NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has created a pipeline of projects worth Rs 8 lakh crore which will be awarded over the next three years, as the government begins the exercise of creating a national infrastructure pipeline to make India a $5-trillion economy over the next five years.The finance ministry in September this year announced the setting up of a highlevel task force to identify infrastructure projects to drive Rs 100-lakh-crore investment in the sector by 2024-25."We have created a project pipeline of projects worth Rs 7-8 lakh crore, to be recommended to the committee set up by the finance ministry," a government official told ET, requesting not to be identified."The projects have been identified largely from Bharatmala phase-I, including some other strategic ones which the government wants to build," the official said.Infra Projects in the PipelineNHAI PROJECTS to be awarded between FY20 and FY22TOTAL STRETCH 21,000 KMBHARATMALA, other strategic projects picked upEXERCISE DRIVEN BY FINANCE MINISTRYNHAI already streamlining land acquisition processMore sectors to come in to meet the Rs 100-lakh crore investment target: ExpertsThese projects will be awarded between the current fiscal and FY 22. The task force, headed by secretary, department of economic affairs, will submit a report on pipeline of projects for the current financial year by end of October, while that for the fiscal years 2021-25 is to be ready by December this year.The projects identified by the highways building authority are currently being appraised by the ministry of road transport and highways.These projects, however, are likely to be bid out under the engineering, construction, procurement (EPC) mode, as private investors' sentiments remain dull for projects to be awarded on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis.NHAI has also begun the process of streamlining land acquisition process for these projects so that the money is pumped back into the market."NHAI is one of the main drivers of infrastructure in our country, so when we start to award these projects, it will spur economic activity in the country," the official said.While NHAI's pipeline is more than welcome at the present juncture, the scale of investments will need to go up significantly for the government to meet its infrastructure investments targets, market watchers said."We will need an annual investment of .`20 lakh crore over next five years. Given an infrastructure project takes around four years from concept to completion, the visibility of projects should measure up to around Rs 80 lakh crore a year," said Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman, Feedback Infra."We have just begun this exercise, we could add projects depending on the appetite of the market," the official quoted above said.
Mortgage lenders have been the toast of local investors for more than four years, given the simplicity and safety of their business models. Since last September, however, they have virtually been toasted to a crisp. Even though many of these lenders are trading at multi-year lows, the fault lines in their financial engineering and opacity of the real estate market have made them rather unattractive for serious investors.The housing finance sector growth has slowed down in the last one year due to liquidity crunch. Housing finance companies (HFC) lowered their disbursements and raised portfolio sale through securitisation for repayment of debt obligations. Banks increased their retail home loan portfolio by 19% while HFCs grew by 9% last financial year, as banks used this opportunity to expand in the retail segment.SEPARATING WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF"Now, the market is differentiating between strong and not-so-strong HFCs," said Keki Mistry, vice chairman, HDFC. "There is no constraint whatsoever as far as liquidity is concerned for strong HFCs. There is plenty of liquidity. There is complete eagerness from banks, mutual funds, insurance companies to lend to stronger HFCs. The not-so-strong HFCs are facing liquidity issues. On the liability side, as long as risk aversion continues, the small, mid-sized HFCs will have to look at co-originating loans and selling loans, keeping spread in the middle. This model will need to be followed for weeks to months until risk aversion goes away."The Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have taken several steps to ease liquidity. The RBI has relaxed the minimum holding period for which the asset needs to stay on the book before it is eligible for securitisation. Due to this change, additional assets worth Rs 40,000 crore have become eligible for selling down."Steps taken by the government and RBI will yield results gradually," said Sidhartha Mohanty, MD and CEO, LIC Housing Finance. "In the coming two quarters, we will see improvement compared with the previous two quarters."National Housing Bank has enhanced the refinance limits that can be accessed by eligible HFCs to tide over temporary mismatches, it has started monitoring the weekly liquidity position of the top 15 HFCs, which account for more than 95% of the total asset size of all HFCs.The RBI has infused liquidity in the system by conducting open market operations, enhanced the single-borrower limit for exposure of banks to NBFCs, and reduced the minimum average maturity requirement for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) in the infrastructure space to three years from five years.PROFITABILITY SQUEEZEChange in borrowing profile, repricing of debt, maintaining additional liquidity buffer and slowdown in growth will impact profitability. Banks moving to external benchmark will put pressure on housing finance companies.In the past one year, housing finance companies relied on securitisation, redemption of commercial papers, and borrowing from newer sources to support liquidity. Their share of CP borrowing overall has fallen to 6% compared to 10% a year ago."We are in housing finance industry where fierce competition is there, and we have to remain competitive," said Mohanty of LIC Housing Finance. "My rates will be competitive."Banks have the advantage of low-cost deposit and RBI's repo window. HFCs raise funds from banks and such fund-raising is not based on an external benchmark. 71714123 Housing finance companies sell affordable, retail, developer, construction finance, loan against property and LRD. "Some of the large NBFCs / HFCs have aggressively grown their real estate-linked loan book over 45% CAGR over the past five years," said Morgan Stanley in a report. "HDFC has delivered a controlled 15% CAGR with even slower growth in the more riskier portfolios — construction finance and corporate term loans."HFCs with 7-9 times leverage of debt to equity will have to raise capital to grow."Lower leverage will put pressure on profitability," said Karthik Srinivasan of Icra. "Proportion of fee income should go up because of co-origination. But it will depend on scale."STRESSED ASSET QUALITYStress faced by many developers with delayed under-construction projects are going to show up in the asset quality parameters of housing finance companies. As of Q3 2019-end, 6.56 lakh units were unsold across the top 7 cities, according to a report by Anarock Property Consulting.Under-construction projects sold by builders under subvention are primarily facing difficulties in delivering. Projects, with existing sanctions, are finding difficult to get fresh loans.The stress in housing is beginning to show. LIC Housing Finance reported NPA of 2.38%, a deterioration of 40 basis points from last year due to 4-5 lumpy developer loan accounts turning bad.The share of non-mortgage loans portfolio in total loans for top 5 HFCs increased from 29% in March 2016 to 46% in December 2018 as per the data made available by National Housing Bank (NHB).While spreads on high quality individual loans are below 2%, industry level delinquency in the individual mortgage portfolio in 2018-19 was running at about 1.5-1.7%."Given the fact that non-mortgage portfolios are inherently riskier, funding of such portfolios with both short-term CPs and shorter maturity debt has liquidity risk implications during times of uncertainty," said RBI in a report.Any business model changes with situation. In the current situation, there is demand for affordable housing. The government has taken various initiatives to promote the scheme and are incentivising individuals and developers.Affordable housing under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is growing and projects catering to affordable housing segment are getting liquidity. Tax breaks on interest paid on loans for affordable housing are extended until 2020. Deduction that can be claimed for interest paid on loans taken for affordable housing has been increased by Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per annum for houses valued up to Rs 45 lakh.THE CO-ORIGINATION MODELIn case the liquidity situation does not improve, HFCs may start seeing stress in the commercial real estate segment."About 65-70% of the loan book that NBFCs have is still under moratorium where interest payment is happening, and principal payment will start from the first half of the next fiscal year. Delinquencies may increase on a case to case basis," said Pankaj Naik, associate director, India Ratings and Research. "The pace at which refinancing was happening has come down. Not many players are optimistic in taking fresh exposure in the real estate space, which will lead to an increase in credit costs."Co-origination has to pick up scale for the practice to become successful. Right now, banks and HFCs are entering tie-ups to cooriginate loans. Banks will depend on HFCs to service those portfolios."The efficacy of the scheme will be known when volume will pick up in the model," said Karthik Srinivasan of Icra.The housing finance sector is integrated into the broader financial sector and into the broader economy. Any downward trend in the economy may impact the housing finance sector also."There are blips on the way, but the market knew that HFCs will have to address ALM mismatches, whether through securitisation or other means of financial engineering," said RV Verma, former chairman, National Housing Bank.
A Gujarat-based listed conglomerate that merged one of its companies with another — a smaller unit was taken over by the umbrella group entity — is now under the income tax lens. While around 60% of the cost paid to the smaller entity was toward plant, machinery and land, the rest was an intangible asset later listed on financial statements as goodwill.The tax department is of the view that the group orchestrated the restructuring exercise merely to escape taxes — and not just the Gujarat conglomerate. Hundreds of companies that had undertaken restructuring or mergers within the group are under scrutiny for "artificially" creating goodwill merely to lower their tax outgo.Under accounting rules, goodwill is an intangible asset and depreciates after a merger or acquisition. Goodwill is typically written off within a few years after a transaction, leading to lower tax outgo. The tax department has alleged that "fictitious assets" were created by companies before restructuring and mergers merely to evade tax, and has even threatened to impose the anti-abuse General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), said people aware of the matter.The tax department has been issuing notices to companies that engaged in mergers and restructuring, putting goodwill on the books. According to industry sources, about 200 notices have been sent to entities across India."When a merger (or) acquisition is undertaken, goodwill is transferred and since it is an intangible asset it leads to depreciation and also lower tax outgo," said Saumil Shah, partner, Dhruva Advisors. "The tax department is investigating whether companies created fictitious assets only on paper to lower their tax outgo, and this could also lead to tax department triggering GAAR."The department wants companies to cough up taxes for the past few years after mergers or restructuring. They are disallowing tax savings claimed due to writing off goodwill and also want companies to pay penalties and interest.Several companies took undue advantage of a Supreme Court judgment that said that goodwill was an intangible asset, said a tax official."The question that companies need to answer is how they arrived at the number (amount of goodwill)," he said.'Goodwill not Defined under I-T Act'"Whether this number was arrived at scientifically or merely created to lower tax outgo is being investigated," the official added.Tax experts said that companies may have recorded excess consideration over net assets as goodwill and claimed depreciation during the restructuring process.Goodwill is not defined under the Income Tax Act, experts said. To qualify for depreciation, the excess consideration paid for acquiring knowhow, patents, copyrights, trademarks, licences, franchises or any commercial right is grouped under goodwill on the financial statements."In the absence of a scientific determination, every excess payment cannot qualify as goodwill," said Dilip Lakhani, senior chartered accountant. "The tax department has a right to question the methodology and the accounting treatment adopted by the transferee company to compute the exact value of goodwill eligible for depreciation."Another Gujarat-based company that restructured its power sector business is also under the taxman's lens. While the transaction was mainly a share swap, it had led to a goodwill entry in the books of the new entity. The goodwill was written off in the next financial year. Another tax lawyer, who has advised four top Indian companies on such transactions, said the move was unfair. Every merger and restructuring plan has to be approved by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and each time the income tax department is asked if it has any objection."The tax department cannot wake up a few years down the line to suddenly raise objections when they did not raise any in the first place," he said.However, a tax official said that the tax department may not object to a merger or restructuring plan but can still question the treatment of goodwill."The tax department is notified about the restructuring scheme pending approval at NCLT level, and even if the objections are not raised at the time of approval, the tax department has a right to question the methodology and the accounting treatment adopted by the transferee company to compute the exact value of goodwill eligible for depreciation," said Lakhani.Mergers and acquisitions undertaken by two separate entities are also being examined, said the people cited above. Though no notices have been issued to any large company engaged in high-profile transactions, some of those in which the goodwill consideration runs into thousands of crores could see tax notices in the coming months.
By Gillian Tan and Michelle F. DavisIt was just weeks ago that Adam Neumann was running one of the world's most valuable startups. As chief executive officer of WeWork, he was on the verge of an initial public offering of a venture once valued at $47 billion.Today, in a remarkable fall from grace, the office-sharing company that he co-founded in 2010, the one he promised would elevate the world's consciousness, is no longer his.SoftBank Group Corp., the company's largest investor, is taking control of WeWork as part of a desperately needed lifeline. It brings an end to an era marked by lavish spending and self-dealing that deepened the company's losses and eroded investors' faith in Neumann's ability to lead. Even with the capital infusion and new ownership, it also leaves WeWork beset by woes that include sagging morale, landlord unrest and tens of billions of dollars in rent payments."Obviously the biggest challenge is just steadying the ship," said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, an advisory firm. "Can the company remain solvent? It's a race against time to trim costs, sell assets, change culture."The rescue package is personally humbling for the 40-year-old Neumann, a natural showman with a penchant for speaking in grandiose terms about changing the world while doling out shots of tequila in the workplace. But it's also poised to make him a very rich man.In an unusual deal that is almost certain to spark the ire of WeWork staffers being dismissed by the thousands, Neumann will walk away with as much as $1.2 billion as well as a $500 million credit line from SoftBank, after it pushed him out as chief executive officer last month. He'll remain as a board observer and can assign two board seats.The deal serves to give WeWork a second chance at least in the short-term. SoftBank will soon provide WeWork with $1.5 billion, accelerating a financing agreement that was originally scheduled for April, people familiar with the plans have said. SoftBank is also organizing a $5 billion debt package, which will include contributions from SoftBank itself, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and other lenders.Emblematic of high-flying, growth-at-all-costs unicorns, WeWork's never made a penny in profits, losing $900 million in the first half of this year. Burning through cash since its inception, it faced a crunch that could have left the company short of funds as soon as next month. Much of that binge stems from Neumann, a fierce and unpredictable negotiator unafraid of spending his way to growth: In the past nine years, WeWork has opened 425 office locations in 36 countries, become Manhattan's biggest tenant, and upended the stodgy world of commercial real estate.Serious questions remain about its business model of renting and renovating office space that it leases to individuals and companies. That strategy has made it the biggest private office tenant in cities like New York and London. But it's also left it in a precarious position. It has some $47 billion of future rent payments due and some $1 billion in renovation costs.Landlords and tenants have become cautious when dealing with the firm. Google has walked away from a potential Toronto lease and landlords are reaching out to WeWork rivals to see if they will take over WeWork leases or buildings if it becomes necessary.SoftBank also must grapple with reducing costs including a workforce of more than 12,000 people that had grown bloated under Neumann. WeWork already plans to lay off 2,000 people and sell some non-core businesses.Even as it reduces the workforce, SoftBank will also need to deal with growing dissatisfaction among employees, some of whom have worked for years in anticipation of an initial public offering that never materialized. At least five C-level executives have headed for the exits in recent weeks, and some staffers, unsure of their fate, stopped reporting for duty altogether, people familiar with the situation said last week.As part of SoftBank's plan, one of its executives, Marcelo Claure, will take over as chairman of WeWork's board, one of the people said. WeWork appointed Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham as co-CEOs last month after investors pushed back against the IPO.Even before the bailout, the Japanese investment bank had committed more than $10 billion to the company. As its estimated valuation cratered, WeWork last month ousted Neumann as CEO and, eventually, pulled its IPO in the face of investors who balked at its losses and corporate governance.The debacle has been an embarrassment for SoftBank. It valued WeWork at $47 billion as recently as the start of the year. Already, SoftBank has invested more than WeWork is estimated to be worth without its latest capital infusion-- about $8 billion.Under the deal, Neumann is allowed to sell a little under $1 billion of stock to the Japanese investment firm, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the agreement hasn't been announced.Neumann currently owns 22% of WeWork. It couldn't immediately be learned what his stake will fall to after any sale to SoftBank. He will also get a roughly $185 million consulting fee.SoftBank and JPMorgan declined to comment. WeWork couldn't immediately be reached.SoftBank's stock purchase from Neumann is part of a broader offer to buy as much as $3 billion from existing shareholders, one of the people familiar with the matter said. The $500 million credit line for Neumann will be secured by some of his stock. And a $500 million loan to Neumann extended by JPMorgan, UBS and Credit Suisse will be repaid, one of the people said.When Neumann stepped down from the CEO role, it triggered terms of the loan that would have put him in technical default, according to a person familiar with the matter.JPMorgan had been pitching a $5 billion debt package for WeWork. Last week, the company had been leaning toward the bank's plan over SoftBank's, because it wouldn't dilute existing shareholders or force the startup to cede control.But disagreements over the company's valuation -- JPMorgan's plan had pegged WeWork about $5 billion -- pushed the company toward SoftBank, which was willing to increase its equity stake and provide a payout to Neumann, according to a person familiar with the situation.For his part, SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son is showing signs of contrition for the role he played in inflating WeWork's valuation. On a call Monday, Son apologized to investors in the first Vision Fund, which injected capital into WeWork at a valuation of north of $21 billion in 2017, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Kolkata: A series of fatal accidents at mines in Coal India has prompted one of its mining subsidiaries to advance mining shift timings by an hour to increase workers' alertness and reduce mishaps. This will be introduced at all subsidiaries if found effective.Coal India meets almost 70 per cent of the country's coal requirement and will produce almost 660 million tonnes of coal this year."Analysis of incidents has revealed that physical well being and mental alertness of employees play an important role in preventing accidents," a senior Coal India executive told ET. "The pattern of recent incidents indicate night shifts to be relatively challenging for safe operations. Employees are prone to lose their mental alertness towards the end of the night shift. This necessitated a relook at the shift timings."Following deliberations between unions and executives at Northern Coalfields, which contributes 20% of total production, it was inferred that poor mental alertness towards the end of the night shift was a major contributor to several accidents that occurred in the past.In 2018, 120 accidents at Coal India mines resulted in 43 fatalities and 96 serious injuries. Out of this, 11 accidents were at Northern Coalfields, resulting in three death and serious injuries to eight others. The highest number of fatal accidents, however, was at South Eastern Coalfields, another large Coal India subsidiary. Thirty accidents led to 15 death and serious injury to 19 employees.At Northern Coalfields, workers operate in three shifts of an eight-and-half hour each including a half-hour rest time. All shifts have a half-hour overlap, which is unique to this subsidiary since it operates large opencast mines requiring passing on information about the current status of operations.Earlier morning shifts were from 6 am till 2.30 pm, the afternoon shift used to start from 2 pm and end at 10.30 pm while the night shift used to start at 10 pm and end the following day at 6.30 AM.Since last week, the morning shift starts at 5 am and ends at 1.30 pm, while the afternoon shift starts at 1 pm and ends at 9.30 pm. Night shift starts at 9 pm and ends at 5.30 pm the following day."Considering factors like sleeping habits, mental alertness and supervision, both workers and executives were of the view that if employees in the night shift are allowed to leave at 5 am, there would be better control on the unsafe incidents due to the early commencement of the first shift," an executive at Northern Coalfields said.The executive said the company convinced family members of workers before making the change.
Pune: Digital payments are preferred by 42 per cent of consumers in India, leading card payments (29 per cent ) and cash (27 per cent ), according to a new online study conducted by YouGov and ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions.The study found that younger consumers preferred digital payments (42 per cent for Gen Z and 48 per cent for Millennials), but their adoption was consistent across age groups. Nearly 77 per cent of Millennials had used digital payments at least once during the festival season, compared to 72 per cent of Gen Z and 69 per cent of Gen X. Nearly half (45 per cent ) of Baby Boomers also indicated they had used digitals payments within the survey period."Digital payments, including UPI and other eWallets, are increasingly the payment method of choice across a wide spectrum of consumers in India," said Kaushik Roy, vice president & country leader – South Asia, ACI Worldwide. "While there is still a perception that UPI, for example, is primarily for the peer-to-peer channel, this study shows that significant inroads are being made in the merchant payments channel."Other key findings and trends:* 43 per cent of respondents used digital payment methods regularly (at least 2-3 times per week) during the festival period, with 15 per cent purchasing this way once or more per day.* 32 per cent have not used cash for festival season purchases, indicating that for some, festival season spending is becoming a largely cashless affair.* Only one in ten respondents (10 per cent ) claimed to have not made a digital payment method at all in the period leading up to Diwali.* Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments were made by 36 per cent of respondents for low-value payments (less than Rs 1,000) and 37 per cent for high-value payments (more than Rs 1,000) during the festival season.* Internet connectivity is a top concern for 44 per cent , while failed transactions (36 per cent ), problems processing refunds (32 per cent ) and fraud (29 per cent ) also were identified as major concerns.* Only 21 per cent of respondents cited lack of clarity about fees as a top concern and 23 per cent lack of acceptance infrastructure at merchants, reflecting increasing ease of use for customers and greater merchant acceptance.* The survey was conducted on 1,025 adults
We will look back to this bottom formation period next year and the year after and see 2019 as a year when very firm foundation was laid for the economy, says Manish Chokhani, Director, Enam Holdings. Excerpts from an interview with Nikunj Dalmia and Ayesha Faridi of ETNOW. Markets always vote for a change of focus on where the buck will move rather than where the buck has moved. Are the markets at the current juncture, pricing in all the bad news? It is not an economic crisis but there is certainly a slowdown. Do you think a lot of bad news is in the price?I think so. We have spoken about economic cycles and market cycles in the past. If you recall we have talked about phase one, where there is a catalyst and something causes the markets to go up while the people remain sceptical. Then in phase two, broader earnings come through. Phase three is when the PE multiples expand; phase four is the sharp correction; phase five is the pullback and it becomes very narrow; phase six is the bust. What we call phase zero is when everyone is throwing everything at the problem. So, RBI would be cutting rates, the government would be cutting tax rates, everyone and his uncle will be calling up to say what can I do, how can I make this better? We are in that period. We will look back to this bottom formation period next year and the year after and see 2019 as a year when very firm foundation was laid for the economy. It was very much like the 2001-2002 period where you got the catalyst in the form of privatisation and in the form of some important commodity or sector taking off. That is what one would look forward to in the forthcoming Samvat. I am completely onboard. Markets are now fed up of being pessimistic and are looking ahead to better times ahead. Where will the new stories come from? Time and again, if you dig out data for the last 10 years, it is the same set of names which have done well. Quarter after quarter, it is an HDFC Bank or a Bajaj Finance or a TCS. Has time come to move beyond these so called A listers?I am conscious that it is not appropriate for all retail investors to do what we guys are up to, but like you alluded, there is a segment, where because of the structural shift in the economy, the market leaders and the governance leaders are going to gain disproportionately. Whether it was in retail, real estate or banking, those people will keep doing extraordinarily well. If the economy is going from $3 trillion to $5-6 trillion, you cannot still have an HDFC Bank at a sub $100-billion market cap. In the context of where it can be, these will keep compounding and despite so many cycles in the past 20 years, one learning I had was that some of these good companies keep compounding. There is no reason to shift away from quality to something else, but stocks which have become midcaps by virtue of either the economic cycle or commodity prices and so on. There is a nine million tonne steel company which is trading at $1-$1.5 billion market cap. Now at some point in life, it has to go back to a $8 billion kind of valuation and while there is a debt overhang today, over two-three years as this gets repaid, you will look back and say hey there was a four-five bagger sitting there and we missed it. There are enough things to do in the market and I sent you all some data ahead of the interview where it showed 500-600 reasonable quality companies are down by at least 67% from the all time high and it extends all the way to 80-90%. Now normally if you are down 80-90%, it either means the company is going bust or when it comes back, it comes back roaring. PSUs in aggregate are down between 65% and 80%. BHEL I saw was down 80% from it's all time high. A lot of the stocks will be 2-3x before we realise what happened and no one would have participated because nobody owns them. There is enough to do for investors outside the top 50 companies, where everyone has gone and hidden out. Individually there is enough situation over there.Let us look at the four pillars of the economy – exports are shaky; private sector or investment cycle is still shaking very badly; consumption is seeing a slowdown -- cyclical or temporary we do not know and then there is government action where there is some hope. Which block do you think is going to move higher and will ensure that the economy will heal and earnings pick up?Each time, when you start a cycle there is a catalyst which is met with disbelief that we are experiencing now. Who is going to invest? We generally will have a broad brush approach for everything in India and India is not about the averages but about disaggregating. Even in the private sector, it is not like the cement people are not investing. Even in steel, while the IBC code is throwing up opportunities, it is not like people are not investing there and they are already at 130-140 million tonnes of steel and are likely to be heading upwards. So there is enough of investment going in over metals, cement, oil and gas. If we have a 65% services economy, the growth now comes from services rather than manufacturing or agriculture and a lot of that investment actually happens in banks. It is also happening in retail, IT, transportation, logistics and so on. It is not that the investment cycle is dead. It is because there is a clear demarcation between those who are dying and those are who are thriving and so the average is showing a 5% print. Those who are doing well are actually doing remarkably well including in real estate, a sector that nobody likes. But stocks like Godrej and Prestige were up 60-70% even last year. Even in PSUs, just the whiff of a possibility of divestment in BPCL and the stock was up 80% last year. There is enough opportunity everywhere… The other cluster is the ones walking the walk of shame; DHFL, Indiabulls, Yes Bank and as many as you want. What is interesting is there are conscious promoters who are ready to do anything to save their company. Perhaps part of the pain is over in YES Bank. We have even seen Bajaj Consumer trying to deleverage balance sheet as have the Zee promoters. Is there any hunting opportunity within this pack or would you say, do not be a cowboy?No, it is not for the average investor. It is a space that I look at personally, because where there is a forced seller, where there is a debt holder who is selling because he has to cover and he does not have a view on the underlying asset, you occasionally get real gems and fabulous prices. We all grew up reading Warren Buffett. The famous salad oil scandal of American Express, you get opportunities like that once in a lifetime and in India too, there are some opportunities like that. I would not talk about Zee, but in aggregate if I add up Zee, Sun and Network 18, that is 50% of the eyeballs of India and in aggregate the market cap of these three is less and $7 billion and these are free cash generative businesses and it is not like OTT is going to take over the world tomorrow. Even today, with the problems that Netflix will have once Disney comes in and so we will see. Two, what is the buying power of the Indian consumer to pay for this and will television completely die? So they deserve to be six times EV/EBITDA, for example, when we are buying chemical companies now at 14-15 times? There is a bit of a travesty happening over there. There are nuggets, there are some sectors, some companies which you go in and if you can understand what is really going on, can be a very interesting opportunity. We have these 15-20 stocks which are considered safe but they are also very expensive. If you are a value investor, what do you do?If you disaggregate India into three buckets, there is what I call the 2% of India which is like Australia and they have a third of GDP. Then there is 20% of India which is like Philippines which has a third of the GDP and then there is 80% of India which is like sub-Saharan Africa which has a third of GDP. Now the normal case for India investing for consumers was that this 2% can expand 10x to become the 20% and the 20% can expand 4x to become 80% and that gave you the terminal values when you draw up a DCF. That is what classically most foreign investors would look at, on a nominal basis if this country is going to grow 11-12-13% and if you get a crazy number at the end. My son tells me, you have been investing for 30 years, has there ever been a case where India surprised you on the upside? For 30 years, we have been waiting for this J-curve of consumption to take place in India and then you reach a sorry state where in 2020 we barely sell 3 million cars, of which 90% are one box cars -- the Marutis and the Hyuandais and we think the market is x growth. By reference, China is at 27-28 million cars and the price point there is not a Maruti Alto. The price point is a Toyota Altis. So it is almost a 30x larger market than ours and we have given up hope already on what will happen. While the normal consumer stocks, the Nestles and the Levers are pricing that in, the discretionary stocks may be autos, media, a lot of refrigerator, AC stocks. What is the sale of refrigerators and air-conditioners in India? It is a hot country and if you have a long enough kind of a horizon and can live with some of these multiples, a lot of these companies will grow into it. For example, for 20 years, there is Nestle (which I own) and every time I keep it as a 1% position because if I build it to 5%, I will feel tempted to sell it as it is too expensive. It just gets compounding. Same is the case with HDFC Bank. Each time you look at it, you wonder what will it do? But you know that it is not yet $100 billion market cap. When the country is $5-$6-$7 trillion, can the largest bank of India be 100 billion or will it be more like $400-500 billion, if you can just keep the faith. The mistake we have often made is exiting the winners too early because we get greedy and make 5x somewhere else. But 20% compounded over 5-10 years is a fabulous number. India is on the recovery path. If I work with the assumption that tomorrow will be better than today, is one better off sticking to these great businesses where you may not get great returns or should one start treasure hunting?We have made money in the past in PSUs. I remember Hindustan Zinc was sold for something like $250 or $300 million. From that $200 million, it went on to have a $20 billion market cap. It was up 100x and it gave dividend of $3 billion to the government. Since then, the government continues holding 30% of that company. I do not know why they do not sell it, but that is another story. That is the level of wealth creation which is possible because they are sitting on fabulous assets. It is just that they are held back by capital constraints or by governance concerns or they are just not incentivised to perform that much better. It beats me how could someone go and find more minerals in a mine which anyway you would not and the same people are running it. The aggregate market cap of all PSUs today just by way of reference is less than a $140 billion. It is a staggering number that 50% of India's assets in a sense are sitting in the PSUs. The market cap is $140-$150 billion on a 2-2.5 trillion kind of overall market cap and they have all fallen 65% to 80%. In theory, if they just recover back, they are 3x from here which takes you back to a $400-$500 billion which gives the government money to repair its own balance sheet. The issue in India has been that that balance sheets are broken right now.
