Colbert points out in the video above, 14 of the people running are white men.
"There are so many candidates right now that if a random person walked up to me on the street and said they were running for president I would probably believe them," he says. "So I decided to test that theory by sending one of our writers, Brian Stack, out on the street to see if people would believe he was one of the countless middle-aged, white male Democratic candidates."
With his fumbling awkwardness and strong stance on elevator safety, Brian Stack (a.k.a. Gregory Whytman) fits the bill perfectly. Read more...
The fog of love that is dating in 2019 has led to a near-constant barrage of new terms that help us navigate the uncertainties of modern courtship: ghosting, lumbersexual, cuffing, cloaking. To the novice, online dating profiles today can look like bafflingly coded messages with random-ass numbers (aka the unspoken requirement for men to include their height) and nonsense acronyms (aka Myers-Briggs personality type indicator).
Sapiosexuals claim to be more attracted to people's intelligence than their appearance, or consider high intelligence a big turn-on. No one wants to date an idiot, of course, but as Indiana University School of Public Health professor and sex researcher Debby Herbenick clarified, for sapiosexuals intellect is the most pivotal factor in attraction. Read more...
"Hot girl summer" is upon us. And we have Megan Thee Stallion to thank for coining the term.
While you were indoors coming up with rival memes, the rapper was busy with "Juice" singer Lizzo doing the most "hot girl summer" activity known to humankind: a flute-slash-twerking performance.
And thankfully, Lizzo posted the video on her Instagram.
"When Ariel, Ursula and Nala link up," she wrote, tagging Megan and — somewhat inexplicably — Beyoncé, causing reams of fans to leave confused comments under the video.
TL;DR: Sign up to a one-year ZenMate VPN plan for just £1.66 a month, saving you 81% on list price.
So you have finally come around to the idea of investing in a VPN, but which one do you choose? It's a difficult question, because each service offers a slightly different set of features. There are also absolutely loads of services to consider, making the decision even tougher.
The first and most obvious means of ranking the various VPN providers is by price. Naturally, the cheapest offering is going to be popular, but that doesn't always mean it's the best. Sometimes the low price can be a good indicator of a service that's lacking. Read more...
You might have spotted the news that Home Alone has been added to the seemingly never-ending list of Disney remakes that are happening.
In response to the news, Macaulay Culkin — star of the beloved 1990 original — tweeted a photo of what the updated movie would actually look like.
And yeah, considering eight-year-old Kevin McCallister successfully set up a Saw-like labyrinth of death traps for two criminals at Christmas time, twice, he's probably not far off.
Google just made the AR walking directions it revealed earlier this year more widely available.
The Google Maps feature, now called Live View, guides users with arrows and street names over their surroundings in real-time. Before, it was only available to Pixel owners and Local Guides who shared reviews and photos.
On Thursday, Google made the beta available to all iOS and Android users with phones that support augmented reality experiences — which is most semi-recent devices from major phone manufacturers. (Apple customers are good going back to the iPhone 6S.)
The feature only works in locations where Street View is available. Read more...
Despite the fact that getting pregnant usually takes two to tango, conversations and solutions in fertility tech often leave out a dance partner: men.
That's part of the reason Tom Smith, an entrepreneur and tech veteran of companies including Apple and Giphy, started Dadi Inc.: a modern, millennial-friendly sperm testing and storage company. Its mission statement? To educate the public, make semen storage more affordable and accessible (men send in samples from the comfort of home), and de-stigmatize the role men play in creating new life.
"Our mission is to normalize the conversation around reproductive health," Smith said in conversation with Mashable. "We want to help our customers understand their fertility, and then be empowered with that knowledge to make the right, appropriate life choices, either with themselves or with their partner." Read more...
Make your home a smart one with the ecobee Switch+ smart light switch for only $59.99. Amazon Alexa is already built-in, so you can control of your lights without having to get out of bed or your coach.
Smart home doesn't end there, Control cleaning your home with your voice or fingertips. The Ecovacs Deebot 500 robotic vacuum cleaner is also compatible with Alexa & Google Assistant. You are now one step closer to having that futuristic life you have been longing for.
This is it. It's your best chance to pick up a bunch of great products at reduced prices. Most of these deals won't be around for long, so you need to act fast if you want to save.
We have tracked down the best deals on laptops, SIM-free smartphones, and much more. All the biggest brands are included in this list, with discounted devices from Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and ASUS up for grabs.
These are the best deals from across the internet for Aug. 8.
Best of the best
Take your pick from this selection of the very best deals in the UK, including discounted coffee cups, speakers, and hair dryers. Read more...
Alongside video games, another thing Donald Trump blamed for the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio was mental illness.
"Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger," he said during a press conference. "Not the gun."
In the days since, many people have taken to Twitter to share their own experiences with mental health, using the hashtag #IAmNotDangerous.
Hi, I’m Cara. I have bipolar disorder and anorexia. Never once have I considered a mass shooting.
These incidents we are seeing time and time again in America are not as a result of mental illness. They are a product of male entitlement and white supremacy#IAmNotDangerouspic.twitter.com/NOON0oypUC
TL;DR: A one-year subscription to Slides Pro is usually $108, but you can get it on sale for $29. Lifetime access is on sale for $49.
The only thing harder than mustering up the courage to speak in front of a group of strangers is putting together a killer presentation. In addition to coming up with compelling content, you have to design your slides to look more professional than just a generic PowerPoint template. After all, a persuasive spiel will get your audience to listen to you, but a stunning presentation will keep them from snoozing.
While we can't help you with stage fright (go with the ol' picture them in their underwear trick), we can definitely aid you in crafting a presentation that will keep your audience engaged. Read more...
When it comes to buying laptops, though, you don't necessarily have to buy new anymore. Here's a tip: refurbished units are as good as new, and a quarter of the retail prices.
If you want to save money this school year, or are just looking to get your hands on a new laptop without breaking the bank, take your pick from these options:
If you go to a third-party repair shop to get your iPhone XS, XS Max or XR's battery replaced, you'll see a "Service" message in your iPhone's battery settings, and you won't be able to get rid of it — even if your battery functions perfectly fine.
This is according to a new report by repair specialists iFixit, who claim Apple is "locking" batteries to iPhones in their factories, and only allowing Apple Authorized Service Providers the use of software that can remove the "Service" message when a battery is replaced.
This was first noticed by Art of Repair a few days ago; check out the details in the video, below. Read more...
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired the country's chief of the National Institute of Space Research in early August, after the space agency announced a spike in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Bolsonaro — who wants to open up more of the jungle for agriculture — called the satellite observations "lies."
The data certainly don't reflect a sustainable use of the densely forested tropical land, much to Bolsonaro's chagrin: Between August 2017 and July 2018, Brazil's space agency documented 2,910 square miles of loss — an area about half the size of Connecticut.
The story of the Amazon — in which one Brazilian state lost an area of rainforest larger than West Virginia by 2003 — is reflected around the globe. A new major U.N. climate report entitled "Climate Change and Land" details that human land use now impacts over 70 percent of the ice-free land on Earth; and since 1961, natural lands equaling around two-thirds the size of Australia have been converted into agriculture. The planet's forests, rangelands, and greater vegetation, however, play a dominant role in stabilizing the Earth's climate, as land systems absorb around a quarter of human-generated carbon emissions — Read more...
Here's more proof that everything Fleabag and Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge does is both inherently hilarious and deeply relatable.
PW-B played a game of Think Fast with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, where they asked each other questions ranging from the straightforward to the existential and had to respond with literally the first thing that came into their heads, whether it made sense or not. Often it did (when asked "How old are most teenagers?" Waller-Bridge replied “SEVEN” which is accurate) and sometimes there was no good answer ("What's another name for a horse?").
But who among us would not struggle to come up with an answer to Fallon's final question that doesn't sound dirty? Read more...
Game of Thrones creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been lured to Netflix, with an exclusive deal rumoured to run to nine figures.
The pair will write, produce and direct new shows and movies for the streaming giant, according to Deadline. They'd reportedly met with basically every big name in the business, including Disney, Amazon, Comcast, Apple, and their former home of HBO/WarnerMedia.
"They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling," Netflix's Ted Sarandos told Deadline. "We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members.” Read more...
In the not-too-distant past, you used to be able to buy a smartphone knowing that any pair of headphones you bought would work with it. From the most questionable $10 earbuds to the best Bluetooth headphones, there was no mystery involved. They would just work.
That's not the case anymore, thanks to the unjust, but slow death of the traditional headphone jack. Smartphone makers have been eager to ditch the tried-and-true audio output mechanism for the past few years, with Samsung finally caving with the Galaxy Note 10.
Yes, you read that right: Even Samsung is dropping those 3.5 millimeters of Heaven from its next big phone. If you don't want to go over to the Bluetooth side of things or use a dreaded dongle, you need to know which currently supported phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google still come with headphone jacks. Read more...
Speaking at the 2019 F8 developers' conference, Mark Zuckerberg assured the gathered crowd that "the future is private." Apparently, he forgot to pass that message along to Facebook-owned Instagram.
According to Business Insider, "lax oversight" at the social media service permitted San Francisco-based marketing company HYP3R to scrape location data on millions of Instagram users in violation of the app's rules. Notably, Instagram only did something about this after Business Insider flagged the abuse.
"HYP3R's actions were not sanctioned and violate our policies," an Instagram spokesperson told the publication. "As a result, we've removed them from our platform." Read more...
The hundreds of Marines living on these ships during deployments can be called up suddenly to fight. Here's where they put all their weapons to do so.
It's one of those nooks of a huge fighting ship that you rarely see, but know is pretty damn important. The armories aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, one of the nine 'Gator Navy' flattops currently in service with the U.S. Navy, are essential to the ship's core mission—conveying hard-hitting Marine grunts to the enemy's doorstep and beyond and supporting them once they are there.
* The U-2 spy plane lifted off for the first time on August 1, 1955. * That first flight didn't go as planned, bu the Dragon Lady is still flying today.
On August 1, 1955, a prototype of the U-2 spy plane sprinted down a runway at Groom Lake in Nevada, and its massive wings quickly lifted it into the sky.
That wasn't exactly how it was supposed to go. It was meant to be a high-speed taxi test, but the prototype's highly efficient wings pulled it into the air unexpectedly. The plane's first official flight happened three days later.
Lockheed Martin footage captured the moment the venerable Dragon Lady started its 64-year career.
A missile is launched during testing at an unidentified location in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's latest launch of tactical guided missiles was a warning to the United States and South Korea over their joint military drills that began this week, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. KCNA via REUTERS
WNU Editor: The above picture is from this photo-gallery .... North Korea's missiles (Reuters).
Navy officials claim their radical electromagnetic and superconductor technologies aren't theoretical, they're already operable in some form.
Last month, The War Zone reported on a series of strange patent applications the U.S. Navy has filed over the last few years and questioned what their connections may be with the ongoing saga of Navy personnel reporting incidents involving unidentified objects in or near U.S. airspace.
We have several active Freedom of Information Act requests with the Department of Navy to pursue more information related to the research that led to these patents. As those are being processed, we've continued to dig through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Public Patent Application Information Retrieval database to get as much context for these patents as possible.
* Ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf have been experiencing GPS interference and various other problems that US officials suspect is the work of the Iranians, CNN reported Wednesday. * Ships, according to US Central Command and the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, have reported GPS interference, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and jamming, among other problems. * A US defense official told CNN that the Iranians have jammers in place aimed at negatively affecting the GPS navigation systems on ships and aircraft so that they might wander into Iranian waters or airspace, justifying a seizure.
Ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have reported unusual GPS interference, among other problems, and the US believes Iran is to blame.
The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration issued a warning on Wednesday highlighting threats to commercial vessels posed by Iran. The warning revealed that ships have had a variety of issues when operating in the region, including "spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships."
If 1989 was the historical moment to squeeze the Soviet Union, then 2019 is the historical moment to squeeze China.
President Donald Trump is threatening another round of China tariffs, this time 10 percent on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese goods that are not yet subject to punitive tariffs. The new tariffs should go into effect on September 1, barring a change of heart on the part of the president or some real action on the part of the Chinese.
Trump's aggressive push on tariffs has thrown the country's expert class into a tizzy, with pundits predicting a severe shock to the American economy, blaming the trade war for every blip in stock prices, and warning of the potential for runaway inflation as consumers pay the price for Trump's tariffs.
Meanwhile the economy is employing record numbers of people, inflation is running well below the Fed's target rate, and stock markets are slightly up since the beginning of the "trade war" in April. The data simply refuses to satisfy the pundits' appetite for economic carnage.
WNU Editor: Needless to say. The above post is my must read story for today. On a side note, here is another good article on the rise of the "New China Lobby" and their view on what needs to be done with China .... The New China Lobby (Tony Stark, Small Wars Journal).
Zhang Zhiyang said his architecture firm couldn't seem to get paid on time. He is now accepting the financial equivalent of i.o.u.s from as many as one-third of his clients.CreditCreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times
As the trade war escalates, Beijing needs private companies to pull China's economy out of its rut. But for some, ready money can be hard to find.
