Toshiba likely to miss quarterly earnings deadline: Sources

Toshiba Corp will likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results, two sources told Reuters, forcing the Japanese conglomerate to ask for a fresh extension or face a possible delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

A third postponement of the October-December earnings, past the latest deadline of April 11, looks necessary because Toshiba's auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC, has questions about results for the business year through March 2016, said the sources. One of the sources has direct knowledge of the delay and the other was briefed on the matter.

Toshiba also may not be able to decide the favoured bidder or group for its semiconductor business by its general shareholder meeting in late June, said another person with direct knowledge of the matter. He had previously said the decision would be made in May, or at least before the shareholder meeting.

Toshiba and PwC officials could not be reached for comment in Tokyo outside business hours.

The Japanese conglomerate, which only recently emerged from a huge accounting scandal, has been dragged down by billions of dollars of cost overruns at its former U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse Electric Co.

Disagreements with auditors forced the company to postpone its earnings release in February and again in March. After April 11, Toshiba will have eight working days to publish its results for the three months that ended Dec. 31 unless it can persuade regulators at the Ministry of Finance to give it more time. (READ MORE)

Donald Trump signs twin executive orders, now targets trade 'cheaters'

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking a comprehensive review of the massive trade deficit totaling more than $500 billion per annum with 16 countries, including China and India.

He also signed a second order that seeks to strictly enforce anti-dumping laws. It would ensure that the US fully collects all duties imposed on foreign importers that "cheat", Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The announcement, which comes just days ahead of Trump's first meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, is widely seen as targeting China, even though US officials have insisted that it does not single out that country.

"They're cheaters. From now on, those who break the rules will face the consequences and there will be very severe consequences," Trump said without naming any country.

The first order directs the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to examine the factors causing the trade deficit that totals more than $500 billion per annum and submit a report within 90 days.

The review of the factors and violations behind the trade deficits will be led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Trump said.

"We're going to investigate all trade abuses, and based on those findings, we will take necessary and lawful action to end those many abuses. I'm not beholden to any political or financial interest. I don't care. I'm here to do a job," he said while insisting that he was acting for the "American worker". (READ MORE)

Apple opens its accelerator for app developers in Bengaluru

Nearly a year after Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India to woo Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood stars and start-ups, the iPhone maker has opened its doors to app developers with the first-of-its-kind accelerator in Bengaluru.

The Centre will support Indian app developers to design, test and optimise their apps to better run on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The move is aimed at replicating the iPhone's success a decade ago in developed markets, where users flocked to it due to the availability of higher quality apps.

"We are impressed by the great entrepreneurial spirit in India, and are excited to provide a platform for these developers to share their innovations with customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing, in a statement. "In just the first few weeks, we've already seen some incredible developers here at the App Accelerator Bengaluru."

Apple will be able to provide guidance to over 500 developers every week where they will be able to get analysis and feedback for their apps from a set of experts. The company will also look at supporting Indian developers in using its own Swift development language to build apps and services for its iPhone.

The opening of the app accelerator comes weeks ahead of Apple's first iPhone manufacturing plant in Bengaluru going online. The facility is expected to produce the low-cost iPhone SE and will allow the company to circumnavigate high excise duties of importing a fully assembled device into India.

As Apple is working hard to increase sales of its iPhones in India, the company is trying to woo developers who've traditionally built services for Google's Android operating system first. Even today, devices running Android outnumber iPhones by over nine to one, as majority of buyers look for affordable smartphones. (READ MORE)

Idea launches 1GB 4G data/day plan for post-paid users at Rs 300/month

To match aggressive tariffs of newcomer Jio, Idea Cellular on Friday launched a plan offering 1GB of 4G data per day for Rs 300 a month to post paid customers.

Idea said it will offer "1GB data per day, for a month, on 4G handsets".

"The new Idea pack can be availed by all post paid customers on limited rental plans of Rs 199 and above," it said in a statement.

Post paid users will have to pay Rs 300 a month to avail the data benefits which are valid till March 2018.

However, for first three months, customers paying monthly rental between Rs 199 and Rs 349 will need to pay only Rs 200 extra, while customers paying rental in the range of Rs 349 to Rs 498 will need to pay Rs 50 extra, Idea said.

Customers paying rental of over Rs 499 can avail the offer for free for the first three months of subscribing the service, it said in a release.

After three months, all customers eligible for the scheme will have to pay extra Rs 300 for continuing the benefit till March 2018.

All telecom operators in the country are trying to match low tariffs that new entrant Reliance Jio is offering from April 1. The lowest value plan from Reliance Jio under its special scheme, Prime, will offer 1GB of 4G data everyday and unlimited calling for Rs 303 a month.

While Reliance Jio's last date to avail the offer ends today, Idea has given time till April 30 for subscribing to its new scheme.

"The package has been designed to catalyse data usage amongst existing customers and to attract more postpaid customers to the Idea network," Idea Cellular Chief Marketing Officer Sashi Shankar said. (READ MORE)

Motorola to launch Moto G5 in India on 1 April: Know about it

Motorola India is all set to launch the Motorola G5, the trimmed-down version of Moto G5 Plus, in India on 4 April, 2017. Just like its predecessors -- the Moto G4 series -- the Moto G5 is going to be Amazon India exclusive.

The Moto G5 is almost identical with the Moto G5 Plus sans a few hardware and software features. The Moto G5 is built on the blueprints of Moto G5 Plus and thus carry the same body design language.

The Moto G5 sports 5.0-inch fullHD IPS display protected with Gorilla Glass 3. It inherits the finger print scanner under the home button at the front, which was missing in the previous Moto G4 series and therefore is a welcome move. The dual-sim smartphone offers 13 megapixel (MP) rear and 5 MP front facing selfie camera. The rear facing camera is assisted with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and LED flash light.  