Global brokerages were buoyant on Axis Bank and maintained their ratings despite the private lender reporting a loss in the September quarter on Tuesday.Swiss brokerage Credit Suisse said the operating performance of the company continues to improve. However, it cut fiscal 2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 29 per cent because of the deferred tax assets (DTA) impact.Axis Bank reported a net loss of Rs 112 crore in the September quarter, hurt by one-off DTA adjustment of Rs 2,138 crore. It had posted a net profit of Rs 790 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.Profit before tax for Q2FY20 stood at Rs 2,433 crore, up 109 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The operating profit for Q2FY20 grew 45 per cent YoY to Rs 5,952 crore.Credit Suisse said the asset quality was stable with a flat gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio. It retained 'outperform' on the stock with target at Rs 850. That translates into an upside of nearly 18 per cent.Macquarie also retained 'outperform' rating on the stock with target at Rs 770. That means an upside of 8 per cent from the last closing price.Macquarie noted that slippages went up marginally, compared to the June quarter. But, improvement in margins and healthy loan growth are key positives for the private lender and bodes well for the future, the Sydney-headquartered brokerage said. The bank said slippages increased during the quarter under review to Rs 4,983 crore from Rs 4,798 crore in Q1FY20 and Rs 2,777 crore in same quarter last year.Gross NPA and Net NPA ratios for Axis Bank stood at 5.03 per cent and 1.99 per cent, respectively, for the September quarter, compared with 5.25 per cent and 2.04 per cent in the June quarter.
By Saritha RaiThe dust had barely settled at Infosys Ltd. when Asia's No. 2 software services firm once more found itself grappling with a potential leadership crisis.For the second time in about as many years, the Indian icon synonymous with the country's technological ascendancy is being forced to answer accusations of impropriety. In the most recent of a stream of grievances aired anonymously over past years, whistle-blowers accused Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh of instigating employees to inflate profits, mis-represent the lucrativeness of deals, even of abusing travel privileges. In a memo reproduced in local newspapers, Parekh's accusers offered emails and recordings to back up their claims.Little evidence of wrong-doing has emerged publicly so far. Infosys pledged a full investigation Tuesday, while Parekh himself has remained silent. Yet investors blind-sided by the sheer volume of the charges wiped more than $7 billion off the company's market value in a single day. They may still be smarting from 2017, when internal upheaval eventually sparked an ouster of the popular Vishal Sikka, paving the way for Parekh's ascension and a board reshuffle."The allegations appear serious and reputation is such a fragile thing," said Harish Bijoor, a Bangalore-based brand consultant. "It is very unfortunate but this type of thing besmirches a company's reputation in the eyes of employees, investors and clients." 71715621 The Indian government is closely monitoring the issue but it's too early to initiate a probe of the company, an official told reporters in New Delhi, asking not to be identified citing rules.The events unfolding in Infosys's home-town of Bangalore, the nation's tech capital, bear a resemblance to those of 2017 that brought down the tech giant's leadership. Two summers ago, a similar whistle-blower complaint alleged irregularities in a $200 million acquisition, setting off a chain of events that culminated in a vicious face-off with co-founder Narayana Murthy and Sikka's removal. The accusations against him were never proven.Sikka and Parekh, a former Capgemini SE executive, were the first outside professionals brought in to run the 38-year-old company, after several decades of co-founders taking turns to occupy the CEO's office. Infosys's shares have gained 50% since Parekh took the helm in January 2018, versus roughly 20% over Sikka's three-year term. And the company's revenue grew about 25% during both their tenures.Yet the number of whistle-blower complaints spiked during Sikka's and Parekh's reigns, covering a plethora of topics. None spooked markets quite as much as the latest missive published in the Deccan Herald on Monday. The company is now taking the right steps, auditing the whistle-blowers' letters and appointing a third-party investigator, said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief executive officer of Singapore-based Greyhound Research."The CEO has a difficult task at hand coming after the sudden exit of his predecessor, managing founder and investor expectations and operating in a difficult business environment," he said. "The world over, companies take a ton of short cuts to look good in front of investors and analysts."The brewing crisis around Infosys is far from the only one to hit corporate India of late. State-run lender Punjab National Bank disclosed fraud, for instance, part of a series of scandals to hit the financial industry.Infosys itself can ill-afford the distraction. It's grappling with fundamental changes in the software outsourcing industry, where younger rivals are snatching away contracts with newer technologies, and clients are moving away from the paid-by-the-hour outsourcing work that Infosys and rival Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. specialized in.At Infosys, revenue growth slowed to single-digit percentages, while operating margins shrank. That marked the end of an era when its co-founders delivered stellar performances quarter after quarter, endearing the stock to investors. Fresh-out-of-college engineers compared a job offer from Infosys to winning the lottery.This month, Infosys posted a 2% fall in quarterly profit after nervous clients held off on spending and growth in traditional service contracts stalled. That underscored the challenge for Parekh, who has pledged to drive growth.Both he and Sikka have stressed investments in innovation, digital services and re-training employees in latest technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence. "To build the future Infosys, we have to make those investments now," Parekh, who has a reputation for being calm and understated, told Bloomberg in an interview last year.It could be days or weeks before evidence is gathered and the investigation concludes. Until then, the allegations cast a shadow over Infosys's management. And it's likely that the urgent task of addressing broader business challenges will take a backseat to the public drama for now."There's a lot of emotion around everything that happens at Infosys," Greyhound's Gogia said. "While I would wait for the investigation before passing a verdict on the anonymous charges, this episode does make things tougher for Infosys."
By Jamie DimonBy nature, I am an optimist. Despite geopolitical and economic challenges, I believe the world's best days remain ahead. Just look right here in India. In the last decade, more than 200 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty. That is a staggering accomplishment. Throughout the country, economic growth over such an extended period of time has helped create greater access to opportunity and it has shifted the way India works, learns, communicates and connects.But, we cannot ignore the challenges that still lie ahead. Not everyone is benefitting or set to benefit from this growth. A study by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), a New Delhi based non-profit thinktank of economics, notes that 75% of businesses globally expect the process of automation and technological upgrading to mean that workers will be required to develop and learn new skills in order to meet the evolving demands asked of them by their employers.To ensure all benefit businesses, non-profit and government leaders need to join forces and come together to identify, develop and scale solutions that connect more people with economic opportunity.During my trip to India this week, I have had the privilege of meeting business, government and non-profit leaders who want to work together to ensure more people share in India's growth. JP Morgan has made a commitment to help people from around the world succeed in the workplace of the future. We're excited to bring this effort to India and apply best practices of what is working here and elsewhere.With a $25 million commitment over the next five years, JP Morgan will help support skills and education investments that align with the business needs of India's growing economy. That means the young people in the country, who make up one of the largest and youngest workforce populations in the world, will be better prepared for what the jobs of the future will look like. The government of India is very focussed on the issues at hand and already investing in education. Our effort will complement theirs so that there is greater access to training and education for the millions of people that need it.By understanding and anticipating the direction of the future needs of employers and linking this to educational resources and institutions, we will help create opportunities for people who may not normally have a chance, but are eager, talented and able to develop the skills they need to succeed in jobs that can help propel them forward. These education and training efforts will align with where the jobs of today and tomorrow in industries such as retail, healthcare and technology are.We also know this kind of investment can work. It has been proven successful already as we have seen with many non-profit organisations which have been introducing multi-skill training in schools, bringing job readiness to Industrial Training Institutes, and providing college students vocational training programmes and technical certification courses to improve their opportunities in the labour market.Vaishnavi Londhe, for example, is a young woman who took a course in fabrication when in school. The vocational and technical skills provided by Lend-a-Hand India, a non-profit organisation, helped her land an internship and eventually a job at a manufacturing workshop. She now supports her family and is pursuing additional studies that are better preparing her for the skills required by the workplace of the future.From Vaishnavi's story of success to millions of others like it around the world, we see our global investments as a way to share opportunities and success and build and strengthen communities from the ground up.The private sector has the ability and duty to expand opportunity for those who need it most, and it is a role and responsibility we should embrace. We have seen time and time again that when people have a fair shot and are able to participate in and benefit from growth, the economy is stronger and our world is a better, healthier, safer place.When someone has the skills to secure a well-paying job, that helps create stronger communities, and leads to more robust countries and economies. That means all of us – business, government and community leaders – share a vested interest in ensuring that people have the specific skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the global workforce. Governments and businesses must work together to ensure education and training align with the skills needs of growing industries.The expansion of opportunity depends on the alignment between the interests of private enterprises and the communities and countries they serve. Businesses need vibrant, prosperous societies to succeed, just as those societies need dynamic innovative businesses to create jobs and boost commercial activity.With government and private industry working together and providing access to opportunity, more people have more of a chance to benefit. JP Morgan makes these kinds of investments not just because they are good to do, but because they are the right thing to do – for our company and for many people across the world.The writer is the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co
“No words can explain how much this means to me and my family,” Lucy Dutton’s mother Lindsay Dutton, 30, tells TIME. “Waking up this morning and knowing my daughter wasn’t going to be ripped out of my life was a true blessing. I felt humbled and grateful.”
Lucy was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and brought to the United Kingdom by her parents in August 2018, when she was 11 months old. Her parents, both originally from South Africa, claimed British citizenship through their parents, who were born in the U.K. But British citizenship through descent only extends to one generation, meaning Lucy did not have an automatic right to stay in the U.K. As a result, she was living in the country on a child visitor’s visa.
After her parents applied for an extension, the U.K.’s Home Office, which is in charge of immigration, sent a letter to Lucy telling that her the application had been denied because she had not lived in the U.K. for seven consecutive years. It was two days before her second birthday. Her parents were told that they could return to South Africa with Lucy.
“Getting that refusal letter was the worst day of my life. It was the biggest nightmare any mother could endure and it will affect me for a long time,” Lindsay Dutton says.
The reversal of the decision to deport the toddler comes after the family’s local member of Parliament, Tonia Antoniazza, got involved.
On Monday, the U.K. Immigration Minister Seema Kennedy met with Antoniazza to assure her that if the family apply for Lucy’s “indefinite leave to remain” in the U.K., her application would be granted, Antoniazza tells TIME.
The family’s lawyers had initially applied for temporary permission to stay in the U.K., but this was incorrect advice, according to Antoniazza. Antoniazza, a member of the Labour Party, is now helping Lucy’s family with the new application.
Dutton’s solicitors did not reply to TIME’s request for comment.
“When I found out about [the minister’s] assurances, I was jumping up and down with excitement. I cried tears of joy and had goosebumps,” Dutton, speaking from her home in Swansea, Wales, says. “I called my mother and we both cried on the phone. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t have words for the first time in my life — and it still feels like a bit of a dream.”
Now that the family has been assured that Lucy’s application to remain in the U.K. will be approved, Dutton is hopeful for her daughter’s future. “This decision has done so much for my daughter’s future. She gets to grow up with her friends and family here in the U.K. and enjoy the life that I was trying to create for her here so that she can have a chance of excelling,” Dutton says.
Lucy’s family set up a GoFundMe page to pay for the legal fees for Lucy’s first application and her appeal. They have since raised more than £4,600 ($6,000), surpassing their target of £4,000. The additional money raised will help pay off the high-interest loan Lucy’s mother was forced to take out to pay for more than £3,000 ($4,000) in administrative and legal fees for the first application.
“To see people come together to help a complete stranger, you run out of ways to say thank you,” Dutton says. “And you don’t know whether that word can ever express how much their support means to you.”
A Home Office spokesperson confirmed that the agency had been in contact with Dutton’s representatives to discuss next steps.
Russia will on Wednesday land the world’s biggest military aircraft in South Africa, the Tupolev Tu-160 “Blackjack” bomber, in a rare display of cooperation between the defense forces of the two countries.
The two bombers, which are capable of launching nuclear missiles, are the first to ever land in Africa and will be escorted by fighter jets from the South African Air Force when they touch down at the Waterkloof air base in Tshwane, the South African National Defence Force said in a statement. The bombers will arrive at around 4 p.m. and a number of other Russian military aircraft will also land at the site. The bombers had initially been scheduled to land earlier.
They’re airborne! Tu-160s 94102 & 94112 are on their way to Waterkloof, South Africa. Will confirm the ETA once I have it, but expected arrival is between 3pm and 4pm SAST. https://t.co/PuXY9DoX1h
Notice to aircraft spotters in South Africa: You're going to get the rare chance to see two Tu-160s, an Il-62, and an An-124 arriving in Tshwane, as part of an historic visit by the Russian Air Force to the South African Air Force. Interesting diplomatic move by Russia too. pic.twitter.com/ZJsBqYenKN
“The military-to-military relations between the two countries are not solely built on struggle politics but rather on fostering mutually beneficial partnerships based on common interests,” the SANDF said. Russia’s defense ministry put out a similar statement.
The arrival of the bombers in Africa’s most industrialized nation coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting an Africa summit this week, the first such event to be organized by Russia. The nation is competing with China and the U.S. for influence in Africa.
Hong Kong’s security minister announced Wednesday the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill that has sparked months of protests in the territory. The procedure makes good a pledge to scrap the detested measure made last month by the enclave’s embattled leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
“The government has expressed several times that the work [related to the bill] had completely stopped. Now, in order to more clearly illustrate the government’s stance on the bill, I … formally announce the withdrawal of the bill,” John Lee said in the Legislative Council as pro-democracy lawmakers called for his resignation.
The formality may ease some tensions but it remains to be seen whether or not it will put an end to Hong Kong’s civil unrest, which has escalated from the initial opposition to the bill into a push for greater political freedom.
Kenneth Chan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, told TIME that the procedure was “a belated response to the growing anger of Hong Kong people, and it’s come to the point that it may no longer even be relevant in terms of calming society down.”
He added: “The protests have evolved further now. It’s not only about the law, but a full-scale governance crisis concerning police measures and the lack of political accountability of the Carrie Lam administration. For restoring trust, a proper independent investigation [into alleged police brutality] is necessary, and it would help a lot if Beijing and the Hong Kong government can consider opening the democratization process.”
Coincidentally, the man whose case was cited by the Hong Kong government as a pressing reason to implement the bill walked free from prison today.
Chan Tong-kai, 20, completed a sentence for money laundering, relating to the theft and sale of items belonging to his girlfriend, whom he reportedly confessed to murdering while on a visit to Taiwan. Hong Kong officials had consistently argued that amendments to existing extradition laws were needed in order for Chan to be returned to Taiwan to stand trial for the murder.
“The Taiwan murder case has set the clock ticking,” Lam told media in April. “We don’t want the suspect to escape.”
However, the legal amendments that the government attempted to fast track in order to render Chan to Taiwan also contained provisions for the extradition of suspects to several other jurisdictions, including, for the first time, mainland China.
Critics feared that the Chinese Communist Party would use the new measure to round up dissidents other political opponents in Hong Kong, which was retroceded to China in 1997 after 156 years as a British colony. Hongkongers marched in their millions to voice their displeasure at what they saw as a violation of the semi-autonomous enclave’s cherished freedoms, and the city has been in crisis ever since.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Baghdad Wednesday, as chaos swirled along the Turkey-Syria border and Iraqi leaders chafed over reports the U.S. may want to increase the number of troops based in Iraq at least temporarily.
Esper has said that under the current plan, all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence in the region. He later added that the troops would be there temporarily until they are able to go home, but no time period has been set. He said Wednesday that the U.S. has no plans to leave those troops in Iraq “interminably.”
Iraq’s military, however, said Tuesday that U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to stay in the country, even as the American forces continue to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion of the border region. Esper said Wednesday he plans to talk with Iraqi leaders about the matter.
Meanwhile, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement on Tuesday that would deploy their forces across nearly its entire northeastern border to fill the void left by President Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces. It was unclear Wednesday what that means for U.S. forces.
Trump ordered the bulk of the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria to withdraw after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear in a phone call that his forces were about to invade Syria to push back Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists. The pullout largely abandons the Kurdish allies who have fought the Islamic State group alongside U.S. troops for several years. Between 200 and 300 U.S. troops will remain at the southern Syrian outpost of Al-Tanf.
Esper said the troops going into Iraq would have two missions, one to help defend Iraq against a resurgence of Islamic State militants and another to monitor and perform a counter-IS mission.
The U.S. currently has more than 5,000 American forces in Iraq, under an agreement between the two countries. The U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq in 2011 when combat operations there ended, but they went back in after the Islamic State group began to take over large swaths of the country in 2014.
The number of American forces in Iraq has remained small due to political sensitivities in the country, after years of what some Iraqis consider U.S. occupation during the war that began in 2003. Iraqi leaders may privately condone more U.S. forces to battle IS, but worry if it’s widely known that there will be backlash from the citizens.
U.S. troops in Syria fought for five years alongside Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria and succeeded in bringing down the rule of the Islamic State group there at the cost of thousands of Kurdish fighters’ lives. Under the new agreement, much of that territory would be handed over to U.S. rivals.
The biggest winners are Turkey and Russia. Turkey would get sole control over areas of the Syrian border captured in its invasion, while Turkish, Russian and Syrian government forces would oversee the rest of the border region. America’s former U.S. allies, the Kurdish fighters, are left hoping Moscow and Damascus will preserve some pieces of their autonomy dreams.
Hong Kong’s embattled leader is to resign and be replaced under a plan being mooted by the Chinese government, according a Financial Times report citing unnamed sources.
The report, which comes as anti-government unrest in the enclave enters its fifth month, says an “interim” chief executive will replace Carrie Lam for the remainder of her term and be installed by March, if the proposal is given the go-ahead from China’s authoritarian president Xi Jinping.
The assertion was greeted with skepticism by at least one commentator, who said that under Hong Kong’s constitution, Lam could only be replaced by her deputy, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, pending fresh elections—unless Beijing intended to overturn that stipulation.
Claims of Lam’s possible ouster comes a month after an audio recording leaked by Reuters captured her saying that she wanted to step down. “For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable,” she said. “If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit.”
Lam, however, has also denied that she has wants to step down, and has reiterated several times that she has both the responsibility and the determination to lead Hong Kong out of political chaos.
The sources spoken to by the FT say leading candidates to succeed Lam include Norman Chan, the former head of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, and tycoon Henry Tang. The latter previously campaigned to be Hong Kong’s leader but became mired in an ethics scandal after lavish but illegal architectural modifications were found at his opulent residence.
Willy Lam, adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Center for China Studies, says the resignation of Carrie Lam would help to diffuse the tensions in the short term.
“[Her stepping down] could go some ways to repair the damage,” he told TIME. “It could improve the situation as she has already lost the trust of Hong Kong people.”
The professor added that Beijing faced a difficult situation as it had to find somebody who would strike a tone of reconciliation and be accepted among different groups, but who would also be “a pure puppet who would toe the line a hundred percent.”
In the long term, he said the crisis can only be resolved “if the new person can introduce changes such as reviving the discussion on political reform.”
The suspect whose murder case was used as justification to introduce an extradition bill that triggered months of protest in Kong Kong was released from a Hong Kong prison on Wednesday morning, amid a diplomatic row with Taiwan over what to do with him next.
Speaking outside the prison, where he had been serving a sentence on money laundering charges, Chan Tong-kai, 20, bowed and apologized to the people of Hong Kong and the victim’s family.
“To society, I can only say sorry,” Chan said on live news broadcasts of his release. “I hope for people’s forgiveness. I hope that people can give me a chance to live again, give me a chance to pay back society.”
Chan confirmed his plans to surrender to authorities in Taiwan, where he is accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend. “I am willing to turn myself in for my impulse, the wrong things I’ve done, and serve sentence and be tried in Taiwan.”
He left the prison in a white van, accompanied by an Anglican priest who had been visiting him in prison. It is not yet known when Chan plans to return to Taiwan.
His release has sparked a dispute between Hong Kong and Taiwan on how to handle his surrender. In the early morning hours Tuesday, the Hong Kong government issued a statement rejecting Taiwan’s request to send officials to Hong Kong to escort Chan back to Taipei. Hong Kong wants Chan to travel to Taiwan himself and turn himself in informally.
At stake is the hugely sensitive issue of Taiwan’s status. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province; self-governing Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign nation.
If Hong Kong were to allow Taiwanese law enforcement officials to land and take custody of Chan, it could be seen as a de facto extradition agreement with a foreign power, and thus a tacit recognition that Taiwan is not part of the ‘One China’ that Beijing insists it is.
Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, used Chan’s murder case to justify the fast-track introduction of a bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to jurisdictions where Hong Kong did not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan but more controversially mainland China.
The proposed legislation was met with mass opposition in Hong Kong, after critics argued that Beijing would use the measure to round-up its political opponents in the semi-autonomous territory. A series of peaceful mass marches beginning in June morphed into frequent, violent protests, with protesters now calling for greater political freedom and repudiating Beijing’s sovereignty over the former British colony.
The extradition bill is expected to be formally withdrawn by the city’s legislature on Wednesday.
(ANKARA, Turkey) — As the leaders of Russia and Turkey sought to work out the fate of the Syrian border region, the United States ran into a new hitch in getting its troops out of Syria, with neighboring Iraq’s military saying Tuesday that the American forces did not have permission to stay on its territory.
The Iraqi announcement seemed to contradict U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who a day earlier said the forces leaving Syria would deploy in Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.
The conflicting signals underscored how the United States has stumbled from one problem to another in getting its troops out of Syria after President Donald Trump abruptly ordered their withdrawal. Amid fears the Americans’ departure will revive IS, Esper is considering keeping some troops in Syria to protect oil fields held by Kurdish-led fighters, backing away from the full withdrawal first touted by Trump.
After the Iraqi statement, Esper said he would speak to the Iraqi defense minister on Wednesday and underlined that the U.S. has no plans to keep the troops in Iraq “interminably” and intends to “eventually get them home.”
The U.S. pullout opened the door for Turkey to launch its offensive against Kurdish fighters on Oct. 9. After a storm of criticism, Washington moved to broker a five-day cease-fire that was set to expire Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Russia has stepped into the void to strengthen its role as a power broker in Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin held talks in the Black Sea town of Sochi just hours before the cease-fire was set to expire.
The talks are likely to be crucial in determining arrangements along the Syrian-Turkish border, where Ankara demands a long “safe zone” cleared of Kurdish fighters.
Seeking protection after being abandoned by the Americans, the Kurds turned to the Syrian government and its main ally, Russia. The Syrian army has advanced into parts of the area, and Russia deployed its troops in some areas to act as a buffer force.
Russia has powerful sway on all sides. Turkey has suggested it wants Russia to persuade the Syrian government to cede it control over a major chunk of territory in the northeast. The Kurds are hoping Russia can keep Turkey out and help preserve some of the autonomy they carved out for themselves during Syria’s civil war.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has vowed to reunite all the territory under Damascus’ rule. On Tuesday, Assad called Erdogan “a thief” and said he was ready to support any “popular resistance” against Turkey’s invasion.
“We are in the middle of a battle and the right thing to do is to rally efforts to lessen the damages from the invasion and to expel the invader sooner or later,” he told troops during a visit to the northwestern province of Idlib.
The immediate question was the fate of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire, which was to run out at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) Tuesday evening.
Erdogan said 1,300 Syrian Kurdish fighters had yet to vacate a stretch of the border as required under the deal. He said 800 fighters had left so far. The Kurdish-led force has said it will carry out the pullout.
If it doesn’t, Erdogan warned Tuesday, “our offensive will continue from where it left off, with a much greater determination.”
“There is no place for the (Kurdish fighters) in Syria’s future. We hope that with Russia’s cooperation, we will rid the region of separatist terror,” he said.
Under the accord, the Kurdish fighters are to vacate a stretch of territory roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) wide and 30 kilometers (20 miles) deep between the Syrian border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.
But that leaves the situation in the rest of the northeastern border unclear. Currently, other than the few places where Syrian troops have deployed, they are solely in the hands of the Kurdish-led fighters — a situation Ankara has repeatedly said it cannot tolerate. Turkey considers the fighters terrorists, because of their links to Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey.
Turkey wants to control a “safe zone” extending more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) along the border, from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border. There, it plans to resettle about 2 million of the roughly 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.
Russia sent a new signal to Turkey about the need to negotiate directly with Assad. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that only Damascus could authorize the Turkish troop presence on the Syrian territory.
Assad’s visit Tuesday with Syrian forces in Idlib province underlined Damascus’ goal of regaining the border. Idlib is adjacent to a border enclave that Turkey captured several years ago in another incursion. Turkey also has observation points inside Idlib, negotiated with Russia, to monitor a cease-fire there between the government and opposition fighters and jihadi groups.
Erdogan is “a thief,” Assad told the troops. “He stole the factories and the wheat and the oil in cooperation with Daesh (the Islamic State group) and now is stealing the land.”