SHENZHEN, China — China was on the cusp of the biggest building boom the world had ever seen when Zhang Zhiyang started his architecture firm. It was 2007, and the money rushed in for contracts to design residential complexes and an exhibition hall.
These days, with China's economy slowing and his own business dropping off, Mr. Zhang can't seem to get paid on time. He is now accepting the financial equivalent of i.o.u.s from as many as one-third of his clients instead of cash.
"It wasn't like this before," he said. But, he added, "it's better than nothing."
China's trade war with the United States has escalated in recent days, posing a growing threat to an already slowing economy. Beijing needs private businesses like Mr. Zhang's and his clients to help rekindle growth and provide paychecks to Chinese workers.
But many of those private businesses are short of cash. Instead, more than $200 billion in i.o.u.s — known in the dry world of finance as commercial acceptance bills — are floating around the Chinese financial system, according to government data.
WNU Editor: China's economy can take a $200 billion hit, but it is going to be painful. As for China's property developers, here is an easy prediction, many of them are going to go bust.
London (CNN Business)In the US-China trade war, it's been a week of rapid escalation. Beijing devalued the yuan after the Trump administration threatened to slap tariffs on just about every Chinese export. The United States then labeled China a "currency manipulator," deepening the rift.
The exchanges have rocked global markets and threaten the global economy. What happens next is anyone's guess.
China has said it is prepared to fight, if necessary. And it has one hugely powerful weapon up its sleeve: it's the American government's biggest creditor.
In theory, Beijing could trigger a panic in bond markets by dumping some of the $1.1 trillion in US Treasuries that it owns.
WNU Editor: The problem with all of this speculation on China's US treasury holdings is that this money has probably already been leveraged for other loans (see link here). And even if China decides to sell these holdings (if it has not been used as collateral), I know that they will be bought up almost immediately. The U.S. is a $22 trillion economy, and there are many other players who would like to get their hands on these bonds. This talk of a Chinese $1 trillion trade weapon is just that .... talk.
The dispute over Kashmir has poisoned relations between India and Pakistan since the two became independent countries in 1947. Here's an overview of how tensions have grown more dangerous over the past seven decades.
Like so many conflicts around the world, the dispute over Kashmir began with independence from a colonial power. In 1947, the United Kingdom gave in to the struggle for freedom in its Indian colony and granted it independence. The retreating British left behind two states: the secular Indian Union and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Concern: None of the people Donald Trump spoke to were named by the White House, who banned photographers and reporters then issued their own images. The president and first lady were accompanied by Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman (left) as they toured the hospital
* Donald Trump and first lady Melania quickly left Dayton for El Paso on Wednesday after visiting privately for two hours with hospitalized shootings victims and first responders * The president made no public remarks in Ohio, where the community was mourning nine shooting victims * But a top adviser to the president insisted he was ' treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital' and it 'was all caught on video' in tweets that he sent while Air Force One was headed to the state of Texas * 'They all loved seeing their great President!' social media director Dan Scavino tweeted after Dayton's mayor and Ohio's Democratic senator attacked Trump minutes after his departure at a press conference * Trump left Ohio without paying his respects to the dead at Sunday's shooting site, where the members of the community established a make-shift memorial, after his motorcade passed hundreds of protesters * Journalists were not allowed inside - the White House said the event was 'about the victims and their families and thanking medical staff' - yet it released photos and video of Trump with medical staff and victims * 'Some extremely powerful moments throughout the entire visit, with so much enthusiasm and love, contrary to what the Trump Hating Dems would ever share or say,' the White House aide said * Trump said in a tweet of his own that that he had a 'warm & wonderful visit' as he flew toward the state of Texas for another bereavement visit * 'Just left Dayton, Ohio, where I met with the Victims & families, Law Enforcement, Medical Staff & First Responders,' the president wrote from AF1
The White House on Wednesday blasted two Democratic officials who held a press conference after Donald Trump's visit to Dayton, Ohio, saying 'it's disgusting' that they didn't acknowledge the 'rock star treatment' the president received while visiting survivors of Saturday night's mass shooting.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham also told DailyMail.com that Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley intentionally exaggerated the degree to which they claimed they pressed Trump for action on gun control.
'The two of them are playing up what little conversation they had, saying they made comments or demands and that's just not true,' Grisham said in an email. 'The President allowed them to be part of the entire visit, which was very gracious of him. Their little press conference was clearly premeditated and not in the best interest of anyone but themselves.'
'It's a disservice to this country and I have a real problem with that,' she said.
* A Kremlin propaganda video shows the Sukhoi-made drone on its maiden flight * Moscow claims it is 'almost undetectable' and has a range more than 3,000 miles * It looks similar to a Lockheed Martin-designed U.S. drone introduced in 2007
Russia's defence chiefs have unveiled a new stealth combat drone which they say is capable of flying from Moscow to London and back in a single mission.
A Kremlin propaganda video shows the Sukhoi-made Okhotnik, meaning Hunter, on its maiden 20-minute flight.
A special coating makes the unmanned flying vehicle 'almost undetectable', the Russian military claims.
The new gadget looks similar to a U.S. Air Force drone manufactured by Lockheed Martin which was introduced as long ago as 2007.
TARIN KOT, Afghanistan – Afghan troops besieged by the Taliban for more than a week in a remote district of central Afghanistan are desperate for reinforcements and help.
But in a scenario repeated across many rural regions of the vast mountainous country, their presence is threatened by relentless Taliban attacks. Army and police check posts, bases, and office buildings typically represent the Afghan government's presence and control in the countryside.
Muhammad Saleem heads the Afghan National Army's (ANA) infantry unit in Uruzgan's Charchino district. He says they might have saved the district from falling but are exhausted after the weeklong fighting.
Early on August 6, Saleem told Radio Free Afghanistan that he lost three men in the fighting overnight and the firefight left him and seven others injured.
Puerto Rico's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the oath given to former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló's handpicked successor was unconstitutional, clearing the way for Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced to become governor and prolonging the US territory's political crisis.
The unanimous decision said last week's swearing in of attorney Pedro Pierluisi was unconstitutional because he had not been confirmed as secretary of state by both chambers of the legislature.
The court said the ruling will take effect at 5 p.m. to ensure an orderly succession.
Pierluisi was expected to replace the disgraced Rosselló, who stepped down as governor following weeks of protests. Rosselló named him Puerto Rico's secretary of state, placing him next in line to become governor.
But a legal challenge by Senate president Thomas Rivera Schatz, a Rosselló rival who himself has sights on the governorship, had asked island's highest court to intervene.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States agreed on Wednesday to establish a joint operation center in Turkey to coordinate and manage a planned safe zone in northeast Syria, a move that appeared to reduce the chance of imminent Turkish military action.
The two countries gave few details of the deal, which followed three days of talks between military delegations and months of stalemate over how far the safe zone should extend into Syria and who should command forces patrolling it.
The proposed zone aims to secure a strip of land stretching more than 400 km (250 miles) along Syria's northeastern border with Turkey, much of it controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia that fought with U.S. support against Islamic State militants.
ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Wednesday it would expel India's ambassador and suspend bilateral trade with its arch-rival after New Delhi stripped its portion of the contested Kashmir region of special status.
Neighbors China and Pakistan, which both claim parts of Kashmir, have voiced fierce opposition to India's removal of a constitutional provision that had allowed the country's only Muslim-majority state to make its own laws.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have twice waged war over Kashmir and in February engaged in an aerial clash. India, which has been battling insurgents there for 30 years, said the special status had hindered Kashmir's development and it wanted to fully integrate the region with the rest of the country.
* First it was the trade war and geopolitics, now Beijing and Washington are at odds over currency
US-China relations – already frayed by trade and geopolitical tensions – are threatening to unravel after Washington designated Beijing as a currency manipulator, raising fears of an economic cold war.
Diplomatic and economic analysts expressed concern about the bleak prospect for bilateral ties, which they say could accelerate the decoupling of the world's two biggest economies.
The US Treasury Department made the announcement about Beijing on Monday at the request of US President Donald Trump, who pledged during his campaign to name China a currency manipulator on his first day in office.
WNU Editor: I have always believed that China has been waging economic warfare for years. The only difference now is that some in the U.S. (and elsewhere) have figured this out, and are doing to China what China has been doing to everyone else for years.
Zhang Xiaoming, who as head of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office advises Beijing leaders on Hong Kong matters, speaks to hundreds of influential figures on the deepening protest crisis. Photo: Winson Wong
* Gravity of protest crisis laid out to hundreds of political and business leaders in candid address by head of China's top government agency overseeing Hong Kong affairs * Zhang says protests are growing in size, reach and intensity as he seeks to rally support from influential figures at Shenzhen meeting
Hong Kong faces its most serious threat since the city returned to Chinese sovereignty as the extradition bill saga intensifies, according to the head of China's top government agency on Hong Kong affairs.
Zhang Xiaoming, director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, warned a group of 500 political and business leaders in mainland China of the gravity of the protest crisis as it becomes "bigger and more violent".
NATO allies agree to 'establish as soon as possible' Turkey-based centre to coordinate and run Syria 'peace corridor'.
Turkey and the United States have agreed to set up a joint operation centre to coordinate a planned safe zone in northern Syria, the Turkish defence ministry has said.
The announcement on Wednesday came on the third day of talks between the two NATO allies, who have been stuck in a deadlock for months over the size of the zone and who would command it.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday reportedly called his country's latest missile test a "warning" to the U.S. and South Korea over the countries' joint military exercises.
He said that Tuesday's missile test was "an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now underway by the U.S. and South Korean authorities" Reuters reported, citing state news agency KCNA.
WNU Editor: I concur with this analysis but with the following proviso. In the short term the smaller player will always be hurt the most. But in the medium to long term, the benefits of breaking away from an over-regulated and bureaucratic structure such as the EU will be enormous. I now also believe that Brexit will occur without a deal. The EU is not structured to face a situation that it is facing now, and it is too rigid in its thinking to compromise or formulate alternatives.
The US Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Sterett, at left, sails with the Chinese Type 903 Fuchi class replenishment ship Chao Hu, the background, and the Type 054A Jiangkai II class frigate Yun Chang during a counter-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden in 2014.. USN
The U.S. wants to "internationalize" its new regional mission, but escalating tensions with Beijing could dampen prospects for China's involvement.
China has said that its navy could escort Chinese-flagged commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, in response to growing security concerns in the wake of Iran's seizure of multiple foreign oil tankers in recent the past month. In addition, Chinese officials are considering joining a new U.S.-backed maritime security framework in the region, despite serious tensions between the two countries at present, including a massive trade war. This news comes as the U.S. government has reportedly sought to take a more secondary role in that operation, offering the United Kingdom a leading role, in a push to "internationalize" the effort and attract foreign partners.
In a move experts say could give Beijing even greater influence over Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has reached out to China to help refinance its 27 billion kina ($11.8 billion) national debt.
Mr Marape made the request yesterday in a meeting with China's ambassador to PNG Xue Bing in Port Moresby, according to a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon by his office.
But this afternoon, the Prime Minister appeared to backtrack on the Government's earlier claims and said the statement was issued to media without his knowledge.
Mr Marape maintained that PNG is seeking assistance with its debt levels from China among a string of other partners such as the World Bank and "some other possible non-traditional partners".
WASHINGTON — A computational neuroscientist is studying whether a dragonfly's excellent hunting skills can be replicated in a missile's ability to maneuver and destroy targets midair with better precision.
Dragonflies are vicious little creatures with a hit-to-kill track record of 95 percent, meaning only 5 percent of its prey escapes.
Sandia National Laboratories' Frances Chance is building algorithms that simulate how a dragonfly processes information when intercepting prey, and she's testing them in a virtual environment. So far, the results are promising.
WNU Editor: I love seeing these guys at work during summer. When they show up it always tells me that the mosquitoes and flies that dominate the early part of summer will soon be gone.
INDIA and Pakistan could soon spiral into all-out war as the "very dangerous" tensions over the contested Kashmir region intensify, former United Nations deputy boss Lord Malloch Brown warned.
EMMANUEL MACRON'S "disappointment" with Angela Merkel and Germany is "particularly acute" as tensions between the two European Union heavyweights continues to escalate to worrying levels.
IRELAND will require an European Union bailout to fend off an economic shock caused by a no-deal Brexit, the country's financial services minister has pleaded.
PHILLIPPINES' President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed he will push back Beijing's dominance in the South China Sea in a meeting with Xi Jinping next month.
An American human rights volunteer is reportedly in critical condition after he was shot four times in the Philippines.
Brandon Lee, 37, was attacked outside his home in Ifugao province in the northern Philippines on Tuesday after he was called an “enemy of the state” on social media, reports the Guardian.
Lee suffered cardiac arrest during a surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his jaw.
Lee is a volunteer for Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM), a farmers’ group that actively opposes a hydropower project and the military presence in the Cordillera region, according to the Guardian. In 2008, an IPM staff member was killed in a similar attack.
Lee and other IPM staff had were labeled “enemy of the state” in posters that were put up around the province.