The smartphone runs on Snapdragon 430 processor and has 16 GB internal storage – expandable via microSD card – and 2 GB of RAM. It offers metal build, which looks premium and takes the power from 2,800 mAh battery that supports 10W quick charging via dedicated charger.

“The Moto G5 is a perfect blend of performance and entertainment so customers don’t have to compromise on either. We are glad to partner with Amazon.in to launch this and look forward to helping our customers, have all they need in a smartphone,” said Sudhin Mathur, Managing Director- Motorola Mobility Pvt. Ltd India in a press statement.

“Reiterating our long-term commitment to Motorola, we are pleased to offer our customers exclusive access to Moto G5. With this smartphone we offer a great device with impressive specs and introduce special offers for Amazon Prime members,” said Noor Patel, Director Category Management, Amazon India. (READ MORE)

Micromax forays into premium smartphone segment, launches flagship 'Dual 5'

Homegrown handsets maker Micromax on Wednesday announced a foray into premium devices with the launch of 4G VoLTE ready smartphone 'Dual 5', which is priced at Rs 24,999.

We are eyeing up to 25 per cent business growth in premium mobile sector during 2017-18, said the company in the statement.

"We want to be an important player in premium smartphone segment in Rs 20,000 plus range. All Micromax phones will now be 4G enabled. We expect 20-25 per cent business growth in 2017-18," Micromax Informatics Co-Founder Rahul Sharma said while launching the Dual 5.

The new smartphone has a 13 MP dual rear camera with Sony sensors (one with colour and the other with monochrome sensor) and a 13 MP front facing camera.

Dual 5 comes with Qualcomm 652 Snapdragon processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal memory, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and a 3,200mAh battery with quick charge feature.

"Premium customers in the country need an option to buy something which is made in India, made for India and made by Indians. The Dual 5 will be made in India like our other phones," Sharma said.

He said that the company will provide a one year free replacement of Dual 5 in case of screen damage while replacement conditions for other damages are being worked out. (READ MORE)

Samsung launches flagship Galaxy S8, S8 Plus with Bixby assistant

After much speculation over its built and specifications over past few months, South Korean giant Samsung on Wednesday launched its flagship device, Galaxy S8, that has a voice assistant.

The device comes in two variants with different screen sizes -- the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus - and will be available from April 21. Registrations begin from March 30. The device might be priced from $720 (approximately Rs 47,000).

Samsung will release these devices in India in the coming months.

Samsung also revealed Bixby, a smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant. With a perfect amalgam of voice, vision and touch, Bixby can search restaurants, take screenshots and even book a cab for you.

The technology giant has used the best hardware and provided the best features available to date in the device.

The device has a bezel-less curved edge "infinity display" covered with pristine glass and a 12MP rear camera with multi-frame processing and optical image stabilisation. It has an 8MP auto-focus front shooter.

The device is IP68 rated, meaning it is water and dust resistant. The company has also upped the security feature with iris scanner, face recognition and fingerprint scanner - moved to the back of the device - to unlock the device.

The home button has been shifted beneath the "infinity display".

Available in five different colours, the device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHZ Quad) processor. For models that will be available in countries other than the US, Samsung has used Exynos Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHZ Quad) processor.

According to The Verge, while Galaxy S8 comes with a 3,000 mAh battery, the Galaxy S8 Plus is fitted with 3,500 mAh battery pack. The devices run on Android 7.0 Nougat and have USB-C and 3.5mm headphone jacks.

The company also launched Samsung Connect app that would allow users to control a number of internet-connected home devices such as TVs or refrigerators. It also unveiled new Gear 360 camera.

There's a lot riding on Samsung S8 devices due to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Samsung ultimately killed that smartphone after two recalls, both related to issues with faulty batteries.

Earlier this month, Samsung launched two new smartphones in 'Galaxy A' series -- 5.7-inch Galaxy A7 and 5.2-inch Galaxy A5 in India which were priced at Rs 33,490 and Rs 28,990, respectively.

Samsung also joined the 'go digital' bandwagon, and last week unveiled Samsung Pay, the company's flagship mobile payments service, in India.

At MWC in Barcelona this year, Samsung announced its innovative "I&G (Infill & Growth) Project" for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd that will help expand both the current network capacity as well as network coverage. (READ MORE)

Microsoft India bets big on its security unit to drive cloud growth

Microsoft India is betting big on cyber security solutions for cloud adoption growth as Indian businesses seek better security.

More businesses are looking at hosting their applications on the cloud, shifting from the traditional IT infrastructure on-premise to improve efficiency and bring down costs. Firms are looking to move to a model from one-time expense for software licenses and IT hardware in the on-premise model to pay as you rent model on the cloud with upgrades thrown in during the usage period.

Radha Rajappa, Services Head, Microsoft India says cyber security will be of core importance to Microsoft as they enable digital transformation of Indian business and Delhi-based Cybersecurity Engagement Center and global Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) will help organisations to ensure security as they grow business.

Microsoft’s DCU, which is an international team of attorneys, investigators, data scientists, engineers, analysts and business professionals based in 30 countries, uses big data analytics, forensics and novel legal strategies to secure data of its clients. With the help of the DCU, the cyber security unit in Delhi will create collaborations with public and private sector organisations to ensure secure cloud computing environment.

“It (cyber security) is the number one priority for the company in terms of investment. The story is end-to-end. While Microsoft gives digital platforms, it ensures trust of data,” Rajappa told Business Standard in an interview. (READ MORE)

Bahubali-2 may change the way sports is watched at homes

After the live streaming of multi-lingual film Bahubali-2's audio release function on the virtual reality (VR) technology platform in high resolution on Sunday, Radeon Technologies Group, a part of chip maker AMD, is set out to change the way people watch sports sitting at home.