He said his government had offered clemency to Kurdish fighters — whom it considers separatists — to “ensure that everyone is ready to resist the aggression” and fight the Turkish assault.
Syrian state media reported, meanwhile, that government forces entered new areas in Hassakeh province at the far eastern end of the border, under the arrangement with the Kurds.
Turkey’s incursion into Syria has led to an international outcry, which has in turn enraged Erdogan, who has accused his NATO allies of not standing by Turkey.
European Council President Donald Tusk condemned the incursion and called on Turkey — which is a candidate for EU membership — to pull out troops.
“No one is fooled by the so-called cease-fire,” Tusk told EU lawmakers. Any course other than a Turkish withdrawal “means unacceptable suffering, a victory for Daesh (the Islamic State group), and a serious threat to European security.”
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer proposed the establishment of an internationally controlled security zone in Syria, “with the inclusion of Turkey and Russia.”
An American Airlines flight from London, U.K., to Philadelphia, U.S., had to make an unscheduled stop in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday because of an odor caused by a spilled cleaning fluid that led three people to go to the hospital, American Airlines confirmed to TIME.
Flight 729 landed safely in Dublin at 1:15 p.m. “Two crew members and one customer were taken to the hospital for evaluation. All were released yesterday,” a spokesperson for the airline told TIME in a statement.
The airport webcam streaming site AirportWebcams.net published audio that American Airlines confirmed to TIME is a recording of the air traffic control communication from Saturday.
In the audio, someone who appears to the pilot can be heard saying the chemical that spilled was a cleaning product used at London Heathrow that had seeped into the carpet. “I am told it is not a toxic substance,” the voice is heard saying.
The voice is also heard saying they require paramedics to board the plane and “render immediate assistance,” adding that two crew members lost consciousness, but he thinks they since regained consciousness. The speaker added that people on board complained about “burning eyes” and skin problems.
ATC AUDIO: American #AA729 incident on board involving cleaning fluid spillage causing unconsciousness and irritations on board (LHR-PHL, diverted to DUB): https://t.co/Q5mYxetVSX |
High, cement blast walls surrounding the United Nations offices in central Beirut are covered with anti-government graffiti. “Down with the rule of the mafia,” is spray-painted next to the word “revolution.” The names of every member of the Lebanese parliament are on the blast wall. The word “thief” is written below each name. Nearby, a crowd chants the same, “ thieves, thieves.”
Lebanese protesters say their politicians have stolen tens, or even hundreds, of billions of dollars from them, aided by laws that allow bank secrecy. Hundreds of thousands of them have taken to the streets over the last six days, in the biggest protests to sweep the country in over a decade. Here’s what to know.
Myriam BoulosPeople from all backgrounds protesting in Beirut on Oct. 18, 2019.
How did the protests start?
The demonstrations began Thursday after the government announced new taxes, including a $6 monthly fee on calls on free messaging apps like WhatsApp, unleashing anger against decades of corruption, government mismanagement and nepotism.
In the first days, mostly young men swarmed around on scooters smashing shop windows and lighting fires in the middle of the street, as they chanted against the government. But by Saturday, that had given way to a festive, but still defiant, atmosphere. Men and women of all ages, class and religions sang patriotic ballad as fireworks burst above.
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands came out in the largest day of protests across the country.
Myriam BoulosYoung men smashing shop windows on the first day of protests in Beirut on Oct. 18, 2019.
What do the protesters want?
The proposed tax was scrapped just hours after the protests started, but demonstrations continued.
Lebanon’s economy is stagnating and the country has one of the world’s highest debt to GDP ratios. Economists have warned of a complete economic collapse. In recent weeks, banks have restricted the withdrawal of U.S. dollars.
International donors have pledged to help Lebanon reduce the debt and the government has promised reforms to bring down expenditures.
The protests seem to be a leaderless uprising with one common objective—bringing down the government. No politician has been spared the ire of the protesters, but one, the foreign minister Gibran Bassil has been the target of the protesters’ most popular chant—“Hela, Hela, Hela Hela Ho, Gibran Bassil kes emmo.” Literally translated, it’s a crude reference to his mother’s genitals, but here it essentially means, “f—k him.” Even outside of the protests, youth hum the tune, and patrons in cafés spontaneously join in. “This is a next-level insult,” says protester Michael Chamoun, 29. “That’s how angry the people are.”
Before being appointed foreign minister, Bassil served as the country’s Minister of Energy and Water. In 2012, was a popular hashtag #BlameBassil. Lebanese aired their grievances about the country’s shortage of water and daily electricity cuts. But he’s also known for his anti-refugee rhetoric, pledging to return Syrian refugees back across the border. “He’s not the only target,” Chamoun says. “We want to get rid of all [the politicians].”
Myriam BoulosYoung men on a motorcycle at a mass protest in Beirut on Oct. 18, 2019.
Scrawled on walls across Beirut in Arabic are the words: “Everyone means everyone.”
“We want them all to go out of the country, but before they go, we need our money,” says 40-year-old Nour Swaidan, pledging to continue the protest. “We need all the money that they stole.”
When were the last protests in Lebanon?
The last time Lebanese took to the street in such large numbers was after the assassination of then-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. Many blamed occupying Syrian forces and hundreds of thousands filled Martyrs’ Square. In April 2005, the Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon. Those demonstrations were led by some of the very politicians being cursed in the chants and tweets of protesters today.
A decade later, garbage piling up on the country’s streets brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets of Beirut. The government announced several plans to address the garbage crisis, but the country still lacks a sustainable waste management plan.
This week’s protests are larger and spread across the country, from the northern city of Tripoli, down to Tyre in the south.
Myriam BoulosClose-up of a protester in Beirut on Oct. 20, 2019.Myriam BoulosNour, Nour and Farah attend a mass protest in Beirut on Oct. 18, 2019.
How has the government responded?
On Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a package of reforms include halving politicians’ salaries, assistance for poor families, creating a body to fight corruption and improvements to the country’s dilapidated electricity infrastructure. It also included a pledge to recover stolen public funds.
“Your movement is what led to these decisions that you see today,” Hariri said. Protesters watched Hariri’s speech near the city’s iconic blue domed mosque named after his father Rafik Hariri, who also served as Prime Minister and was assassinated in 2005.
The political parties now controlling the Lebanese government have dominated for decades, since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990. Most of the main party leaders today were warlords themselves. And often, when they leave office, their son or relative takes over.
Chants of “Revolution, revolution” erupted as Hariri finished and more people descended on Martyrs’ Square holding Lebanese flags and chanting “the people want the fall of the regime.”
Myriam BoulosMen dance at a protest in Beirut on Oct. 20, 2019.
Will the protests carry on?
People were back in the streets on Tuesday. Most here say they don’t trust their politicians. “There is a saying, ‘fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me,” says protester Ghassan Arbid. He says the Lebanese government has promised changes before and not followed through.
On the protest-filled street leading to the country’s parliament last night—a woman sat at a table, inviting demonstrators to suggest names for a transitional council for the country. The names laid-out on the table included a few former MPs, seen by some as outside the system. Some people struggled to come-up with names, jokingly suggesting relatives.
Demonstrations in Lebanon are often called for by party leaders and people come to the street carrying party and sectarian flags. Some protesters say these leaders have fostered sectarian divisions to help keep them scared and oppressed.
But this time is different, just a sea of Lebanon’s cedar-crested flags carried by protesters. “The Lebanese people are one,” a man chants on a megaphone. “The Lebanese people are one,” the crowd responds.
Myriam BoulosCrowd singing the national anthem at a protest in Beirut on Oct. 21, 2019.
Protests seem to have risen above the divides that caused so much turmoil in the past, rejecting their sectarian leaders and the system that has kept them in power.
“They think the people are herds of sheep,” says a man who gave his name only as Bashara. “But they don’t understand. The people aren’t sheep anymore.”
Prince William is “worried” about his brother after he talked about his mental health in a TV documentary, a Kensington Palace source told the BBC on Tuesday October 22.
BBC Royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said he heard from one “very good source” that Prince William was “furious” with his younger brother for doing the interview, in which he and his wife Meghan Markle, 38, spoke out about their struggle to live under a global spotlight. One other source from Buckingham Palace told BBC they hadn’t seen any such fury and that the Duke of Cambridge was clearly “worried” about his brother, and hoped Harry and his wife Meghan “are all right.” There was a view that the couple were “in a fragile place,” the palace source added.
During the hour-long ITV documentary Harry and Meghan: An African JourneyPrince Harry, 35, described his mental health and the way he deals with the pressures of his life as a matter of “constant management.” He also addressed the rumors of a rift between himself and his older brother, the “majority” of which “are created out of nothing,” he said.
“We’re certainly on different paths at the moment […] I’ll always be there for him and as I know, he’ll always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy but I love him dearly,” he said in the program that aired in Sunday in the U.K. and will air in the U.S. on Wednesday, October 23, at 10 p.m. ET, on ABC.
'As brothers you have good days, you have bad days'
Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan In Their Own Words told The Scotsman, “There’s no doubt the Queen and other royals are very worried about the direction Harry and Meghan are taking and it’s very serious.” A spokeswoman for Kensington Palace, however, declined to comment on the reports.
The royal brothers previously campaigned together to raise awareness about mental health. In May this year, the Cambridges and the Sussexes teamed up to launch a text messaging service “Shout” for those experiencing a mental health crisis. The couples later announced their charitable foundation would split, but vowed to carry on working together on issues like mental health.
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ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ರಾಜಧಾನಿ ದೆಹಲಿಯ ಸಮೀಪವಿರುವ ಗಾಜಿಯಾಬಾದ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ದೀಪಾವಳಿಗೂ ಮೊದಲು ಗೂಬೆಗಳ ಕಳ್ಳಸಾಗಣೆ ಬಹಿರಂಗವಾಗಿದೆ. ತಪಾಸಣೆಯ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಜಿಯಾಬಾದ್ನ ಇಂದಿರಾಪುರಂ ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಅಪರೂಪ ಜಾತಿಯ ಐದು ಗೂಬೆಗಳನ್ನು ವಶಕ್ಕೆ ಪಡೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕಳ್ಳಸಾಗಣೆ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದ ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಬಂಧಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಇಬ್ಬರು ಗಾಜಿಯಾಬಾದ್ ಮೂಲದವರು ಎನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ. ದೀಪಾವಳಿ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ವಿದ್ಯಗೆ ಗೂಬೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಂತ್ರ ಗೂಬೆಯನ್ನು ಬಲಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಗೂಬೆಗಳ ಕಳ್ಳಸಾಗಣೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಎಂದು ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಪೊಲೀಸರು ವಶಕ್ಕೆ ಪಡೆದ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಗೂಬೆಗಳ ಬೆಲೆ ಅಂತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ 1 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಇದೆ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಬಂಧನದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಯುವಕರ ವಿಚಾರಣೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಗೂಬೆ ಖರೀದಿಗೆ ಆರ್ಡರ್ ನೀಡಿದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕಲೆ ಹಾಕಲಾಗ್ತಿದೆ. ಪ್ರತಿ ವರ್ಷವೂ ದೀಪಾವಳಿ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಗೂಬೆಗಳ ಕಳ್ಳಸಾಗಣೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.
ಜಾಹ್ನವಿ ಕಪೂರ್ ಡ್ರೆಸ್ಸಿಂಗ್ ಸೆನ್ಸ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮೆಚ್ಚುಗೆ ಕೇಳಿ ಬರ್ತಾನೇ ಇದೆ. ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಉಡುಪಿನಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು ಮಾಡರ್ನ್ ಡ್ರೆಸ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೀದೇವಿ ಪುತ್ರಿ ಸಖತ್ ಚೂಸಿ. ತಮಗೊಪ್ಪುವಂತಹ ಧಿರಿಸುಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಜಾಹ್ನವಿ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದ್ರೀಗ ಜಾಹ್ನವಿಯ ಹೊಸ ಲುಕ್ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ರೋಲ್ ಗೆ ತುತ್ತಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಹಳದಿ ಚೂಡಿದಾರ್ ಧರಿಸಿದ್ದ ಜಾಹ್ನವಿ ಪೈಲೆಟ್ಸ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಬಳಿ ಫೋಟೋಗ್ರಾಫರ್ ಗಳ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಗಡಿಬಿಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಟೀಮಣಿ ಡ್ರೆಸ್ ಗಿದ್ದ ಪ್ರೈಸ್ ಟ್ಯಾಗ್ ತಗೆಯೋದನ್ನು ಮರೆತೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ರು. ದುಪ್ಪಟ್ಟಾದ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೈಸ್ ಟ್ಯಾಗ್ ಹಾಗೇ ನೇತಾಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಇದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ಜಾಹ್ನವಿಗೆ ಟ್ರೋಲ್ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಸದ್ಯ ಶ್ರೀದೇವಿ ಪುತ್ರಿ ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಫುಲ್ ಬ್ಯುಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸುಮಾರು 4 ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಟಿಸ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬ್ಯುಸಿ ಶೆಡ್ಯೂಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೈಸ್ ಟ್ಯಾಗ್ ತೆಗೆಯೋದನ್ನು ಮರೆತಿರಬಹುದು ಅನ್ನೋದು ಕೆಲವರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ.
ವಿರಾಟ್ ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ ಟೀಂ ಇಂಡಿಯಾದ ಯಶಸ್ವಿ ನಾಯಕ, ಅತ್ಯದ್ಭುತ ಬ್ಯಾಟ್ಸ್ ಮನ್. ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ ಯಶಸ್ಸಿನ ಗುಟ್ಟೇನು ಗೊತ್ತಾ? ಫಿಟ್ನೆಸ್. ಹೌದು ವಿರಾಟ್ ಈ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಧನೆ ಮಾಡ್ತಿರೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಅವರ ಫಿಟ್ನೆಸ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಡಯಟ್. ಖುದ್ದು ಕೊಹ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇದನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ತಾರೆ. ಗುಂಡಗೆ ಚಬ್ಬಿ ಚಬ್ಬಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದ ವಿರಾಟ್ ಈಗ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಬದಲಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಈ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗೆ ಕಾರಣ ಅವರ ಆಹಾರ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರೋದು. ನಾನ್ ವೆಜ್ ಪ್ರಿಯರಾಗಿದ್ದ ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ ಶುದ್ಧ ಸಸ್ಯಾಹಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬದಲಾಗಿರೋದು. ನೆಟ್ ಫ್ಲಿಕ್ಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ 'ಗೇಮ್ ಚೇಂಜರ್ಸ್' ಅನ್ನೋ ಡಾಕ್ಯುಮೆಂಟರಿ ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿದ ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕಮೆಂಟ್ ಸಹ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
”ಡಯಟ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಾನೇನೂ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ನೋ ಅದ್ಯಾವುದೂ ಸತ್ಯವಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಸಸ್ಯಾಹಾರಿಯಾದ್ಮೇಲೆ ನನಗೆ ಅರಿವಾಯ್ತು, ಸಸ್ಯಾಹಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬದಲಾಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೆಂದೂ ಇಂತಹ ಅತ್ಯದ್ಭುತ ಫೀಲಿಂಗ್ ನನ್ನಲ್ಲಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ'' ಅಂತಾ ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಗೇಮ್ ಚೇಂಜರ್ಸ್, 2018ರಲ್ಲಿ ಜೇಮ್ಸ್ ಕೆಮರೊನ್ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದ್ದ ಡಾಕ್ಯುಮೆಂಟರಿ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಥ್ಲೀಟ್ ಗಳ ಡಯಟ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ.
Saw game changers on Netflix. Being a vegetarian athlete has made me realise what I have believed all these years regarding diet was a myth. What an amazing documentary and yes I've never felt better in my life after I turned vegetarian.
ಅನೇಕ ಸೆಕ್ಟರ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡ್ತಿರುವ ಐಟಿಸಿ ಕಂಪನಿ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಪ್ರಿಯರಿಗೆ ಸಂತೋಷದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ನೀಡಿದೆ. ವಿಶ್ವದ ದುಬಾರಿ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಈ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಬೆಲೆ ಪ್ರತಿ ಕೆ.ಜಿ.ಗೆ 4.3 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಎಂದು ಕಂಪನಿ ಹೇಳಿದೆ.
ಐಟಿಸಿ ತನ್ನ ಫೇಬಲ್ ಬ್ರಾಂಡ್ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸಿದೆ. ಇದು ಗಿನ್ನೆಸ್ ದಾಖಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಿದೆ. 2012ರಲ್ಲಿ ಡೆನ್ಮಾಕ್ ನ Fritz Knipschildt ಅತ್ಯಂತ ದುಬಾರಿ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರು ಪಡೆದಿತ್ತು. ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳ ವರದಿ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಈ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಬೆಲೆ 3.39 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂಪಾಯಿ.
ಐಟಿಸಿ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ವಿಶ್ವದಾದ್ಯಂತ ಲಭ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ವ್ಯವಹಾರ ಲಾಭದಾಯವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಫೇಬಲ್ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಗೆ ಆರ್ಡರ್ ನೀಡಬೇಕೆಂದು ಕಂಪನಿ ಹೇಳಿದೆ. ಮರದ ಪೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗುವ 15 ಗ್ರಾಂ ಚಾಕೋಲೇಟ್ ಬೆಲೆ 1 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಎಂದು ಕಂಪನಿ ಹೇಳಿದೆ. ಐಟಿಸಿ ಫೇಬಲ್ ಬ್ರಾಂಡ್ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ 2016 ರಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೀಮಿಯಂ ಚಾಕೊಲೇಟ್ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಕಂಪನಿಯು ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರೀಮಿಯಂ ಚಾಕೊಲೇಟ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಐಷಾರಾಮಿ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ವಿಶ್ವದ ಇತರ ದೊಡ್ಡ ನಗರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾರಾಟ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ದೀಪಾವಳಿಗೂ ಮುನ್ನ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಚೀನಾದ ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಿದೆ. ಈ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಸೋಮವಾರ ಕಸ್ಟಮ್ಸ್ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಆಯುಕ್ತರು ನೋಟಿಸ್ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳ ಆಮದನ್ನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯು ಚೀನೀ ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡರೆ, ಮಾರಾಟ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಅಥವಾ ಪಟಾಕಿ ಸುಟ್ಟರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕಸ್ಟಮ್ಸ್ ಆಕ್ಟ್ 1962 ರ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆಯಾಗಲಿದೆ.
ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಹೊರಡಿಸಿರುವ ಈ ನೋಟಿಸ್ನಲ್ಲಿ, ಚೀನಾದ ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಆಮದು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತೀಯ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವುಗಳ ಮಾರಾಟ ಕಳವಳಕಾರಿ ಸಂಗತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಚೀನೀ ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳನ್ನು ಆಮದು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ನಿರ್ಬಂಧವಿದೆ.
ಚೀನಾದ ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳ ಬಳಕೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಸ್ಫೋಟಕ ನಿಯಮಗಳು 2008 ಗೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇದು ಹಾನಿಕಾರಕವಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ನೊಟೀಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸೀಸ, ತಾಮ್ರ, ಆಕ್ಸೈಡ್ ಮತ್ತು ಲಿಥಿಯಂನಂತಹ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧಿತ ರಾಸಾಯನಿಕಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ರಾಸಾಯನಿಕಗಳು ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ಪರಿಸರಕ್ಕೂ ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ.
ಪಟಾಕಿಗಳ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಲೇಬಲ್ ನೋಡಿ ಪಟಾಕಿ ಖರೀದಿ ಮಾಡಿ. ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ ಚೀನಾ ಪಟಾಕಿ ಮಾರಾಟ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ರೆ 044-25246800 ಗೆ ಕರೆ ಮಾಡಿ ದೂರು ನೀಡಬಹುದು.
ದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ 50 ವರ್ಷದ ಮಹಿಳೆಯೊಬ್ಬಳ ಕೊಲೆ ರಹಸ್ಯವನ್ನು ಒಂದು ತಿಂಗಳ ಬಳಿಕ ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಬೇಧಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ತಾಯಿಯನ್ನೇ ಕೊಂದಿದ್ದ 22 ವರ್ಷದ ಮಗನಿಗೆ ಕೋಳ ತೊಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬಂಧಿತ ಯುವಕ ಆಶುತೋಷ್ ಡ್ರಗ್ಸ್ ಚಟಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದ. ಹಣ ಕೊಡುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರತಿದಿನ ತಾಯಿಯನ್ನು ಪೀಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ.
ಸಪ್ಟೆಂಬರ್ 17ರಂದು ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದವನೇ ಹಣ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ತಾಯಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಾದೇವಿ ಹಣ ಕೊಡಲು ಒಪ್ಪದೇ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಕುಟ್ಟಾಣಿಯಿಂದ ಅವಳ ತಲೆಗೆ ಹೊಡೆದು ಪರಾರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಮಹಿಳೆ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾಹೀನಳಾಗಿ ಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ಲು. ಆಕೆಯ ಮತ್ತೋರ್ವ ಮಗ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ದಾಖಲು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದ, 4 ದಿನಗಳ ಬಳಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಾದೇವಿ ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಳು.
ಈ ಘಟನೆ ಬಳಿಕ ಆಶುತೋಷ್ ನಾಪತ್ತೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದ. ಗಡ್ಡ ಮೀಸೆ ಬೆಳೆಸಿಕೊಂಡು ತನ್ನ ಗೆಟಪ್ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ. ಭಿಕ್ಷುಕನ ವೇಷ ಧರಿಸಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಬಸ್, ರೈಲು ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ, ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಆವರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಈತನ ಸುಳಿವು ಸಿಕ್ಕಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡುವಂತೆ ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಕರಪತ್ರ ಹಂಚಿದ್ದರು. ಕೊನೆಗೂ ಉತ್ತರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಮೋದಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಂತಕ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದಾನೆ.
ಮ್ಯಾಚ್ ಫಿಕ್ಸಿಂಗ್ ಆರೋಪದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಾಲ್ವರು ಆಟಗಾರರ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಷೇಧ ಹೇರಿರುವ ಯುಎಇಗೆ ಈಗ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹೊಡೆತ ಬಿದ್ದಿದೆ. ಯುಎಇ ವಿಕೆಟ್ ಕೀಪರ್ ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ತಮ್ಮ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ದೇಶವನ್ನೇ ತೊರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ವರದಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಯುಎಇ ತೊರೆದು ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರು ದೇಶ ತೊರೆಯಲು ಕಾರಣ ಇನ್ನೂ ತಿಳಿದುಬಂದಿಲ್ಲ.
ಅಬುಧಾಬಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಟಿ 20 ವಿಶ್ವಕಪ್ ಅರ್ಹತಾ ಪಂದ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಆಡಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಹಾಂಕಾಂಗ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧದ ಪಂದ್ಯ ಆರಂಭಕ್ಕೂ ಮೊದಲೇ ಆಟಗಾರ ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ.
ವರದಿಯ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಹಾಂಕಾಂಗ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧದ ಪಂದ್ಯದ ಮೊದಲು ಸೋಮವಾರ ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ 11 ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ತಂಡದ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮಂಗಳವಾರ ಹಾಂಕಾಂಗ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧದ ಪಂದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೈದಾನಕ್ಕಿಳಿಯದ ಕಾರಣ ತಂಡ ಪಂದ್ಯ ಸೋಲಬೇಕಾಯ್ತು. ಸದ್ಯ ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಬಹಿರಂಗವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಗುಲಾಮ್ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ನಾಪತ್ತೆಯಾದ್ಮೇಲೆ ತಂಡದ ಸದಸ್ಯರು ಸಂಬಂಧಿಕರು ಹಾಗೂ ಪಾಲಕರನ್ನು ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ವೇಳೆ ಶಬ್ಬೀರ್ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿದ್ದಾರೆಂಬ ಸಂಗತಿ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿದೆ.
ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ರಣವೀರ್ ಸಿಂಗ್ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಫುಲ್ ಆ್ಯಕ್ಟಿವ್ ಆಗಿರೋ ಜೋಡಿ. ಪರಸ್ಪರರ ಕಾಲೆಳೆಯುತ್ತ, ತಮಾಷೆಯ ಕಮೆಂಟ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಹರಿಬಿಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರ್ತಾರೆ ದೀಪ್ ವೀರ್. ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ಕೂಡ ಇದನ್ನ ನೋಡಿ ಫನ್ನಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಮೆಂಟ್ ಮಾಡೋದು ಮಾಮೂಲಾಗ್ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ.
ಈ ಜೋಡಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿರೋ ಫನ್ನಿ ಫೋಟೋ ಒಂದನ್ನು ಖುದ್ದು ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಶೇರ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. MAMI ಫಿಲ್ಮ್ ಫೆಸ್ಟಿವಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಧರಿಸಿದ್ದ ಪಿಂಕ್ ಡ್ರೆಸ್ ಅನ್ನು ಕ್ಯಾಂಡಿಯಂತೆ ಎಡಿಟ್ ಮಾಡಿರೋ ಫ್ಯಾನ್ಸ್, ಅದನ್ನು ರಣವೀರ್ ಕೈಯ್ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡಿರುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ದೀಪಿಕಾ, ರಣವೀರ್ ಸಿಂಗ್ ರ ಫೇವರಿಟ್ ಕ್ಯಾಂಡಿ ಅಂತಾ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಹಿಂದೆಯೂ ಹಲವು ಬಾರಿ ಇಂತಹ ತಮಾಷೆಯಾಗಿರೋ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಇನ್ ಸ್ಟಾಗ್ರಾಮ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇರ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ಸದ್ಯ ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಹಾಗೂ ರಣವೀರ್, '83' ಎಂಬ ಸಿನೆಮಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ನಟಿಸ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಣವೀರ್ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಪಿಲ್ ದೇವ್ ಪಾತ್ರ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ರೆ, ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಅವರ ಪತ್ನಿ ರೋಮಿ ಭಾಟಿಯಾ ಪಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಭಿನಯಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ದೀಪಾವಳಿ ವೇಳೆ ಪಟಾಕಿ ಸಿಡಿಸುವ ಖುಷಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ ಜಾಗರೂಕರಾಗಿ. ದೀಪಾವಳಿ ಸಂಭ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಟಾಕಿ ಸಿಡಿಸಿ ಕಂಬಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಸೇರಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಭಾರಿ ದಂಡವನ್ನು ಪಾವತಿಸಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಪರಿಸರ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕಾಯ್ದೆಯಡಿ, ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯಕಾರರಿಗೆ ಐದರಿಂದ ಏಳು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಜೈಲು ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ವಿಧಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ದಂಡ ವಿಧಿಸಬಹುದು.
