OnePlus 6 official price for 64GB, 128GB models leaked online: Details here

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is gearing up to unveil the OnePlus 6 flagship in London on May 16, followed by India and China unveiling on May 17. However, before the official unveiling, the alleged official price of the 64 GB and 128 GB storage variants of OnePlus 6 have been leaked. The phone would cost less than Rs 40,000 in India, it seems.
According to a report in technology news portal truetech citing an industry insider, the OnePlus 6 with 64GB and 128GB internal storage variants would cost Rs 36,999 and Rs 39,999, respectively. The report did not mention the price of the 256GB internal storage variant, which would have 8 GB of RAM, as officially confirmed by the company earlier.

In India, after the May 17 unveiling, the phone would go on sale exclusively for Amazon Prime members starting May 21.

Here is what to expect from the OnePlus 6:
OnePlus 6 screen
Pei, in an interview with online technology portal The Verge confirmed that the OnePlus 6 would sport the biggest screen in the OnePlus smartphone family. However, he did not provide the exact size or dimensions. The OnePlus has used a 5.5-inch fullHD screen in most of its smartphones, except the OnePlus 5T, which has a 6-inch screen due to an 18:9 aspect ratio screen. Therefore, the OnePlus 6 is expected to have a 6.2-inch screen.

Lantern Capital to acquire bankrupt Weinstein Company for $310 million

Private equity firm Lantern Capital is nearing a deal to acquire the Weinstein Company, the TV and film studio whose former chairman Harvey Weinstein faces sexual assault claims, with a $310 million offer, people familiar with the matter said.

The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in March with the offer from Lantern Capital in hand as a so-called stalking horse bidder. It had hoped to get better offers from other suitors, but no higher bid emerged by a deadline set in a bankruptcy auction for Monday, the sources said.

The sources asked not to be identified ahead of an official announcement. The Weinstein Company declined to comment, while Lantern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hollywood trade publication Deadline Hollywood first reported earlier on Monday that Lantern was the winning bidder for the Weinstein Company.

Is Kim Jong-un likely to meet Donald Trump at Korean demilitarized zone?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to meet US President Donald Trump at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, an informed source told CNN.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in convinced Kim to meet Trump at the DMZ during their historic summit in the border village of Panmunjom on April 27 that led to an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and formally end the Korean War, the source said on Monday.

According to the source, there was a "strong possibility" the summit will be held at the site, with some events possibly scheduled on the northern side of the military demarcation line separating the two countries.

ALSO READ: Moon Jae-in: The man who brought Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un to the table
The venue makes the most sense logistically for Kim, the source told CNN, because media facilities and equipment are already in place, which could the allow the summit to take place "in late May".

The idea of meeting at the DMZ was not a complete surprise to aides since Trump has been talking about it all weekend and raised it in his Sunday phone call with Moon, a senior US official told CNN.

US extends decision on metals tariffs for Canada, EU and Mexico by 30 days

The Trump administration on Monday (local time) announced that it has extended a decision on implementing steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico.

The decision has been delayed for another 30 days. The 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum were set to go into effect on Tuesday, reported the New York Times.

Negotiations will continue for the next 30 days with the 28-member bloc, as well as Canada and Mexico. The White House said this would be the final period to reach a deal with the key trading partners.

Those extensions will affect the EU, Canada and Mexico.

The administration has also reached agreements in principle on tariffs with Australia, Argentina and Brazil and they will also receive a 30-day extension so details can be finalized.

The US had been seeking concessions from these countries in exchange for not permitting the tariffs to go into effect.

Pashtun long march: A near blackout in Pak media even as activists protest

The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) – which came to the fore after the extrajudicial killing of a young Pashtun man at the hands of police officer Rao Anwar in Karachi earlier this year – continues to march on in Pakistan. It recently held an impressive rally in Peshawar – the Pashtun heartland – without the support of the traditional Pashtun nationalist outfit, the Awami National Party (ANP), which considers itself the political heir to ‘Frontier Gandhi’ – the late Abdul Ghaffar Khan.