Another rights group, the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance, where Lee also volunteers, blamed authorities for the attack.
“We hold accountable the state security forces that the Duterte administration has let loose in the Cordillera region,” the group said in a statement, according to the Guardian. The group also said that Lee had been receiving threats before the attack.
A recent report by watchdog Global Witness found that the Philippines is the deadliest country in the world for environmental defenders, with 30 environmentalists murdered there in 2018.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has notoriously called land and environmental activists communist sympathizers and terrorists in an effort to silence them.
(NAIROBI, Kenya) — Some Kenyan lawmakers are protesting a decision by the temporary speaker of parliament’s lower house to eject their colleague who was holding her young child during a session of the legislature.
Zuleikha Hassan was ejected from the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday with her 5-month-old baby.
Hassan, a mother of three, said she had to bring the baby to parliament because she wasn’t able to make other arrangements and didn’t want to miss work.
Christopher Omulele, temporary speaker of the National Assembly, said: “As much as she might want to take care of her child, this is not the place for it.”
Parliament orderlies forced Hassan to leave the chamber.
Several legislators walked out of parliament to protest her ouster, which, coincidentally, happened during World Breastfeeding Week.
(NEW DELHI) — A petition was filed Thursday in India’s top court challenging the communications blackout and security clampdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where people remained holed up in their homes for a fourth day.
State-run All India Radio said security agencies have arrested more than 500 people in the region apparently to prevent any outbreak of violence.
It also reported cross-border firing by Indian and Pakistani troops in the Rajouri sector of the Indian-controlled Kashmir late Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Thursday to discuss Kashmir.
India’s government this week revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and downgraded the Himalayan region from statehood to a territory. Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, and rebels have been fighting Indian rule in the portion it administers for decades.
India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Kashmir on Wednesday to assess the law and order situation.
Activist Ali Mohammed told the New Delhi Television news channel that he has been organizing ambulances to carry sick poor people to hospitals in Srinagar, the main city in India’s portion of Kashmir, as local residents can’t even use phones to ask for medical help.
“It’s hell,” a patient told the television channel.
Congress party activist Tehseen Poonawalla said he expected the Supreme Court to hear his petition on Thursday seeking immediate lifting of curfew and other restrictions, including blocking of phone lines, internet and news channels in Kashmir.
He also sought the immediate release of Kashmiri leaders who have been detained, including Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
In response to India’s action, Pakistan on Wednesday said it would downgrade its diplomatic ties with India, expel the Indian ambassador and suspend bilateral trade. Prime Minister Imran Khan told Pakistan’s National Security Committee that his government will use all diplomatic channels “to expose the brutal Indian racist regime” and human rights violations in Kashmir, the government’s statement said.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence over control of Kashmir. The first war ended in 1948 with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that left Kashmir divided and promised its people a U.N.-sponsored referendum on the region’s future.
Pakistan said it would ask the United Nations to pressure India to reverse its decision to downgrade the Indian-administered portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir from a state to two separate territories. The region also lost its right to fly its own flag and make many of its own decisions.
The government in Islamabad also said it would give diplomatic, political and moral support to people living in Kashmir and their “right of self-determination.”
Kashmir is India’s only Muslim-majority state and most people there oppose Indian rule. The insurgency that began in 1989 and India’s ensuing crackdown have killed more than 70,000 people.
The U.S. raised its travel warning for Hong Kong on Wednesday, advising visitors to exercise increased caution if they plan to visit due to “civil unrest.”
The State Department raised its advisory to a level two on a four-point scale, reports Reuters.
“Most [of the protests] have been peaceful, but some have turned confrontational or resulted in violent clashes,” the advisory said.
Protests have gripped the Asian financial hub since June. While the movement began in opposition to a now-suspended extradition bill, it has since expanded to include broader aims, like calling for greater democracy and challenging Beijing’s control over the semiautonomous city. Marches, rallies and sit-ins have become a near-daily occurrence, and action has increasingly become aimed at disrupting city life.
A number of demonstrations have ended in violent clashes with police, who have used tear gas and rubber bullets to dispel crowds.
On Wednesday, one of the seniormost Chinese officials overseeing Hong Kong called the unrest this summer the worst crisis the territory has experienced since returning from British rule in 1997.
Australia and New Zealand also raised their travel warnings for Hong Kong this week. Canberra cited the unpredictable nature of protests, violent clashes with police and the involvement of “criminally-linked individuals,” while Wellington urged citizens to avoid all city protests since, “even those intended to be peaceful have the potential to turn violent with little or no warning.”
Protests have spilled over into residential areas and tourist hotspots. On Wednesday night, hundreds of protesters gathered and pointed lasers at Hong Kong’s space museum to oppose the arrest of a university student union leader for possessing laser pointers, which have at times been directed at police.
Earlier this week, airline workers participated in a citywide strike leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
More protests are planned for the upcoming weekend, including a sit-in at the international airport Friday.
(UNITED NATIONS) — Reports suggest more than 100,000 people in Syria have been detained, abducted or gone missing during the eight-year conflict, with the government mainly responsible, the U.N. political chief said Wednesday.
Rosemary DiCarlo urged all parties to heed the Security Council’s call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained and to provide information to families about their loved ones as required by international law.
She told the council that the U.N. can’t verify the figure of more than 100,000 because it has been unable to gain access to places of detention and detainees in Syria. She said its information comes from accounts corroborated by the Commission of Inquiry on Syria authorized by the U.N. Human Rights Council and human rights organizations since the conflict started in 2011.
DiCarlo also reiterated U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for the Syria conflict to be referred to the International Criminal Court, saying accountability for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law “is central to achieving and maintaining durable peace in Syria.”
DiCarlo spoke at an open meeting following the Security Council’s unanimous approval in June of its first-ever resolution focused on the many thousands of people missing in conflicts around the world. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which was mandated by the 1949 Geneva Conventions to address and oversee the issue of missing persons in conflicts, said it registered over 45,000 missing cases in countries around the world in 2018 alone.
The council meeting, initially requested by the United States, offered a rare opportunity for the U.N.’s most powerful body to hear directly from families of the detained.
Dr. Hala Al Ghawi and Amina Khoulani, who both campaign for freedom and justice for Syrian detainees, criticized the council for its failure to end the war and urged its deeply divided members to adopt a new resolution to pressure all warring parties to reveal the names and whereabouts of all those detained — and release all those arbitrarily detained.
Al Ghawi said she left Syria at the end of 2011 after her husband was detained and held in a cell “so tiny that he didn’t have space to sit down.” He was released but she said her brother, father-in-law and some cousins remain missing.
Al Ghawi said many medical colleagues were also detained by the Syrian government for helping wounded protesters, and “some of them were killed under torture while in detention.”
“As families, we have suffered enough and I’m here today to urge you to act,” she said.
Khoulani, whose three brothers were taken by the Syrian government eight years ago, said they all died in detention and she herself was imprisoned for six months, “arrested by the Air Force Intelligence Branch for my peaceful activism.” Her husband was detained in a military prison for 2 1/2 years, and “we were both lucky to survive, but many others weren’t as lucky.”
Khoulani said that while the majority of the missing were detained by the Syrian government, armed opposition and extremist groups like the Islamic State group “are also guilty of detention and disappearance.”
“The United Nations Security Council has utterly failed Syrian detainees and their families,” she said. “It’s your responsibility to protect Syrians from a system that kills, tortures, and illegally detains its own citizens, in systematic violation of international law.”
The council’s deep divisions were clearly evident when Syria’s closest council ally, Russia, spoke.
Russian deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyansky dismissed what he called “unverified and extremely non-objective data regarding the situation in Syria,” and criticized Western nations that called the meeting for providing no information on people missing and detained in opposition-held areas.
“We have repeatedly stated that it is unacceptable to politicize humanitarian and human rights issues,” Polyansky said. “However, we are once again hearing accusations against one of the parties, the official authorities in Damascus, while outright terrorists … are being presented as innocent victims.”
He said a Working Group on Detainees and Missing Persons comprising Russia, Iran and Turkey as well as experts from the U.N. and the Red Cross arranged a prisoner exchange July 31 and is developing procedures “for establishing a database of persons considered to be missing by the Syrian government and the opposition.”
Syrian Charge d’Affaires Louay Falouh said the U.S. and United Kingdom had “no right” to call for a council meeting, accusing them of imposing “unilateral coercive measures” on the Syrian people, adopting “immoral conduct” and exploiting the humanitarian issue.
British Ambassador Karen Pierce retorted that nine countries on the 15-member council called for the meeting and there were no objections.
Pierce said Syria had not answered the most critical questions and again asked: “Would the Syrian authorities please provide a list of who is detained, where they are detained and, for those people who have died, their burial sites? And will they allow … access to the detention sites?”
(JAMMU, India) — Hit by a complete security lockdown in Kashmir, hundreds of poor migrant workers have begun fleeing the Himalayan region to return to their far-away villages in northern and eastern India.
Some complained on Wednesday that their Kashmiri employers didn’t pay them any salary as security forces began imposing tight travel restrictions over the weekend and asked them to leave their jobs.
Authorities in Hindu-majority India clamped a complete shutdown on Kashmir as they scrapped the Muslim-majority state’s special status, including exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution, and divided it into two territories.
The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over control of Kashmir, since they won independence from British colonialists in 1947.
Pakistan announced Wednesday that it is downgrading its diplomatic ties with India and suspending bilateral trade in response to New Delhi’s decision to reduce Kashmir’s special status.
On Wednesday, workers crowded the railroad station at Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, as they waited for trains bound for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. They carried their belongings on their heads and under their arms, tied in bedsheets.
Worker Jagdish Mathur said many people walked for miles (kilometers) on a highway and hitched rides on army trucks and buses from Srinagar to Jammu, a distance of 260 kilometers (160 miles).
“We haven’t eaten properly for the past four days,” said Mathur, adding that he doesn’t have money to buy a rail ticket to take him to his village in eastern Bihar state. “The government should help me.”
Surjit Singh, a carpenter, told the New Delhi television channel that he was returning home because of Kashmir’s security lockdown.
Every year, tens of thousands of people travel to Kashmir from various Indian states looking for work, mainly masonry, carpentry and agriculture. Whenever the security situation deteriorates, they return homes.
Insurgent groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.
(TORONTO) — Canadian police said Wednesday they believe two fugitives suspected of killing a North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as another man have been found dead in dense brush in northern Manitoba.
Authorities located two male bodies and are confident they are 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy. She said an autopsy will confirm their identities and causes of death.
Critical evidence found last week when police discovered items directly linked to the suspects on the shoreline of the Nelson River helped locate the bodies, MacLatchy said. Following that discovery, authorities were able to narrow down the search.
Police sent in specialized teams and began searching high-probability areas. On Wednesday morning, police located the two bodies within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from where the items were found and approximately 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from where they left a burnt-out vehicle on July 22.
“We are confident that these are the bodies of the two suspects wanted in connection with the homicides in British Columbia,” MacLatchy said.
McLeod and Schmegelsky were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia lecturer whose body was found July 19 along a highway in British Columbia.
They were also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found July 15 along the Alaska Highway about 300 miles (500 kilometers) from where Dyck was killed.
A manhunt for the pair had spread across three provinces and included the Canadian military. The suspects had not been seen since the burned-out car was found on July 22.
The bodies were found near Gillam, Manitoba — more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from northern British Columbia.
“This is like travelling from London to Moscow coupled with the fact that they were travelling in areas that are not highly populated,” British Columbia RCMP Assistant Commissioner Kevin Hackett said.
Police had said Tuesday they were investigating all possibilities including the possibility that the suspects might have drowned.
A police helicopter initially spotted a damaged boat along the Nelson River last week and a follow-up search in the area uncovered the items directly linked to the two in what MacLatchy described as “very tough terrain.”
MacLatchy said there is a sense of relief for families of the victims involved and the communities in the area.
“It’s huge to be able to hopefully give some people the opportunity to exhale and to hopefully go back to being normal and not be afraid of who is out in the woods,” she said.
Deese’s brother, British Deese, said the family needed time to process the news that the suspects’ bodies were apparently found.
“We are speechless,” he said in a text message, declining further comment.
Gillam Mayor Dwayne Forman said people in the community have been on an emotional roller-coaster and are relieved the manhunt is over.
“The closure is here for Gillam and the Fox Lake area. But the closure for the victims’ families is far from over,” he said.
The separate discoveries of three bodies and burning cars shook rural northern British Columbia and Manitoba.
Hackett said it will be “extremely difficult” for authorities to ascertain a motive. He said there is significant evidence that links both murder scenes.
Schmegelsky’s father, Alan Schmegelsky, said last month that he expected the nationwide manhunt to end in the death of his son, who he said was on “a suicide mission.”
McLeod and Schmegelsky grew up together on Vancouver Island and worked together at a local Walmart before they set off together on what their parents thought was a trip to Yukon for work.
McLeod and Schmegelsky themselves were originally considered missing persons and only became suspects later.