ಪರಿಸರ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕಾಯ್ದೆ ಮತ್ತು ವಾಯುಮಾಲಿನ್ಯ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣ ಕಾಯ್ದೆಯನ್ನು ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತರಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಗಾಳಿಯು ಕಲುಷಿತವಾಗದಂತೆ ತಡೆಯುವುದು ಇದರ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಾ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣ ಮಂಡಳಿ, ರಾಜ್ಯ ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣ ಮಂಡಳಿ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಹಸಿರು ನ್ಯಾಯಮಂಡಳಿ ರಚಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ವರ್ಷ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ವಿಧಿಸಲು ಮತ್ತು ಆತನ ಮೇಲೆ 10 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳ ದಂಡ ವಿಧಿಸುವ ಹಕ್ಕು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಹಸಿರು ನ್ಯಾಯಮಂಡಳಿಗೆ ಇದೆ ಎಂದು ವಕೀಲ ಕಾಳಿಕಾ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. 10 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳ ದಂಡ ಮತ್ತು ಜೈಲು ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ನಂತ್ರವೂ ಮತ್ತೆ ನಿಯಮ ಮುರಿದ್ರೆ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ 25 ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿಯಂತೆ ದಂಡ ವಿಧಿಸಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯ ಹರಡುವ ಕಂಪನಿಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧವೂ ಕ್ರಮಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುವುದು. 25 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ದಂಡವನ್ನು ಕಂಪನಿಗಳು ತುಂಬಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಭೂಮಿಯ ಸುತ್ತಾ ಗಿರಕಿ ಹೊಡೆಯುತ್ತಾ ಆಹಾರ ಸೇವನೆ ಮಾಡುವ ಕನಸಿಗೆ ಸಾಕಾರ ರೂಪ ನೀಡಲು ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಫೋರ್ನಿಯಾದ ಗೇಟ್ವೇ ಫೌಂಡೇಶನ್ ಮುಂದೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು, 2027ರ ವೇಳಗೆ ಸ್ಪೇಸ್ ಹೋಟೆಲ್ ಆರಂಭಿಸಲು ಚಿಂತನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದೆ.
ಅಲ್ಪ ಮಟ್ಟದ ಗುರುತ್ವಾಕರ್ಷಣಾ ಬಲವನ್ನು ಉತ್ಪಾದಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಉಂಗುರದ ಆಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲಿರುವ ಈ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಾನ್ ಬ್ರಾನ್ ರೊಟೇಟಿಂಗ್ ಸ್ಪೇಸ್ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಭೂಮಿಯ ಕೆಳ ಕಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುತ್ತುವ ಈ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅತಿಥಿಗಳು ನಡೆದಾಡಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ. ರೆಸ್ಟಾರಂಟ್ಗಳು, ಜಿಮ್, ಬಾರ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಭಾಂಗಣವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಈ ಹೊಟೇಲ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಏಕಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ 100 ಮಂದಿ ಸೇರಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವ ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಆಪ್ತರಾಗಿರುವ ವಿಜಯ ಮುಳುಗುಂದ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಜಾರಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನಾಲಯ ಸಮನ್ಸ್ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ.
ಕೆಪಿಸಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿಯಾಗಿರುವ ಮತ್ತು ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಆಪ್ತ ವಿಜಯ ಮುಳಗುಂದ ಅಕ್ರಮ ಹಣ ವರ್ಗಾವಣೆ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಆರೋಪವಿದ್ದು, ಅವರಿಗೆ ವಿಚಾರಣೆಗೆ ಹಾಜರಾಗುವಂತೆ ಜಾರಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನಾಲಯದಿಂದ ಸಮನ್ಸ್ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಅಕ್ರಮ ಹಣ ವರ್ಗಾವಣೆ ಪ್ರಕರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಸಮನ್ಸ್ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಹಿಂದೆ ವಿಜಯ ಮುಳಗುಂದ ಅವರ ನಿವಾಸದ ಮೇಲೆ ಐಟಿ ದಾಳಿ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು. ದಾಳಿಯ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ದೊರೆತ ಹಣ, ದಾಖಲೆಗಳ ವಿಚಾರಣೆಗೆ ಹಾಜರಾಗಲು ಸಮನ್ಸ್ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸದ್ಯ ಅಕ್ರಮ ಹಣ ವರ್ಗಾವಣೆ ಆರೋಪದಡಿ ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಜೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇಂದು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ ದೆಹಲಿ ಹೈಕೋರ್ಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ಜಾಮೀನು ಅರ್ಜಿಯ ತೀರ್ಪು ಹೊರಬೀಳಲಿದೆ. ಇದೇ ವೇಳೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ಆಪ್ತ ವಿಜಯ ಮುಳಗುಂದ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಇಡಿ ಸಮನ್ಸ್ ಜಾರಿಗೊಳಿಸಿದೆ.
ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ತಿನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೂ ವೇತನ ಪಡೆಯವುದು ಅನೇಕರ ಪಾಲಿನ ಕನಸಿನ ಜಾಬ್. ಯೂಟ್ಯೂಬರ್ ಫ್ಯಾಬಿಯೋ ಮಾಟ್ಟಿಸನ್ಗೆ ಇದು ಕೇವಲ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೇ, ತಿನ್ನುವ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಇದ್ದ ಕೊರತೆಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಸರಿಪಡಿಸಿದ ದಾರಿಯೂ ಆಗಿದೆ.
ಬ್ರಿಟನ್ನ ಯೂಟ್ಯೂಬರ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರಾದ ಫ್ಯಾಬಿಯೋ, ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷಕರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂವಹನ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಾ, ಆಹಾರ ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಾ ತಮ್ಮದೇ ಫಿಲ್ಮಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಭಾಗವಾಗಿ ಪಾತ್ರ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಜನ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ತಿನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಹಿಂಜರಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ತಾನು ಇದೀಗ ಆನ್ಲೈನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹಸ್ರಾರು ಜನರು ನೋಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಲೈವ್ ಆಗಿ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಅನುಭೂತಿಯೇ ಬೇರೆಯ ರೀತಿ ಇದೆ ಎಂದು ಫ್ಯಾಬಿಯೋ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಶಾರ್ಕ್ಗಳು ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿಯಾಗಬಲ್ಲವು ಎಂಬುದು ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಿಳಿದ ವಿಚಾರವಾಗಿದೆ. ಅವುಗಳ ಹಲ್ಲುಗಳ ಗಾತ್ರವೇ ಎಂಥವರ ಮನದಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದು ಕ್ಷಣ ಭೀತಿ ಮೂಡಿಸುವಷ್ಟರ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇರುತ್ತವೆ.
ಇಂತಿಪ್ಪ ಶಾರ್ಕ್ ಒಂದರಿಂದ ಕೆಲವೇ ಅಡಿ ದೂರದಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಹೆಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಯುವಾನ್ ರನ್ನಚಾನ್ ಎಂಬ ಛಾಯಾಗ್ರಾಹಕ ಮಿಂಚಿನ ವೇಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಶಾರ್ಕ್ ಬಾಯಿ ತೆರೆದಿರುವ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಫೋಟೋವೊಂದನ್ನು ಸೆರೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿದ್ದಾನೆ.
ಮೆಕ್ಸಿಕೋ ಬಳಿಯ ಗೌಡಲುಪೇ ದ್ವೀಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆರೆ ಹಿಡಿದ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಾಗ್ರಾಂನಲ್ಲಿ ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿವೆ.
ನವದೆಹಲಿ: ತಿಹಾರ್ ಜೈಲಿಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ ಎಐಸಿಸಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷೆ ಸೋನಿಯಾಗಾಂಧಿ ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವ ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿಯಾಗಿ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಅಕ್ರಮ ಹಣ ವರ್ಗಾವಣೆ ಆರೋಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂಧಿತರಾಗಿರುವ ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ತಿಹಾರ್ ಜೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇಂದು ಅವರ ಜಾಮೀನು ಅರ್ಜಿಯ ಕುರಿತಾದ ತೀರ್ಪು ಹೊರಬೀಳಲಿದೆ. ದೆಹಲಿ ಹೈಕೋರ್ಟ್ ನಿಂದ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ 2.30 ಕ್ಕೆ ಡಿಕೆಶಿ ಜಾಮೀನು ಅರ್ಜಿ ತೀರ್ಪು ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗಲಿದೆ.
ತಿಹಾರ್ ಜೈಲಿಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದ ಎಐಸಿಸಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷೆ ಸೋನಿಯಾಗಾಂಧಿ ಡಿ.ಕೆ. ಶಿವಕುಮಾರ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಪಕ್ಷ ನಿಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಎದೆಗುಂದದೇ ಧೈರ್ಯವಾಗಿರಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಾನೂನು ಹೋರಾಟ ಮುಂದುವರೆಸಿ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಪ್ರವಾಹ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ತಲೆದೋರಿದ್ದ ಕಾರಣ ಹಂಪಿ ಉತ್ಸವ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೋ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ ಎಂಬ ಅನುಮಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಉಸ್ತುವಾರಿ ಸಚಿವ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣ ಸವದಿ ತೆರೆ ಎಳೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುವ ವೇಳೆ, ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಹಂಪಿ ಉತ್ಸವವನ್ನು 2020 ರ ಜನವರಿ 11 ಮತ್ತು 12 ರಂದು ವಿಜೃಂಭಣೆಯಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಲು ತೀರ್ಮಾನಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಉತ್ಸವ ಆಚರಣೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಡಳಿತದಿಂದ ವಿವರ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಸಚಿವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ ಬಳಿಕ ಹಣ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಲಾಗುವುದು ಎಂದು ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣ ಸವದಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಜನಸೇವೆ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಿನಾಯಿತಿ ಪಡೆದು ಜನಸೇವೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮರೆತ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ಬಿಗ್ ಶಾಕ್ ನೀಡಿದೆ.
ಜನ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನೇ ಮರೆತು ಹಣ ಪೀಕುತ್ತಿರುವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಿಂದ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಸೂಲಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ಮಹತ್ವದ ತೀರ್ಮಾನ ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಸೇವೆಯ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಿನಾಯಿತಿ ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳು, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ಹಣ ಪೀಕುತ್ತಿರುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ದೂರುಗಳು ಕೇಳಿ ಬಂದ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಸೂಲಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದು, ಕೆಎಂಸಿ ಕಾಯ್ದೆಗೆ ತಿದ್ದುಪಡಿ ತರಲು ಅನುಮೋದನೆ ಕೋರಿ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾವನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಜನಸೇವೆ ನೀಡುವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆ, ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ, ಅನಾಥಾಶ್ರಮಗಳು ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಿನಾಯಿತಿಗೆ ಒಳಪಟ್ಟಿವೆ. ಆಸ್ತಿತೆರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದ ಶೇಕಡ 25 ರಷ್ಟು ಮೊತ್ತವನ್ನು ಸೇವಾರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ, ಬಹುತೇಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳು ಉಚಿತ ಸೇವೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಿಗೆ ಜನರಿಂದ ಹಣ ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಿವೆ.
ಈ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಿನಾಯಿತಿ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ, ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಮಂಟಪ, ಸಭಾಭವನ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ತೆರಿಗೆ ವಿಧಿಸಲು ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ಮುಂದಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
'ಬಿಗ್ ಬಾಸ್' ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಪ್ಪುಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಯಾರು ಎಂಬುದೇ ಯಕ್ಷಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಕಪ್ಪುಚುಕ್ಕಿ ತನ್ನ ಕೆಲಸ ಮುಗಿಸಿದೆ. ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವ ಮೂಲಕ 'ಬಿಗ್ ಬಾಸ್' ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಗಳ ತಲೆಗೆ ಹುಳ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಆದರೆ, ತಮ್ಮ ನಡುವೆ ಇರುವವರಲ್ಲಿ ಕಪ್ಪುಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಯಾರು ಎನ್ನುವುದೇ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಪ್ಪುಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಭಾರಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಜೈಜಗದೀಶ್ ಬಳಿ ಜಗಳವಾಡಿದ್ದ ಡ್ಯಾನ್ಸರ್ ಕಿಶನ್ ಕ್ಷಮೆಯಾಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಕಿಚನ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಬೈದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಜೈಜಗದೀಶ್ ಅವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕಿಶನ್ ಜಗಳವಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ನೀನಿನ್ನು ಬಚ್ಚಾ, ನನಗೆ ಹೇಳಲು ಬರುತ್ತೀಯ ಎಂದು ಜೈಜಗದೀಶ್ ಕೂಡ ರೇಗಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ಇದಾದ ಮರುದಿನ ಕಿಶನ್ ಕ್ಷಮೆ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದು ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಸಿಟ್ಟಾಗಿದ್ದ ಜೈಜಗದೀಶ್ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಸದಸ್ಯರೆಲ್ಲರ ಸಲಹೆ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ನವೆಂಬರ್ 1ರಂದು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ದಿನದಂದು ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸುವ ಕುರಿತಂತೆ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನ ಹೊರಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಈ ಬಾರಿ 12 ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳೇ ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ರಾಜ್ಯ ರಾಜಧಾನಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಯಡಿಯೂರಪ್ಪ ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸಿದರೆ ಇನ್ನುಳಿದ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಸಚಿವರು ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ಮಾಡಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಬಾಗಲಕೋಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಗೋವಿಂದ ಕಾರಜೋಳ, ರಾಮನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥನಾರಾಯಣ, ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣ ಸವದಿ, ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಚಿವ ಕೆ.ಎಸ್. ಈಶ್ವರಪ್ಪ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಗ್ರಾಮಾಂತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಚಿವ ಆರ್. ಅಶೋಕ್, ಬೆಳಗಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜಗದೀಶ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ್, ರಾಯಚೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮುಲು, ಚಾಮರಾಜನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುರೇಶ್ ಕುಮಾರ್, ಮೈಸೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವಿ. ಸೋಮಣ್ಣ, ಚಿಕ್ಕಮಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿ.ಟಿ. ರವಿ, ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋಟ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಪೂಜಾರಿ, ಉಡುಪಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಸವರಾಜ ಬೊಮ್ಮಾಯಿ, ತುಮಕೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜೆ.ಸಿ. ಮಾಧುಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಗದಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿ.ಎಸ್. ಪಾಟೀಲ್, ಕೋಲಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್. ನಾಗೇಶ್, ಬೀದರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಭು ಚೌಹಾಣ್, ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಶಿಕಲಾ ಜೊಲ್ಲೆ ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಇನ್ನುಳಿದಂತೆ ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿ – ಧಾರವಾಡ, ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗ, ಕಲಬುರಗಿ, ಚಿಕ್ಕಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರ, ಕೊಪ್ಪಳ, ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ, ಮಂಡ್ಯ, ಕೊಡಗು, ಹಾವೇರಿ, ಹಾಸನ, ವಿಜಯಪುರ ಹಾಗೂ ಯಾದಗಿರಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಯಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.
ಭಾರೀ ಮಳೆಗೆ ಮಲೆ ಮಹದೇಶ್ವರ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕುಸಿದಿದ್ದು ಮಲೆಮಾದೇಶ್ವರ ಬೆಟ್ಟ -ಪಾಲಾರ್ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಕಡಿತಗೊಂಡಿದೆ.
ಚಾಮರಾಜನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಹನೂರು ತಾಲೂಕಿನ ಮಲೆಮಹದೇಶ್ವರ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕುಸಿದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನ ಕುತ್ತೂರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಭಾರೀ ವಾಹನ ಸಂಚಾರಕ್ಕೆ ನಿರ್ಬಂಧ ಹೇರಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಮೇಲಿನಿಂದ ಬೃಹತ್ ಗಾತ್ರದ ಬಂಡೆಗಳು ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಉರುಳಿ ಬಿದ್ದಿವೆ. 3 -4 ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರಿ ಗಾತ್ರದ ಕಲ್ಲು ಬಂಡೆಗಳು ಭಾರೀ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದಿರುವ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ರಸ್ತೆ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನು ನೀರು ಕೊರೆದು ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಅಂಚಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವೆಡೆ ರಸ್ತೆಯು ಕುಸಿದಿದೆ.
ಹಿರಿಯ ನಾಯಕರ ವಿರೋಧದ ನಡುವೆಯೂ ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕನ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಪಟ್ಟುಹಿಡಿದು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ, ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಧಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ ನಾಯಕರು, ಸಚೇತಕರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಆಪ್ತರನ್ನು ನೇಮಿಸಲು ಕಾರ್ಯತಂತ್ರ ರೂಪಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪನಾಯಕರಾಗಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣಬೈರೇಗೌಡ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಧಾನಪರಿಷತ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪನಾಯಕರಾಗಿ ಹೆಚ್.ಎಂ. ರೇವಣ್ಣ ಅವರನ್ನು ನೇಮಿಸುವಂತೆ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ಹೈಕಮಾಂಡ್ ಗೆ ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ವಿರೋಧಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕರಾಗುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಬಲ್ಯ ಸಾಧಿಸಿರುವ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ತಮ್ಮ ಆಪ್ತರಿಗೆ ವಿಧಾನಮಂಡಲ ಉಭಯ ಸದನಗಳ ವಿಪಕ್ಷ ಉಪ ನಾಯಕರು ಮತ್ತು ಸಚೇತಕರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಡಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಕುರಿತಾಗಿ ಅವರು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಉಸ್ತುವಾರಿ ಕೆ.ಸಿ. ವೇಣುಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಮಾಲೋಚನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ವಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತೊಯ್ಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಲಾರಿಯೊಂದು ಪಾದಚಾರಿ ಸೇತುವೆಯ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿಕೊಂಡ ಘಟನೆ ಚೀನಾದ ಹಾರ್ಬಿನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಜರುಗಿದೆ.
ರೆಕ್ಕೆಯನ್ನು ವಿಮಾನದಿಂದ ಬೇರ್ಪಡಿಸಿ, ಅದನ್ನು ಬೇರೆಡೆ ಲಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊತ್ತೊಯ್ಯಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಸೇತುವೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಲಾರಿಯ ನಡುವೆ ಸಿಲುಕಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ವಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ಬಿಡಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ದೃಶ್ಯಾವಳಿಯನ್ನು ವಿಡಿಯೋದಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಲಾರಿಯ ಚಕ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಗಾಳಿಯನ್ನು ತೆರೆಯುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಅದರ ಎತ್ತರವನ್ನು ತಗ್ಗಿಸಿ ವಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ಹೊರತೆಗೆಯಲಾಗಿದೆ.
An airplane was stuck under a footbridge in Harbin, China. Watch how it was removed by a witty driver pic.twitter.com/Puxi4l1AEa
ಮೆಕ್ಸಿಕೋದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯ ವಿಮಾನವೊಂದನ್ನು 'ಅಪಹರಿಸುವ' ದೃಶ್ಯಾವಳಿಗಳ ವಿಡಿಯೋವೊಂದು ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿದ್ದು, ನಂತರ ಇದೊಂದು ಡ್ರಿಲ್ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದ ಬಳಿಕ ಏರ್ಲೈನರ್ ಕ್ಷಮೆ ಯಾಚಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ.
ತನ್ನ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗೆ ತುರ್ತು ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸಲು ತರಬೇತಿ ನೀಡಲು ಈ ರೀತಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಗಿ ಇಂಟರ್ಜೆಟ್ ತಿಳಿಸಿದೆ. 1 ನಿಮಿಷ 32 ಸೆಕೆಂಡ್ಗಳ ಈ ವಿಡಿಯೋದಲ್ಲಿ, ಗನ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದು ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರನ್ನು ಬೆದರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮುಸುಕುಧಾರಿ ಅಪಹರಣಕಾರರು, “ಈಗ ಸಮಯವಿಲ್ಲ, ನಾವೀಗ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲಲು ಆರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ” ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ವಿಡಿಯೋದಲ್ಲಿ ದಾಖಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಇದು ಸತ್ಯ ಸಂಗತಿ ಎಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದ 'ಪ್ರೈಮೋ' ಎಂಬ ನೆಟ್ಟಿನನೊಬ್ಬ, “ವಿಮಾನ ಹೈಜಾಕ್ ಆಗಿದ್ದು, ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಸುರಕ್ಷಿತವಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ಭರವಸೆಯಿದೆ” ಎಂದು ಟ್ವಿಟರ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ವಿಡಿಯೋವನ್ನು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು, ಇದು ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿತ್ತು.
ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನ ಯುವ ನಟಿ, ಸೈಫ್ ಪುತ್ರಿ ಸಾರಾ ಅಲಿ ಖಾನ್ ಈಗ ಫುಲ್ ಬ್ಯುಸಿ. ಕೈತುಂಬಾ ಸಿನೆಮಾ ಇಟ್ಕೊಂಡು ಸಾರಾ ಶೂಟಿಂಗ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಯುಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಳೆ. ಅದರ ನಡುವೆಯೇ ಕೊಂಚ ಬಿಡುವು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕಾಲಕಳೆದಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.
ಬಿಕಿನಿ ತೊಟ್ಟು ಸಮುದ್ರ ಕಿನಾರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾರಾ ಎಂಜಾಯ್ ಮಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಫೋಟೋಗಳು ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿವೆ. ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ ಸಾರಾ ಸ್ವಿಮ್ ಡ್ರೆಸ್ ನಲ್ಲೂ ಮಿಂಚಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.
ಈಜುಕೊಳದಲ್ಲೇ ಎಳನೀರು, ಕಾಫಿ ಸವಿಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಫೋಟೋಗಳನ್ನು ಸಾರಾ ಅಪ್ಲೋಡ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಳೆ. ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ ಸಿಂಹಳೀಯರ ನೆಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನ ಈ ಚೆಲುವೆ ರಿಕ್ಷಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸವಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.
ಸಾರಾ ಅಲಿ ಖಾನ್ ಸಾಹಸ ಕ್ರೀಡೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇಷ್ಟಪಡ್ತಾಳೆ ಅನ್ನೋದಕ್ಕೂ ಈ ಫೋಟೋಗಳೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. ರಾಕ್ ಕ್ಲೈಂಬಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಫೋಟೋವನ್ನೂ ಸಾರಾ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.
ದೊಡ್ಡಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರ ತಾಲ್ಲೂಕಿನ ತಿಪ್ಪೂರು ಹೊರವಲಯದ ಕಾಡಿನ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರು ಚಿತೆಗೆ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಹಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಸಜೀವ ದಹನವಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
85 ವರ್ಷದ ಅಜ್ಜಪ್ಪ ತಾವೇ ಚಿತೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಪಡಿಸಿ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಹಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಸಜೀವ ದಹನವಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ತಿಪ್ಪೂರು ಗ್ರಾಮದ ಅಜ್ಜಪ್ಪ ಅವರ ಪುತ್ರ 58 ವರ್ಷದ ಸಿದ್ದಪ್ಪ 6 ತಿಂಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ಪತ್ನಿ 40 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು, ಪತ್ನಿ ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟ ನಂತರ ಪುತ್ರನನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ಅಜ್ಜಪ್ಪ ಸಾಕಿ ಸಲಹಿದ್ದರು.
ಪುತ್ರನ ಸಾವಿನಿಂದ ಮನನೊಂದು ಅವರು ಈ ರೀತಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿರಬಹುದೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 9 ರಂದು ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಂಡಿ ತಿಂದು ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಹೋಗಿದ್ದ ಅಜ್ಜಪ್ಪ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬಂದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. 4 ದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಹುಡುಕಾಟ ನಡೆಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು.
ಗೊರವೆಹಳ್ಳದ ಕಾಡಿನ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತೆಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅರೆಬೆಂದ ಮೃತದೇಹ ಪತ್ತೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಕುರಿ ಕಾಯುವವರು ಕಂಡು ಗ್ರಾಮಸ್ಥರಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬಳಿಕ ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ದೊಡ್ಡಬೆಳವಂಗಲ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಠಾಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಪ್ರಕರಣ ದಾಖಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಪಾಸ್ವರ್ಡ್ ಈಗ ದಾಂಪತ್ಯದ ಬಿರುಕಿಗೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗ್ತಿದೆ.ಮೊರಾದಾಬಾದ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಪಾಸ್ವರ್ಡ್ ಹೇಳದ ಪತಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಪತ್ನಿ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಠಾಣೆ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲೇರಿದ್ದಳು. ಕೌಟುಂಬಿಕ ಕೇಂದ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಪತಿ-ಪತ್ನಿ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ವಿವಾದ ಬಗೆಹರಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಫ್ಯಾಮಿಲಿ ಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲೇರಿದ್ದ ಮಹಿಳೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕಿ. ಪತಿ ಮೆಡಿಕಲ್ ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿ. ಪತಿ ಅನೇಕ ವಿಷ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ನನ್ನಿಂದ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಡುತ್ತಾನೆಂದು ಪತ್ನಿ ಆರೋಪ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಳು. ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಪಾಸ್ವರ್ಡ್ ಹೇಳ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದಿದ್ದಳು. ಮಂಗಳವಾರ ಸತತ ಮೂರು ಗಂಟೆಗಳ ಕೌನ್ಸಿಲಿಂಗ್ ನಂತ್ರ ಪತಿ-ಪತ್ನಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಒಂದಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಪತಿ, ಪತ್ನಿಗೆ ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಪಾಸ್ವರ್ಡ್ ಹೇಳಲು ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಇದೇ ವೇಳೆ ಪತಿಗೆ ಹೇಳದೆ ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ತವರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಪತ್ನಿ ರಾಜಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಳೆ. ಇಬ್ಬರು ಲಿಖಿತ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ನೀಡಿ ಒಂದಾಗಿ ಜೀವನ ನಡೆಸುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಕುಸಿಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆ ಹಾಗೂ ನೂತನ ತೆರಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ವಿರೋಧಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಲೆಬನಾನ್ನ ಬೀದಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಳಿದಿರುವ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನಾಕಾರರು, ಇದೇ ವೇಳೆ ಅನುಕರಣೀಯ ನಡೆಗೆ ಮುಂದಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಈ ವಿಡಿಯೋ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿದೆ.
ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆಯ ಬಿಸಿಯಿಂದ ಬೆಚ್ಚಿಬಿದ್ದ ಮಗುವೊಂದನ್ನು ಶಾಂತವಾಗಿಸಲು ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನಾಕಾರರ ಗುಂಪೊಂದು 'ಬೇಬಿ ಶಾರ್ಕ್' ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಹಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ ಮೆರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನಾ ನಿರತ ಬಾಬ್ಡಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಕಾರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಜಬ್ಬೌರ್, ಕಾರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಗುವಿದ್ದು ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಮಾತನಾಡದಂತೆ ಕೋರಿಕೊಂಡರು. ಈ ನಡುವೆ, ಚಪ್ಪಾಳೆ ಹೊಡೆಯುತ್ತಾ, ಹಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಮಗುವನ್ನು ಸಂತೈಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ದೃಶ್ಯಗಳು ನೆಟ್ಟಿಗರ ಮನಸೆಳೆದಿವೆ.
Thanks for the animation on road from baby Robin HaddadChabeb furn el chebackAnd the shark Elie-joe Nehme
ಭಾರತೀಯ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಸಾಧನೆಯನ್ನು ಸಾರುವ ‘ಭಾರತ್ ಕೀ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ’ ಅಭಿಯಾನದ ರಾಯಭಾರಿಗಳಾಗಿ ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನಟಿ ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಬ್ಯಾಡ್ಮಿಂಟನ್ ಆಟಗಾರ್ತಿ ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಸಿಂಧು ಆಯ್ಕೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಮಂಗಳವಾರದಂದು ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ನರೇಂದ್ರ ಮೋದಿಯವರು ಮಹಿಳಾ ಸಬಲೀಕರಣ ಸಾರುವ ವಿಡಿಯೋವನ್ನು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು, ಆ ಬಳಿಕ ಟ್ವೀಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ, ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಸಿಂಧು ಮಹಿಳಾ ಸಬಲೀಕರಣದ ಮಹತ್ವವನ್ನು ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಾರಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಭಾರತ್ ಕಿ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ಅಭಿಯಾನದ ರಾಯಭಾರಿಯನ್ನಾಗಿಸಿರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂತಸ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿರುವ ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಸಿಂಧು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕುರಿತು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು: ಬೈಕ್, ಕಾರ್, ಟ್ರ್ಯಾಕ್ಟರ್, ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯ ವಾಹನ, ಮನೆ ಖರೀದಿ ಮೊದಲಾದವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಾಲದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವರಿಗೆ ಕೋಟಕ್ ಮಹೀಂದ್ರಾ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ನಿಂದ ಸಾಲ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಕೋಟಕ್ ಮಹಿಂದ್ರಾ ಗ್ರೂಪ್ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ ಬಡ್ಡಿ ದರ ಮತ್ತು ಕೊಡುಗೆಗಳಿರುವ ಕೋನಾ ಖ್ವಾಬ್ ಲೋನ್ ಉತ್ಸವ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಕಾರ್, ಬೈಕ್, ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯ ವಾಹನ, ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಸಾಲ, ಗೃಹಪಯೋಗಿ ಸಲಕರಣೆ, ಸಣ್ಣ ಕೈಗಾರಿಕೆ, ಕಟ್ಟಡ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಸಲಕರಣೆಗಳ ಖರೀದಿಗೆ ಸಾಲಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಾತ್ಮಕ ಬಡ್ಡಿ ದರದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ ಕೊಡುಗೆಗಳು ಸಿಗಲಿವೆ.
ಸಾಲ ಉತ್ಸವದಲ್ಲಿ ತ್ವರಿತಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಲ ಮಂಜೂರು ಮಾಡಲು ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳ ಖರೀದಿಗೆ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಸಾಲ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಹಿಂದ್ರಾ ಕೋಟಕ್ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ನ ಹಿರಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಾಹಕ ಉಪಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಅಂಬುಜ್ ಚಂದ್ನಾ ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದು, ಮಂದಗತಿಯ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಗೆ ಚೇತರಿಕೆ ನೀಡಲು ಗ್ರಾಹಕರ ಬೇಡಿಕೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಲು ಸಾಲ ಉತ್ಸವ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಮಹಿಳೆಯರಿಗೆ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಬಡ್ಡಿದರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಲ ನೀಡಲು ಉದ್ದೇಶಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ದೇಶದ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸಿರಿವಂತ ದೇಗುಲ ತಿರುಪತಿ ತಿಮ್ಮಪ್ಪನ ‘ವಿಐಪಿ ದರ್ಶನ’ಕ್ಕೆ ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ನಿಗದಿಪಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಯಾರೂ ಬೇಕಾದರೂ ಈ ಮೊತ್ತವನ್ನು ಪಾವತಿಸಿ ಈ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸೋಮವಾರದಿಂದಲೇ ಈ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಚೆನ್ನೈನ ರಾಮಯ್ಯ ಎಂಬವರು 40 ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಪಾವತಿಸಿ ಮೊದಲ ಅವಕಾಶ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ವಿಐಪಿ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ 10,000 ದಿಂದ 99,999 ರೂ.ಗಳವರೆಗೆ ಹಣ ಪಾವತಿಸಬಹುದಾಗಿದ್ದು, ತಿರುಮಲ ತಿರುಪತಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಂ ಮಂಡಳಿಯು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿರುವ ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ವರ ಆಲಯ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಟ್ರಸ್ಟ್ ಮೂಲಕ ಈ ದೇಣಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮಲಯಾಳಂ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ಖ್ಯಾತ ನಟಿ ಮಂಜು ವಾರಿಯರ್ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಶ್ರೀಕುಮಾರ್ ಮೆನನ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ದೂರು ನೀಡಿದ್ದು, ಜೀವ ಬೆದರಿಕೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ವಧೆಯ ಆರೋಪ ಹೊರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ತಮ್ಮ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದೂರು ದಾಖಲಾದ ಬಳಿಕ ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟನೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಶ್ರೀಕುಮಾರ್ ಮೆನನ್, ಅವರ ಕಷ್ಟದ ಸಂದರ್ಭಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಬಲವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತ ನನ್ನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕೃತಜ್ಞತೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಬರೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಇದರ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಕೇರಳ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥ ಲೋಕನಾಥ್ ಬೆಹೆರಾ, ಮಂಜು ವಾರಿಯರ್ ನೀಡಿರುವ ದೂರಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಲು ವಿಶೇಷ ತಂಡಕ್ಕೆ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
Death is one of the most uncomfortable - and necessary discussions that a family can have. As an advisor, it can be up to you to lead the conversation.
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If you've been to camps, fairs, or tourist markets, you may have noticed friendship bracelets that spell out a variety of names. They might look elaborate, but in reality, it's not too difficult to make your own. With a lot of craft threads, beads, and patience, you can create a bracelet with your own name on it, or even make customized gifts for your family and friends. Whether you choose to weave your design or string letter beads together to spell a name, your creations will impress everyone who sees them.
[Edit]Making Woven Name Bracelets with Craft Thread
Select colors for your name and your background. For this type of bracelet, you will need seven strings in the color you want your letters to be, and one string only in the color you want your background to be.[1]
Knot your threads together at the top of the bundle. Make sure the tops of each of your threads are aligned with each other, so no string will end up seeming longer than the other as you make your bracelet. Position the background color string at the far left edge of the bundle, then tie all the strings together, leaving about of excess string sticking out of the top of the bundle.[3]
Tape your bundle of strings to your work surface. Choose a flat work surface, such as a table or a clipboard. Place a sturdy piece of tape above the knot you just made in your bundle of threads to secure it to your chosen surface.
Before you tape the strings down, make sure the background color string is still positioned at the far left of the bundle.
Make a left knot with your background color string. To make your first knot, loop your background color string clockwise around the string directly to its right (which should be your letter color). Then, loop the background color string clockwise around the letter color string again, and then, from behind, push the end of your background color string through the loop you create. Pull tight to finish.[4]
Knot an initial row of your background color. After you've made your first left knot, continue on to the next string, and tie a left knot onto that string with the same piece of background thread you used to tie your first knot. Repeat across all seven letter color threads, traveling to the right.[5]
Consult a letter pattern to learn how to tie your next row. Once you've finished your first row, find the first letter of the name you want to weave on a sheet of letter patterns (a good example of which can be found three-quarters of the way down this webpage: http://friendship-bracelets.net/tutorial.php?id=2.) Then, look carefully at the leftmost grid column of your chosen letter. Note how many boxes are empty and how many are filled in, as well as what order they occur in.
Each box corresponds to the type of knot you will make on one of your 8 strands of thread.
If you're knotting across the bracelet to your left, the top box is represents the string that's directly adjacent to the string that you're weaving with when you start a row.
If you're knotting across the bracelet to your right, the bottom box represents the string that's directly adjacent to your starting string.
Tie the first knot of your first letter row using a right knot. The first box in each column will be empty, whether it's the top or bottom box. An empty box indicates that you should tie a right knot with your background color on that particular letter string. So, tie a right knot with your background string on the letter color string directly to its left to start your first row.[6]
To tie a right knot, follow the same procedure as a left knot, but start by looping the background color string around the letter color string directly to its left, and loop counterclockwise instead of clockwise.
Tie the remaining knots of your row according to your letter pattern. For the next six threads, you will make one of two types of knots. If the box is empty, tie a right knot, as described above. If the box is filled, it indicates that you should tie a left downward knot onto the background string with the adjacent letter string.[7]
To tie a left downward knot, position the background string horizontally underneath the letter string you'll be tying with. Then, loop your letter string under and over the horizontal string from the front. Tuck the end of the letter string through the resulting loop, but make sure you're tucking it through the part of the loop that's to the left of the vertical part of the letter string. Pull tight to complete the knot.
Start a new row by tying knots in the opposite direction. When you've completed the first row of your bracelet (which is also the first column of your first letter), you'll be back at the left edge of your bracelet. Now, instead of tying right knots, go back to tying left knots with your background thread when you see an empty box, and tie right downward knots onto your background thread with the adjacent letter thread when you see a filled box.[8]
To tie a right downward knot, follow the same procedure as the left downward knot, but instead tuck the end of your letter string through the part of the loop that's to the right of the vertical part of the letter string.
Knot a row of your background color when you finish a letter. When you finish each letter, knot a row of your background color only by tying right or left knots with your background color string, depending on which direction you're traveling in. This will create a space between each letter.[9]
Proceed, switching directions for each completed row, until your last letter is done. As you create your bracelet, remember to tie left knots and right downward knots when knotting from the left, and to tie right knots and left downward knots when knotting from the right.[10]
Knot one more background color row and tie your bracelet off. When your name has been spelled out, knot one more row with your background color thread. When this row is complete, tie off your bracelet with a simple knot. Trim the excess, and it'll be ready to wear.[11]
Find a bead for each letter of your name. Open your bag of alphabet beads and pour them into a bowl. Find each letter of your name, and spell it out on a flat work surface.
If you're planning to make multiple bracelets, you may want to purchase several bags of letter beads to ensure that you don't run out of common letters.[12]
Measure a length of elastic string that will fit around your wrist. Pull some elastic string from your spool, bundle, or bunch. Then, make a circle around your wrist, or visualize making a circle around the wrist of the person you're making the bracelet for. You should aim to cut a length of string that fits comfortably around whichever wrist you have in mind, with a couple inches of extra length so you can tie a knot when it's complete.[13]
Since elastic string is stretchy, you don't need to worry about making your measurements exact. However, it's usually better to have more string than less, because you can always trim off the excess when your project is complete.
Tape the left end of your bracelet down on your work surface. Once you've cut your length of elastic string, lay it horizontally on your flat work surface. Place a piece of tape about two or three inches from the left end of the string.[14]
This will keep the string securely in one place, making it easier to thread beads onto it.
Begin stringing colorful beads onto your bracelet. Empty out your bag(s) of colorful beads – such as pony beads, colored wooden beads, or gemstone beads – into a large bowl.[15] Select the colors you prefer, then begin stringing beads onto your bracelet in whatever order you like.[16]
Alternate beads of different shapes or repeat a pattern of different-colored beads to create an interesting design.
String your alphabet beads onto the bracelet. Once you've strung several colorful beads onto your bracelet, thread your alphabet beads onto the elastic from left to right, in the same order in which you initially laid them down on the table.[17]
If your name is longer, you'll have to string fewer colorful beads before you begin adding your alphabet beads. This will ensure that there will be enough room on your bracelet to spell out your entire name, and then add more colorful beads at the end.
If you wish, place a colorful bead between each letter of your name and the next.
String more colored beads onto your bracelet. When you're finished spelling out your name, string more colored beads onto the end of your bracelet. Make sure to stop about two or three inches short of the end of the string so you'll have enough left to tie your bracelet around your wrist (or your friend's).[18]
Repeat the pattern of colors and shapes you made with your first section of colored beads to create a cool, symmetrical look.
Tie off your bracelet and trim the excess elastic string. When you've finished stringing all your beads, remove the tape from the left end of your bracelet and tie the loose ends together with two or three tight knots. Trim so there's just a little bit of excess string extending from the knot.[19]
Apply glue to your knot if you want to create a very secure closure. To make sure your beaded name bracelet lasts as long as possible, apply some beading adhesive or super glue to your knot. Pull the knot away from your beads, then place a small dot of glue on the knot. Continue keeping the knot pulled away from the beads until the glue is dry (for about 1-2 minutes.)[20]
Only adults should use super glue or other powerful adhesives.
Milia look a bit like whitehead pimples, but they're actually small cysts caused by trapped bits of the protein keratin. They're nearly always completely harmless medically, but having them under your eyes—which is a common spot for milia—can be quite frustrating due to how they look. While it's generally fine to just let the milia go away on their own, you can try an under-eye routine that may help speed the process along. For more immediate removal options, contact your primary care doctor or dermatologist.
Wash your face with a gentle cleanser once or twice per day. Splash your face with lukewarm water, then gently massage in a small amount of a hypoallergenic facial cleanser. Rinse the cleanser away with cool water, then pat your face dry with a soft cloth.[1]
The best time to wash your face is in the evening before going to bed. You can also wash in the morning, especially if your dermatologist recommends it. Alternatively, you might just use lukewarm water and a clean cloth to gently wipe your face in the morning.
Use steam from the shower or sink to soften your skin. Do this after washing your face. If you showered, let the steam build up in your bathroom and hang out in there for 5-10 minutes. Or, fill the sink with hot water, lean your face over it, and drape a towel over your head for 5-10 minutes.[2]
Milia aren't caused by clogged pores, but letting the steam open your pores may make it easier to exfoliate dead skin cells covering the milia.
Steam also softens your skin, which makes exfoliating a bit easier.
Gently exfoliate under your eyes with a warm, damp, soft cloth. After you're done with your steam treatment, run a clean cloth under warm water and squeeze out the excess. Rub the area under your eyes gently for 1-2 minutes, using a circular motion and light pressure. Rinse your face with cool water, then pat it dry with a clean towel.[3]
Don't rub so hard that you cause redness or discomfort. Your goal is to remove dead skin cells from the area of the milia, not to try to rub the milia off!
Exfoliate every other day, unless your dermatologist recommends doing so more or less frequently.
Apply a natural remedy like honey or rose water, if desired. Both honey and rose water have antimicrobial properties and may potentially encourage milia to disappear more quickly. For a simple honey mask, apply a small amount of honey beneath your eyes, let it sit for 15 minutes, then wipe it away completely with lukewarm water and a soft cloth.[4]
Alternatively, you can make honey masks with ingredients like turmeric, almond oil, aloe vera, or oatmeal.
For a rose water face mask, mix together spoonfuls of plain yogurt and honey, then stir in a few drops of rose water. As with a plain honey face mask, leave it on your face for 15 minutes before wiping it away.
There's no real evidence that natural masks like these will help get rid of milia, but they're also very unlikely to cause any problems.
Conceal the milia with hypoallergenic makeup if you wish. If you want to hide the milia while you treat them, use a lightweight, hypoallergenic makeup that won't clog your pores or cake over your skin cells. Remove the makeup completely when you wash your face in the evening.[5]
Small amounts of concealing makeup shouldn't impact how long the milia will last. Caking on heavy amounts of makeup may cause the milia to stick around longer, though.
Don't pick, poke, or try to remove milia, especially near your eyes. You can't "pop" milia like pimples (which you shouldn't do anyway), and trying to do so may break the skin and cause an infection or scarring. While it's possible to remove milia yourself with a sterilized needle, tweezers, and comedone extractor, you should definitely never try this with any milia that are anywhere near your eyes.[6]
The risk of injuring your eye with a sharp instrument is simply too great to risk.
Think twice before trying to remove milia that aren't near your eyes. Even if you properly sterilize your tools to reduce the risk of infection, there's still a chance you'll cause scarring. It's always safer to see have a doctor remove milia.
Apply an OTC topical medication with your doctor's approval. Do this if you prefer a medical treatment to a natural mask. It's always best to consult your dermatologist or primary care doctor before using any of the numerous over-the-counter options available. They'll help you choose the right option for your specific needs and avoid potential drug interactions or side effects.[7]
Only use treatments that are specifically labeled for use near the eyes. Even then, be extra careful not to get any of the medication into your eyes.
These topical treatments often include one of the following ingredients: alpha hydroxy acids; salicylic acid; retinol.
Treat milia with prescribed topical retinoids. Talk to a dermatologist about the option of treating the milia with topical retinoids. Topical means a cream or a gel that you put on top of your skin, rather than a medicine that you ingest. If your doctor prescribes topical retinoids, you will most likely have to apply the retinoid to the milia every day for several weeks.[8]
Retinoid is the active form of vitamin A.
Keep in mind that this is purely cosmetic, since milia aren't actually harmful, so you could just wait for them to go away.
Undergo "deroofing" or similar mechanical removal techniques. Your primary care doctor or dermatologist will likely remove milia using a process called "deroofing." They'll create a tiny slice in your skin right next to each milia, then use a comedone extractor and/or tweezers to draw and pull the milia out through the skin opening.[9]
This is an extremely delicate procedure when done anywhere near the eyes. Always leave it to the professionals, or simply leave the milia alone.[10]
Discuss alternate treatments like cryotherapy or laser ablation. Milia can, in some cases, be removed using methods other than manual extraction. These are less likely when the milia are near your eyes, out of concern for any accidents that may cause eye damage. Alternate treatments may include:[11]
Cryotherapy, in which the milia are frozen off with a small, specialized tool.
Laser ablation, which essentially "zaps" the milia away with a targeted beam of light.
Leave milia alone if they don't bother you physically or emotionally. Unless they get infected, most likely due to you scratching or picking at them, milia are completely harmless physically. Therefore, leaving them alone is nearly always the appropriate medical recommendation. They'll usually go away on their own within 2 weeks to 6 months.[12]
However, if having prominent milia under your eyes (or elsewhere) is causing you emotional distress, it's reasonable to have them removed for your own wellbeing. Let your doctor know if this is the case for you.
Don't worry about milia on newborns or infants. Roughly half of all babies develop at least some milia on their faces during their first 6 months of life. It's not clear exactly why this happens, but it's completely normal and nearly always completely harmless. The milia will almost certainly go away on their own by around 6 months of age.[13]
Never try to remove milia from a baby yourself, and don't expect to find a legitimate doctor who will do so either. The only reason a doctor might consider removing milia is if they are red, swollen, and possibly infected.
Take care of your skin to possibly reduce the likelihood of getting milia. There's no guaranteed way to prevent milia, but being kind to your skin may lower your chances. Proper skin care may also reduce your risk of acne and more serious conditions like skin cancer. In addition to an under-eye cleaning, steaming, and exfoliating routine, take steps like:[14]
Applying sunscreen whenever you go outdoors.
Wearing a broad-brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face.
Removing makeup thoroughly at bed time.
Contacting your doctor regarded the appropriate treatment for any abrasions or minor burns on your skin. Milia can sometimes occur in the area of healing skin.
A pincushion is a stuffed piece of fabric that you can insert pins into. Pincushions are essential for sewing and other types of craft projects. There are many ways to make a pincushion! Sew a quick and easy square-shaped cushion, opt for a flower petal cushion for something more decorative, or make a no-sew mason jar pin cushion and sewing kit!
Cut out 2 fabric squares. Get a piece of cotton fabric in the color or print of your choice. A remnant is fine since you will only need about . Measure and trace the squares onto the wrong (back) side of a piece of cotton fabric. Then, cut along the lines using a pair of sharp fabric scissors.[1]
If desired, cut out circles, triangles, or hexagons instead.[2] squares. }}
Stack and pin the fabric squares with the right (print) sides facing in. Place the fabric squares so that the right sides are facing each other and the wrong sides are facing outwards. Line up the edges of the 2 fabric pieces on all sides. Then, insert 2 pins through the center of the squares to keep them in place.[3]
Insert the pins so that they are parallel to each other and about away from the center of the square.
Sew from the edges of the square leaving a opening. Set your sewing machine to the straight stitch setting and place the edge of the fabric square under the presser foot. Apply gentle pressure to begin sewing along the edge of the square. Sew until you are about away from the beginning of your stitches, and then stop sewing.[4]
Make sure to avoid the pins as you sew! Do not sew over them or you may damage your machine or the pins.
Invert the fabric square and push the stuffing in through the opening. Use your fingers and the back end of a pencil to turn the square right side out. Then, grab a handful of stuffing and begin pushing it in through the opening you left in the square. Keep stuffing the square until it is nice and plump. The cushion should be firm with no air bubbles, but it should not be bursting at the seams.[5]
The type of stuffing you use can change the way the pincushion works. If you use polyester stuffing, the pincushion will be very light and soft, but if you use something like straw, it will be firmer. Steel wool can even sharpen your pins!
Use the back of the pencil eraser to push in as much stuffing as possible. Just be careful not to put too much stress on the seams as you do this.[6]
Hand-sew the opening closed to secure the stuffing. Thread a needle with a matching color thread and tie a knot at the end of it. Then, hold together the fabric along the opening and insert the needle through both layers of fabric. Pull the thread taut and then bring the needle back through the fabric on the opposite side about from where it came out. Repeat to continue stitching the opening closed.[7]
Push the needle through the fabric 1 last time and bring it out near the center of the cushion. Cut the excess thread as close to the cushion as possible to complete it.
Trace 2 equal-sized circles onto your fabric and cut them out. Use the lid of a jar, the outside of a bowl, or another round object as your guide. Trace the circles onto the fabric using a ballpoint pen or pencil. Then, cut along the lines using a pair of sharp fabric scissors.[8]
You can make the circles as big or small as you like.
Avoid using a marker or fountain pen to trace the circles as these may bleed onto the fabric.
Sew a straight stitch around the circles except for a opening. Place the fabric circles together so that their right (print or front) sides are facing each other. Then, sew a straight stitch around the outside of the circle about from the raw edges. Stop about from the opening.[9]
Cut around the outside of the circle with pinking shears. Cut off the excess threads at the beginning and end of the seam. Then, use pinking shears to trim around the outside of the fabric. This will help to reduce the bulk when you invert the cushion.[10]
Do not cut through the seam! Only cut along the very outer edge of the fabric.
Invert the fabric and push stuffing in through the opening in the seam. Use your fingers and the back of a pencil or chopstick to invert the fabric so that the seam is hidden and the right side of the fabric is visible. Then, grab a handful of polyfill stuffing and push it into the opening.[11]
Keep adding stuffing until the cushion is nice and plump!
Thread a needle and hand sew the opening closed. Insert the end of a piece of thread through the eye of a needle. Pull until the ends of the thread are even and then tie a knot at the end to secure it. Insert the needle into the opening in the side of the cushion. Then, hold the 2 edges of the fabric together along the opening and insert the needle through both layers. Pull the needle until the thread is taut, and repeat![12]
Continue sewing until the opening is closed, then push the needle through the fabric at the opening 1 more time and bring it out in the center of the cushion. Cut the thread as close to the cushion as possible.
Insert a threaded needle through the center of the cushion. Thread another needle in the same way as the first and tie a double knot with ends of the thread. Insert the needle through the center of the cushion and bring it back out the center of the cushion on the other side. Pull until the thread is taut and the knot is up against the fabric.[13]
Do not allow the knot to go through the fabric!
Bring the needle back around to the other side of the cushion. Loop the needle over the side of the cushion, and then insert it back through in the same place as you did the first time. Pull the needle until the thread is taut and the cushion is indented slightly.[14]
This will create an indent in the cushion because of the thread squeezing around it.
Continue to make segments in the cushion using the thread. Bring the needle back down along the outside of the cushion about over from where you inserted it the first time. Pull until the thread is taut and the cushion is indented. This will create a new segment.[15]
Keep repeating this until there are equally spaced segments all the way around the circle.
Push the needle through the center of a button and back down again. Select a 2 hole button to use as a focal point for your pincushion.[16] Bring the needle up through 1 of the buttonholes and then back down through another buttonhole. After you create the last segment, bring the needle back up through the center 1 more time. Insert the needle through 1 of the holes in your button and then back down through the second hole in the button. Push the needle through the center of the cushion and back out the other side.[17]
Repeat this 1 more time to secure the button. Then, tie a knot at the end of the thread and cut the excess to secure it.
[Edit]Making a Mason Jar Pincushion and Sewing Kit
Lay out a piece of cotton fabric and cut around the outside of the mason jar lid. Place the mason jar lid onto the wrong (back) side of the fabric. Use a pair of sharp fabric scissors to cut a circle about from the outside of the jar lid.[18]
Don't worry if it looks like there is too much fabric or if the circle is not perfect! You can trim it down more and clean up the edges if needed.
Trace 2 circles smaller than the mason jar lid onto a piece of felt. Use a circular object that is about smaller than the mason jar lid as your guide. Then, use a marker to trace around the outer edges of the circle. Cut out the circles using a pair of sharp fabric scissors.[19]
Avoid any jagged or crooked edges along the outside of the circle.
Make a sandwich of stuffing, 1 felt circle, and the jar lid. Place a handful of stuffing onto the center of your fabric circle. Then, top the stuffing with 1 of the felt circles. And then place the lid on top of the felt with the bottom of the lid facing up.[20]
Add hot glue around the outer edges of the lid to secure the fabric. Wait until your hot glue gun is hot (about 10 minutes), and then use it to place a few drops of hot glue around the edges of the bottom side of mason jar lid.[21] After adding each drop of glue, fold the fabric on that side of the lid over and press it into the hot glue.[22]
Do not touch the hot glue with your bare hands! Wear a pair of heat-proof gloves for this part.