For someone who plays computer games using a VR headset, either the 360 degree view of a virtual world or the experience of being right in the middle of the action is not something new to look for.

But what the Radeon Technologies is now attempting is to extend the VR technology to live-streaming of popular sports like cricket so that someone watching the match remotely can have a similar experience of a person sitting in the stadium.

"We are talking to people in the sports world on live streaming of matches on our VR platform. We hope to make some announcements in this regard in the second half of this year," Raja Koduri, senior vice president of Radeon Technologies Group, who heads the graphics processor development initiative of AMD, told Business Standard.

The technology that can enable the live streaming of a live sports event on VR platform has been perfected by Radeon-AMD, thanks to its collaboration in making of Bahubali movie, according to Raja Koduri.

With regard to the consumption of digital technology, the tools that were used in the making of Bahubali-2 were ten times more than what it was used for the first Bahubali movie. Part-2 contains two trillion pixels of graphics as there was no single frame that has no VR content on it. (READ MORE)

Hindu nationalists, Nuziveedu Seeds feud may make Monsanto abandon India

BREAKING NEWS - Tens of millions of dollars were within reach for M Prabhakara Rao as he prepared in April 2015 to take his Indian cotton seed company public.

The Indian businessman already had $54 million in initial funding from an American private equity investor. Rao had also locked in a long-term licensing agreement with Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, for the technology used in genetically modified cotton seeds that made up the majority of his annual sales.

Two months after publishing his initial public offering (IPO) plan, Rao gambled. He sent one of his executives to negotiate a 10 per cent cut in royalties with Monsanto. The multinational said no.

The outcome of that meeting ignited a corporate battle that has left Rao's IPO plans in tatters and drawn in the Indian and US governments. More ominously, the fight has disrupted India's $1.8 billion-a-year seed industry, with Monsanto saying it may abandon the market.

Monsanto's Indian joint venture last July withdrew its application to introduce a new generation of cotton seed technology to India. The existing version, in India for a decade, is losing effectiveness against bollworms, which can wipe out crops. If another company doesn't step into the breach, agricultural economists warn the dispute could damage India's cotton-growing sector - which recently surpassed China's as the world's biggest and last year accounted for more than a quarter of global output, with a value of over $8.5 billion. (READ MORE)

Ban liquor for poor across the country: YSR Congress MP Geetha

Liquor should be banned across the country for the poor people as its consumption was resulting in crimes, a Lok Sabha member said on Monday.

K Geetha (YSR Congress) said liquor consumption was a matter of concern and a lot of crimes were also happening due to it.

"Liquor should be banned across the country for poor people... Liquor should be banned," she said during Zero Hour.

Urging the Centre to come out with a liquor policy, she said many states have resorted to banning liquor and allowing it in five-star hotels, she added.

Raising the issue of judiciary making comments about the perks and salaries of MPs, Congress member M I Shanavas said the government should look at the emoluments of MPs.

"Government should put an end to the insulting attitude of the judiciary (towards MPs) and the media trial," he said.

He also said that recently a Supreme Court committee had decided to increase the salaries of judges and enhance pension benefits, but the judiciary talking about issues regarding the benefits extended to MPs was an "insult to the MPs".

During the Zero Hour, BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi also raised the issue of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing that residential house tax would be waived off if AAP wins the civic polls.

Delhi government cannot take a decision in such matter which can be decided only by Parliament, she said, adding that taking a decision on house tax was beyond Delhi government's jurisdiction.

Raising the issue of Teesta water sharing pact, TMC member Saugata Roy registered a strong protest asking why the Centre was bypassing the West Bengal government as it was not being consulted on the matter. (READ MORE)

OK Play India launches 8 e-vehicles priced at Rs 1.25-1.5 lakh

OK Play India, the plastic auto components maker, on Monday launched 8 e-vehicles — which includes passenger and commercial vehicles — under brand E-Raaja priced between Rs 1.25-1.5 lakh.

The company also showcased 6 e-two wheelers, which will be launched in the market post-government approval.

"In line with government's vision of a 100 per cent E-mobility by 2030, we have launched multiple usage e-vehicles. While our e-vehicles will be in the market in April, the launch of e-two wheelers will take time. They will be launched after government approval," OK Play India Managing Director Rajan Handa told PTI.

The ICAT-approved E-Raaja vehicles are 100 per cent indigenously designed and developed, Handa added.

The products launched are e-rickshaws, e-vending carts, e-mobile shops, e-loaders, e-garbage collectors, e-school buses and e-scooters.

The company plans to produce the e-vehicles from its six manufacturing units spread across the country.

"We will open 4 more manufacturing units by end of first quarter of next financial year," he added.

When asked if the company is also looking at exporting the vehicles, he said: "We are under discussion. We are looking at exporting them in the Middle East and Africa."

OK Play will sell its e-vehicles through the dealer network and sub dealers.

"At present, we have about 16 dealers but during the course of next financial year, we will looking a dealer network of 1,500," he said. (READ MORE)

Panasonic launches AI-based Eluga Ray Max, Eluga Ray X in India

Aiming to give users a simplified and an enhanced user experience, Panasonic India on Monday launched two new smartphones -- Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X -- that are equipped with "Arbo" -- the company's in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual assistant.

The smartphones are exclusively available on Flipkart. While Eluga Ray Max is priced at Rs 11,499 for 32GB variant and Rs 12,499 for 64GB variant, Eluga Ray X is available for Rs 8,999.

"With the launch of our first AI-enabled smartphones, we are now expanding our product offerings which will help empower our consumer base and assist them in performing tasks in a smarter way," Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, told reporters here.