Police were investigating a photograph of Nazi paraphernalia allegedly sent online by one of the suspects. Schmegelsky allegedly sent photographs of a swastika armband and a Hitler Youth knife to an online friend on the video-game network Steam.
Alan Schmegelsky had said his son took him to an army surplus store about eight months ago in his small Vancouver Island hometown of Port Alberni, where his son was excited about the Nazi artifacts.
Alan Schmegelsky said he didn’t believe that his son identified as a neo-Nazi, but that he did think the memorabilia was “cool.”
Fowler and Deese were found shot dead along the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs, British Columbia.
Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Department, was living in British Columbia and Deese was visiting him.
The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the U.S., Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, the woman’s older brother said.
British Deese said the couple was on a trip to visit Canadian national parks when they were killed. He said the family believes they must have had engine trouble in their van.
Fahad Shah is a Kashmiri journalist and the founder and editor of The Kashmir Walla, a weekly newspaper. He filed the piece below during the ongoing communications blackout in the Kashmir Valley. He can be found on Twitter: @pzfahad
Delivered on a bright Monday morning, Imaad Tariq was one of the first babies born into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Naya Kashmir or new Kashmir. But most of his family has no idea he has been born. “Nobody knows that my wife delivered a baby boy,” says Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, 40, walking in the hospital courtyard the day after his son was born. “We couldn’t inform family nor is anyone able to reach here.”
Since Sunday, Delhi has entirely shut down the Internet, landline and mobile networks in the India-controlled part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir — leaving some 7 million people stranded without any way to contact family and friends. In an unprecedented bid to clamp down on its part of the disputed territory, the Indian government has closed schools, banned public meetings, and barricaded roads and neighborhoods in Srinagar, the region’s largest city that lies in the Kashmir Valley.
With the help of over 38,000 additional troops dispatched to Kashmir over the past week, authorities have arrested more than 100 people, including political leaders and activists considered a threat to peace in the Valley. Meanwhile, police confirmed Wednesday that a young protester died after jumping into a river while being chased by police during a curfew in Srinagar.
But few Kashmiris will know about that. Many of them will not even know that on Monday morning, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced to Parliament that the Indian government would strip their state of the special status that it held under the Indian Constitution for the last 70 years.
Revoking Article 370, which gave near-autonomy to the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, had long been a campaign pledge of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won a second term in a landslide victory in May. Shah also introduced a plan to break up the current state into two separate Union Territories, giving the Delhi government far more control over both. (A part of the Kashmir region remains with Pakistan, which claims the whole, and which has fought three wars with India over it since 1947.)
“My son was born a few minutes after I heard Article 370 was revoked,” says Sheikh, 40, who drives an auto-rickshaw in Srinagar. He and his wife came to the hospital earlier, hearing rumors of an impending curfew. Like many Kashmiris, they were surprised to see the administration preparing for a war-like situation, with various emergency orders, including calling all tourists and non-natives to “leave as soon as possible.”
RAKESH BAKSHI—AFP/Getty ImagesSecurity personnel stand guard at a roadblock in Jammu on August 7. A protester died after being chased by police during a curfew in Kashmir’s main city, left in turmoil by an Indian government move to tighten control over the restive region, a police official said on August 7.
Just hours before the rollback of Kashmir’s autonomy was announced to the world, we Kashmiris woke up to find our Internet cut off for the 53rd time this year, as well as the suspension of all cellular services and landline telephones. People remain cut off from their families, and journalists have no channels of communication to report through. The online homepage of Kashmir’s largest local paper is blank and the website of our own magazine has been offline since Monday. Many journalists like me have had to send out work on thumb drives with passengers flying out of the area by airplane. Only a small group of people using satellite dish networks have access to TV news channels. Speaker mounted vehicles are making announcements warning people not to venture out. There is no way to know or confirm if the situation has remained peaceful. Amid no communication, anxiety fills the air in the Valley.
The only way to get an idea of the situation is to visit hospitals. During the day, the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar was inaccessible to journalists, but at midnight on Tuesday I went to visit. As I stepped into the Ophthalmology ward, I saw five young men who had been hit by pellets, as hospital attendants fanned their bandaged faces.Government officials have denied using pellet guns this week, but pellet guns are common in Kashmir. (The state government said between July 2016 and February 2017, at least 6,221 people were injured by pellet guns, including 782 eye injuries; Amnesty International puts the figures even higher.)
“I am his neighbor and picked him up from outside his home when he was injured,” said a man, without giving his name, in his 30s, with one 17-year-old patient. “He was hit by pellets in both eyes and the doctors are observing his condition before operating. He says that he can’t see from his left eye also.” Attendants in the hospital said more than a dozen young people came in that day with injuries, including some with tear gas inhalation.
Healthcare availability for civilians is disrupted, with limited access to ambulances or any ability to call one. On the roads, there are barricades after every few hundred meters. An hour after leaving the hospital, I saw a teenage girl sitting next to her mother in a load carrier vehicle, with a drip needle pierced into her hand. “My daughter complained of pain in her appendix,” said her mother, who said she could not get an ambulance in the town of Pampore, 10 miles from Srinagar. “We left in the load carrier and were stopped at more than seven barricades.”
Sanna Irshad Mattoo for TIMEBarbed wire installed to seal roads, imposing curfew, in Srinagar, Kashmir on Aug. 6.
Kashmiris have long been in a precarious situation, with the economy here already suffering from the ongoing crisis. Jammu and Kashmir has one of the country’s highest unemployment rates. But now, many are worried about the situation spiraling into a bigger conflict.
The repeal of Article 370 and Article 35A marks an unprecedented end to constitutional rights guaranteed for decades. Together, the Articles were the umbilical cord between Kashmir and India — giving Kashmir its own flag, laws and state parliament, and also prohibiting non-residents from owning any property in the region.
Now the Indian part of Kashmir has been divided, disempowered, and degraded. Such a unilateral move from Delhi also undermines pro-Indian political parties in the region, which had been strengthening Indian control over Kashmir for decades. Kashmiri historian Siddiq Wahid, who studied at Harvard and is now the Vice-Chancellor at the Islamic University of Science & Technology, says India has clearly ignored its own laws and overlooked what Kashmiris want.
Speaking at his home on the outskirts of Srinagar, Wahid tells me that the move will ultimately lead to a deep centralization of power in Delhi and a removal of sovereignty from the people themselves. This “concentration of power in the hands of a few will have implications as a precedent for all of India’s states, in a so-called democratic republic,” Wahid says. “There will be a surge in militancy and state violence. They are forbidding protests, but the ultimate aim is to change demography.”
When Arhan Nazir heard about the repeal of Article 370 at his home in downtown Srinagar, he says he went into “shock.” “It is a physical pain,” says the 25-year-old, who works as a Technical Advisor at Jamkash Automobiles in Srinagar. “They should have consulted mainstream politicians first.”
He says his 18-month-old daughter Zaira Nazir contracted an eye infection on Monday night because of tear gas shell smoke, fired to quell protests. “We took her to the SMHS hospital at night, where she was treated. A few other children had to face the same fate,” he adds, sounding defeated.
Nazir’s view is that India should have consulted the local mainstream or pro-India politicians. But instead two former chief ministers of Kashmir — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who was also previously in government with the BJP — were arrested along with a few other politicians to curb their dissent. Mufti and Abdullah come from two families who have been the representatives of the Indian government, urging people to vote during elections and promising the safety of the special status.
Sajjad Hussain—AFP/Getty ImagesLaborers buy bus tickets at a counter of Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Reception Centre (JKTRC) in Srinagar on Aug. 7
Since Monday, hordes of people have been leaving Kashmir. Many people working here were temporary residents, including thousands of skilled workers and labourers from several parts of India. Now, these workers are walking several miles to reach the Tourist Reception Center (TRC) in Srinagar. “It has been two days, we are waiting here, joining the queue but we don’t get a ticket,” says Lalan, 60, who comes from the state of Bihar and has been working as a laborer in Kashmir for the last 10 years.
“We are leaving because of the situation here. I wasn’t told to leave by anyone but there is a threat after this happened. Before this we had never felt scared but now it is not easy. People say there will be a huge crisis. We don’t have anything to work on now.”
With the dawn of another day and deployment of paramilitary forces to enforce the restrictions, many Kashmiris are finding their identities under threat. Others are fearing for their lives, worrying about an impending surge in violent clashes. For many of us, all we feel is a sheer helplessness, as if a limb has been torn off — an act that has not only reshaped Kashmir’s history and future, but also given Pakistan and China potential cause to ramp up future clashes between Kashmiris and Indian government.
What is the future for newborn Imaad Tariq? It’s the question his father is asking, as are hundreds of thousands of other Kashmiris.
Dar Yasin—APIndian migrant workers crowd outside the government transport yard to buy bus tickets to leave the region, during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 7.
The body of a woman believed to be a missing British scientist was discovered on the Greek island of Ikaria on Wednesday, just a month after an American scientist was murdered on another Greek island and left in a bunker built by Nazis during World War II.
Although authorities would not confirm any names, local media has identified the missing woman as 34-year-old British astrophysicist Natalie Christopher, who lived in Cyprus.
Volunteers found a woman’s body a little over half a mile from the house where she and her partner had been vacationing, says Theodore Chronopoulos, a press spokesman for the Hellenistic Police.
The Associated Press reported that Christopher was reported missing a few hours after she never returned from a morning run. Her partner told police that he spoke with her over the phone around 10 a.m., and later reported her absence around noon when she still was not back, Chronopoulos tells TIME.
The U.K. Foreign Office issued a statement confirming it is currently “assisting the family of a British woman reported missing in Ikaria, and are in contact with the Greek authorities who are conducting the search for her.”
The investigation is ongoing.
“The crucial element is that we wait for the coroner’s report in order to find the cause of death,” Chronopoulos says. He estimates a report will take two to three days.
Christopher’s disappearance comes only a month after 57-year-old American molecular biologist Suzanne Eaton was discovered on July 9, having died from asphyxiation in a case. On July 16 a local man confessed to raping and murdering Eaton after attacking her during her daily walk.
Eaton was in Greece for a scientific conference.
When asked if authorities thought the two disappearances might have any connection, Chronopoulos said the cases had “nothing” to do with each other, and continued, “we’re talking about two different incidents.” Crete and Ikaria are more than 124 miles apart.
Greece has become a popular vacation destination for both American and British citizens; according to the World Bank, over 27 million tourists visited Greece in 2017 alone.
(ROME) — The Spanish Steps in Rome are no longer a place for sitting.
Implementing an ordinance that came into effect a month ago, police officers are working Wednesday to tell seated Italians and tourists to get up from one of the Eternal City’s most famous and photographed spots.
The June 6 ordinance stipulated that sitting, eating or drinking on the UNESCO-protected steps can result in fines up to 400 euros ($450.) The ordinance also applies to other protected places like the Trevi Fountain.
The city says it has been enforcing the new rules at the Spanish Steps since it went into effect a month ago, but it wasn’t until this week that police officers dressed in yellow vests were seen telling people to get up.
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NTPC Admit Card 2019 has been released for the Stage II Examination on 07th August 2019. As per the notification, the Stage II 18th August 2019. Hence, download the admit card before the exam date. The Admit Card has been issued to the candidates who got cleared in Stage I exam. Those candidates only will get the hall ticket for the Stage II Exam. Get the direct login link from the end of the section and download the admit card.
NTPC Admit Card 2019
The Admit Card is only for the aspirants who successfully registered the application at the time of registration. And those who qualified the Stage I exam with the eligible scoring. Hence, Applicants must download the admit card by giving valid information. To download the hall ticket candidates must enter the registration number and the password details. Therefore, keep the application form while entering the details into the NTPC Diploma Trainee Admit Card 2019.
After getting the admit card link, seekers should have to check the NTPC Diploma Engineer Trainee Exam Date in the admit Card well, if any mistakes occur, immediately try to make re-correct them within the first date of written test of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited Diploma Trainee recruitment. One more advice, every registered one should carry the NTPC Diploma Trainee Call Letter to the written test now.
Candidate’s Name
Date of Birth
Exam Venue and Address
Exam Timing
Date of examinations
NTPC Diploma Trainee Stage II Exam 2019
However, the board has released the exam date on 18th August 2019. For the exam, preparation candidates must need the exam syllabus and the previous papers to make the preparations. Hence, read the NTPC Trainee Syllabus to get the complete information about the exam. Thus, note down all the important notes which are very useful for the examination. Along with the syllabus download the NTPC Diploma Trainee Previous Paper for the better preparations. Download the NTPC Diploma Trainee Hall Ticket 2019 from the end of the segment.
Important Things to Download NTPC Hall Ticket 2019
Download the NTPC Admit Card without making mistakes. From the below-listed documents, contenders must carry any of the original document to the examination hall for the verification process. Without the NTPC Hall Ticket participants will not be allowed to participate in the examination. So, make sure to download the admit card before the exam date.
Original Photograph
Voter Card
Pan Card
Employee ID
College ID
PAN Card
Passport
Driving License
Any other ID proof issued by a Gazetted Officer
Bank Pass Book with the photograph
How to Download NTPC Trainee Admit Card 2019?