Push more stuffing into the openings to fill out the cushion. After you have glued the fabric on a few sides of the lid, push more stuffing into the openings in the sides of the cushion if needed. The fuller the cushion, the better it will be at holding your pins![23]
Be careful not to overstuff the cushion or the fabric may come undone from the lid!
Keep gluing the ends of the fabric down until all of the ends are secured. After you are happy with the level of stuffing in your cushion, start gluing down the rest of the fabric. Add glue to the underside of the lid and then fold over the fabric. Work your way around the lid to secure all of the fabric and close off the cushion.[24]
The cushion will go from a loose square shape to a tight round shape as you continue gluing.
Glue the other felt circle onto the bottom of the lid. To secure the ends of the fabric and hide the raw edges, add a generous line of hot glue around the inside of your other felt circle and a few dots in the center as well. Then, press the circle onto the bottom of the lid to cover the ends of the fabric.[25]
Hold the circle in place for a few seconds to ensure that the glue adheres well to the fabric.
Fill the jar with notions and put the cushion lid on the jar. After the felt circle is secured, place the mason jar lid onto your jar, and screw the ring around it to secure it in place. Push your pins into the cushion on top of the jar and store sewing notions in the jar part of the pin cushion.[26]
This makes a great gift for a sewing enthusiast! Fill the jar with needles, thread, and maybe even a gift card for their favorite craft supply store!
Color coordinating can be a little daunting if you've never been introduced to color theory based on the color wheel. The color wheel is a great tool to help you choose colors that go together. Whether you're putting together an outfit or choosing paint colors for your house, use the color wheel to figure out the best colors to suit the occasion.
Figure out the basics of the color wheel. The color wheel is made up of primary colors (red, blue, yellow) and secondary colors (purple, green, orange) in the shape of a wheel. Primary colors can't be formed by mixing other colors, while secondary colors are created by mixing primary colors. In turn, primary and secondary colors mix together to form tertiary colors.[1]
Some color wheels depict 3 primary colors, 3 secondary colors, and 6 tertiary colors in separate spokes, while others blend the colors into each other.
It's important to understand the color wheel because it guides how you choose coordinating colors.
Look across the wheel to find complementary colors. Complementary colors are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. For instance, yellow is directly across from the secondary color purple, red is across from green, and blue is across the wheel from orange. Complementary colors typically go well together, brightening the other one just by being nearby.[2]
Complementary colors can also include tertiary colors.
Check for analogous colors right next to each other. Analogous colors are often paired together because they fade into each other on the color wheel. For instance, yellow fades into orange, making a yellow-orange tertiary color in the middle. Because they are near each other, they blend well when trying to coordinate colors.[3]
As another example, blue blends into purple, making blue-purple in the middle.
Use shading and tinting to make monochromatic matches. "Shade" just means you add black to a color to make it darker. "Tint" means adding white to a color to make it lighter. If you choose a single color, then you can pick lighter or darker variations of that color to create a monochromatic look.[4]
For instance, monochromatic colors in purple could include lavender, plum, and grape.
Avoid mixing warm and cool colors for the most part. Warm colors include orange, red, and yellow, while cool colors include greens, blues, and purple. When you understand this division, it can make it easier to coordinate colors, as you can match cool colors with cool colors and warm colors with warm ones.
While this is a good general guideline, there are times when a warm color looks nice paired with a cool color, like a rich, warm gold accented with cool purple tones.
Build an outfit out of a neutral color and a bright color for simple coordination. Neutral colors include black, white, brown, gray, and even olive and navy at times, but they can also include metallics like silver, bronze, and gold. Pick a neutral for the main part of your outfit, then add 1-2 other colors around it.[5]
For instance, try a black suit with a pale pink shirt or a silver dress with a bright blue jacket thrown over it.
When pairing neutrals like navy and olive with other colors, think about their hues. For instance, olive complements maroons and oranges, but it also does well with blues and golds because they're nearby on the color wheel.
Try an outfit made of complementary colors for something bright and fun. Pick out 2 complementary colors on the color wheel, and use that to build your outfit. If you choose orange and blue, for instance, you might pair a bright orange shirt with a dark pair of blue jeans.[6]
Another good way to use complementary colors to good effect is to pair 1 complementary color with a paler tint of its opposite color. For example, mix a purple dress with a pale yellow shawl.
Use analogous colors for a pulled-together look. Try picking 2-3 colors that are right next to each other on the wheel and guide your outfit with those. These similar hues will make your outfit seem cohesive. For example, you might pair a bright yellow sundress with a pale orange scarf.[7]
Another example of using analogous colors to good effect might be a scarlet red dress with gold jewelry and pink shoes.
While you usually should avoid mixing warm and cool colors, you can occasionally break that rule if you find something that looks good together. For instance, with your bright yellow dress, you might find a pale green cardigan that looks smashing with it.[8]
Choose monochromatic colors for an easy coordinated look. A good place to start with a monochrome look is with the primary colors. Pick a single color to start your look, then choose shades and tints of that color to put together your outfit. For instance, try a navy pantsuit with a pale blue shirt and bright blue pumps.[9]
When you're creating a monochrome look, try to stay in the same spoke on the color wheel. That is, if you choose blue, make sure you're picking true blues, not purple-y blues.
Color block primary colors with neutrals. The primary colors red, yellow and, blue often look great with a solid block of color, such as black pants with a yellow top. Try wearing a bright red shirt with grey leggings or royal blue skirt with a flowing white top, for instance.[10]
If you want to go bolder, try pairing more than 1 primary color in an outfit, such as blue jeans, a bright red top, and a yellow purse.
Mix and match to see what goes well together. Usually, you can tell when 2 colors don't look quite right together by holding them up next to one another. However, you may not be able to guess before you see them together. Pull all the items out of your closet and try mixing and matching different pieces you don't normally put together. You may come up with something that looks awesome together that you never would have worn before.
Try starting out with a neutral in your central room. If you begin with a subtle color in the central room, then you can paint bold colors in the nearby rooms without them clashing. Otherwise, you might find your rooms seem to be working against each other rather than creating a cohesive look.[11]
Try a soft grey, a cream, or pale tan, for instance.
An alternative option is to pick a bold color you like, and put that in the room you want it in. Then move out from there, picking colors that coordinate throughout your house.
Opt for bold colors off of your main room. Since you went with a neutral color in your main room, you can get a bit crazier as you move outward. However, keep the line of sight in mind. For instance, if you can see from your dining room into your living room (the neutral room) and then into the hallway, you should probably pick coordinating colors for the dining room and hallway.[12]
For example, if you choose a periwinkle for your dining room, you might pick a light peach for the hallway, since those are complementary colors.
Follow the rules of using analogous, complementary, or monochromatic colors. Pick the type of coordination that you like the best and apply it to your color scheme. For instance, if you love blues, then you might try a monochromatic scheme featuring different hues of blue. If you like bright, bold colors, try using complementary colors. For a rainbow effect, opt for analogous colors through your house.[13]
For instance, for an analogous scheme, you might paint one room pale yellow, the next one pale peach, and the next one pale pink.
Pay attention to the line of sight and to rooms next to each other. When picking colors, make sure that you apply these schemes in rooms that you can see through to the next one. Similarly, even if you can't see much of 1 bedroom from the one next to it, you still want to apply a color wheel scheme to help the house feel more cohesive.[14]
This is especially true if you have an open concept house.
With separate floors, you can use different schemes if you'd like, as the stairway creates a separation.
On a panel at Bull City Venture Partners’ Entrepreneurs’ Series 2019, Somorjai reminded the audience that investment in the state follows the talent. And a state can’t attract talent when it’s not “welcoming to all people,” he said.
North Carolina has had a difficult history on this front, if you recall.
In 2016, PayPal canceled plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte after N.C. passed the controversial (“bathroom bill”) law that prevented cities from creating non-discrimination policies based on gender identity. The state lost 400 potential jobs, as a result. Over 100 other companies, including Apple, Google, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, Uber, and others also asked the state to repeal the law after its passing.
N.C. eventually revised the law, then reached a settlement this summer that allows transgender people to use certain bathrooms matching their gender identity. But in some cases, it was too late to woo the tech companies back.
Apple and Amazon have also been separately criticized, at times, for considering N.C. area investments because of the state’s anti-LGBTQ leanings.
This issue now has a broad effect on the state’s ability to attract tech and business investment at a time when investorsareoftenlookingoutside the Valley (and its obscene valuations) to find companies that are more focused on profitability.
Salesforce Ventures, a strategic investor who keeps its stake below 15%, isn’t hesitant to fund companies beyond Silicon Valley — it has five investments in N.C. and 15 overall in the larger region, for example. And 75% of its investments were made outside of California, Somorjai noted.
But when asked what North Carolina’s biggest challenge was, in terms of becoming home to a startup community, he alluded to the state’s politics and its history of divisive laws.
“Before the last election, there was an environment here that wasn’t really welcoming to all people,” Somorjai said. “One of [Salesforce’s] core tenants — our core values — is equality. And there’s really sound business sense behind that,” he explained. “If you have discriminatory policies, people don’t feel welcome. If they don’t feel welcome, they’re not going to want to work there. And you will never be able to attract the best talent.”
“Money flows to where the talent is,” he added.
He also suggested to the event’s audience — a group of some 450 entrepreneurs and hundreds more working in the area’s startup ecosystem — that local community leaders should remain vigilant about these sorts of problems.
“If you’re complacent, it can happen again,” he said.
Despite the concerns, Somorjai was generally positive about the ability for strong startups to arise in N.C.
Salesforce Ventures itself invested in two N.C. area unicorns — Pendo and nCino — and it just acquired Charlotte-based MapAnything, which gives it some 200 new employees in the Tar Heel state. Elsewhere in N.C., startups AvidXchange, Red Ventures, and Tresata all have unicorn valuations.
“One thing we’ve been so excited about is — you have these tremendous universities that are putting out great engineers every year. And you have a growing group of investors that are investing in this area. There’s also now so much talent here that you’re attracting investors from all over the country,” he told the audience. “I think that’s great.”
On November 12 Verizon will begin offering 12 months of Disney+ to all of its new and existing 4gLTE and 5G unlimited wireless customers, the companies said today in a joint statement.
It’s a great way for Disney to juice its early subscriber numbers and for Verizon to add a tantalizing perk as competition heats up for both streaming media companies and telecoms whose media strategy still seems a little… muddled.
While Comcast and AT&T each have their own successful media properties, Verizon (which owns Verizon Media Group, which owns TechCrunch) has seen its fortunes in the media landscape wane as much of the investment thesis behind buying Aol… then Yahoo… then merging them into Oath… then rebranding them as Verizon Media Group… fizzled.
Tying itself to Disney+ — even just promotionally — makes good business sense.
Through the agreement Verizon customers get access to everything Disney+ has to offer, including the highly anticipated Star Wars television series, “The Mandalorian” and another 25 original films and documentaries. Watch the over three hour-long teaser trailer below for an exhaustive look at every. single. Disney. piece. of. content. coming. to. the. service.
"Giving Verizon customers an unprecedented offer and access to Disney+ on the platform of their choice is yet another example of our commitment to provide the best premium content available through key partnerships on behalf of our customers," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg, in a statement. "Our work with Disney extends beyond Disney+ as we bring the power of 5G Ultra Wideband technology to the entertainment industry through exciting initiatives with Disney Innovation Studios and in the parks," he added.
Here’s the deal: At launch, Verizon becomes the exclusive wireless carrier to offer 12 months of Disney+ for itsnew and existing customers. The offer also extends to its new Fios Home Internet and 5G Home Internet customers.
Folks can activate their Disney+ subscription and start streaming on devices including game consoles, streaming media players and smart televisions.
The release of a new Terminator sequel has become a familiar ritual: The latest filmmakers acknowledge the greatness of the first two movies, then mumble awkwardly about the other sequels — which are inevitably ignored, because they assure us that this time, they’ve created the sequel we’ve been waiting for.
I can’t tell you whether “Rise of the Machines,” “Salvation” or “Genisys” deserve to be dismissed like this, because I haven’t seen any of them. (I did watch the TV spin-off, “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” which was pretty good.) But I can say that the latest installment, “Terminator: Dark Fate,” delivers on the promise of a worthy sequel.
It helps, of course, to see the return of some familiar names — not just Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also Linda Hamilton, who takes up the role of Sarah Connor for the first time since “Terminator 2.” And then there’s franchise creator James Cameron, who was apparently too busy with his “Avatar” sequels to direct (“Dark Fate” was helmed by “Deadpool” director Tim Miller instead), but who stayed involved as a producer and story writer.
Not that the story is really the selling point: The big emotional moments can feel clumsy and rushed, and some of the dialog is genuinely groan-worthy.
All the script really needs to do, though, is give us a reason for those familiar faces to be back on-screen together, and to convince us that it’s not totally pointless to watch another Terminator movie. In that, it succeeds — with a few nods toward the changing technological and political landscape thrown in for good measure.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton star in Skydance Productions and Paramount Pictures’ “TERMINATOR: DARK FATE.”
In the film’s opening minutes, we learn that Sarah and John Connor’s efforts at the end of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” have succeeded in averting a nuclear apocalypse. However, for reasons that only become clear later, those pesky Terminators keep showing up.
The story proper kicks off in Mexico City, where a young woman named Dani Ramos (played by Natalia Reyes) becomes the latest target of a cyborg assassin. Her pursuer (Gabriel Luna) is an advanced model whose skin and skeleton can function as two separate bodies, and she’s saved by not one but two protectors — Sarah Connor, along with a cybernetically enhanced soldier named Grace (Mackenzie Davis), plus the late-film addition of an old-model Terminator (Schwarzenegger, naturally).
There are more revelations as the story unfolds, but one of the best things about “Dark Fate” is the simplicity of its storytelling. Like its first two predecessors, it doesn’t overcomplicate the formula: There’s a killer cyborg, an innocent target and an overmatched guardian; mayhem ensues.
It’s in the depiction of that mayhem that “Dark Fate” excels. The film has plenty of CGI (I’d argue too much), but it feels very different from the weightless, super-powered battles that have become the big-screen norm, and even from the balletic killing sprees of the “John Wick” movies.
Just got out of a screening of #terminatordarkfate. Didn't know the person next to me, but as the credits rolled, we both turned to each other and declared, "That was AWESOME."
Instead, the action in “Dark Fate” feels like a throwback, specifically to those Cameron-directed Terminator movies, where a great deal of thought and ingenuity was devoted to coming up with all the different ways that a relentless murder machine might wreak havoc.
Hamilton, by the way, seems completely at home in these scenes. And although Schwarzenegger’s performance was gratifyingly funny and loose, “Dark Fate” is absolutely her film.
Meanwhile, I’m still a little fuzzy on the details of how Luna’s Rev-9 actually works, but it makes for a striking and unsettling visual. The finale, in particular, offers a masterful escalation of jeopardy and destruction, as Rev-9 tears through one environment after another in pursuit of our increasingly desperate heroes — almost convincing you that this time, the Terminator really might be unstoppable.
I don’t want to overstate the case here: “Dark Fate” doesn’t quite replicate the perfect mix of violence, terror and melancholy that made those first two films so memorable. But it can hold its own in a fight.
Why do serial entrepreneurs keep jumping back in? What things might you learn the third, fourth, or fifth time around?
To find out, Extra Crunch Managing Editor Eric Eldon spoke to Drift CEO and founder David Cancel at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco. Cancel has spent more than 20 years founding SaaS companies, with exits including Compete (acquired by TNS), Lookery (Acknowledge), Ghostery (Evidon), and Performable (Hubspot.)
In their thirty-minute conversation, they cover everything from finding your first customers, to what he’s seen change over the last two decades in the industry, to why he’s willing to cut a check to employees who want to leave. Rather watch them talk for yourself? We’ve embedded a video of their chat at the end of this article.
To find what people really want, ask for money — any money.
One thing Cancel says he’s learned over the years: when you’re just getting started, you need to charge for your product right off the bat because you never know how someone really feels about a product until you ask for money.
“If you’re creating a paid-for product, you have to start charging from day one,” he says.
He outlines an experiment he calls the ‘dollar test,’ where if someone seems interested in a product before it’s even available, he’ll promise them lifetime access if they’ll hand over whatever’s in their pocket — be it a dollar, ten, twenty, whatever.
“What it teaches the entrepreneur is that most of the people who will tell you that they love this thing will not give you a dollar,” actionable information that can save time, money and stress. The dollar test “shortcuts things; most people will end up spending so much time coming back to you because you keep telling [them] you love it, because you’re a nice person and you don’t want to hurt [their] feelings.”
Cancel also uses this approach after a product launches, using it to gauge which new feature requests customers find most important.
“They’d say ‘I love your product, but it doesn’t do X, Y, or Z. My company is special, we need X, Y, or Z feature.'”
“Let’s say they were paying us $5,000 a month. I’d say, ‘it’s only going to be $20 more a month, then we’re going to build it for you and you’ll be the first ones to have it.'”
“What would happen, almost every single time, is there would be this awkward pause. They’d say ‘I have to go talk to my manager, I need to go talk to someone, I’ll get right back to you,'” he said, adding “Almost every single time that person continued to be a customer and never asked for that feature again.”
“When it’s free to ask for anything,” says David, “people will just keep asking.”
Letting people go isn’t always a bad thing
If someone asks David for a recommendation on an engineer, he’s willing to recommend his own employees.
His reasoning is twofold; on one side, it means he knows his teams are made up of people who want to be there; on the other, it means employees know he’s looking out for them.
“I want people on the team who want to be on the team. If people ask me, ‘hey, do you know a really great engineer who does X, Y, Z?'” I say ‘Eric does, and Eric’s on my team.’ I’m like, you should talk to him. And if Eric wants to go, he should go, because we only want people who actually [want] to be there. Then that person knows that I’m looking out for the best interests of them, for them — and even if they go, we may end up working together again later.”
Similarly, if an employee says they want to leave and start their own company, David says he’s often the first to write a check:
“We would attract, in the early days, people who wanted to learn how to start their own company. One of the things I would say, and I still say to everyone: Look, if you come on board, and work with us for some days, if you want to leave at any point and start a company, myself and my co-founder Elias will be the first checks in whatever you want to start, no questions asked.”
“And so we have done that for companies in Boston, companies in San Francisco, companies all over the place. And we continue to do that.”
For finding customers and employees, he turns to LinkedIn
Thanks to recruiter spam and “work anniversary” notifications, LinkedIn tends to be the butt of a lot of jokes — but Cancel says, used right, it’s still quite valuable.
“We built a lot of marketing within LinkedIn, which I think is a place that I would advise people to go spend time on now. You can find your buyers, you can find the people that you recruit.”
LabGenius, a London-based startup applying AI and “robotic automation” to protein drug discovery, has raised $10 million in Series A funding.
The round is led by Lux Capital and Obvious Ventures, with participation from Felicis Ventures, Inovia Capital, Air Street Capital and existing investors. Also investing is Recursion Pharmaceuticals' founder and CEO Chris Gibson, as well as Inovia Capital General Partner Patrick Pichette, who was formerly Google's CFO.
Lux Capital’s Zavain Dar and Obvious Ventures’ Nan Li will join the LabGenius board of directors. Notably, the U.K. company’s early investors include Nathan Benaich, Torsten Reil, EF’s Matt Clifford, and Philipp Moehring, to name just a few.
“LabGenius is a full-stack protein engineering company: we combine artificial intelligence (AI), robotic automation and synthetic biology to evolve next-generation protein therapeutics,” founder and CEO Dr. James Field tells me.
“My central thesis, the thing that's really the driving force behind the company, is the conviction that we're entering an age in which humans will no longer be the sole agents of innovation. Instead, new knowledge, technologies and sophisticated real-world products will be invented by smart robotic platforms called empirical computation engines. An empirical computation engine is an artificial system capable of recursively and intelligently searching a solution space.”
LabGenius’ flagship technology is called “EVA,” which Field describes as a “machine learning-driven, robotic platform” capable of evolving new proteins. “As a smart robotic platform, EVA is capable of designing, conducting and critically learning from its own experiments,” he says.
The goal: to discover and develop new protein therapeutics that are currently hard for humans alone to find.
“For decades, scientists, engineers and technologists have dreamt of building 'robot scientists' capable of autonomously discovering new knowledge, technologies and sophisticated real-world products,” explains Field.
“For protein engineers, that dream has now entered the realm of possibility. The rapid pace of technological development across the fields of synthetic biology, robotic automation and ML has given us access to all the essential ingredients required to create a smart robotic platform capable of intelligently discovering novel therapeutic proteins.”
To that end, Field frames the development of EVA as a “long-term, ambitious undertaking” that he says will enable the startup to address previously unsolvable protein engineering challenges and in doing so, develop urgently needed therapeutics.
“My ultimate goal for LabGenius is to establish a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company powered by the world's most advanced protein engineering platform,” he adds. “Quite honestly, this is a gargantuan undertaking and, while we've already established one of the world's most technically sophisticated protein engineering operations, we're only just scratching the surface of what's possible.”
More broadly, there is a tension that many deep tech companies face, which is determining how best to develop technology that's tightly aligned to real-world commercial needs (before running out of capital!). “For LabGenius, we've achieved this in a highly intentional way by undertaking a series of commercial projects of increasing complexity from the company's earliest days,” Field says.
One on-going project is with Tillotts Pharma AG to identify and develop new drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
“Our business model is pretty simple,” says the LabGenius founder. “We use EVA to discover and characterise new drug molecules and then partner with pharma companies who can take these molecules to market. For example in a typical partner-financed early discovery program, we'll take a project from concept to early pre-clinical stage. Typical deal structures include a blend of R&D payments, milestones & royalties.”
Meanwhile, LabGenius will use the capital to scale its team, expand the scope of its discovery platform and initiate an “internal asset development program.” The next goal is to evolve novel antibody fragments capable of treating conditions that cannot be addressed using conventional antibody formats.
EV Connect, the Los Angeles-based company that sells software to manage electric vehicle charging, has raised $12 million in a Series B round led by investors Mitsui & Co. and Ecosystem Integrity Fund.
EV Connect’s cloud-based platform has an open standard architecture that is designed to be hardware agnostic. In other words, EV Connect aims to provide a variety of hardware vendors a way to monitor, manage and maintain charging stations.
The end goal is to push the industry away from a closed and fragmented system to a more open one, according to EV Connect CEO and founder Jordan Ramer.
EV Connect has a two-tiered approach. The company provides and manages 1,000 electric vehicle charging sites through its EV Connect network. EV Connect has a smartphone app to give drivers of electric vehicles real-time access to charging station status.
Its also sells a cloud-based software platform that businesses can customize. Clients include Yahoo!, Marriott, Hilton, Western Digital, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York Power Authority.
As part of the round, Mitsui and EV Connect have agreed to develop new business models around EV charging infrastructure. EV Connect plans to work with Mitsui on various applications of EV charging to lower the cost of charging and maximize its utilization, including fleet and energy management solutions, Ramer elaborated to TechCrunch in an emailed response.
“We strongly believe that EV Connect’s infrastructure management technology accelerates the electric vehicle revolution in the energy and power industry where Mitsui has many assets and access to partners,” Kazumasa Nakai, the COO of Mitsui’s infrastructure projects business unit, said in a statement. “Our unique engineering capabilities, in conjunction with EV Connect’s cloud-based EV infrastructure, will enable us to develop new business models to solve the challenges EV infrastructure currently pose for energy management companies.”
The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It's a rare medium that's nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut from NPR studios to USB Skype rigs.
We've asked some of our favorite podcast hosts and producers to highlight their workflows — the equipment and software they use to get the job done. The list so far includes:
This week, it’s a nice, in-depth workflow from Mary Phillips-Sandy and Lizzie Jacobs, the host and producer (respectively) of Let’s Talk About Cats. Now in its second season, the Acast network show sits down with artists, musicians and other creatives to, well, talk about their cats. Recent interviews include Spin Doctor Chris Barron and adult actress/writer, Stoya.
We record most of our episodes at our network's office in New York. They've set up a little recording room that Acast shows can use — it's convenient, and there are always cute dogs hanging around. No cats, though.
The Acast space has ElectroVoice RE20 microphones with windscreens on ElectroVoice 309A mounts. Love that warm, classic sound. Also, I (Mary) am self-conscious about my S's, and these mics do a good job of controlling them. The headphones are Sony MDR-7506s. They're… fine. Over-ear headphones always kind of suck for me because they squish my glasses. The headphones run through a PreSonus HP4 amp, which lets everyone set their levels exactly where they want them.
The studio board is a Zoom LiveTrak L-12 and the DAW is Hindenburg, which we only use for recording. Lizzie edits and mixes the show at home with ProTools and her beloved Sennheiser HD 380 pros. She has to be listening to a lot of Cats before her head hurts from the headphones. But she doesn’t wear glasses.
We try to avoid remote interviews. The more we do the show, the more we've realized that it works best when the guest is here in person. We make fast transitions between segments, and one bit (the Cat Quiz) involves handing over a special prize, so getting that IRL reaction is important. (Lizzie cutting in here. Mary’s prizes are next-level. It's incredible what she's able to find on eBay, Etsy and I don't even know where else. The show would not be what it is without them, or without Mary's research skills. Every week she digs up something like a vintage perfume packaged with a cat figurine in a feather boa, or musical theater-themed cat stickers.)
When remote is the only option, we'll do Skype with Ladiocast on the studio laptop. We also ask our guests to record locally with whatever prosumer or office studio gear they can get their hands on — anything to make their voices sound closer.
This may be obvious, but Dropbox is essential to our process. We have a shared folder with Acast where studio tracks get uploaded so Lizzie (or Virginia, who helps with production) can grab them. We also use it to share clips and images for social media. Speaking of which, we've been using Headliner to make captioned preview videos for Instagram and Twitter. Very convenient, highly recommend. We are not graphic designers, so we use Canva to make images for our social accounts and website, which we built on Squarespace, using one of our favorite podcast's promo codes for a discount.
Scripts, research, booking trackers, scheduling and everything else happens in Google Drive/Calendar, which we'd be lost without. In season one we worked with a human for transcription, but she went back to grad school, so now we use Otter. It's not perfect, but it's by far the best automated transcription tool we've found, and you can't beat the price. I (Mary again) actually like taking some time to go through and correct transcripts, because it's a good way to become (even more) aware of your verbal tics. By the fourth “of course,” you want to travel back in time and slap yourself.