The rally brought together a large number of the families of missing Pashtun men and boys, who they claim were forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan Army during and after its operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) – where the country’s constitutional provisions do not apply – and in the so-called “settled” areas like the Swat Valley, which is part of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The PTM’s key leader, Manzoor Pashteen, continues to capture the imagination of the Pashtuns with his unassuming demeanour, straightforward explanation of the movement’s main objectives, clear roadmap and resolve to persevere where others have faltered. His plain talk reiterates the movement’s key demands, including the release of those abducted by the army who are innocent and producing before the courts the ones who may have any charges against them.

Stormy Daniels sues President Trump for defamation over 'con job' tweet

Pornstar Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, filed a lawsuit against the president on Monday for defamation.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, lodged the complaint with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In the suit, Clifford said that Trump made "false and defamatory" statements about her in an April 18 tweet.

Trump's tweet was in response to the release by Clifford the previous day of a sketch of a man whom she claimed warned her in 2011 to "leave Trump alone."

Clifford claimed she was threatened in a Las Vegas parking lot after agreeing to an interview with "In Touch" magazine about her alleged affair with Trump.

After Clifford released a drawing of the man she said threatened her, Trump tweeted: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!" "Mr Trump's statement falsely attacks the veracity of Ms Clifford's account of the threatening incident that took place in 2011," the lawsuit said.

By leaving Facebook to play Frisbee, WhatsApp co-founder to lose $1 billion

Jan Koum’s exit from Facebook Inc. could prove costly. A speedy departure may prevent him from collecting as much as $1 billion in stock awards.

The chief executive officer of messaging unit WhatsApp confirmed in a Facebook post-Monday afternoon that he was leaving the company. The announcement comes before the final three vesting dates of restricted stock unit awards tied to Facebook’s $22 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014.

Koum, 42, got about 24.9 million restricted shares as part of the deal. The stock vests in increments until late 2018, with 1.9 million shares due to vest in mid-May and mid-August, plus a final tranche of 2.1 million set to be issued in November.

The awards are contingent on him still being employed through those dates. He would forfeit 5.8 million shares, worth $997.5 million as of Monday’s close, if he left before May 15, unless his exit is categorized as an involuntary termination or a good-reason resignation, regulatory filings show.

Facebook trying to weaken WhatsApp privacy? Co-founder Jan Koum quits

The co-founder of WhatsApp, a messaging service owned by Facebook Inc with more than 1 billion daily users, said on Monday he was leaving the company, in a loss of one of the strongest advocates for privacy inside Facebook.

Jan Koum's plan to exit comes after clashing with the parent company over WhatApp's strategy and Facebook's attempts to use its personal data and weaken its encryption, the Washington Post earlier reported, citing people familiar with the internal discussions.

"It's been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it's been an amazing journey with some of the best people," Koum, WhatsApp's chief executive, said in a post on his Facebook page referring to co-founder Brian Acton.

"But it is time for me to move on." He did not give a date for his departure and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Acton left the messaging service company in September to start a foundation, after spending eight years with WhatsApp.

Kabul Attack: ISIS kills 8 journalists, 11 students, 20 others; 10 updates

At least 29 people, including eight journalists, were killed as two suicide bombers exploded themselves in quick succession in the Afghan capital on Monday. Hours later, another suicide attack killed 11 madrassa students in Kandahar province. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the Kabul bombings where French news agency AFP's chief photographer Shah Marai was among the journalists killed. There was no claim of responsibility for the Kanhahar bloodbath.

A militant on a motorbike carried out the first explosion at 8 a.m. in Kabul's Shashdarak area in Police District 9 which houses the offices of Afghanistan's intelligence service, Defence Ministry, NATO and many embassies, prompting journalists to rush to the scene. Another bombing occurred about 20 minutes later when an attacker, posing as a cameraman, detonated explosives as journalists gathered at the site of the first blast. Eight media persons, including a woman, died in the second blast. The Islamic State claimed the twin blasts through its news agency Amaq and said the intelligence services headquarters was the target.