Click on the direct link “NTPC Admit Card”
Enter the Registration number and DOB.
Then click on the continue option to get the admit card page.
Now the NTPC Trainee admit card page will appear on the screen.
Fill all the valid details in the admit card.
After the completion, get to the download option.
Download the NTPC Hall Ticket
Take a print out of the admit card.
Take a photocopy of the admit card and carry for the examination
HPPSC Result 2019: The Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Recruitment Result is available here. The Candidates those who applied for various HPPSC Jobs 2019 can check the Result. Here we help you in finding the HPPSC result easily we have given the separate links for respective Vacancies below. Just click on the relevant link and check your HPPSC Exam Result 2019.
HPPSC Result
Aspirants who are looking for the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Lecturer, Assistant Town Planner, SET 2019, AMO, ADO, ADA, Law Officer, Combined Competitive Examination and Administrate Posts can find the results below. Find the direct link for HPPSC exam result at the end of the page.
However, here are the separate links for various Himachal Pradesh PSC result 2019. Click on the link and check the details and find your HPPSC exam result online. Aspirants can also find the interview call letter for personal interview rounds on our page. Hence, find the link and check your result.
HPPSC Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Personality Test Result 2019 – HPPSC or the Himachal Pradesh PSC Board has released the Personality Test result for the post of Assistant District Attorney (ADA) on 03rd August 2019. Candidates who have attended the exam can check the results here. Therefore all the candidates can check the HPPSC results via the link below. Moreover, applicants can get the complete details from the official website i.,e www.hppsc.hp.gov.in
HPPSC Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Personality Test Result 2019
HPPSC ADA Personality Test Result 2019 – Click Here
HPPSC Result 2019
HPPSC or the Himachal Pradesh PSC Board has released the result for the post of Lecturer & Assistant Town Planner. Candidates who have attended the exam can check the results here. There are 50 vacant posts for this post. The result was released on 3rd Nov 2019. Therefore all the candidates can check the HPPSC results via the link below
Description
Details
Post Name
Lecturer & Assistant Town Planner
No of Vacancies
various
Category
Result
Admit Card Date
Update Soon
Official Website
www.hppsc.hp.gov.in
Himachal Pradesh Result
HPPSC SET Result 2019
HPPSC Result 2019 can be accessed here. The Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission released the result for State Eligibility Test 2017. The HPPSC Result was declared on 29th Oct 2019. The HPPSC SET Exam was conducted on 6th May 2019. The Himachal Pradesh State Eligibility Test is accessible on the main site @ hppsc.hp.gov.in. However, the HPPSC SET Result can be downloaded via the link present below.
Himachal Pradesh Department of Revenue given the Result for Patwari Vacancy. Hence the Candidates those who are waiting for the HPSC Result for Patwari Posts can download below. Check the District wise HP Revenue Department Patwari Result 2019.
Post Name
Patwari
No of Vacancies
Various
Category
Sarkari Result
Shortlist Release Date
Update Soon
Official Website
hppsc.hp.gov.in
HP Dist Revenue Patwari Exam Result 2019
HPPSC Result for AMO, ADO Recruitment 2019
HPPSC Result for Assistant Professor, Ayurvedic Medical Officer, Agriculture Development Officer & Other will be available Soon. The Aspirants those who appeared for the HPPSC Exam 2019 can check the Result. However, we update the link when the board announces the Result.
Board Name
Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission
Name of the Posts
Assistant Professor, Ayurvedic Medical Officer, Agriculture Development Officer & Other
HPPSC Jobs
173
Category
Sarkari Results
HPPSC Exam Date 2019
Update Soon
Result HPPSC Jobs 2019
Update Soon
Official Website
hppsc.hp.gov.in
Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Exam Result 2019
HPPSC Result 2019: Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission released a recruitment Notification for Assistant District Attorney, Lecturer & Law officer in May 2019. Candidates who are applying for the vacancies are allowed to check their result month or two after the date of examination. Applicants need to have to their Roll Numer/Registration Number and Date of Birth details to check the HPPSC Result 2019. However, we are providing you with a direct link to the official site. Click on the link below to check your HPPSC Assistant District Attorney, Lecturer & Law Officer posts. Furthermore, The Result will be released in four different categories for more details click on the link below.
HPPSC Result 2019 for ADA, Lecturer & Law officer check
out latest released HPPSC Result 2019. Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission has released it’s HPPSC Exam Result 2019 for the post of Assistant Professor Pharmacy and HPAS Combined. A huge number of contenders had applied for the post and attended the examination. Hence such candidates are eagerly waiting to check their HPPSC Merit List 2019. Only by checking results contenders can evaluate their performance. However, For more details aspirants can make use of the link given below.
HPAS Combined Competitive Exam Result
The official members of Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission have released it’s HPPSC Exam Result 2019 for the post of HP Administrative services. An aspirant who has appeared for the post and attended the examination are eagerly waiting to check their HPPSC Merit List 2019. Moreover only by checking results contenders can evaluate their performance. However, we have provided direct links to help candidates easily check their results.
NIELIT Result2019Declared – The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology has released the Result, Admit Card Now. Candidates can occasionally visit this page regarding any updates of upcoming NIELIT Result or live NIELIT Result 2019. This will be the post where you will be the first one to get access to your NIELIT Result 2019. Check all the recently released results and other details below
NIELIT Result 2019 for CCC exam is out. The NIELIT CCC Exam conducted in August 2019 is now out. The candidates passing the NIELIT CCC Exam will be getting NIELIT Certificates. The candidates who have to check their name out can click on the link given below to download NIELIT Result 2019. The exam aims to make the candidate known about the how to operate a computer and its theoretical knowledge. Similarly, the results for BCC & ECC exam is also released. Click on the link now to check your result.
NIELIT Result 2019
National Institute of ELectronics and Information Technology Result
NIELIT Result 2019: Tradesman-B (Electronics &Mechanic) Candidates can make use of this page to check their NIELIT Exam Results 2019. The result is released by the officials and hence there would be no ambiguity. However to help contenders easily check their results we have provided direct links. Moreover, the result consists of name of shortlisted contenders and only such aspirants can take up further rounds. Refer the link given below to check your results.
NIELIT Result 2019 will release soon. National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology conducted the written exam to Technical & Non-Technical Posts. It held an exam on 8th Aug 2015. Number of Candidates has appeared for the Exam. Candidates attended for written test are eagerly waiting for the Result. After the NIELIT Board officially release the result we will update them here.
NIELIT Exam 2019
National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology is also prominently called DOEACC Society. NIELIT is the autonomous Department of Electronics and Information Technology. National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology was founded in the year 1990. National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology is one of the government organizations of India. It will advertise for the recruitment notification every year based on the vacancies available in their organization.
NIELIT Technical Exam Result
National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology has recently released a notification for filling the 185 Technical & Non-Technical posts with able candidates. A number of candidates are applied for this exam and participated in the exam which is held on 8th Aug 2015. The Organization has successfully conducted the exam at designated centers. Candidates who given exam were looking for NIELIT Result 2019. Download the Nielit August 8th Exam Answer Key and Examination Result from here. NIELIT 2019 Exam Cut off is also available. So aspirants were declared as qualified based on the cut off mentioned. We will update the Tech Staff Results PDF soon. Otherwise, you can also get this from the official website. Here we are providing the Direct Link to get the NIELIT Result: nielit.gov.in
Download NIELIT Tech Staff Result:
Organization Name: NIELIT
Official site: nielit.gov.in
Designation: Technical & Non-Technical posts
Vacancies: 185 posts
Category: Result
Status: soon released
How to Download NIELIT Exam Result
First Goto Official Website
Click on this link: http://www.nielit.gov.in/student41032.htm
TNSTC Recruitment 2019 Notification – Apply online for 96 Apprentices posts. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation accepting applications for Apprentice vacancies from 5th August 2019. The Candidates who have completed Diploma, Engineering in the respective stream can apply in NATS portal before 19th August 2019. The last date for applying TNSTC Jobs Vacancy is on 26th August 2019. For much more details of TNSTC Apprentices Exam 2019 like eligibility criteria, exam date, salary, application process, etc. read the further sections of the article. We have also given direct links for each section of recruitment details. Use it according to your need.
TNSTC Recruitment 2019 Apprentice – Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (CBE) Ltd, Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu Government released the notification for TNSTC Apprentice Recruitment. The applicants who are interested in the Tamil Nadu Government Jobs will be having this as a golden opportunity to get selected for TNSTC Apprentice posts. It is also important to note that only candidates who have completed Graduation / Diploma in Engineering (passed during 2017, 2018 & 2019) are eligible to apply for the post.
The application process for the exam has started on 5th August 2019. Applicants need to apply for the exam as soon as possible i.e before 19th August to enroll in NATS portal. Thus, to help you in getting tnstc.gov.in apprentice exam complete details we have created this page. This page contains all the details you need to apply for TNSTC Coimbatore recruitment 2019 for apprentice posts.
TNSTC Recruitment Details – TNSTC Tamil Nadu Latest Jobs 2019
Eligibility Criteria for TNSTC New Recruitment 2019
The complete eligibility details for Tamil Nadu Transport Apprentices exam 2019 is given in detail below. check the entire article to get all the relevant details. And don’t forget to apply before the last date commenced for the application process.
Educational Qualification:
The applications will be accepted in the prescribed format through the online process to fill 96 Apprentice posts for TNSTC Jobs 2019.
Name of the Post
Category
Qualification
Trade Test Norms
Apprentices
Category 1 – Graduate Apprentices
Graduation
Degree in Engineering or Technology granted by a Statutory University in relevant discipline.
Degree in Engineering or Technology granted by an Institution empowered to grant such degree by an Act of Parliament in relevant discipline.
Graduate examination of Professional bodies recognized by the State Government or Central Government as equivalent to above.
Category 2 – Technician (Diploma) Apprentices
Diploma
Diploma in Engineering or technology granted by a State Council or Board of Technical Education established by a State Government in relevant discipline.
Applicants who have completed Diploma in Engineering or Technology granted by a University in relevant discipline.
Diploma in Engineering and Technology granted by an Institution recognized by the State Government or Central Government as equivalent to above.
TNSTC Tamil Nadu Vacancy 2019 Apprentice Age Limit:
Name of the Post
Age Limit
Apprentice
The age limit will be followed as per apprenticeship rules.
The selection process will be depending on the shortlisting from the online application data. Its is based on percentage obtained in the prescribed qualification as per rules. shortlisted candidates will be intimated through registered mail id.
Certificate Verification at Board of Apprenticeship Training (SR), Chennai.
TNSTC Apprentice Vacancy Application Fee – NIL
Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation Apprentice Salary:
Graduate Apprentices – Rs. 4984/-
Technician (Diploma) Apprentices – Rs. 3542/-
How to Apply for TNSTC Apprentice Recruitment August 2019?
First, visit TNSTc Official Website i.e. https://www.tnstc.in/home.html
Search for Apprentice post Advertisement link and click on it.
Download or view the notification in detail.
Check the eligibility for apprentice post under TNSTC Board. And apply only if you are eligible.
Check the Advt link and click Apply now button.
Finish the registration process by giving the necessary details.
Fill the application form
Upload Scanned Photo & Signature
check once whether all the details are correct or not.
Submit it.
Take the print out for future reference.
Important Dates & Links – TNSTC Recruitment Exam 2019
Application Starting Date
5th August 2019
Last Date to Enroll in NATS Portal
19th August 2019
Last Date for applying TNSTC (CBE) Ltd, Coimbatore
About Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) LTD
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited (TNSTC) is public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. TNSTC operates Intercity bus services within the cities of Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighboring states with a combined fleet strength of 22203 buses.
Kerala Post Office Recruitment 2019 – Apply Online for 2086 Vacancies. Kerala Postal Circle advertised a Notification for Gramin Dak Sevaks Posts. Candidates who have completed 10th and looking for Kerala Government Jobs can apply for this vacancies. Post Circle GDS Apply Online link is opened from 05th August 2019. Interested can check with the Official Notification before starting the registration process.
Interested aspirants can apply for this Kerala Postal Circle Vacancy 2019 before the last date. Selected candidates will have Time Related Continuity Allowance for the Gramin Dak Sevaks Post. Candidates who meet the below eligibility criteria can apply Online for Kerala Post Office Recruitment before 04th September 2019. Aspirants can get more information regarding Kerala Post Office Recruitment eligibility criteria and others on this page.
Kerala Postal Circle GDS Recruitment 2019 – Overview
Eligibility Criteria for Kerala Postal Circle Recruitment 2019
Complete list of Kerala Post Office Recruitment eligibility conditions is provided below. Applicants should make sure about the fulfillment of these eligibility conditions before applying for Kerala Post Office Recruitment.
Educational Qualification
Completed 10th class with a pass mark in Mathematics and English from a recognized board.
Should have Knowledge in Local Language.
Hold a Basic Computer Training Course Certificate(60 days) from any Computer Training Institute.