The JEDI drama never stops. The $10 billion, decade-long cloud contract has produced a series of twists and turns since the project was announced in 2018. These include everything from court challenges to the president getting involved to accusations of bias and conflict of interest. It has had all this and more. Today, in the latest plot twist, the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper recused himself from the selection process because one of his kids works at a company that was involved earlier in the process.
Several reports name his son, Luke Esper, who has worked at IBM since February. The RFP closed in April and Esper is a Digital Strategy Consultant, according to his LinkedIn page (which is no longer available), but given the persistent controversy around this deal, his dad apparently wanted to remove even a hint of impropriety in the selection and review process.
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman issued an official DoD Cloud update earlier today:
As you all know, soon after becoming Secretary of Defense in July, Secretary Esper initiated a review of the Department’s cloud computing plans and to the JEDI procurement program. As part of this review process he attended informational briefings to ensure he had a full understanding of the JEDI program and the universe of options available to DoD to meet its cloud computing needs. Although not legally required to, he has removed himself from participating in any decision making following the information meetings, due to his adult son’s employment with one of the original contract applicants. Out of an abundance of caution to avoid any concerns regarding his impartiality, Secretary Esper has delegated decision making concerning the JEDI Cloud program to Deputy Secretary Norquist. The JEDI procurement will continue to move to selection through the normal acquisition process run by career acquisition professionals.
Perhaps the biggest beef around this contract, which was supposed to be decided in August, has been the winner-take-all nature of the deal. Only one company will eventually walk away a winner, and there was a persistent belief in some quarters that the deal was designed specifically with Amazon in mind. Oracle’s co-CEO Safra Catz took that concern directly to the president in 2018.
The DoD has repeatedly denied there was any vendor in mind when it created the RFP, and internal Pentagon reviews, courts and a government watchdog agency repeatedly found the procurement process was fair, but the complaints continue. The president got involved in August when he named his then newly appointed defense secretary to look into the JEDI contract procurement process. Now Espers is withdrawing from leading that investigation, and it will be up to others, including his deputy secretary, to finally bring this project over the finish line.
Last April, the DoD named Microsoft and Amazon as the two finalists. It’s worth pointing out that both are leaders in Infrastructure as a Service market share with around 16% and 33%, respectively.
It’s also worth noting that while $10 billion feels like a lot of money, it’s spread out over a 10-year period with lots of possible out clauses built into the deal. To put this deal size into perspective, a September report from Synergy Research found that worldwide combined infrastructure and software service spending in the cloud had already reached $150 billion, a number that is only expected to continue to rise over the next several years as more companies and government agencies like the DoD move more of their workloads to the cloud.
As access to top deals becomes more competitive, venture capital firms are creating new roles to attract top entrepreneurs. Now, in addition to recruiting top dealmakers, firms are bringing in culture experts and allocating roles to individuals who better understand and empathize with the founder journey.
In keeping with this trend, Redpoint Ventures, a venture capital firm with roots in Silicon Valley's Sand Hill Road, has hired a partner and its first-ever “head of founder experience.” Travis Bryant, who joined the firm one year ago as an entrepreneur-in-residence, will be focused on how founders perceive the Redpoint brand, ensuring each individual moment a founder spends with the firm is as founder-friendly as possible.
Historically, VC firms hired investment partners to network, invest in companies and help foster those companies’ growth over a years-long period. Increasingly, these same firms are identifying new talent to provide to founders more attention, resources and support through the company-building process as a means to win access to top deals.
Earlier this month, True Ventures hired its first-ever vice president of culture, Madeline Kolbe Saltzman, who explained she would be guiding "the company and the founder to being the best they can be." Bryant, for his part, will have a host of responsibilities, including supporting existing programs and services tailored to the needs of portfolio founders, and even remodeling the office to create a better "flow" for founders. Basically, Bryant will think through all the ways Redpoint can leave a positive, lasting impression on the companies it invests in and even the companies it rejects.
"The founder is the center of the solar system," Bryant tells TechCrunch. "It's not about them coming to pitch us. It’s how do we help them develop their idea and how do we give them the confidence to get it out in the world."
One might have thought venture capitalists would steer away from the cult of the founder mentality amid the WeWork saga of 2019. Arguably, tech-founder worship allowed WeWork to garner a baseless $47 billion valuation as a result of the billions in equity funding its founder used to purchase a private jet, make several poorly thought-out acquisitions and commit other irresponsible acts that resulted in a delayed initial public offering, hundreds of layoffs and more to come.
Redpoint’s latest hire, if anything, suggests tech-founder worship is far from being erased. To that point, Bryant says his role is less about the founder and more about creating an environment that fosters more human-to-human relationships, bidding adieu to the traditional startup-VC dynamic.
“In the past, a founder might have just wanted to work with a VC because of their prior performance with a goal to just get money, but now it's money-plus-plus," Bryant said. "What are you going to do actively? What can you do to help them cross this chasm and get their idea out and make it successful."
“The expectation of investors is much more significant,” Bryant added. “It’s not about writing a check and hoping to turn that check into something. It’s about adding value.”
When Bill McDermott announced he was stepping down as CEO at SAP a couple of weeks ago, it certainly felt like a curious move — but he landed on his feet pretty quickly. ServiceNow announced he would be taking over as CEO there. The transition will take place at year-end.
If you’re wondering what happened to the current ServiceNow CEO, John Donahoe, well he landed a job as CEO at Nike. The CEO carousel goes round and round (and painted ponies go up and down).
Jeff Miller, lead independent director on the ServiceNow board of directors, was “thrilled” to have McDermott fill the void left by Donahoe’s departure. “His global experience and proven track record will provide for a smooth transition and continued strong leadership. Bill will further enhance ServiceNow's momentum and reputation as a digital workflows leader committed to customer success, and as a preferred strategic partner enabling enterprise digital transformation,” Miller said in a statement.
Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein replaced McDermott as co-CEOs at SAP, and during the announcement, McDermott indicated he would stay until the end of the year to help with the transition. After that, no vacation for McDermott, who will apparently start at ServiceNow after his obligations at SAP end.
I last spoke to McDermott about a month ago, during a fireside chat at our TechCrunch Sessions: Enterprise event. At the time, I didn't come away with the impression that this was a CEO on his way out (though McDermott reminded me that if he had already made his decision a month ago, he probably wouldn't have given it away).
ServiceNow is a much different company than SAP. SAP was founded in 1972 and was a traditional on-premises software company. ServiceNow was founded in 2004 and was born as a SaaS company. While McDermott was part of a transition from a traditional, on-premises enterprise software company to the cloud, working at ServiceNow he will be leading a much smaller organization. Published estimates have SAP at around 100,000 employees, while ServiceNow now has around 10,000.
It’s worth noting that the company made the announcement after the market closed and it announced its latest quarterly earnings. Wall Street did not appear to the like news, as the stock was down $13.34, or 5.84%, in early after-hours trading.
This is how the company will end, not with the pop of a successful public offering, but with a whimper from defeated investors probably tired after the months-long saga of trying to make sense of how a clever real estate plan ballooned into one of the greatest swindles in venture capital history.
Already ousted as the company’s chief executive, Neumann controlled shares of the company that gave him what amounted to significant control even after his removal.
The We Company drama has it all. Complacent directors, horrible management, rapacious greed — wrapped in a package of holistic spirituality and the invention of a new kind of conscious capitalism. Even if it was ultimately a capitalism that was conscious only of its ability to deceive.
As Neumann leaves, SoftBank will gain control of the company it had once valued at $47 billion, but at a far more modest $8 billion figure. Still, the bid was more attractive to The We Company’s board of directors than a competing offer from JPMorgan Chase, according to the Journal’s reporting.
Under the terms of the deal, SoftBank will buy nearly $1 billion in stock from Neumann, who was already forced out from the company he co-founded as public markets balked over his managerial acumen. The Japanese conglomerate, which had pushed up the private market valuation of WeWork through its $100 billion Vision Fund, will also stake Neumann $500 million in credit to repay a loan facility and give him a $185 million consulting fee. As a result, Neumann will now be on the hook to Softbank for the loan.
Even with the Hindenburg-level catastrophe that Neumann piloted as the chief executive of the money-losing real estate venture, the former chief executive will still retain a stake in the company and remain an observer on the board of directors.
In all, SoftBank is putting in a tender offer for as much as $3 billion to go to the company’s employees and other investors. In fact, WeWork needs the money to be able to afford the layoffs it reportedly wants to make as it tries to right the ship.
People with knowledge of the company’s plans said the decision could be announced today, according to the Journal’s reporting.
Part of the reason for the $500 million loan was that Neumann’s removal from the executive role at the company risked putting him in default with his JPMorgan loans.
WeWork revealed an unusual IPO prospectus in August after raising more than $8 billion in equity and debt funding. Despite financials that showed losses of nearly $1 billion in the six months ending June 30, the company still managed to accumulate a valuation as high as $47 billion, largely as a result of Neumann's fundraising abilities.
"As co-founder of WeWork, I am so proud of this team and the incredible company that we have built over the last decade," Neumann said in a statement confirming his resignation last month. "Our global platform now spans 111 cities in 29 countries, serving more than 527,000 members each day. While our business has never been stronger, in recent weeks, the scrutiny directed toward me has become a significant distraction, and I have decided that it is in the best interest of the company to step down as chief executive. Thank you to my colleagues, our members, our landlord partners, and our investors for continuing to believe in this great business."
In a working environment obsessed with metrics dashboards, key performance indicators, and objectives and key results, the legal function presents an elusive target. Compared to sales, marketing and product, "legal" in a growing tech company can seem an inaccessible alchemy of risk, contracting and policy.
But interviews with general counsels at tech companies and a survey conducted by TechGC — a private community of top lawyers at technology companies across the United States — reveal how innovative in-house attorneys measure both productivity and quality and position their teams as central to advancing enterprise-wide goals.
The Status Quo
Legal lags behind other departments in the metrics game. While more than three-quarters of general counsels surveyed said their companies collected regular, department-specific metrics, only 29% indicated that the metrics regime extended to the legal department.
Many point to the unpredictable and reactive nature of a GC's work as a key barrier to collecting informative metrics. As Sarah Feingold, former general counsel at Etsy and Vroom, explains, "if there's a dispute or there's an employment issue, everything else drops." Absent an established operating history against which to measure, it can be hard to identify trends and put those disputes in context. "I could say, ‘oh we didn't get sued this quarter,’ but that's not necessarily so indicative of my performance as the general counsel," adds Katherine Hooker, Head of Legal at Greenhouse.
Productivity & Quality
Faced with these challenges, many general counsels first turn to a "goal cadence" — a set of time-bound, objectively measurable goals against which to report progress. Goal Cadences come in many forms including "Objectives and Key Results [OKRs]," "Management by Objective [MBOs]," and "Goals/Signals/Metrics [GSMs]."
"At the beginning of the planning period, I map out key projects — closing a financing, data security audits, updating TOS and privacy policies — and lay those out across the period. Then it's simply: did I finish projects on time yes or no," says David Pashman, former GC at Meetup and current GC at JW Player . More than 40% of GCs surveyed collect OKRs or something similar (the second-most commonly collected metric after legal spend [74%]).
Measuring outputs and productivity has its rewards, as Colin Sullivan, head of legal at Patreon explains. "When you measure, there are two purposes: one is to improve and the other is to demonstrate the value you are providing to the company." Many GCs stressed the power of metrics collection and presentation as key in characterizing how the company at large viewed the legal department.
But over-reliance on OKRs risks treating productivity as a proxy for quality, which can be more challenging to pin down. A full 45% of GC's characterized the method they use to judge the performance of their own direct reports as "kind of a Potter Stuart Thing (‘I know it when I see it’)," a phrase famously used by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stuart to characterize hardcore pornography in Jacobellis v. Ohio.
To to penetrate the qualitative side, GCs turn primarily to flash surveys of internal clients (e.g. the sales team) and to "360 reviews" — recurring professional feedback from both direct reports, lateral colleagues and managers. Regular reviews offer minimal disruption and a cost-effective method for generating metrics that can be compared over time to illustrate trends. As Ben Alden, GC at Betterment assesses it, 360 reviews offer an efficiency play. "A fully-scoped procurement process could include metrics on speed, cost and comparisons against benchmarked best practices. But that takes a lot of overhead to set up; versus a solid 360 review process makes sure that people are performing at their best and is ready out of the box."
Version 2.0
More sophisticated metrics regimes yield more granular measures. In addition to core financial metrics like spend on outside counsel and performance against budget and spend as a percentage of overall operating expense, general counsels focus on tracking items like deal terms and risk exposure.
The Snap-back continues. Snapchat blew past earnings expectations for a big beat in Q3, as it added 7 million daily active users this quarter to hit 210 million, up 13% year-over-year. Snap also beat on revenue, notching $446 million, which is up a whopping 50% year-over-year, at a loss of $0.04 EPS. That flew past Bloomberg’s consensus of Wall Street estimates that expected $437.9 million in revenue and a $0.05 EPS loss.
Snap has managed to continue cutting losses as it edges toward profitability. Net loss improved to $227 million from $255 million last quarter, with the loss decreasing $98 million versus Q3 2018.
CEO Evan Spiegel made his case in his prepared remarks for why Snapchat’s share price should be higher: "We are a high-growth business, with strong operating leverage, a clear path to profitability, a distinct vision for the future and the ability to invest over the long term.”
Snapchat’s share price had closed down 4% at $14, and had fallen roughly 4.6% in after-hours trading as of 1:50 pm Pacific, to $13.35, despite the earnings beat. It remains below its $17 IPO price but has performed exceedingly well this year, rising from a low of $4.99 in December.
That’s partially because of the high cost of Snapchat’s growth relative average revenue per user. While it notes that it saw user growth in all regions, 5 million of the 7 million new users came from the Rest of World, with just 1 million coming from the North America and Europe regions. That’s in part thanks to better than expected growth and retention on its re-engineered Android app that’s been a hit in India. But since Snapchat serves so much high-definition video content but it earns just $1.01 average revenue in the Rest of World, it has to hope it can keep growing ARPU so it becomes profitable globally.
Some other top-line stats from Snapchat’s earnings:
Operating cash flow improved by $56 million to a loss of $76 million in Q3 2019, compared to the prior year.
Free Cash Flow improved by $75 million to $84 million in Q3 2019, compared to the prior year.
Cash and marketable securities on hand reached $2.3 billion.
Interestingly, Spiegel noted that “We benefited from year-over-year growth in user activity in Q3 including growth in Snapchatters posting and viewing Stories.” Snapchat hadn’t indicated Stories was growing in at least the past two years, as it was attacked by clones, including Instagram Stories that led Snapchat to start shrinking in user count a year ago before it recovered.
Since Stories viewership is critical to total ad view on Snapchat, we may see analysts insisting to hear more about that metric in the future. Snap also said users opened the app 30 times per day, up from 25 times per day as of July 2018, showing it’s still highly sticky and being used for rapid-fire visual communication.
The other major piece of Snapchat’s ad properties is Discover, where total time spent watching grew 40% year-over-year. And rather than being driving by just a few hits, more than 100 Discover channels saw over 10 million viewers per month in Q3. With Instagram’s IGTV a flop, Discover remains Snapchat’s best differentiated revenue driver, and one it needs to keep investing in and promoting. With Instagram trying to compete more heavily on chat with its new close friends-only Threads app, Snapchat can’t rely on ephemeral messaging to keep it special.
TikTok buys ads on Snapchat that could steal its users
Surprisingly, Spiegel said that “We definitely see TikTok as a friend” when asked about why it allowed the competitor to continue buying ads on Snapchat. The two apps are different, with Snapchat focused on messaging and biographical social media while TikTok is about storyboarded, premeditated social entertainment. But this could be a dangerous friendship for Snapchat, as TikTok may be taking time away that users might spend watching Snapchat Discover, and its growth could box Snapchat out of the social entertainment space.
Looking forward, in Q4 Snap is estimating 214 to 215 million daily active users and $540 million to $560 million in revenue. It’s expecting between break even and positive $20 million for adjusted EBITDA. That revenue guidance was below estimates for the holiday Q4, contributing to the share price fall.
Snap has a ways to go before reaching profitability. That milestone would let it more freely invest in long-term projects, specifically its Spectacles camera-glasses. Spiegel has said he doesn’t expect augmented reality glasses to be a mainstream consumer product for 10 years. That means Snap will have to survive and spend for a long time if it wants a chance to battle Apple, Facebook, Magic Leap and more for that market.
There is no bigger industry on our planet than food and agriculture, with a consistent, loyal customer base of 7 billion. In fact, the World Bank estimates that food and agriculture comprise about 10% of the global GDP, meaning that, food and agriculture would be valued at about $8 trillion globally based on the projected global GDP of $88 trillion for 2019.
On the food front, a record $1.71 trillion was spent on food and beverages in 2018 at grocery stores and other retailers and away-from-home meals and snacks in the United States alone. During the same year, 9.7% of Americans' disposable personal income was spent on food — 5% at home and 4.7% away from home — a percentage that has remained steady amidst economic changes over the past 20 years.
However, despite a stalwart customer base, the food industry is facing unprecedented challenges in production, demand and regulations stemming from consumer trends. Consumer demands and focus have changed in recent years. An increasing focus by consumers on sustainability, health and freshness has placed significant pressure on the food industry to innovate.
Innovation imperative
In recent years, agtech innovators have created exciting new ways to harness the power of technology to enhance the world's food supply. Agtech innovations are protecting crops and maximizing outputs — enabling structural changes in the agriculture system that could achieve important sustainability goals of lowering greenhouse gasses, reducing water use, ending deforestation and potentially even sequestering carbon back into soil.
But this is just the beginning. As everyone needs to eat (multiple times a day!), there remains a huge opportunity for investments in innovative food and beverage technology, or food tech, that better the health of our food ecosystem through novel ingredients and improved diets via better food distribution, preservation and access.
The opportunity to use technology to improve food is massive and extends to improving food usage and decreasing waste — a key to minimizing the environmental impacts of a growing human population. Cognizant of this huge opportunity, venture capitalists are closely tracking this space. According to PitchBook, funding for food tech has skyrocketed from about $60 million in 2008 to more than $1 billion in 2015. And unique investments from VCs and private equity funds have doubled from 223 in 2015 to 459 in 2017, according to CB Insights. In examining total investments made, along with exit activity, food tech has now surpassed agtech on both fronts. This is still relatively small, given the food tech sector's large potential customer base globally of more than 7 billion people (and growing).
Key drivers of food tech investments
Consumers are getting pickier about what they eat. They are juggling hectic work and personal lives, and demand convenience when it comes to their meals. But this convenience cannot come at the expense of quality. Now more than ever, people want to know what's in their food, where it came from and how its production and sourcing impacts the environment.
An increasing focus by consumers on sustainability, health and freshness has placed significant pressure on the food industry to innovate.
In years past, consumer packaged goods (CPG) incumbents rushed to deliver on these heightened demands — promising convenient, superior-quality food. But falling margins on commodity ingredients, coupled with industry consolidation, have discouraged these efforts, and many have refocused their attention — leaving the door open for a new wave of hungry (pun intended) innovators and startups.
Today's consumers are not only looking for convenience and consistency, but are also seeking nutritious food that can be accessed with ease, limits waste creation and aligns with their personal brands. In reality, it has never been more difficult to be a food company. Consumer demands have expanded to include ethical mantras but have not given way to requirements of convenience. However, spending trends show that consumers are ready and willing to pay a premium for food tech innovations that can meet their ever-increasing needs of convenience, health and low environmental impact. The opportunity for food innovators to capitalize on these market demands is growing!
Food tech present
Today, grocery ordering and delivery represents the largest food tech category, while meal ordering comprises the greatest number of privately held, venture-backed startups in food tech globally. Last year was an exceptional year for food tech, with a record-breaking $16.9 billion in funding recorded. According to Crunchbase, the three biggest deals of the year included $1 billion for Swiggy, India's leading online restaurant marketplace; $600 million for Instacart, a U.S. grocery delivery service; and $590 million for iFood, a Brazil-based restaurant marketplace.
While consumers still have an appetite (again with the puns!) for grocery ordering and delivery plays, investors are becoming increasingly cautious in the wake of meal kit service Blue Apron's high-profile failure (among others), which emphasized challenges like scalability, the inability to patent food and spoilage and contamination concerns across the supply chain. These missteps have led many investors to turn their attention to new food tech frontiers.
Food tech future
There are three key areas in which food tech innovations are beginning to deliver completely new and novel approaches along the value chain. These areas represent technological approaches addressing serious pain points within the food industry, and we anticipate that these sectors will experience significant growth and investment attention in the coming years.
Consumer food tech
Consumer food tech is the segment within food technology investment that focuses on development of technologies primarily marketed toward the consumer. Be it plant-based meats, novel distribution systems or nutrition-based tech, this segment aims to assuage consumer-driven demands. Examples of consumer food tech innovators include alternative protein/diary, nutrition and meal kit distribution companies.
As the organic food trend reached its peak and began to commoditize, another food trend has risen to take its place. Plant-based, meatless, animal-free … regardless of the moniker given, it seems like everyone is getting into the meatless craze. News or ads trumpeting the arrival of "meatless meat" are unavoidable.
Fast food giants Burger King (via Impossible Foods) and McDonald’s (via Beyond Meat) are now serving meatless burgers on their menus, attracting new customers that typically shop for food at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Memphis Meats is another example, as is the retail giant Ikea, which is working on a vegetarian version of its infamous Swedish meatballs.
But it doesn't end there. Other innovative companies are working on the commercialization of alternative proteins such as Clara Foods (egg whites from cell cultures), and Ripple Foods and Oatly that are focused on developing dairy and nut-free milk alternatives. UBS estimates that the market for plant-based proteins alone could expand from just under $5 billion at present to some $85 billion over the next decade, at a roughly 28% growth rate year-over-year.
Meanwhile, companies like Brightseed, Just and Renaissance Bioscience are blazing new trails on the biological and nutraceuticals front, seeking ways to produce food and nutritional supplements in cleaner, smarter and more sustainable ways.
Industrial food tech
While some companies focus on the food itself, many others are exploring how to process, package and distribute this new wave of sustainable, healthy and innovative food. Industrial food tech is the sub-segment of food tech that focuses on addressing fundamental business model and B2B pain points within the food industry. The companies include innovators in novel processing and packaging technology and new/functional ingredients that have improved nutritional, labeling or formulation characteristics.
Investments in food tech will continue to increase to help deliver on the promise of healthier, more sustainable food systems.
Food processing/grading technologies will also be at the forefront of this segment; for example, food inspection startup P&P Optica has received financing to develop their food quality and foreign object detection technology. This hyperspectral tech has the potential to provide not only food-safety improvements in automated foreign object detection, but also to enable meat quality grading to be standardized and improved over time.
Coupled with a burgeoning sector in industrial ingredients like emulsifiers, sweeteners and firming agents, among other additives, this segment is growing quickly as large-scale food producers are facing consumer pressure to not only innovate, but also to do so sustainably. Companies like Aromyx are working to quantify things like taste and smell to help enhance production processes across a range of industries, from pharmaceuticals and chemicals to agriculture, food and beverages and consumer packaged goods.
Supply chain & procurement
The Chipotle contamination crisis (and others like it) underscores the importance of improving visibility into food supply chains. Safe Traces and other startups are helping to increasing food traceability by commercializing new modes of tracking food provenance. Consumer awareness regarding food fraud and requirements for food traceability, as well as records of provenance, are increasing. This has created a strong business case for innovation in the food supply chain to satisfy these demands. Changing consumer preferences for quality, convenience and gourmet products in food service has led to a rise in the category of fast-casual restaurants and placed pressure on fast food restaurants to rethink their delivery models.
Startups like Farmer's Fridge (a Finistere portfolio company) and BingoBox package chef-curated meals and snacks in conveniently placed vending machines or unmanned, automated convenience stores. 6D Bytes uses AI and machine learning to prepare healthy food, like smoothies, while Starship Electronics has, in partnership with local stores and restaurants, introduced a fleet of robots that deliver food to people.
Innovators in this segment are focused on traceability, sustainability, improving freshness and eliminating food waste. For example, Good Eggs and Farmdrop deliver fresh and sustainably sourced grocery food in reusable packaging, while Full Harvest encourages the food supply chain to "shop ugly" by using imperfect or surplus produce that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Technology will continue to play an increasingly critical role in how the food we eat is produced, how it is packaged, how it is delivered, how it tastes, feels and smells and how it is reused and repurposed. Investments in food tech will continue to increase to help deliver on the promise of healthier, more sustainable food systems for the world. After all, we are what we eat.
Databricks is a SaaS business built on top of a bunch of open-source tools, and apparently it’s been going pretty well on the business side of things. In fact, the company claims to be one of the fastest growing enterprise cloud companies ever. Today the company announced a massive $400 million Series F funding round on a hefty $6.2 billion valuation. Today’s funding brings the total raised to almost a $900 million.
Andreessen Horowitz’s Late Stage Venture Fund led the round with new investors BlackRock, Inc., T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Tiger Global Management also participating. The institutional investors are particularly interesting here because as a late-stage startup, Databricks likely has its eye on a future IPO, and having those investors on board already could give them a head start.
CEO Ali Ghodsi was coy when it came to the IPO, but it sure sounded like that’s a direction he wants to go. “We are one of the fastest growing cloud enterprise software companies on record, which means we have a lot of access to capital as this fundraise shows. The revenue is growing gangbusters, and the brand is also really well known. So an IPO is not something that we’re optimizing for, but it’s something that’s definitely going to happen down the line in the not-too-distant future,” Ghodsi told TechCrunch.
The company announced as of Q3 it’s on a $200 million run rate, and it has a platform that consists of four products, all built on foundational open source: Delta Lake, an open-source data lake product; MLflow, an open-source project that helps data teams operationalize machine learning; Koalas, which creates a single machine framework for Spark and Pandos, greatly simplifying working with the two tools; and, finally, Spark, the open-source analytics engine.
You can download the open-source version of all of these tools for free, but they are not easy to use or manage. The way that Databricks makes money is by offering each of these tools in the form of Software as a Service. They handle all of the management headaches associated with using these tools and they charge you a subscription price.
It’s a model that seems to be working, as the company is growing like crazy. It raised $250 million just last February on a $2.75 billion valuation. Apparently the investors saw room for a lot more growth in the intervening six months, as today’s $6.2 billion valuation shows.
California is in the midst of a serious housing crisis with ramifications that stretch across the state. In the Bay Area, the crisis is often at its most visible due to the presence of tech mega-corps and the influx of highly paid tech workers that have exacerbated the problem.
It hasn’t been uncommon for some of these huge tech companies to take some responsibility for the issues and invest back into organizations seeking to promote affordable housing. In Seattle, Microsoft and Amazon have announced initiatives. In the Bay Area, Google recently announced a $1 billion 10-year-plan — and now Facebook is doing the same.