Volkswagen and China's Didi Chuxing in talks over driverless cars

Volkswagen AG, the world's biggest automaker, is in talks to form a joint venture with China's Didi Chuxing to manage part of the ride-hailing company's fleet of cars and help develop "purpose-built" vehicles for Didi's services.

As part of the deal between Volkswagen and China's biggest ride-hailing service, expected to be signed early next month, the German automaker will initially manage a fleet of about 100,000 new vehicles for Didi, of which two-thirds will be Volkswagen Group cars, said a senior executive at the carmaker.

Volkswagen will also jointly buy some new cars with Didi to allow the Chinese company to expand its fleet. The two eventually plan to collaborate to design and develop dedicated vehicles, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the details are still private.

The executive did not give financial details of the deal but said that Volkswagen will get a slice of the revenue once the venture develops.

The growing popularity of ride-hailing services for commuting and running errands in congested cities such as Beijing and Shanghai is showing early signs of reducing private car ownership. This could have serious consequences for existing carmakers and is forcing companies like Volkswagen to reinvent their businesses and seek out future revenue streams.

Sprint-T-Mobile deal faces tough path through Trump's Washington

A Sprint Corp merger with T-Mobile US Inc was firmly rebuffed by antitrust officials in Washington four years ago. Winning them over this time won’t be easy, even with a new administration in power.

The deal would combine two of the four biggest wireless carriers in the US, setting the stage for an in-depth investigation by the Justice Department into whether the tie-up would harm competition in the industry. In 2014, when the department’s antitrust division last looked at the deal, the answer was: Don’t even try.

“I find it hard, given the history, to see the DOJ not challenge it,” said David Turetsky, a former deputy assistant attorney general with the antitrust division.

“It’s basically a four to three in the wireless industry. Even if they argue there are 10 players, they are still the top four.”

Sprint and T-Mobile have complementary wireless spectrum that may be a strategic advantage as the companies build a 5G network. T-Mobile controls a large portfolio of lower-band airwaves that can travel long distances and pass through walls and windows. Sprint has the largest US holding of higher-band, 2.5-gigahertz spectrum that can handle more data capacity but over limited distances.

“The companies will argue that only together will they be able to make the requisite investments in 5G, and there’s probably a fair amount of truth to that,” Moffett said.

Sprint is controlled by Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. and T-Mobile is owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG, which will have the biggest stake in the combined entity.

Detel D1 Boom Review: Low-budget feature phone with SOS features for Rs 699

Detel, a home-grown feature phone brand known for its economical offerings, recently launched the D1 Boom, along with D4 Prime, D120 and D500 devices. These phones feature a panic button, which activates and sends an SOS message to police authorities and connects call to emergency number 112.

Detel D1 Boom
Priced at Rs 699, the Detel D1 Boom is touted as one of the cheapest feature phones with a panic button. It is also the loudest and has the ability to record calls, which makes it an interesting proposition in ultra-affordable feature phones segment.
Detel D1 Boom The key feature of the phone is its panic button, housed in numeric key 5. On a short press, the numeric key 5 works as other alpha-numeric keys. However, a long press activates the SOS panic mode and make five calls to the emergency number 112, followed by 5 SMSes sent to police authorities and another 3 to family and friends.
Detel D1 Boom For a feature phone, the Detel D1 comes stuffed with a lot of utility tools. The dual-SIM phone boasts dual standby and features a microSD card slot, auto call recording function, VGA camera at the back and FM 

HMD Global to adopt notch screen, resurrect X-series with Nokia X6: Report

HMD Global, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer behind Nokia-branded devices, might bring back the old Nokia X-series smartphones. The first smartphone in the series will purportedly be called the Nokia X6. And the official images shared by the company on the Chinese social media platform Weibo shows that the phone will sport a notch-based screen, a first for Nokia smartphones.

Those who have seen the original Nokia X-series devices would agree that those phones offered a value-for-money proposition. The series had its spot fixed between the premium Nokia N-series and the budget Nokia C-series, therefore it took cues from both. The X-series devices usually had a distinct design language, unconventional mostly, and featured a colourful outlook. The Nokia X7-00 with razor cut metallic design and unconventional pseudo speaker grilles on each corners was the last device of the X-series that came out.