Age Limit:
Minimum Age Limit – 18 Years
Maximum Age Limit – 40 Years
Age Relaxation:
SC/ ST Candidates – 5 Years
OBC Candidates – 3 Years
PWD Candidates
General- 10 Years
OBC – 13 Years
SC/ ST – 15 Years
Application Fee:
Pay the Application fee using Net Banking/ Credit card/ Debit Card/ E-Challan.
General candidates – Rs. 100/-
SC/ST/PwBD/Female Candidates – NIL
Salary Details:
Category
Minimum TRCA for 4 Hours/Level 1 in TRCA Slab
Minimum TRCA for 5 Hours/ Level 2 in TRCA Slab
Branch Post Master (BPM)
Rs. 12,000/-
Rs. 14,500/-
Assistant Branch Post Master (ABPM)/ Dak Sevak
Rs. 10,000/-
Rs. 12,000/-
Selection Process:
Merit-Based (10th mark)
How to Apply Online for Kerala Post Recruitment 2019?
Click on Apply Online Link given below.
Click on the Registration tab.
Read the given details completely.
Register yourself for the Kerala Post Office Recruitment.
Click on ‘Apply Online Tab’ on the page.
Enter registration number and circle details.
Start to fillup all the valid details asked in the application form.
Upload scanned copies of necessary documents.
Choose the preferences and pay the prescribed application fee
Recheck the filled details entered in the application form
Finally, press the "Submit" button and print the application for future references.
Important Dates for Kerala Post Office Recruitment 2019
Kerala Postal and Telegraph Circle was framed on the first July 1961, bifurcating the then Madras Circle. Preceding incorporation with Indian Post Offices on first April 1951, there were independent postal frameworks in the previous conditions of Travancore and Kochi called ‘Anchal Service’. The Anchal Service was intended for correspondence inside the State as it were. Indian P and T Department likewise had its very own Posts and Telegraph Offices in these States. Ensuing on the incorporation of the ‘Anchal Service’, all the then existing Anchal Offices were either amalgamated to the close-by Indian Post Offices or re-assigned as Post Offices in a similar area.
On the arrangement of a different Circle in 1961 for the entire province of Kerala, the advancement of the Post and Telegraph benefits in the state got quickened. The Circle was at first under the charge of the Director, Posts, and Telegraphs. With impact from 25th February 1965, the Circle was updated into a noteworthy Circle and set under the charge of a Postmaster General. The useful bifurcation of the P and T Circles in the year 1974 occurred in Kerala too. Appropriately, on first September 1974, Kerala Postal Circle appeared.
Guys here is the great news for Applicants those who are in search of HSSC Result 2019. All recently released posts results will be here to download. Check It Out, Guys!! Candidates who had applied for the HSSC Jobs can make use of this page to check their HSSC Exam Results 2019. By checking results contenders can evaluate their performance in the examination. Moreover, the result is released by the authorized people and hence there would be no ambiguity. Refer the link given below to check your results.
HSSC Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result 2019 – Haryana Public Service Commission has announced the Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result on 05th August 2019. Successful completion of the Written Examination, Applicants will wait for the Haryana Canal Patwari Result. Candidates can download the HSSC Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website to get more information regarding the HSSC Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result 2019 i.e, hssc.gov.in
HSSC Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result 2019
HSSC Senior Scale Stenographer CBT & DV Result 2019 –Download
Haryana Patwari Result 2019 – Haryana Public Service Commission is going to announce the Haryana Patwari Result 2019 soon. HSSC has planned to appoint 892 Candidates for Canal Patwari in Revenue & Disaster Management Department. So for these posts, HSSC will conduct Written Examination from 13th July to 18th August 2019. Successful completion of the Written Examination, Applicants will wait for the Haryana Canal Patwari Result. Candidates can download the HSSC Canal Patwari Results pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website for more information about HSSC Canal Patwari Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally announced the Final Result for the Post of Tabla Player on 10th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Tabla Player Result can check the result below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Tabla Player Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website for more information about HSSC Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the PGT History (Rest of Haryana) Result on 09th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC PGT History Result can check the result from the below table. Also, candidates can download the HSSC PGT History Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website if you find any error in your HSSC Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Lower Division Clerk Result on 08th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Lower Division Clerk Final Result can check their result below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Lower Division Clerk Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website for further information about HSSC Result 2019.
HSSC Lower Division Clerk Final Result 2019 –Download
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally announced the Notice to Candidates for Interview for the post of Mandi Supervisor cum Fee Collector on 06th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Mandi Supervisor cum Fee Collector notification can check it from below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Mandi Supervisor cum Fee Collector Notice from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website if you find any error in your HSSC Result 2019.
HSSC Notice for Mandi Supervisor cum Fee Collector 2019
HSSC Mandi Supervisor cum Fee Collector Notice 2019 –Download
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Notice to Candidates for Scrutiny of Documents For the Post of Auction Recorder on 05th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Auction Recorder Notice can check this from below. Applicants should check the below table and appear for the document verification on time. Candidates who were remained absent on 13-5-2019 and 20-05-2019 for Scrutiny of Documents can also come for Scrutiny of Documents on 12-06-2019. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website if you find any error in your HSSC Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Remaining final result for the post of MPHW (Male) on 05th June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC MPHW (Male) Final Result can check the result below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC MPHW (Male) Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website if you find any error in your HSSC Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Remaining Final result for the post of Heavy Vehicle Driver on 03rd June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Heavy Vehicle Driver Final Result can check the result below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Heavy Vehicle Driver Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website for further information on HSSC Result 2019.
HSSC Heavy Vehicle Driver Final Result 2019 –Download
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Final Result for the Post of Lower Division Clerk on 01st June 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Lower Division Clerk Result can check the result below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Lower Division Clerk Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website for more details on HSSC Result 2019.
HSSC Lower Division Clerk Final Result 2019 –Download
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Result of Written examination and notice to candidates for scrutiny of documents for the post of Junior Engineer (Electrical) on 01st June 2019. However, All the Applicants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Junior Engineer Result can check it below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Junior Engineer Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website if you find any error in your HSSC Result 2019.
Haryana Staff Selection Commission has finally given the Final Result for the post of Wild Life Guard on 31st May 2019. However, the Aspirants who are eagerly waiting for the HSSC Wild Life Guard Final Result can check it from below. Also, candidates can download the HSSC Wild Life Guard Result pdf from the link given below. Furthermore, candidates can visit the official website as well as on this page for any information about HSSC 2019.
HSSC Result 2019: The Haryana Staff Selection Commission has released it’s HSSC Exam Results 2019. Applicants can make use of this page to get Haryana SSC Results 2019. By checking results aspirants can evaluate their performance in the examination. The results list is prepared by the officials and hence there would be no ambiguity. However, the HSSC Merit List 2019 will be here to download when released by the officials at www.hssc.gov.in. The HSSC Results 2019 consists of the name of the shortlisted contenders and only those aspirants can take up further rounds. Stay tuned to our page and get your results here.
UPSSSC Lower Subordinate Syllabus 2019 Pdf avail here. The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission has announced Combined Lower Subordinate Services Exam 2019 on 14th & 15th September 2019. Those aspirants who have registered for the UPSSSC Combined Lower Subordinate Services Exam 2019 can get the complete details regarding the Examination. UPSSSC Lower Subordinate Syllabus and UP Lower PCS Exam Pattern is listed for both Paper 1 & 2. Hence candidates can check out the entire article to get the UPSSSC Lower Subordinate Exam Syllabus Pdf. Furthermore, aspirants can get information from UPSSSC Vacancy 2019 from our webpage.
UPSSSC Lower Subordinate Exam 2019 – Overview
Name of the Board
Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UPSSSC)
Pondicherry University has released B. Tech, Bachelor of Architecture, B. Sc, B. Ed Semester Examination Results now. Then its time to check out your Pondicherry Results 2019 through Online mode. The University has released various results according to the Semester wise. Students can now get the Pondicherry University Result 2019 according to the Odd/ Even Semester. We will have a regular update regarding the University Results as soon the Pondicherry University releases the Results. So do stay in touch get the updated Results. Also, check out the Pondicherry University Retotalling Results. Candidates can get the Pondicherry University Results through Online mode just by entering your Register Number/ Roll Number and selecting the Semester.
Pondicherry University Result 2019
Here in the below webpage, we have listed the Pondicherry University Result for all the courses and semesters. There are many other courses are available, where the result is updated in the below section in an elaborated manner. Students can verify their results from the official website of the University as well as on this page. Here we used to update all the latest information regarding the Time Table, Results, Admit Card and others. Also, we will be providing the upcoming Results link, once the University will announce it by officially. Check the below article and get more information regarding the Results in the official Website. Students who are searching the Results will get the correct link and won't get any confusion. Scroll down the entire page and get the Pondicherry University Exam Results here.
Pondicherry University is an Indian government operated university which was established in 1985. It spread over the union territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobars Islands. Nearly 50,000 students are involved in colleges which are affiliated to this university wherein 10,000 students learning from distance learning mode. Nearly 70 colleges are affiliated with Pondicherry University. currently, the university has a strength of 6,500. The university has introduced innovations like the choice based Credit System and online admission for Post Graduate Studies. Teaching & research are its primary functions as in other central universities. It has affiliated colleges located in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, Yanam and the union territory of Andaman & Nicobar islands. The university has a motto of "Vers la Lumiere" it is in French.
Pondicherry University Supply/Revaluation Results
Students have appeared for the Pondicherry University Examination can check their results, if they got low grades, still Students can apply for the Revaluation. The higher level Examiner will check the results and announce the Revaluation results. Still, if any students will get low marks again they can write the exam. For that, they should apply for the Supplementary Examination. For each and every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. Students can keep in touch with the University website to know more information about the Revaluation Results.
NTPC Diploma Trainee Result 2019Available Here | Check Diploma Engineer Trainee CBT Test Result @ www.ntpc.co.in / ntpccareers.net – National Thermal Power Corporation announced the Result for Diploma Engineer Trainee on 07th August 2019. The NTPC Board successfully conducted the Diploma Trainee Written exam on 23rd & 24th February 2019. All the interested candidates who applied for the NTPC Diploma Trainee Recruitment 2019. The aspirants who received the admit card attended the written exam of Diploma Trainee posts. Candidates can get the NTPC Diploma Result 2019 on the official website www.ntpc.co.in / ntpccareers.net.
NTPC Diploma Engineer Trainee Result
NTPC released a recruitment notification to fill Diploma Engineer Trainee & Other posts as early as possible. And all the job seekers applied for the 107 NTPC Diploma Trainee Jobs 2019 attended the written examination held on 23rd & 24th February 2019. Now, candidates can check their Diploma Trainee result of NTPC 2019 on its official website. As a huge number of candidates attended for the NTPC Diploma Trainee examination, now announced the NTPC Diploma Trainee 2019 Result. Here we have updated the latest result link. So, Candidates stay tuned to our page All India Results for latest updates on NTPC Diploma Results 2019. So, Candidates can check their NTPC Diploma Trainee Examination result from the below link.
Now the National Thermal Power Corporation officials have published the Result for the online computer-based test. It was held on 23rd & 24th February 2019 for Diploma Engineer Trainee (Electrical/Mechanical/C&I/Civil), ITI Trainee (Fitter/Electrician/Instrument Mechanic), Lab Assistant (Chemistry) Trainee, Asst ( Materials / Storekeeper) Trainee for Darlipalli STPP-2018 against Recruitment Advertisement No. NTPC/ER-II HQ/Bhubaneswar:01/2018. Applicants those who have applied for the Post can check and download your result & NTPC Admit Card from the below link.
National Thermal Power Corporation conducted the written exam for the 107 Diploma Trainee posts. In order to go for next rounds applicants of NTPC candidates should qualify the exam. So, check the NTPC Exam Results on our page for faster access than other sites. Candidates can get the Merit List on the official website ntpccareers.net. So, get ready with your hall ticket number to know the NTPC Diploma Trainee Merit List 2019. Those candidates shortlisted in the written exam are only qualified for the next rounds.
Cut Off Marks of NTPC 2019 Diploma Trainee result: Get NTPC DET Cut off
The aspirants who appeared for the Diploma Trainee exam are looking for the results. After the exam completion, the Board will release the cut off marks. Candidates can check the cut off Marks to Know the minimum marks required to get qualified for the next round. Aspirants check the answer key, results on our page. We have updated the link for NTPC Results. The cut off marks will be based on the number of candidates appeared in the examination.
How to Download ITI, Lab Asst & Asst Trainee Result?
At first, visit the official website www.ntpccareers.net.
Then check for the latest announcement of NTPC Diploma Trainee Result 2019.
Then click on the NTPC Diploma Engineer Trainee Result
Now, the result page will open.
Next, enter the hall ticket number and other valid data of the candidate.
Then enter the data, click on the Submit button.
Now, The NTPC Diploma Trainee Exam 2019 Result will appear.
Take the printout of the NTPC DET Result for future use.
Direct link to check the NTPC Diploma Trainee Result 2019 Result
AIIMS Patna Admit Card 2019 will be available soon. All India Institute of Medical Sciences will release the admit card for the post of 85 Store Keeper cum Clerk posts. The direct login link will be activated soon at the end of the section. Download the AIIMS Patna Hall Ticket as soon as possible and make a photocopy of it to take down the exams. AIIMS Patna Store Keeper Admit Card will be released on its official portal @ www.aiimspatna.org.