In a blog post attributed to Facebook CFO David Wehner, the company announced they’ve set aside $1 billion to tackle affordable housing; they’re hoping this initiative will lead to the creation of “up to 20,000 new housing units.”
This, of course, isn’t going to be some lump-sum check sent to the California government; it’s divvied up into a few different initiatives:
California state: $250 million is being devoted to a partnership with the California state government to subsidize development on excess state-owned land “where housing is scarce.”
Bay Area: A $225 million chunk of the commitment is the value of Facebook-owned land that has been zoned for housing in Menlo Park. An additional $150 million is being contributed to The Bay's Future Fund, an affordable housing investment fund. And $25 million is going to help fund housing construction for essential workers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
California and elsewhere: The last major chunk, $350 million, is being set aside for “additional commitments” to the other listed initiatives, as well as new efforts to address housing issues near Facebook offices outside of California.
For its part, the California government seems appreciative to have some help from major companies, though even hundreds of millions in aid is a drop in the bucket for how badly the California state government has mismanaged this issue.
"State government cannot solve housing affordability alone, we need others to join Facebook in stepping up – progress requires partnership with the private sector and philanthropy to change the status quo and address the cost crisis our state is facing,” a statement attributed to California Governor Gavin Newsom reads.
Transportation services giant Penske Corp. is backing a new car-sharing service called Penske Dash that launched Tuesday in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Va.
The service is debuting at an awkward time for the industry. While some car-sharing operations, particularly peer-to-peer services, have expanded, others have struggled in the past year. GM’s Maven, BMW’s ReachNow, Car2Go and Lime are among the car-sharing companies that have scaled back or closed their businesses altogether.
In May, GM scaled back its Maven car-sharing company and stopped service in eight markets. BMW’s ReachNow service shut down so abruptly in Seattle and Portland that customers were still using the cars when the announcement was made. Meanwhile, transportation startup Lime closed its LimePod car-sharing service after less than a year of operations in Seattle and Car2Go pulled out of five North American cities.
Despite these headwinds, Penske Corp. Chairman Roger Penske seems keen to jump into the business.
“Penske Dash furthers our commitment to embrace new technologies while addressing the mobility needs for our consumers,” Roger Penske said in a statement, adding that the company intends to “remain at the forefront of new leading transportation solutions.”
Local operations will be led by Paul Delong, who previously served as president and CEO of Car2Go North America.
Penske Dash gives customers access to a fleet of Volkswagen Jetta SE vehicles that can be rented by the minute, hour or day through the app. The rental rates, which are $0.45 a minute or $15 an hour, include fuel, parking and insurance. Members are also supported with 24/7 access to a call center and a local fleet operations team.
Penske Dash describes itself as “free-floating,” although within Washington, D.C. it’s a bit more constrained than some other services that allow customers to park anywhere within a geographic area. Customers can park their Penske Dash vehicle in a public, unrestricted, street parking space in Arlington identified by Penske Dash. In Washington, D.C., customers must park in a parking spot marked by a Penske Dash sign in approved garages or lots, according to rules stated on its website.
Ridecell, a transportation software company, is providing the platform for the app. The startup, which developed a cloud-based mobility platform designed to help car-sharing, ridesharing and autonomous technology companies manage their vehicles, raised $60 million in a Series B round in late 2018.
Beginning today, Amazon will be rolling out a news aggregation app for Fire TV users in the U.S. The app serves up a customizable news experience from a number of different outlets. The list includes nearly 20 names (a number of which are Yahoo sub-sites), including bigger partners like Reuters, CBS, Sports Illustrated and HuffPo. The available outlets are as follows:
CBS News
Reuters
Huffington Post
Bloomberg
Yahoo News
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Entertainment
AOL News
Al Jazeera
People
Entertainment Weekly
Sports Illustrated
Cheddar
Newsy
Wochit
There are a number of big names missing, of course — The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and CNN all spring to mind. Though, admittedly, these sorts of content deals can be tricky, through a combination of paywalled content and the kind of flash news feature that's required to serve content through a smart assistant. Amazon promises to "continue to expand its news content selection over time."
Once the outlets have been chosen, users can access it by asking Alexa to "play the news." Alexa-enabled Fire tablets will be getting the app at some point in the near future.
New Scientist has obtained a legal agreement between Google’s health division and the UK National Health Service (NHS) that includes provision to pass five years’ worth of patient data in bulk as part of a contract novation process.
If you’re feeling a sense of deja vu that’s quite right: Back in 2016 it emerged — also via New Scientist Freedom of Information request — that Alphabet-owned DeepMind, acquired by Google in 2014, had received a bulk patient data injection from a London NHS Trust.
The revelation that vast numbers of NHS patients records (around 1.6 million in that case) had quietly been passed to a Google -owned company led to a lengthy regulatory investigation and, finally in 2017, a finding that the Royal Free NHS Trust had breached UK law when it passed patient data to DeepMind for the development of an alerts app called Streams.
But despite the finding of no legal basis for data to be shared during the app’s development, DeepMind continued inking agreements with NHS Trusts.
It also went on an aggressive PR offensive — holding meetings with patients, publishing its contracts with NHS Trusts (albeit with redactions), and establishing an independent oversight board to scrutinize its health division.
These DeepMind-appointed reviewers went on to warn about the risk of the company being able to exert excessive monopoly power as a result of the streaming data-access infrastructure it was contractually bundling with the Streams app.
And then last year a bombshell announcement: DeepMind’s health unit would be folded into Google — as part of a business reorganization instructed by their shared parent, Alphabet. The controversial takeover was completed last month. So for DeepMind then read Google now.
The move made DeepMind’s years of protestations during the data governance scandal — when it had claimed repeatedly that patient data would never be shared with Google — entirely worthless. UK citizens’ medical records are now headed directly for Google’s servers.
Three years on and it’s as if nothing much has changed except the order of names. Regardless of a regulatory slap-down and pointed guidance from the UK’s National Data Guardian on the use of patient data for app development.
This is a curious backwards twist given the Trust is what’s known as a ‘global digital exemplar’ (GDE), meaning it’s received extra government funding to fund digital best practice in areas such as information sharing in order to create a model for digital transformation that other trusts can follow. Which includes, in its case, developing open APIs using an international standard for data interoperability between healthcare systems known as a FHIR (aka: Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources).
DeepMind, meanwhile, bundled the licensing of an FHIR API into its Streams contracts with Trusts — meaning it would own the underlying delivery architecture for data-dependent digital services as well as the Streams app itself. And the new contract Taunton has inked with Google covers the same ground, with clauses pertaining to the design and development of the FHIR API for Streams.
It also includes an unredacted section specifying that this FHIR API, now provided by Google Health UK, will act as the gateway via which third party app makers (initially on iOS) can gain access to “relevant Trust data”.
But with commercial sections of the contract redacted it’s not clear whether Google will charge developers for API access. When we asked DeepMind’s founder about that point back in 2016 Mustafa Suleyman told us he “didn’t know”. (Google did not respond to a question now about Streams commercial terms.)
Its novated contract with Taunton includes provision for sending five years’ worth of historical encounter and diagnostic information on patients, as well as the electronic patient record database in bulk.
We asked the Trust why the contract includes provision to pass patient data in bulk now it has its own FHIR APIs readily available. A spokesman told us it’s because “back in 2016 when we signed the contract we weren't a GDE so didn't have access to FHIR” — adding that “we would have needed to cancel the contract and renegotiate, whereas we have novated it like for like”.
Yet one NHS Trust, Yeovil, chose not to novate its contract from DeepMind to Google — having never having rolled out the Streams app. So, in Taunton’s case, it’s not entirely clear why it went ahead and novated.
Its spokesman confirmed to us it hasn’t rolled out Streams either. Nor does it have any plan to do so at this time, he said.
But a Google spokeswomen told us the Trust has an agreement with Google Health to explore what she couched as future collaborations on ways which mobile tools could support its digital priorities.
Taunton’s spokesman suggested that if the Trust were to move forward with Google on developing digital healthcare apps that made use of the bulk patient data provisions in the novated contract it would seek to consult with patients beforehand. But the contract terms do already provide for access to patient data.
The spokesman suggested the Trust is viewing maintaining a contractual relationship with Google-DeepMind as an “opportunity”. Though it’s not clear whether it risks being contractually bound to Google as sole FHIR API provider for any third party digital healthcare apps. Or whether it could use its own FHIR infrastructure to open up to outside innovation despite having inked this agreement with Google. (We’ve asked the Trust for technical and legal clarification of that.)
Taunton also sent us this statement, attributed to David Shannon, its director of strategic development:
No patient data is currently shared between Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Deepmind or Google Health, nor are we using any Google Health applications. If we were to work with DeepMind or Google Health on any digital innovations to support patient care in the future, the work would be led by clinicians and we would engage openly and transparently with our patients. When we signed the contract with DeepMind in 2016 we did not have FHIR infrastructure but we are now a Global Digital Exemplar and would use the most appropriate, secure technology available to us.
We contacted the UK’s data protection watchdog, the ICO, for a reaction to confirmation that the novated contract provides for bulk data to be passed to Google — and a spokesperson pointed us to a statement it issued earlier this month, when it said: “Although the ICO cannot approve the steps taken to mitigate any additional risks to personal data as a result of contractual changes, we have been regularly updated on these changes and have made the organisations aware of their obligations under data protection law."
In July the regulator also posted an update on its Royal Free Streams app investigation, writing then:
… ahead of the transfer of Streams from DeepMind to the new Google Health Unit, the ICO has made it clear to controllers using the Streams service that they will need to have the appropriate legal documentation in place to ensure their processing is in line with the requirements of the GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation]. Organisations must assure themselves and document how they have taken appropriate steps to mitigate data protection risks beyond contractual obligations and the obligation on Google Health under data protection law, such as audits, reports and other appropriate measures.
As we’ve said, Google’s contract with Taunton is redacted to remove all details about commercial terms so it’s not clear what terms are being attached to potential future work on Streams/an FHIR API for third parties. Although DeepMind had been offering the Streams bundle free to Trusts for the first five years, with payments only kicking in if its service support costs exceeded £15,000 a month. So presumably the terms remain the same for the duration of the original contract term.
Taunton’s bulk data provisions in the new contract with Google define “active” patients — which is the only type of patients whose data can be passed, per its stated terms — as “(1) Patients with open elective pathways; (2) Patients with emergency admission pathways with unscheduled pending activity; (3) Patients with emergency admissions within 6 months prior to the point of transfer (i.e.) before Streams go-live;”.
Sam Smith, coordinator at health data privacy advocacy group MedConfidential, argues this is a contradictory definition for a one-off upload. Or else will entail a huge amount of work for the hospital which he says also won’t help for patients who don't meet the 'active patients' definition the day before the export but will the day after.
“These deals show just how little has changed for one of the most controversial NHS data projects of the last half decade,” he said in a statement. “Despite the deal with the Royal Free being ruled unlawful, Trusts have now signed contracts to hand Google five years of patients' data from over a dozen hospitals — and won't even say how much they're being paid.
“If this is the sort of deal that [UK prime minister] Boris Johnson is going to encourage, then it'll be catastrophic for public trust. Patients must know what is happening to their data, and be able to see exactly what sort of deals are being done to get it."
Unlike DeepMind, which was on the defensive back foot throughout 2016-17 following the Royal Free data governance scandal, Google Health has not committed to publish its contracts with NHS trusts.
So far its other contracts with NHS Trusts have not been released into the public domain. Though, presumably, if they have all been novated in the same way they’ll contain identical terms as were agreed with DeepMind.
Google has also disbanded the independent oversight board that DeepMind had established, claiming it’s not the right structure to oversee Google Health’s global focus. So there’s been a marked reduction in the level of transparency around what’s being done with patient data as contracts have moved over to the tech giant. Which hardly looks good from a patient trust point of view.
One thing is clear: Google’s ambitions for its now enlarged health division include seeking to apply artificial intelligence to health data for predictive and diagnostic purposes. This was also the intent of AI specialist DeepMind, which had early plans to reuse the Royal Free patient data for training AIs, though it claimed to have stepped back from doing so — once it realized additional regulatory clearances would be required.
This July, just prior to handing off its health division to Google, DeepMind and Google scientists published a research paper in which they detailed a deep learning model for continuously predicting the future likelihood of a patient developing a life-threatening condition called acute kidney injury (AKI). The same condition the Streams app currently uses an NHS algorithm to generate alerts for.
DeepMind claimed the AI AKI model supports faster intervention, describing it as its “biggest healthcare research breakthrough to date”. However the model was trained using U.S. patient data from the Department of Veteran Affairs that skews overwhelmingly male: 93.6%. So there are major caveats about how the AI model could be safely applied to other less skewed, more diverse populations.
Google’s contract with Taunton states that patient data (should the company actually get any) can only be used for direct patient care purposes — so not for developing any software.
Nor, we must presume, for developing any AI models. Additional regulatory approvals would be required for such an experimental purpose which clearly would not fall under a ‘direct patient care’ umbrella.
At the same time the contract sketches the clearest picture yet of what Google has in mind with Streams: An app that’s already evolved in scope from a mobile wrapper for NHS algorithmic alerts to a broader task management and alerts app served via a Google-owned streaming FHIR API.
In a section of contract definitions, the “Streams: Task Management” software is defined as “a clinical task management and text based messaging platform provided in the form of a mobile software application”; while the “Streams: Mobile platform” is defined as a Class I non-measuring medical device provided in the form of a mobile app that can currently assess the real-time detection of AKI — and “which is extensible generally to (i) patient safety alerts, and (ii) real time detection and decision support to support treatment and avert clinical deterioration across a range of diagnoses and organ systems, including any new releases and/or new versions (including, without limitation, releases to include the development of functionality for vital signs entry and viewing and other aspects as set out in the Roadmap) provided as part of the Support Services”.
Within those broad parameters there is clearly scope for Streams to become the wrapper for delivering AI-powered alerts and decision support to clinicians at the hospital bedside.
Though — in the UK at least — there is a question mark over how Google could push AI down its FHIR pipe unless it can gain advance access to the necessary population-level data in order to train relevant AI models.
After all, it’s the NHS, not Google, which holds that sensitive personal information in trust for patients.
And as Sir John Bell said , after penning the UK government’s review of the life sciences sector a couple of years ago: “What Google's doing in [other sectors], we've got an equivalent unique position in the health space. Most of the value is the data. The worst thing we could do is give it away for free.”
Athletes looking to take a break from all their worries over prescription painkillers and anyone who’s hankering to try out the new cannabinoid-based treatments for their conditions (without worrying about potentially getting dosed with some THC) can now turn to beam.
The Boston-based company founded by two former athletes (who were friends at Boston College) is pitching a product that’s 100% CBD sourced from hemp plants without any of the psychoactive ingredients that are found in tetrahydrocannabinol.
Matt Lombardi, a former minor league hockey player and serial entrepreneur, and Kevin Moran, who played baseball in the minors before taking an enterprise software sales job, launched the company back in 2018.
The longtime athletes both were intrigued by cannabis-based treatments and their possibility as an alternative to the chemically derived pain relievers and anti-inflammatories that could have severe side effects or result in addiction. But they also wanted products that would not be tainted with the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that could cause problems for users in certain states.
So they developed a product set by working with multiple independent laboratories to ensure their products were free of leads, heavy metals and pesticides, the company said. That devotion to purity has led the company to sign agreements with fitness pros like Mat Fraser, Brooke Wells, Tia-Clair Toomey and Mikaela Mayer.
Beam founders Matt Lombardi and Kevin Moran
The company currently sells three lines of products — cannabinoid-infused oils, which sell for anywhere from $60 to $140; a cannabinoid-infused salve that retails for $60; and protein bars with cannabinoid powders, which cost between $25 and $45. The bars, oils and salve can be sold in every state and ordered online, according to the company.
“At the high level we look at being a performance wellness company,” says Lombardi.
While the cannabis industry is still in its infancy, products infused with newly legal cannabinoids have been surging in the market recently. Not a day goes by that some startup isn’t launching a cannabis-infused brand touting its health and wellness benefits.
Beam looks to differentiate itself through its focus on testing and the purity of its products, along with an approach that’s aimed at the health and fitness market. There will be other products coming down the pike that will increase the company’s focus on tailoring its offerings to meet performance needs, says Lombardi.
“We're launching some blend products that will be purpose-driven for different use cases,” he said.
The company has also managed to land some venture capital backing to pursue its vision as Obvious Ventures came in to lead a $5 million seed round into the company.
“At Obvious, we believe that natural cannabinoids hold the promise for significant health benefits. We identified beam as a stand-out in a crowded landscape for their product innovation, rigorous focus on quality and ensuring zero THC content in those products and their amazing growth within the fitness community,” said Obvious co-founder James Joaquin, in a statement. “We also feel that the pro-athlete pasts of both beam’s co-founders have informed a unique entrepreneurial skill, putting beam on a quick trajectory towards profitability.”
Obvious definitely has a recent track record of successful investments that point to an awareness of what’s on the horizon for consumers. The firm was an investor in Beyond Meat, whose launch has transformed the market for plant-based meat substitutes.
Joaquin sees another successful recent exit, from the portfolio company Olly, as the closest parallel to the thesis behind beam. “It’s very similar to the work that we did,” he says.
Olly, which had a line of health supplements, was sold to Unilever for an undisclosed amount earlier this year.
With the money in hand, beam is now thinking about the next phase of product development, which will be the launch of two different products — a daytime blend and a nighttime blend. The company intends to roll out additional functional products over time, says Lombardi.
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ప్రధాని మోడీ దేశంలోని బాలీవుడ్ సెలబ్రిటీలను మాత్రమే పిలిచి పార్టీ ఇచ్చిన తీరుపై ఇప్పటికే సౌత్ ఇండియా స్టార్స్ నుంచి వ్యతిరేకత వ్యక్తమవుతోంది. సౌత్ హీరోలను ఇండియన్ సినిమా ప్రతినిధులుగా గుర్తించిన సమయంలోనే ప్రపంచ వేదికపై సౌత్ సినిమా అదీ.. మన తెలుగు బాహుబలి నఇ రాయల్ ఆల్బర్ట్ మ్యూజిక్ హాల్ లో ప్రదర్శించడం మోడీకి, బాలీవుడ్ కు చెంపపెట్టులాంటి సమాధానమే. అయితే , అంతాబాగానే ఉన్న లండన్ లోని ఆ ప్రఖ్యాత థియేటర్ లో బాహుబలి […]
డిస్కోరాజాకు సంబంధించి మరో భారీ షెడ్యూల్ పూర్తిచేశాడు రవితేజ. ఐస్ ల్యాండ్ లో ఈ సినిమాకు సంబంధించి ఓ ఫైట్ సీక్వెన్స్ తీశారు. ఐస్ లాండ్ లోని రెండో అతిపెద్ద ద్వీపంలో ఈ షెడ్యూల్ జరిగింది. తాజా షూట్ తో డిస్కోరాజాకు సంబంధించి దాదాపు టాకీ పార్ట్ షూటింగ్ కంప్లీట్ అయింది. 2 పాటల్ని హైదరాబాద్ లోనే షూట్ చేయబోతున్నారు. మరో పాట కోసం మరోసారి విదేశాలకు వెళ్లాలనే ఆలోచనలో ఉన్నారు. వీఐ ఆనంద్ దర్శకత్వంలో కంప్లీట్ […]
విశాఖ ఎయిర్పోర్టులో జగన్పై హత్యాయత్నం జరిగినప్పుడు అక్కడున్న ప్యూజన్ రెస్టారెంట్ ఓనర్ హర్షవర్థన్ చౌదరి పేరు ప్రముఖంగా వినిపించింది. జగన్పై దాడి చేసిన శ్రీనివాస్ను తన రెస్టారెంట్లోకి తీసుకొచ్చి పెట్టుకున్నది ఈ హర్షవర్థనే. అలా జగన్పై దాడి జరగడానికి అవకాశం ఇచ్చిన వారిలో ఈయన ఒకరు. ఇప్పటికీ విశాఖ ఎయిర్పోర్టులో హర్షవర్థన్ హవానే కొనసాగుతోంది. గతంలో జగన్ ఎయిర్పోర్టుకు వచ్చినప్పుడు బయట నుంచి కాఫీ తెచ్చుకోవడానికి కూడా అంగీకరించలేదు హర్షవర్థన్ చౌదరి. ఎయిర్పోర్టు అధికారుల ద్వారా ఎయిర్పోర్టులోకి […]
తూర్పు గోదావరి జిల్లా దేవీపట్నం మండలం కచ్చులూరు వద్ద సెప్టెంబర్ 15న రాయల్ వశిష్ట అనే బోటు గోదావరిలో మునిగిపోయిన విషయం తెలిసిందే. గత 37 రోజులుగా మునిగిపోయిన బోటును తీయడానికి ప్రభుత్వ యంత్రాంగం తీవ్ర కృషి చేసింది. కాగా, మునిగిన బోట్లు, లాంచీలను వెలికితీసే విషయంలో అనుభవం ఉన్న ధర్మాడి సత్యం బృందం గత కొన్ని రోజులుగా రాయల్ వశిష్టను బయటకు తీయడానికి ప్రయత్నించారు. వెలికితీత పనుల సమయంలో గోదావరి నీటి మట్టం అనూహ్యంగా పెరగడం, […]
రాంచీ టెస్టులో ఇన్నింగ్స్ 202 పరుగుల విజయం మ్యాన్ ఆఫ్ ది సిరీస్ గా రోహిత్ శర్మ ఐసీసీ తొలిసారిగా నిర్వహిస్తున్న తొమ్మిది దేశాల టెస్ట్ చాంపియన్షిప్ లీగ్ లో…ప్రపంచ నంబర్ వన్ భారత్…ఐదుకు ఐదు టెస్టులూ, వరుసగా రెండు సిరీస్ లూ నెగ్గడం ద్వారా లీగ్ టేబుల్ టాపర్ గా నిలిచింది. రాంచీలోని జార్ఖండ్ ఇంటర్నేషనల్ స్టేడియం వేదికగా ముగిసిన ఆఖరి టెస్టులో సౌతాఫ్రికాను ఇన్నింగ్స్ 202 పరుగుల తేడాతో చిత్తు చేయడం ద్వారా.. భారత్ సిరీస్ స్వీప్ […]
తూర్పుగోదావరి జిల్లా కచ్చులూరు వద్ద గోదావరిలో మునిగిన బోటు ఎంతటి పెను విషాదాన్ని తెలుగు రాష్ట్రాల్లో సృష్టించిందో అందరికీ తెలిసిందే.. ఈ బోటులో 70 మందికి పైగా ప్రయాణించడం.. కేవలం 30 మంది మాత్రమే ప్రాణాలతో బతికి బట్టకట్టారు. ఇంకా కొన్ని మృతదేహాల జాడ కూడా దొరకలేదు.. ఈ బోటును వెలికితీయడానికి ఎంత ప్రయత్నించినా వీలు కాకపోవడంతో కాకినాడకు చెందిన ధర్మాడి సత్యం టీమ్ కు ఈ ఆపరేషన్ బాధ్యతలను అప్పగించింది ప్రభుత్వం. తాజాగా ఈ బోటు […]
51 టెస్టుల్లో 31 విజయాలతో కొహ్లీ టాప్ టెస్టు క్రికెట్లో భారత్ కు అత్యధిక టెస్ట్ విజయాలు అందించిన కెప్టెన్ గా విరాట్ కొహ్లీ రికార్డుల్లో చేరాడు. జార్ఖండ్ ఇంటర్నేషనల్ స్టేడియం వేదికగా సౌతాఫ్రికాతో ముగిసిన తీన్మార్ సిరీస్ లో క్లీన్ స్వీప్ సాధించడం ద్వారా కొహ్లీ ఈ ఘనతను సొంతం చేసుకొన్నాడు. సఫారీలపై క్లీన్ స్వీప్.. ఐసీసీ టెస్ట్ చాంపియన్షిప్ లీగ్ లో భాగంగా సౌతాఫ్రికాతో ముగిసిన మూడుమ్యాచ్ ల సిరీస్ లో భారత్ 3-0తో క్లీన్ […]
రివ్యూలపై నోరు పారేసుకోవడం సెలబ్రిటీలకు ఫ్యాషన్ అయిపోయింది. డిజాస్టర్ సినిమాకు కూడా నాగార్జున సమీక్షకులపై మండిపడ్డాడు. ఇప్పుడు అలీ వంతు వచ్చింది. రాజుగారి గది 3 సినిమా బాగాలేదన్నందుకు రివ్యూ రాసినవాళ్లపై విరుచుకుపడ్డాడు ఈ సీనియర్ కమెడియన్. రివ్యూ రాసినోళ్లను కోంకిస్కా గొట్టాలన్నాడు. “కొంతమంది పనిగట్టుకొని సినిమా బాగాలేదన్నారు. ఏదో అనుకున్నాం, ఏదో ఎక్స్ పెక్ట్ చేశాం అన్నారు. మీరు ఎవరు చెప్పడానికి కోంకిస్కా గొట్టం గాళ్లు. చెప్పాల్సింది ప్రేక్షకదేవుళ్లు. వాళ్లు ఎవర్ని ఎక్కడికి తీసుకెళ్లి ఎక్కడ […]
ನವೆಂಬರ್ 1ರಂದು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ದಿನದಂದು ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಧ್ವಜಾರೋಹಣ ನೆರವೇರಿಸುವ ಕುರಿತಂತೆ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನ ಹೊರಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಭಾರತೀಯ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಸಾಧನೆಯನ್ನು ಸಾರುವ ‘ಭಾರತ್ ಕೀ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ’ ಅಭಿಯಾನದ ರಾಯಭಾರಿಗಳಾಗಿ ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ ನಟಿ ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಬ್ಯಾಡ್ಮಿಂಟನ್ ಆಟಗಾರ್ತಿ ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಸಿಂಧು ಆಯ್ಕೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ದೇಶದ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸಿರಿವಂತ ದೇಗುಲ ತಿರುಪತಿ ತಿಮ್ಮಪ್ಪನ ‘ವಿಐಪಿ ದರ್ಶನ’ಕ್ಕೆ ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ನಿಗದಿಪಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಯಾರೂ ಬೇಕಾದರೂ ಈ ಮೊತ್ತವನ್ನು ಪಾವತಿಸಿ ಈ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಮಲಯಾಳಂ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ಖ್ಯಾತ ನಟಿ ಮಂಜು ವಾರಿಯರ್ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಶ್ರೀಕುಮಾರ್ ಮೆನನ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ದೂರು ನೀಡಿದ್ದು, ಜೀವ ಬೆದರಿಕೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಚಾರಿತ್ರ್ಯ ವಧೆಯ ಆರೋಪ ಹೊರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