The virtual assistant is a self-learning technology that understands the user behaviour and then maps their daily activities for them accordingly.

"AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry," Sharma added. (READ MORE)

Gionee A1 smartphone: Delight for selfie-lovers

At a time when margins are razor-thin in the fast-growing domestic smartphone market, any new device faces the challenge of not only meeting consumer expectations but also offering that something extra to stay in the race for at least one quarter.

Keeping this in mind, China-based Gionee — known for delivering camera-driven smartphones in the past — has launched the selfie-focused, mid-segment A1 smartphone in India.

Priced at Rs 19,999, the main highlight is its 16MP selfie camera and 13MP rear camera.

Here is what works for the device.

Taking a cue from the flat design of its earlier devices, A1 features a metal body which feels sturdy in hand and has a polished look. The overall look is clean but uninspiring.

The 5.5-inch full-HD display worked well indoors, delivering sharp colour reproduction and contrast with good viewing angles.

The rounded-off edges allow it to sit comfortably in the hand and offers plenty of grip. Armed with 2GHz octa-core P10 Helios processor and 4GB RAM, A1 ran smoothly with whatever we threw at it — be it movies, games or browsing.

The 16MP front camera produced brighter pictures. It packs an LED flashlight to light up the images in case of low-light conditions. The images captured had rich colour tones with an appreciable amount of detailing. (READ MORE)

'Snapchat' most-searched app on App Store followed by Instagram: Forbes

Although Snap's stock price was a bit down this week, Snapchat is the top searched app on the iOS App Store, a media report said.

According to a report in Forbes magazine, Snapchat led all competitors in App Store search volume and as a result, Snapchat was also the app people were looking for most frequently.

Snap Inc, the parent company of picture messaging app Snapchat, went public earlier this month. The young company, founded in 2012, posted a $515 million loss last year.

According to Snapchat, 158 million people use the service each day and create 2.5 billion "snaps" between them.

Facebook-owned photo-sharing app Instagram was placed on the second spot, while social media giant Facebook's mobile app took the third rank.

Google's video platform YouTube is on the fourth spot. Teen-focused messaging startup Kik is fifth, and micro-blogging website Twitter is sixth on the list, the report said. (READ MORE)

6 dead, 40 injured in attack outside militants' hideout in Bangladesh

Six people were killed and nearly 40 others injured, including a top intelligence officer, in two powerful blasts outside a building occupied by the Islamist militants as commandos prepared for a final assault to flush them out in Sylhet city in Bangladesh, police said today.

The first blast happened around 7:00 pm. Yesterday about 400 metres off the five-storey building where the militants were holed up. It targeted the huge crowd witnessing the operation codenamed 'Twilight' and policemen deployed there.

Another blast took place in front of the hideout an hour later.

Six people including two police officers were killed in the attack. The dead included two police inspectors and four onlookers, two of them being college students.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda news agency 'Amaq'.

The target of the attack was security forces, it said.

This was the third attack in Bangladesh in eight days for which the ISIS claimed credit.

Elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Intelligence Wing chief Lt Col Abul Kalam was seriously wounded in blasts and flown to Dhaka for treatment.(read more)

Al Qaeda leader accused of Marriott Hotel bombing killed in Afghanistan: US

Top al Qaeda leader Qari Yasin, who was involved in multiple deadly attacks in Pakistan which claimed dozens of innocent lives, has been killed in a US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan, the Pentagon has said.

Yasin, who is said to be responsible for plotting the September 20, 2008 bombing on a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 in Lahore, was killed on March 19 in Paktika Province of Afghanistan.


"The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice," US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said yesterday.

Pentagon said Yasin was killed in a US counter terrorism strike and the senior leader was responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people, including two American service members.

The senior terrorist figure from Balochistan had ties with Tehrik-e Taliban and had plotted multiple al Qaeda terror attacks, including the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad in which US Air Force Maj Rodolfo I Rodriguez and Navy Cryptologic Technician Third Class Petty Officer Matthew J O'Bryant were killed, it said in a statement (READ MORE)

Carrie Lam wins Hong Kong leadership; democracy activists decry election

LATEST NEWS - Beijing favourite Carrie Lam was selected as Hong Kong's new leader on Sunday by a mainly pro-China committee, in an election dismissed as a sham by democracy activists who fear the loss of the city's cherished freedoms.

It is the first leadership vote since the mass "Umbrella Movement" rallies calling for fully free elections in 2014 failed to win reforms and comes after a turbulent term under current Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Leung, who is seen by opponents as a Beijing puppet, and will step down in July after five years in charge.

Hong Kong is semi-autonomous and has been governed under a "one country, two systems" deal since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.

But, 20 years on, there are serious concerns Beijing is disregarding the handover agreement designed to protect Hong Kong's way of life.

Around three quarters of the 1,194 members of the election committee were from the mainland camp.

An emotional Lam bowed to supporters at it was announced she had won comprehensively with 777 votes against 365 for her more moderate establishment rival John Tsang. (READ MORE)

Fire brigade will spray 'Ganga Jal' on CM residence in 2022, says Akhilesh

Taking a dig at the "purification rituals" carried at the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's official residence in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that he would get the fire brigade to spray 'Ganga Jal' on it after returning to power in 2022.

"When we come back to power in 2022, we will bring Ganga Jal in fire brigade (trucks) and get it sprayed at 5 Kalidas Marg," Yadav said at the national executive meeting of the Samajwadi Party.

5, Kalidas Marg is the official residence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, which Yadav vacated after his party got drubbed by the BJP in the recent Assembly polls.

"We have no problem with the 'shuddhikaran'(purification) of the residence but hope that the three peacocks there are being taken good care of," Yadav added.