AIIMS Patna Admit Card 2019
Candidates after submitting their application at the time of recruitment process can download the admit card from the webpage. Therefore, aspirants must download the admit card before the exam date. The admit card can be downloaded by providing the login details like a unique registration number and the password. Get the AIIMS Store Keeper Exam details from this article. Scroll down to the below page to get the information about the exam details.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences Admit Card will contain the details of the candidates. We Recruitment. Guru is here to help the job seekers by providing valuable job offers. From this page, we have given you the details about the AIIMS Patna Store Keeper Admit Card details. Contestants submit your Online Application before the last date ends i.e. 08th August 2019. Applicants are requested to keep the application number generating at the time of registration. Check to the below-given details in the admit card while filling it. Get the AIIMS Apply Online Link from the below table and check to the application status before applying for the admit card.
Candidate’s Name
Date of Birth
Exam Venue and Address
Exam Timing
Date of examinations
AIIMS Store Keeper Group C Exam 2019
AIIMS will announce the exam date at the official website i.e.www.aiimspatna.org. Now, the board has announced the exam date as August/ September 2019. The exact exam date will be announced by the board on its official portal. Get the exam pattern and syllabus details from the official site and download the pdf to make the easy preparations. Make sure that all the examiners should download the admit card before the exam date and carry for the examination. AIIMS Patna Admit Card is an important document for all the selection rounds. Hence, follow all the general instructions in the hall ticket until you leave the exam hall. Probably, the exam instructions will be instructed by the hall Invigilator at the exam hall. Prepare well for the examination. We Recruitment. Guru wishes you All the Best for the AIIMS Patna Group C Examination.
Important Things to Download AIIMS Admit Card 2019
Along with the AIIMS Patna Store Keeper Admit Card candidates have to carry the original Government ID proof. Hence, download the admit card by giving valid information. If He/ She faces any difficulties while downloading the admit card immediately contact the officials by the contact number given on the official website.
Original Photograph
Voter Card
Pan Card
Employee ID
College ID
PAN Card
Passport
Driving License
Any other ID proof issued by a Gazetted Officer
Bank Pass Book with the photograph
How to Download AIIMS Patna Admit Card 2019?
Get to the link that reads “AIIMS Patna Admit Card 2019”
Enter the valid login details.
You will get the AIIMS Admit Card page on the screen.
Fill all the details in the admit card which are asked for.
Click on to the Submit button.
Once done download the admit card.
Take a photocopy of the AIIMS Hall Ticket 2019.
Carry for the exam and for all the selection rounds.
MUMBAI: India's central bank outlined two measures on Wednesday aimed at easing liquidity pressures on crisis-hit shadow banks, but industry insiders say the moves, while positive, are unlikely to lead to any substantive improvements in the troubled sector.The Reserve Bank of India, which also cut its benchmark policy rate by 35 basis points on Wednesday, said it would allow banks to increase their exposure to a single non-banking finance company (NBFC). The move was aimed at boosting credit to cash-strapped NBFCs, or shadow banks.The RBI also allowed banks to classify loans to NBFCs for key areas such as agriculture, housing and small & medium businesses - up to certain limits - as priority sector lending, in a bid to keep credit flowing to the parts of the economy where most Indians work.NBFC's have been battling a credit crunch since Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) collapsed in late 2018 amid fraud allegations. The fall of IL&FS, a behemoth in the space, pushed up borrowing costs for rivals and has sharply impacted consumer spending and stung sectors such as real estate and autos that are big drivers of consumer demand.Senior executives from at least three NBFCs, however, said the moves announced by the RBI on Wednesday, coupled with other recent changes, were unlikely to ease the pressure substantially."Banks and financial institutions have become so risk-averse that they just aren't keen on increasing their exposure to NBFCs right now, so even though the measures are positive the scenario is unlikely to change until the economic environment improves," said the finance head of one NBFC, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.INCREMENTAL STEPSWednesday's moves were the latest in a series of measures rolled out by the government and the RBI over the last few months to ease liquidity for NBFCs, but so far the initiatives have not yielded significant benefits."Today's steps are marginally better from the ones taken earlier, but even these seem to be merely incremental in nature considering the current market," said the head of another small NBFC, who also asked not to be named.Even though the RBI has been focused primarily on improving liquidity, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday that the regulator was also keen to ensure that there were no collapses of any large, systemically important NBFCs.Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd, one of the largest housing finance companies in India, which owes nearly Rs 1 lakh crore ($14 billion) to its creditors, is currently scrambling to get its lenders to sign-off on a restructuring plan that will place a moratorium on repayments, even as it seeks funds from banks to start retail lending.At a press briefing after the RBI policy meeting, Das acknowledged that any benefit from the new directives was contingent on banks' willingness to increase their lending to the shadow sector."It's for banks to make their own risk assessment and take the call," he said.Analysts said the tweak in the priority sector lending rules may work in favour of smaller, retail-focused NBFCs that have lately struggled to raise funding, but may not help bigger shadow banks that have been the hardest hit."Larger corporate-focused shadow banks that are struggling more will see only incremental benefits," said A.M. Karthik, financial sector head at rating agency ICRA.
NEW DELHI: Islamabad's decision to suspend trade with New Delhi will hit Pakistan not India due to latter's low dependence on exports to its neighbour, officials and traders have said.In a new low in bilateral trade relations, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday decided to suspend trade relations with India in a five-point plan, in response to India's move to end special status for Jammu & Kashmir and split it into two union territories.India had revoked Pakistan's most-favoured nation (MFN) status following the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed about 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in February this year and imposed up to 200% duty on import of Pakistani goods."Trade was practically closed for sometime. So, there will be no impact especially on agricultural products," said an official.In the first quarter of FY20, India's exports to Pakistan were $452.5 million and imports were $7.13 million. In FY19, total exports to Pakistan were $2.06 billion, while imports were $495 million."The suspension of trade relations will hit Pakistan more as our exports to them have a very limited profile because they did not give us MFN status and violated global trade rules," said Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisations.India's major items of export are organic chemicals, cotton, plastics and dyes, while imports are fruit and edible nuts, and mineral fuels. Export of tomatoes to Pakistan had stopped long ago.Sahai explained that such goods have a ready market in South Asia and Middle East which will enable India to divert such exports immediately without much cost."This is a unilateral move and a unilateral loss," said Mohit Singla, chairman, Trade Promotion Council of India.A Delhi-based exporter said that trade through Dubai remains open.However, Sahai added that shipments in the pipeline will take a hit and it is not clear whether the goods in transit or lying at the ports would be recalled in such a deteriorating situation.
By Enda Curran and Katia DmitrievaThe escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is nudging the world economy toward its first recession in a decade with investors demanding politicians and central bankers act fast to change course.In the U.S. alone, the recession risk is "much higher than it needs to be and much higher than it was two months ago," Lawrence Summers, a former U.S. Treasury secretary and a White House economic adviser during the last downturn, told Bloomberg Television. "You can often play with fire and not have anything untoward happen, but if you do it too much you eventually get burned."Summers, who teaches at Harvard University, still sees a less than 50/50 chance that the U.S. enters a recession in the next 12 months. Investors are much more bearish: A closely watched segment of the yield curve, the difference between 10-year and three-month notes, inverted the most since 2007, indicating bets on protracted weakness. 70570917 New Zealand's central bank on Wednesday stunned investors by dropping its benchmark rate by 50 basis points, double the expected reduction and sending the kiwi tumbling. Thailand also surprised, cutting by 25 basis points. India's central bank lowered its rate by an unconventional 35 basis points.While tight labor markets globally and the recent shift by central banks should provide a cushion, economists are starting to war game for how a recession could happen. Their fears are mainly centered on trade.Under one scenario, U.S. President Donald Trump would carry through with his latest threat to impose 10% tariffs on a further $300 billion of Chinese goods, drawing a retaliation from President Xi Jinping. While the direct cost of those tariffs is likely to be small, it is the uncertainty created by a further escalation of the trade war that could weigh on investment, hiring and ultimately consumption.Morgan Stanley economists predict that if the U.S. puts 25% tariffs on all Chinese imports for four to six months and the country hits back, a global economic contraction is likely within three quarters. The tensions also extend beyond the U.S and China to include Japan and South Korea as well as Britain's future relationship with the European Union.Global FalloutThe worry is without a trade truce soon, markets will extend their recent slide and uncertainty-plagued companies would pull back further on investment, extending the pain of manufacturers to the services sector. Then, an otherwise tight job market would start to crack and consumers would retrench.While central banks would likely cut interest rates and perhaps resume quantitative easing, that may no longer be enough to revive animal spirits this time and governments might not be fast enough to loosen fiscal policy."With no end in sight, there are significant downside risks to our forecasts for U.S. and global growth," Bank of America Corp. economists warned clients this week. "If the trade war escalates -- this could include a more explicit currency war -- uncertainty would be considerably higher and financial conditions much tighter."Much depends on consumer and corporate confidence.JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s global manufacturing purchasing managers index already shows contraction. June data on industrial production in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, showed the biggest annual slump in a decade. The European Central Bank is poised to unleash a renewed round of stimulus as soon as September, potentially including a rate cut further into negative territory, to fight a deepening slowdown.In the U.S., manufacturing growth has slowed for 4 straight months and Citigroup Inc. equity strategists have cut their earnings forecast for S&P 500 companies. 70570947 Then there are consumers. Those in China and the U.S. have continued to spend, perhaps encouraged to by tight labor markets. But JPMorgan economists reckon the pace of global hiring in the second half of this year will slow to its softest since 2012-13. One early warning sign: Car sales in China are reeling from a historic slump.Barely finished cleaning up from their last recessions, central banks are swinging back toward rescue mode. Having cut rates a week ago for the first time since 2008, the Federal Reserve is on course to do so again next month and investors price in further action by year-end. That's despite Chairman Jerome Powell's signal that he's undertaking more of a mid-cycle adjustment than a pronounced easing cycle.But this time around central bankers may not be powerful enough given rates are already low and further action may not offset the fallout from the trade troubles. Investors surveyed recently by Bank of America Corp. identified monetary policy impotency as their biggest concern."We are using interest rates to fix problems that they cannot solve," said Patrick Bennett, head of macro strategy for Asia at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Hong Kong.An added complication is the U.S. Treasury's decision this week to label China a currency manipulator after China allowed the yuan to weaken past 7 against the dollar for the first time since 2008."We have gone from some degree of uncertainty to bucket loads of uncertainty yet again," said Fraser Howie, who has two decades of experience in China's financial markets and co-wrote the 2010 book "Red Capitalism."