Nokia X6 specifications and features

Speaking of the purported Nokia X6, the Android-based smartphone is expected to sport a notch-based 5.8-inch screen with a 19:9 aspect ratio on the front. The phone is expected to use either a MediaTek P60 system-on-chip (SoC) or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor. The earlier leak also hinted that the phone would sport dual camera set-up on the rear. However, just like original Nokia X-series, it may not feature Carl Zeiss lenses.

Nitish Kumar urges PM Modi to confer Bharat Ratna on Ram Manohar Lohia

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to confer the 'Bharat Ratna', the highest civilian award in the country, on socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia.

In a three-page letter addressed to the PM, Kumar drew Modi's attention towards Lohia's role in the struggle for Independence, his efforts in bringing together non-Congress parties during the time of Nehru, his model of socialism rooted in Indian realities and his emphasis on issues of public sanitation and womens' upliftment decades ago.

The chief minister also highlighted Lohia's active participation in the movement for Goa's liberation from Portuguese rule and suggested that the international airport in the coastal state be named after him.

"Lohia had gone to the extent of saying that he would give up opposing Nehru if the latter got toilets constructed for rural women. His foresight can also be gauged from his emphasis on equipping kitchens with chimneys so that smoke did not spoil womens' health, " the Kumar said in the letter.

"In the light of these facts, it would be appropriate that the Government of India confer Bharat Ratna on Lohia, in the honour of his contributions, on his death anniversary on October 12 and also rename the Goa International Airport as Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Airport," he said.

With lower fertility rate, will south India lose out to north in finance?

As leaders of south Indian states raise concerns over the terms of reference for the 15th Finance Commission alleging that they would be at a disadvantage, south Indian states have reduced their fertility rates below replacement level, while the rate for states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh remains above the level, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data.

The replacement rate of fertility is 2.1, the level at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next.

In 2016, Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate (TFR)–the number of children a woman will have in a lifetime–was the lowest among India’s large states at 1.6, and other south Indian states–Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (1.7), Kerala and Karnataka (1.8)–also have rates below the replacement level of fertility, according to the latest Sample Registration System data, under Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. The national average TFR was 2.3.

Jan Akrosh rally: Congress will win Karnataka, Lok Sabha polls, says Rahul

Jan Aakrosh Rally: Virtually sounding the poll bugle for the next general elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party will win all polls starting with Karnataka and come to power at the Centre in 2019.

At his party's well-attended 'Jan Aakrosh Rally' at Ramlila Maidan here, an aggressive Rahul Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of sowing seeds of hatred and polarising the country.

He also charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with spreading "lies" against the Congress and its leaders.

While former prime minister Manmohan Singh said democracy "is in danger" in the country with the Modi government consistently undermining constitutional institutions, Sonia Gandhi alleged that corruption has taken "deeper roots" since it came to power.

Rahul Gandhi said, "Elections are around the corner. In 2014, the BJP and the RSS machine spread lies against our government....

J&K deputy CM Nirmal Singh quits Mufti govt ahead of Cabinet reshuffle

Ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh tonight tendered his resignation to pave the way for state Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta to take over the post in the PDP-BJP government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

BJP's state unit chief Sat Sharma, MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal are among the BJP faces who will be inducted into the state government as Cabinet ministers, officials said.

"I have resigned from the post to pave the way for a new deputy chief minister in the state," Singh told PTI.

The PDP will have Mohd Khalil Band, MLA from Pulwama, and Mohd Ashraf Mir, MLA from Sonwar, as Cabinet ministers, while the BJP will upgrade Sunil Sharma, at present Minister of State for Transport, to the rank of a Cabinet minister, the officials said.

BJP MLA from Doda Shakti Raj will also be sworn in as Minister of State tomorrow at the oath-taking ceremony, which will be attended by senior BJP leaders, including national general secretary Ram Madhav and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh, they said.

J&K Cabinet rejig: Facing Kathua heat, BJP to bring on new faces; updates

The Mehbooba Mufti-led Jammu and Kashmir government's Cabinet reshuffle will take place on Monday noon, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in alliance with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, expected to bring in some new faces. Ahead of the reshuffle, BJP leader and Jammu & Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh tendered his resignation. State Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta will take over Singh's post in the PDP-BJP government.