Soon after the BJP government took office, seers and priests undertook sacred purifying rituals at the sprawling bungalow which now will be the home of Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi. (READ MORE)

In a major setback for Donald Trump, push to repeal health law fails

House Republican leaders, facing a revolt among conservatives and moderates in their ranks, pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act from consideration on the House floor Friday in a major defeat for President Trump on the first legislative showdown of his presidency.

“We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future,” the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, conceded.

The failure of the Republicans’ three-month blitz to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement exposed deep divisions in the Republican Party that the election of a Republican president could not mask. It cast a long shadow over the ambitious agenda that Mr. Trump and Republican leaders had promised to enact once their party assumed power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

And it was the biggest defeat of Mr. Trump’s young presidency, which has suffered many. His travel ban has been blocked by the courts. Allegations of questionable ties to the Russian government forced out his national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Tensions with key allies such as Germany, Britain and Australia are high, and Mr. Trump’s approval ratings are at historic lows.

Republican leaders were willing to tolerate Mr. Trump’s foibles with the promise that he would sign into law their conservative agenda. The collective defeat of the health care effort could strain that tolerance. (READ MORE)

How to measure the terrorism threat after the Westminster attack

Two questions have been particularly prominent in the aftermath of the attack on Westminster. First, why was the attacker – named by police as Khalid Masood – not apprehended, given that he appears to have been already known to police and intelligence services. Second, what does this attack mean for security in London and elsewhere.

The UK’s counter-terrorism architecture involves a five-tiered warning system organised around five levels of threat: low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical. It is similar, in this sense, to the colour-coded warnings of the US Homeland Security Advisory System – a system which was replaced in 2011 by the National Terrorism Advisory System. The current level remains at severe in the wake of the Westminster attack.

Under the UK’s system, the country can never be entirely free from the threat of terrorism: at best an attack is seen to be unlikely. The simplicity of this system also implies that threats such as terrorism can be accurately, or even objectively, measured – and their increase or decrease calculated and compared.

Questions of probability

Assumptions such as these are misleading, because terrorism threat assessments, like assessment of any type of threat, involve an inescapable element of judgement and interpretation. Prospective dangers have to be translated into calculations of likelihood and potential consequences in order to become threats. Decisions then have to be made about the relative importance of probability and impact in calculating the severity of any such dangers (READ MORE)

Trump's triumph of incompetence

One of President Trump’s rare strengths has been his ability to project competence. The Dow Jones stock index is up an astonishing 2,200 points since his election in part because investors believed Trump could deliver tax reform and infrastructure spending.

Think again!

The Trump administration is increasingly showing itself to be breathtakingly incompetent, and that’s the real lesson of the collapse of the G.O.P. health care bill. The administration proved unable to organize its way out of a paper bag: After seven years of Republicans’ publicly loathing Obamacare, their repeal-replace bill failed after 18 days.

Politics sometimes rewards braggarts, and Trump is a world-class boaster. He promised a health care plan that would be “unbelievable,” “beautiful,” “terrific,” “less expensive and much better,” “insurance for everybody.” But he’s abysmal at delivering — because the basic truth is that he’s an effective politician who’s utterly incompetent at governing.

It’s sometimes said that politicians campaign in poetry and govern in prose. Trump campaigns in braggadocio and governs in bombast.(read more)

Nokia confirms global availability of its smartphones; coming soon to India

Finnish tech firm Nokia, which made a comeback with three Android-based phones -- Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) -- has confirmed that the handsets will be available globally this year.

Parent company HMD Global announced the handsets during the MWC.

"We're planning on a global release so yes they will be. Get the latest updates by registering at http://Nokia.com/phones," the Nokia Mobile Twitter account said in its reply to a Nokia fan query.


@ashutoshkaushal The products will be released globally in Q2, 2017 (April-June). Register at https://t.co/waNGfPppQ8 for updates .

— Nokia Mobile (@nokiamobile) March 25, 2017

Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch full-HD screen and is crafted from a single block of 6000 series aluminium. The device will be available in four colours -- matte black, silver, tempered blue and copper.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 mobile platform and Qualcomm Adreno 505 graphics processor, Nokia 5 features a 5.2-inch IPS HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Nokia 3 is focused on converting feature phone users towards their first smartphone.

The new range of Nokia smartphones will run Android Nougat. (READ MORE)

Petrol prices set to rise in Goa with increase in VAT

Petrol prices in Goa are set to soar as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday announced a 15 per cent hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) on the fuel.

Goa government had kept petrol prices below Rs 60 per litre during last five years by reducing the VAT on it.

"My government since last five years has been able to maintain the promise given to the people of the state in 2012, and has ensured that the prices of Motor Spirit (petrol) did not cross the threshold level of Rs 60 per litre," Parrikar said presenting the State Budget today.

"The prices of petrol in Goa are significantly lower compared to the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, where this fuel is sold at Rs 72 and Rs 76 respectively," he said.

"It is time to review this measure, in view of the enhanced spending and provisions made for various existing and new initiatives in the Budget. I propose to enhance the rate of VAT on Motor Spirit to 15 per cent. Even with this increase the price of petrol will be in the range of Rs 65 per litre, which is substantially lesser than our neighbouring states," the CM added.

Parrikar also announced that entry tax imposed on the vehicles entering the state would be abolished once GST is introduced.

"Department of Commercial Taxes is fully geared to migrate over to the GST regime. With the enactment of the State GST Act which I will bring before this House shortly, the state will be set to implement GST from the expected date," he said.

"Goa being more of a consuming state, wherein services play a major role in the state economy, it is anticipated that the state will gain. Any shortfall will be compensated by the Union government," he added.