By Alexandra Stevenson and Cao LiSHENZHEN: China was on the cusp of the biggest building boom the world had ever seen when Zhang Zhiyang started his architecture firm. It was 2007, and the money rushed in for contracts to design residential complexes and an exhibition hall.These days, with China's economy slowing and his own business dropping off, Zhang can't seem to get paid on time. He is now accepting the financial equivalent of IOUs from as many as one-third of his clients instead of cash."It wasn't like this before," he said. But, he added, "it's better than nothing."China's trade war with the United States has escalated in recent days, posing a growing threat to an already slowing economy. Beijing needs private businesses like Zhang's and his clients to help rekindle growth and provide paychecks to Chinese workers.But many of those private businesses are short of cash. Instead, more than $200 billion in IOUs — known in the dry world of finance as commercial acceptance bills — are floating around the Chinese financial system, according to government data.China is not running out of money. But Chinese banks are reluctant to lend to private businesses because they consider big, state-owned enterprises more reliable in paying off their debts. Alternative sources of money have dried up as regulators have cracked down in recent years on China's shadowy world of unofficial lending.So a growing number of companies are issuing IOUs to their suppliers. Some suppliers turn around and use the notes to pay another supplier. And then — in a sign of how desperate some Chinese companies have become for money — they sell the notes for less cash than they are worth.Recent Chinese history suggests these financial dealings could end badly. Two decades ago, when the Chinese economy was growing too fast for regulators to handle, so many IOUs were passed around by state-owned enterprises — an estimated $86 billion in today's money, then totaling nearly one-fifth of China's economic output — that the Chinese business world seized up. The government had to intervene, restructuring the debt and writing much of it off."You had companies holding stacks of paper," said Dinny McMahon, an author and research fellow at the Paulson Institute in Chicago."The fact that these things are proliferating again at a time of entrenched economic downturn should be a signal of the degree of distress that companies are finding themselves in," McMahon said.Commercial acceptance bills are not legal tender. Rather, they are pieces of paper promising payment in the future. Companies owed some $211 billion in these informal notes as of February, the most recent government data available, an increase of more than one-third from the previous year.More debt may be floating around China's corporate world and goes untracked if the notes are being traded for less than their face value. A market has formed around commercial acceptance bills, in which companies buy and sell them based on the prospects for being paid back. The bigger and better known the company, the more secure the bill is considered.A pillar of China's economy, the property sector, is feeling the squeeze particularly hard. Sales have been slowing since late 2017, making it hard to pay for new projects. At the same time, the government is clamping down on other ways that property companies raise money, like through the shadow banking system.Property companies have adapted by effectively turning the commercial acceptance bills into a currency, according to interviews and filings from dozens of property developers and suppliers like steel companies, design and construction firms.Xu Jiang of Zhubo Design, an architecture and urban planning company in the southern city of Shenzhen, said customers had started to pay with commercial acceptance bills two years ago. The customers, which include some of the country's biggest developers, local governments and state-owned firms, now use these notes more frequently than paying cash, he said."When developers first started to pay me with commercial acceptance bills, I found it difficult to accept," said Xu, Zhubo's chief operating officer. "I didn't know who would pay me and the debt is still on me.""But if I didn't accept it, I couldn't get the money," he said of his clients. "We suppliers were forced to become part of their financial chain."Bigger companies like Zhubo say they can deal with the cash shortage for now. They can negotiate to get interest on top of the amount due. They can sell IOUs to investors for less than face value.For smaller companies, Xu said, it is much harder to wait for months before being paid. Many property companies have not survived the shift. Through July, 281 had declared bankruptcy this year, according to court filings. About 200 declared bankruptcy over the same period last year.Today, one of the biggest issuers of IOUs is China's largest and best known property company, Evergrande. By the end of last year it had issued nearly $20 billion worth of IOUs to its suppliers. With a towering $100 billion debt pile and a penchant for raising bonds to pay off the interest, it appears to have turned to commercial acceptance bills to help cover costs."Commercial acceptance bills are only a tiny part of the whole payment," said Chen Zhaohua, a spokesman for Evergrande. He added that it was a form of payment "agreed by both parties of a transaction."Bauing Construction Holding Group, a big supplier of design and materials to China's biggest property developers, has disclosed that it is owed $96.4 million in these IOUs from Evergrande. It also recently disclosed a long list of other companies that owe it money in the form of similar notes. Gao Sheng, a spokesman for Bauing, declined to comment.Another company that owes Bauing money is the state-owned firm China State Construction Engineering. China State said it had owed $490 million in IOUs to all of its suppliers at the end of last year.Another major property developer, Greenland Holding, which was founded by the Shanghai government and has property developments in dozens of cities across China, had $550 million worth of unpaid notes out to suppliers by the end of last year, according to its annual report. The company said that was 10 times the amount it had outstanding in 2017.Greenland did not respond to a request for comment.One state-owned conglomerate, China Resources, which is involved in everything from construction to health care, has doubled its issuance of IOUs, with $2.7 billion in slips of paper unpaid at the end of last year. The company did not respond to a request for comment.The boom is worrying some regulators. At least one property developer and five suppliers to property developers have received inquiries from exchanges where their stocks are publicly listed, raising concern over the sudden increase in these commercial acceptances, according to corporate filings.In response to one such inquiry, RiseSun Real Estate Development, a large developer that has come into trouble overseas over its plans, disclosed that it had increased the use of commercial acceptance notes and bankers acceptances, a similar note but backed by banks, by more than 13 times. At the time it owed $460 million of commercial acceptances to its partners and suppliers.Xue Ze, a spokeswoman for RiseSun, declined to comment.Smaller business owners like Zhang, the architect, know the gut punch feeling that comes when companies do not make good on their commercial acceptances. Zhang recently took an unpaid IOU to the developer's bank."We were told by the bank that the company had moved its money out," he said.
NEW DELHI: Singtel is likely to raise its stake in Bharti Telecom, the single largest shareholder in Bharti Airtel, to beyond 50%. The move will convert the holding company into a foreign-owned entity and, consequently, take overseas ownership in the mobile operator to over 85%.At present, Bharti Telecom's 41% equity stake in Bharti Airtel is classified as 'domestic' shareholding as it is majority-owned by the Sunil Mittal family (52% stake).Even a small rise in the shareholding of Singtel, which currently owns 48% in Bharti Telecom, will result in a reclassification of Bharti Telecom as a 'foreign' investor since it will then be majority-owned by the Singapore company.After this reclassification, Bharti Telecom's entire 41% stake in Bharti Airtel will be considered foreign equity. As a result, foreign shareholding in Airtel, which currently stands at 43%, could rise to 85.07%. To make proposed changes compliant with FDI norms, Bharti Airtel last month sought government nod to increase foreign shareholding to 100%.70580236 In Order to Reduce DebtExisting rules allow 49% foreign investment under the automatic route, and anything between 50% and 100% needs to be cleared by the government.A Bharti Group spokesperson told ET that in order to reduce some debt, Bharti Telecom planned to seek investments from its promoter entities and Singtel. "Even a marginal increase in foreign equity would take the foreign investment in Bharti Telecom above 50%. Once that happens, Bharti Telecom's entire stake in Bharti Airtel will automatically be considered as foreign investment. Consequently, foreign investment in Bharti Airtel can touch 85.07%, necessitating the application for increase in foreign investment," he said.The company had sought approval for 100% FDI to keep further headroom for investments by foreign institutional investors and foreign portfolio investors, added the spokesperson.Currently, Singtel — directly, and indirectly through Bharti Telecom — owns over 35% in Airtel, while Mittal family's effective shareholding is at around 27%. Mittals' holding is expected to remain at over 26% after the expected overseas fund infusion in Bharti Telecom, said sources.70580238 The Bharti Group spokesperson declined to disclose the current debt on the books of Bharti Telecom, or the amount it plans to retire. Sources said the company had a debt of about Rs 4,500 crore as of March 31, 2019. Since then, it has raised over Rs 3,000 crore through bond sales to invest in Bharti Airtel's Rs 25,000-crore rights issue.Airtel shares closed 0.7% lower at Rs 365.75 on the BSE on Wednesday.The change in Bharti Airtel's ownership classification comes at a time when the telco is seeing initial signs of a revival with sequential growth in revenue and average revenue per user.
MUMBAI: The power ministry has notified that certain stressed power plants would have to use their cash surplus after meeting operating expenses to service debt through a Trust Retention Account (TRA) managed by the lead banker to the project, as part of the stress reduction measure for the thermal power sector.For developers using coal linkage under the amended Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India (SHAKTI), a TRA should be set up, if it is not there already, as per an office memorandum issued on Monday. It said the entire revenue from generators would be deposited to the TRA, which will then be used to pay different stakeholders.While the mechanism will help in better management of cash, power sector companies said the recommendations of the group of ministers that was constituted to examine the proposals of the high-level empowered committee set up to address the issue of stressed thermal power assets has yet to yield any results."The ministry of power is talking about net surplus utilisation and has specified on the mechanism on the cash flow that should be routed through the bank," Ashok Khurana, director general, Association of Power Producers, told ET. "While this is part of the plan to reduce stress in the power sector, the bigger problem is that the earlier recommendations are yet to be implemented. They were approved in March but we are yet to see any benefits."Specifying on TRAs, the ministry said while the lead banker would act as a TRA agent, in case the lead financier is of a non-banking financial company, such as Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation, any lender bank can be appointed as the TRA agent.From the company's net surplus generated after operating expenses, the TRA, on behalf of the company, will first pay statutory payment (taxes), then fuel cost, transmission expenses, operation and maintenance expenses, interest on loan and finally principal payments."In the event any amount is left in the trust and retention account after making all the above mentioned payments, the same shall be retained by the developer," the ministry said.The ministry specified the mode of payment after the high-level empowered committee said in November last year that net surplus after meeting operating expenses generated should be used for servicing debt in the first place.
Gold has been making strong moves on the upside. Donald Trump's tweet of putting 10 per cent tariffs on $300 billion Chinese goods has clearly given another boost to precious metals. The US non-farm payroll also came weaker, indicating even though the Federal Reserve had stated that the rate cut is not a new cycle of cutting down but mid cycle adjustment, they have to ease policy further to save US slipping into recession. Trump is also demanding a weaker dollar, which will be positive for gold.Let's take a look at some of the factors which will attract new investors into gold. First are global debt markets. Investors are piling into global debt thinking their money is safe.70575533 The US Treasury 10-year yield is trading below 2 per cent, a rate not seen since November 2016. If we look at all global bonds, they are trading at negative interest rates. German 10-year bond is at -0.38 per cent, which means after 10-year investors would be losing money rather than gaining when their bonds mature. So it would seem ridiculous that people would invest in negative yielding bonds for long. Yes, when there is panic, investors opt for safe haven assets and go for bonds, but gold by far has given better returns and so negative yielding bonds will bring investors to gold.Second reason is the equity market at all time highs. With global slowdown and trade war continuing, it would be difficult for the market to sustain at elevated levels. Historically, gold has attracted attention when equity market has corrected. All it will take is a domino effect from global markets to correct, which will spread to emerging markets and by extension gold will gain from outflow in equity.Fed and ECB will keep the bull party going in August. ECB is likely to start quantitative easing. Purchasing debt securities pushes rates lower further out along the yield curve. ECB short term rates are at negative 40 points and Draghi said there is further room for a rate cuts. Swiss rates are at negative 75 basis so we might even see negative 60 points by next summer. We believe one more US rate cut will come in December and one in September. So the rate cut will weaken the dollar and push gold up. 70575539 Technically, gold has broken $1,400 after six years and now has managed to sustain above that level. Next resistance is at $1,450 and if that is breached, we believe gold will go till $1,475 or $1,520. Consolidation in gold has finally broken out after two years and now gold is ripe to tread higher.
Nifty failed to surpass previous day's high and fell towards the 10,835 level on Wednesday. It formed an Inside Bar as it traded in last session's trading range and dashed hope of short-term stability. The index remained highly volatile throughout the session even after RBI's 35 bps rate cut and formed a Bearish Candle on the daily scale.Major trend of the market is under pressure and every bounce is getting sold, which suggests weakness will continue till the immediate hurdle is breached with followup buying momentum. Now as long as it remains below 10,950 level, weakness may persist and drag Nifty towards the recent swing low of 10,780 and then trigger a fresh decline towards the 10,700-10,650 zone, while hurdles are seen at 10,950 and then the 11,000-11,020 zone.On the options front, maximum Put open interest was at 11,000 followed by 10,700 levels, while maximum Call OI was at 11,000 followed by 11,500 levels. Call writing was seen at 11,500 followed by 11,100 levels while there was Put writing at 10,700. Options data suggested a trading range between 10,700 and 11,200 levels.India VIX moved up 3.85 per cent to 16.74 level. Higher volatility suggests bear dominance and pessimism in the market.Bank Nifty failed to surpass the 28,250 mark and drifted towards the 27,650 level. It formed a Bearish Candle on the daily scale, as selling pressure emerged in the later part of the session. Now, as long as it holds below 28,000 level, weakness could continue towards the next support at 27,500 and 27,350 levels, while on the upside hurdle is seen at 28,000 and then 28,250 levels.Nifty futures closed negative at 10,863 with a loss of 1.05 per cent. There was long buildup in Just Dial, Ramco Cements, Arvind and Mindtree while shorts were seen in Indiabulls Housing, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Cummins India and RBL Bank.(Chandan Taparia is Technical & Derivative Analyst at MOFSL. Investors are advised to consult financial advisers before taking an investment calls based on these observations)
New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will take a call on India's position on data localisation, considering its strategic and security aspects, even as it asked for fresh consultations on the proposed Personal Data Protection Bill.While the commerce and industry ministry had called for strict data localisation norms in its draft ecommerce policy, the electronics and information technology ministry is working on the Personal Data Protection Bill and has become the nodal agency for all data-related matters.Separately, the Reserve Bank of India has clarified that a copy of domestic data can be stored abroad in the case of cross-border transactions. "The matter is now with the PMO. They will firm up India's stance on data localisation," said an official aware of the development. 70580100 The PMO's intervention comes as the government works towards finalising the national ecommerce policy amid the US' opposition to India's policies and proposed norms related to data, besides linking it with trade issues. The US has criticised India's draft e-commerce policy for data localisation requirements, restrictions on cross-border data flows, transfer of intellectual property and proprietary source codes, and preferential treatment for domestic digital products, terming certain proposals as "most discriminatory and trade-distortive".On the RBI's requirement that all payment-related data must be stored in India, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office said this requirement raises costs by forcing the construction of redundant data centres and prevents local firms from taking advantage of the best global services available.The US has also disapproved of the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, saying if passed into law, it would "impose onerous burdens on firms, especially foreign firms, that process personal information".The official said the matter has been under the PMO's consideration and a decision is expected after the ongoing session of Parliament ends on Wednesday."The US has opposed India's policies, irrespective of the department that floated them. However, the top political quarters understand the strategic importance of data, predominantly the security angle, especially when many countries including China and the US have dedicated official social media warfare cells," said a New Delhi-based expert on ecommerce issues.Incidentally, South Africa is also grappling with multiple agencies involved in ecommerce issues. While its Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for international trade and negotiating at the World Trade Organization, the presidential commission on the fourth industrial revolution was put in place in April to recommend policies on digital trade.
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