According to the invitation for the ceremony, the oath of office and secrecy will be administered to those being inducted into the council of ministers by J&K Governor N N Vohra at the convention centre in Jammu at 12 noon. The function is being held at the convention centre instead of the Raj Bhavan because the J&K government has already shifted its base to the summer capital of Srinagar as part of its biannual 'darbar move', under which the government functions six months each in the twin capital cities.

Officials said that BJP's state unit chief Sat Sharma and MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha, Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal, were among the BJP faces who would be inducted into the state government as Cabinet ministers. An unnamed senior BJP leader told news agencies that the party leaders, in general, had no information on the specific number of people who were being inducted into the Cabinet or being dropped from the Cabinet. He added that BJP national president Amit Shah and party general secretary Ram Madhav had the list, which would be handed over to Nirmal Singh either on Sunday night or Monday morning.

Jan Aakrosh rally: Rahul Gandhi raps Modi-led BJP, RSS for polarising India

Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 12, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday led a massive Jan Aakrosh rally at Ramlila Ground in Delhi, where he spoke extensively about the alleged failures and corruption of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. He made a claim that his party will surely win the polls in Karnataka and other states and return to power at the Centre in 2019. It was the first such rally by Rahul Gandhi since he assumed the post of the President of the Congress party.

Rahul also censured PM Modi-led NDA government for failing to hear the grievances of Indian citizens.

An angry Congress President also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of sowing seeds of hatred and polarising the country, and also charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with spreading "lies" against the Congress and its leaders.

IPL 2018: Kolkata beat RCB by 6 wickets; Chirs Lynn scores match-winning 68

In the 29th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 6 wickets at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. KKR pulled up a great show with the bat and chased the target of 176 runs on the last over. RCB bowlers could not get an early breakthrough and dropping Chris Lynn on 7 runs cost RCB the match as he went on for a match-winning knock. There was a little contest in the last few overs as wickets fell, but overall it looked like a one-sided match as RCB bowlers and fielders failed to perform. After winning today's match Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their position in Vivo IPL points table with 8 points.

Audit finds Aramco oil reserves slightly higher than reported: sources

An audit of Saudi Aramco's oil reserves - an essential part of the preparatory work for its planned initial public offering - has found the state oil giant to have higher reserves than it previously reported, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia's reserves of easily recoverable oil have long been the world's largest.

Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the independent external audit has found the proven oil reserves to be at least 270 billion barrels, which is slightly higher than the 260.8 billion barrels the company reported in its 2016 annual review.

Having an internationally recognized reserves audit has become a key task for Aramco as it seeks to become the world's most valuable company when it lists a 5 percent stake in an IPO later this year or early 2019.

Aramco's official reserves figures were "more than confirmed" said one source. "This is good for the company's valuation," another source said.

Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

3 Palestinian infiltrators from Gaza killed, says Israel's military

Israel's military says troops have shot and killed two Palestinians who infiltrated the country from Gaza, and in a separate incident killed another Palestinian who tried to breach the border.

The military said in a statement: "Two terrorists who infiltrated into Israel hurled explosive devices" at soldiers today. The soldiers returned fire, killing them.

Separately, the statement says, about half an hour earlier two Palestinians damaged the security fence and tried to cross into Israel. Troops opened fire, killing one, it said.

The Gaza border has been tense in recent weeks. Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers have urged mass Palestinian protests there every Friday as part of a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.

Thirty-nine Palestinians have been killed in the border protests that began March 30.

Israel says it's defending its sovereign borde

Xi's push to curb pollution leads to China's takeover of heavy industry

President Xi Jinping’s big push to curb pollution and excess capacity in steel and other industries is also consolidating his government’s control over them.

Just last year, the state’s share of steel capacity increased to 67 per cent from 60 per cent while aluminum smelting saw about an equal increase, J Capital Research Ltd. estimates. In coal, which began consolidating years earlier, the government now controls 80 per cent of capacity compared with about 45 per cent in 2010, according to the Hong Kong-based firm.