"Since GST roll out is imminent, I have not tinkered with the rates of various Commercial taxes. However, I propose to withdraw the scheme of collection of entry fee at the border points when GST is implemented," Parrikar announced. (READ MORE)

Ivanka Trump not just an 'employee' at White House

President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump will have security clearance, a West Wing office and the ear of her father on important policy matters. But don't call her an employee.

When it comes to government work, "employee" is more than just a word. That designation triggers transparency and ethical provisions, including a law prohibiting conflicts of interest.

Government watchdogs have written a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn expressing concern that she's not been deemed an employee. They are worried that it gives her a loophole if she improperly mingles her government policy roles with her business and financial interests.

The White House insists Ivanka Trump will voluntarily follow employee rules and has already taken steps to separate from her fashion and lifestyle brand. She retains ownership of it. (READ MORE)

Review: With 16MP front camera Oppo F3 Plus is a treat for selfie lovers

China-based Oppo has done well in India, capturing 8.6 per cent market share in 2016, and the company has progressively shifted its strategy towards the premium end of devices.

Betting on the selfie culture across the country, the company is now looking to tempt users with the new F3 Plus smartphone.

At Rs 30,990, the Oppo F3 Plus offers a lot for your money. A large battery, a six-inch 1080p display, a dual front camera set-up and plenty of storage — and that's just the beginning.

Here is what works for the device.

The Oppo F3 Plus has a sexy, svelte, metallic body that screams it's a premium device. The "six string" antenna is aesthetically pleasing and ensures solid reception.

The home button doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and looks similar to the one in Samsung's Galaxy line-up of devices.

The sensor recognises the stored print in an instant, only occasionally failing if your finger is wet.

The screen is guarded by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and the full-HD display is bright and detailed, but the colours seem oversaturated at times. (READ MORE)

Rooter, a sport social network to connect with fans of your favourite team

BREAKING NEWS - There is something unique about all sports – a spirit of unity that brings people together to cheer for what they support. We often get a glimpse of it among friends or strangers at workplaces, eateries, clubs, or any other place where a live match is being screened.

Ever wondered how it would be if common interests and sport fandom were to unite random people separated by distance or want of acquaintance? How about some ‘social sports networking’? After all, sitting alone curled in a couch as you watch a match of your favourite team or player can be boring!

You can use social sports app Rooter to get yourself in touch with sports enthusiasts around the world with similar interests and liking. Apart from basic features like real-time updates and event facts, the app offers a 360-degree engagement experience to fans, giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves in their most ardent passion – sports!

Once you have downloaded the app from Play Store, you can log in using your Facebook, Twitter or Google accounts. The app requires permissions to access contacts and user profile, so user discretion is required. Once logged in, the app offers you the option to customise your experience in accordance with the sports of your liking. (READ MORE)

Panasonic to launch 'intelligent' smartphones on March 27 in India

In a bid to provide great experiences to consumers, Panasonic India is set to launch two smart intelligence-based smartphones on March 27 in the country.

The company on Friday sent out media invite for the event that reads "a new conversation around smartphones intelligence is about to begin, #ArboIsHere."

"Arbo" will be a smart intelligence-based feature. Whether it is a digital assistant or an artificial robot is not yet clear.

Earlier this month, the company launched two new smartphones in its Eluga series -- Eluga Pulse X and Eluga Pulse -- at Rs 10,990 and Rs 9,690, respectively.

The devices come with 4G/VoLTE connectivity and pack a powerful 1.25 GHz quad core processor with a 3GB RAM for Eluga Pulse X and 2GB RAM for Eluga Pulse. (READ MORE)

Navjot Sidhu can continue his TV innings: Punjab AG

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu can continue as a celebrity judge on a popular TV comedy show and there is no conflict of interest in it, according to state's Advocate General Atul Nanda.

"The Chief Minister has confirmed that he has received the report from the AG on the issue. Now there is no hindrance to Sidhu's continuation on TV shows, nor there is any need to change his culture portfolio," Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's Media Advisor Raveen Thukral said in Chandigarh on Thursday.


"There was, in the opinion of the AG, no violation of the Constitution of India, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 or the Code of Conduct in this case," he said.

As per the AG's opinion, Sidhu faces no legal barrier in continuing with his work on the show.

"There is no conflict of interest between his work on the show and his office and discharge of duties as the Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museums for the State of Punjab," Thukral said citing the AG's four-page report. (READ MORE)

Microsoft's Cortana, Adobe join hands to provide AI-based services

Adobe and Microsoft are jointly working on artificial intelligence (AI) to offer better products and provide customers more automated, intelligence-based experiences, a top Adobe official said here.

Brad Rencher, executive vice-president and general manager, marketing, of Adobe, said that the two tech giants were working on standard data models and sharing of core libraries between Adobe's Sensei and Microsoft's Cortana, both based on AI.

Cortana is a search tool which can verbally provide answers to search queries and Sensei - a set of intelligent services from Adobe - integrates the advertising, marketing and analytics products offered on Cloud with back up of creatives and documentation.

Rencher, who was talking to a group of journalists here at the Adobe's annual summit, said that the joint research and development would combine the specific domain capabilities of Sensei with the wider core data platform of Cortana, thus building a service.

Adobe products can now use data from Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Azure into Sensei for intelligent machine learning.

Sensei will soon enter into Microsoft tools.

Rencher, however, said no discussion had taken place on how to monetise the collaboration.

Talking of Adobe's presence in India, Rencher said that it was the fastest growing market and they have had a very substantial amount of the company's research taking place in India, including on Sensei.(read more)

Now, share your real-time location with friends, family via Google Maps

Google Maps on Thursday announced a new real-time location sharing feature which will be available for both Android and iOS users.

Users will be able to share their real-time location with anyone and the people they share with will be able to see the location on Android, iPhone, mobile web and desktop.

"Location sharing on Google Maps is rolling worldwide over the coming week and you'll be able to quickly let your friends and family know where you are and when you'll get where you're going," said Sanket Gupta, Product Manager, Google Maps, in a post.

Whenever you want to let someone know where you are, just open the side menu or tap the blue dot that represents where you are.

Tap "Share location" and then select who to share with and how long to share -- and you're done!

"You can share your real-time location with your Google contacts, or even share with friends and family by sending a link on your favourite messenger apps," the post read.

When you're sharing your location, the people you've chosen to share with will see you on their map.

"You'll see an icon above the compass on your own map reminding you that you're actively sharing your location. You can change your mind and stop sharing at any time -- it's entirely up to you," the post said. (READ MORE)

Zen Mobile launches VoLTE ready 'Admire Swadesh' at Rs 4,990 in India

Domestic smartphone manufacturer Zen Mobile on Thursday launched the Admire Swadesh smartphone at Rs 4,990 that supports 22 regional languages.

The device is powered by 1.3GHz Quad Core processor and runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system, blended with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board memory, which can be expanded up to 32 GB.

The dual-SIM smartphone sports a 5-inch display and 5MP rear camera with flash. With its 2,000mAh battery, the device can run up to 30 hours on standby mode.

"The Admire Swadesh is yet another 4G-VoLTE device for the consumers who are looking at upgrading to 4G enabled smartphones," Sanjay Kalirona, CEO Zen Mobile, said in a statement.

Admire Swadesh also supports twin WhatsApp feature and is available in champagne and blue colour variants. (READ MORE)

Smart lights to become largest IoT devices in next 5-10 years: Philips

With cheaper and smarter lights fast replacing incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), smart connected lights will become one of the largest internet of things (IoT) devices in the next five to 10 years, Harshvardhan Chitale, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Philips Lighting India, has predicted.

"The next generation of changes (in lighting) that people will adopt will be intelligent, smart lights, which are IoT devices. Lights in the next 5-10 years will become one of the largest IoT-driven devices," Chitale said in an interview.

According to Chitale, intelligent lights, which is at a nascent stage now with nearly five per cent presence in the country's lighting industry, is expected to be "the default" over the next 5-10 years.

Smart, connected lighting is the next-generation energy-efficient LED products with additional sensors to sense things such as occupancy and temperature.

According to a recent TechSci Research report titled "India LED Lighting Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020", the country's LED lighting market is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of over 32 per cent during 2015-20.

"Today, when we think of buying a phone, we don't think of a landline phone. By default, we think of a mobile or a smartphone. We anticipate that over the next 5-10 years -- closer to five years -- potentially, when people think of upgrading their existing lights or installing new ones, they would install lights or lighting systems which are smart," Chitale emphasised. (READ MORE)

4 dead, at least 20 injured in UK Parliament attack

BREAKING NEWS - At least 20 people were injured and four reported dead in London on Wednesday after a car crashed into pedestrians near the British parliament and an assailant stabbed a policeman in what police called a terrorist incident.

The knifeman was then shot by police in the shadow of Big Ben, where he had tried to force his way into a courtyard just outside the Houses of Parliament.

The incident appeared to have unfolded in several locations, including on nearby Westminster Bridge where eyewitnesses said a car had crashed into pedestrians.

Reuters reporters inside parliament heard loud bangs and shortly afterwards saw two people lying on the ground in a courtyard just outside.

A Reuters photographer said he saw at least a dozen people injured on the bridge. His photographs showed people lying on the ground, some of them bleeding heavily and one under a bus.

Sky News reported two people had died, but the total number of casualties was unclear. The London Ambulance Service said it had treated at least 10 people on the bridge. (READ MORE)

Gionee launches A1 smartphone in India with selfie-focused 16 MP camera

Chinese smartphone maker Gionee on Tuesday launched a new selfie-focused smartphone in India that comes with a 16MP front camera with selfie flash and houses a 4,010 mAh battery.

While the pre-booking for A1 started from March 3, the price of the device is yet to be announced.

"Today's generation views the world from their front camera and they live for creating and celebrating experiences out of moments," said Arvind R Vohra, Country Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), Gionee India, in a statement.

The device is powered by 2 GHz octa-core P10 Helios processor paired with 4 GB RAM, has 64 GB internal memory that can be expanded up to 256 GB and runs on Amigo 4.0 on top of Android 7.0 Nougat.

A1 is equipped with a fingerprint sensor and claims to unlock the phone in just 0.2 seconds. For humid conditions, the sensor unlocks the device even with moist fingers.

A1 has a full-metal body made out of "A6000 aircraft grade material" that is used in making premium cars and aircraft.

The 4G and VOLTE enabled smartphone also offers a host of amazing features such as Split Screen, Maxx Audio and Virus detection among other key features. (READ MORE)

Apple AirPods review: Seamless connectivity without wires

I've been using Apple’s EarPods as my primary mobile headset for more than four years. Thankfully, they fit my ear and are quite comfortable, thus I’m able to fall asleep wearing them. And I do so nearly every night, when they are connected to my iPod.

Thus, after the jokes about losing one’s AirPods (Rs 15,400) died down, I was interested in taking it through its paces. Popping them out of the charging case, the AirPods paired very easily and very fast with my iPhone; and all my other Apple devices. Next, I went out for a run, wearing as bandana for fear of losing the AirPods.

The good thing is, since this pair doesn’t block out outside noise, it’s safe to wear on the roads. Of course, in a noisy environment, that can be a bad thing too. Next, I tried some vigorous free-hand exercises indoors, sans the bandana. The AirPods stayed put, though my wife said I looked like a character from Star Trek (don’t know whether that was due to my movements or the white stalks sticking out of my ear).

The next day, I went for a jog wearing the AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 2, leaving my iPhone and bandana at home. It was a lot of fun playing the tracks from the Watch and feeling “lighter” without my phone. But yes, I did get curious glances. The AirPods stop playing music once you take them out of your ears. Tap on one of them and Siri is activated. But you need a phone to control all other functions. (READ MORE)

60 million 4G smartphones to be sold in India in 2019

LATEST BUSINESS NEWS - Nearly 200 million 4G-enabled feature phones will be sold in India in the next five years, triggering a slow-down for the domestic smartphone market, a new report claimed on Wednesday.

"We estimate close to 60 million units of 4G-capable feature phones could ship this year globally from almost a million units last year, with India potentially contributing to almost half of that this year," said the analysts from market research firm Counterpoint Research.

In terms of hardware revenues, it is a $6 billion opportunity cumulatively over the next five years in India.

"Key players to watch out in this segment are Micromax, Intel, Lava, Jio, Nokia and so forth," the report added.

Chipset brands such as Qualcomm with its latest Qualcomm 205 platform specially designed for 4G LTE Feature Phones is poised to drive growth starting with end of Q2 2017.

"More than 400 million feature phones were sold globally in 2016 and we saw smartphone market growth slow down to 3 per cent (year-on-year), portraying that the easy days of smartphone growth are over," the report stated.

The smartphone growth slowing down and the feature phone decline slowing down is the polarisation of market in terms of technology as well as user base.

"This is making a case for the rise of 4G capable feature phones with the core value proposition being VoLTE calls and move the users to the cost efficient 4G networks. We estimate more than half a billion 4G capable feature phones will be sold over the next five years, a 'big short-term opportunity' for players in the mobile industry," the analysts predicted. (READ MORE)

Samsung Pay digital payment app launched in India: Know how it works

A few weeks ago Samsung rolled out Samsung Pay for selected users in India. Today, the company launched its digital payment app for the owners of Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (2017).

What is Samsung Pay
The Samsung Pay is a secure and easy to use mobile payment service available exclusively on select Samsung Galaxy smartphones -- Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (2017).

How Samsung Pay works
The above-mentioned smartphone users need to upgrade device firmware (software) first. Post upgrading the firmware, the user can download the Samsung Pay app and save their credit card and debit card information in the app. So, the next time you need to make the payment, you can do so by using the Samsung Pay services using the smartphone.

Banks supported in India

Currently, the Samsung Pay app supports credit and debit cards of Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. For State Bank of India, only the credit cards are supported while the support for debit cards will be added sometime in the future. Support for American Express and Citibank will be added soon, according to the official Samsung Pay website. (READ MORE)

Samsung voice-assistant Bixby to debut with new Galaxy S8 smartphone

Samsung announced on Monday that a voice-powered digital assistant named "Bixby" will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant.

Bixby enters a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa.

Samsung said Bixby will focus on letting people control mobile apps with spoken directives.

"Bixby will be our first step on a journey to completely open up new ways of interacting with your phone," Samsung Electronics head of research and development Injong Rhee said in a release.

"Bixby will be a new intelligent interface on our devices."

A Galaxy S8 smartphone expected to be unveiled next week will have a set of pre-installed applications that will work with Bixby, according to Samsung.

Samsung late last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, which Apple bought some seven years ago.

Bixby will differ from digital aides already on the market in ways that include controlling nearly all tasks in applications instead of limited sets, and being flexible when it comes to understanding what users are saying, according to Samsung.

"We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won't be realised overnight," Rhee said.

Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft are all vying to develop the most sophisticated connected assistant -- working to give software the ability to understand what people say and even anticipate desires or needs.

Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was a star at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget gala early this year in Las Vegas but faces fierce competition.

Chinese giant Baidu also used the show to showcase virtual assistant "Little Fish" that it was preparing for a debut in China.

Microsoft recently bought Maluuba, a Montreal startup focused on making machines able to think the way people do. (READ MORE)

WATCH: Flipkart electronics sale begins tomorrow; here are the best deals

he logo of India's largest online marketplace Flipkart is seen on a building in Bengaluru. Photo: Reuters
Flipkart is back again in the news for its much-awaited sale offering discounts on electronics and mobile phones.

The sale period begins from midnight at 12 am on March 22 and ends on 11:59 pm on March 24.

Catch the best deals CLICK HERE.

Google introduces tools to prevent ads with undesirable content

Google, which has seen a slew of companies withdraw ads after they appeared alongside extremist content, said on Tuesday it was introducing new tools to give firms greater control.

"We know advertisers don't want their ads next to content that doesn't align with their values," Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler said in a post on the internet giant's blog.

"So starting today, we're taking a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content."

The move came a day after an apology by a senior Google executive after the British government and a handful of top firms including Marks and Spencer and HSBC bank pulled their adverts after they appeared alongside extremist content on its internet platforms.

Schindler said Google will tighten safeguards to ensure that ads show up only against legitimate creators on its video-sharing site YouTube, and "is taking a hard look at our existing community guidelines to determine what content is allowed on the platform".

A boycott by firms worried about damaging their image could cause incredible damage to Google as advertising makes up the overwhelming majority of the internet giant's revenue.

Schindler said Google acknowledged that companies have brand guidelines which dictate where and when they want their ads to appear and that it wants to give them more control to do that.

"In the coming days and months, we're introducing new tools for advertisers to more easily and consistently manage where their ads appear across YouTube and the web," said Schindler.

The British government put its YouTube advertising on hold on Monday, saying "it is totally unacceptable that taxpayer-funded advertising has appeared next to inappropriate internet content - and that message was conveyed very clearly to Google."

A Marks and Spencer spokesman said: "In order to ensure brand safety, we are pausing activity
across Google platforms whilst the matter is worked through." (READ MORE)