Xi’s campaign has boosted corporate profits, ended years of deflation, and stabilized debt growth to help underpin the first full-year economic acceleration last year since 2010. But his aim for a "bigger, better and stronger" state role also means those bloated companies risk stifling private ones, as the Communist Party strengthens its grip on the economy.

Call it “de facto nationalization,” says Jude Blanchette, China practice lead at Crumpton Group in Arlington, Virginia, and a former Conference Board researcher in Beijing. “We’re clearly seeing the re-strengthening of state-owned enterprises, oftentimes at the zero-sum expense of private players. Private folks are exiting the market either because they’re pushed out or they can’t survive.”

FT names Raghuram Rajan as possible candidate for Bank of England's top job

Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has been named as one of the possible contenders for the top job at the Bank of England (BoE), according to a report by UK-based Financial Times.

"Attracting Raghuram Rajan, the highly respected Chicago-based economist and former Reserve Bank of India Governor, would be a coup, as would securing Agustín Carstens, Mexico's central bank chief and the new general manager of the Bank of International Settlements," stated the article on Sunday.

It said that UK Chancellor and Exchequer Philip Hammond is starting the process to select the next Governor of the Bank of England to replace Mark Carney in 2019.

Hammond, according to the article, said he had already begun looking for candidates in forums such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington.

French police arrest suspect involved in Mont Saint Michel scare

French police have arrested a man accused of threatening to attack police at Mont Saint Michel, causing a scare that led to the evacuation of one of the country's busiest tourist sites, a security source said today.

The UNESCO world heritage site, off the coast of Normandy in northwest France, was shut down for several hours Sunday after a tourist guide reported a man made threatening comments on a bus carrying visitors to the rocky islet.

A senior local official said the man then got into a fight with a cafe owner, during which he made more threats against security forces.

Kate Middleton gives birth to baby boy, fifth-in-line to Britain's throne

It's a boy! Prince William and wife Kate Middleton on Monday welcomed a new prince, the fifth-in-line to Britain's throne, as the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth at a central London hospital. William, the 35-year-old Duke of Cambridge, was present at the birth of his boy, who weighs 8lbs 7oz (3.82 kg). The baby was born at 1101hrs local time (around 1 pm IST), according to a statement by Kensington Palace. The palace added that the mother and baby are "doing well".

The average weight of a baby in the United Kingdom is around 7.7lbs (around 3.5 kg). This is her third child after Prince George who is now four years old and Princess Charlotte who is two years old. All three children have weighed over 8lbs on birth. This is Kate Middleton’s heaviest baby yet as George weighed 8lb 6oz and Charlotte weighed 8lb 3oz after birth, respectively. Kate suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe levels of nausea and vomiting, during the early stages of her pregnancy during all three births.

The new baby is fifth-in-line to the British throne, behind his grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William, brother Prince George and sister Princess Charlotte.

The new child will push uncle Prince Harry one place down the line of succession to sixth. He will be the sixth great grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated her 92nd birthday on Saturday.

Dream job: Harley-Davidson offers its summer interns a free motorbike

Harley-Davidson is offering free motorcycles for those who join its summer internship program.

Eight college students or recent graduates will have the enviable task of being paid to ride a Harley and share their adventures on social media. And the best part? They'll keep their bikes at the end of the 12-week internship.

The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker says it will teach the interns how to ride, compensate them for their work and travels, and let them keep their motorcycles. Harley-Davidson says it's looking for those that have the ability to create content on the fly, are creative and have the talent to take great photos and videos.

Applicants must be 18 years older and looking to pursue a career in social media.

Moon Jae-in: The man who brought Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un to the table

Moon Jae-in set his mind on South Korea’s presidency nine years ago, when his ailing role model, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Kim Dae-jung, pulled him close and urged him to keep fighting for peace with North Korea. Soon after, Kim, the first South Korean leader to visit Pyongyang, was dead.

Moon found himself among a core of acolytes determined to preserve Kim Dae-jung’s “Sunshine Policy” toward North Korea. The ex-president’s plea rang in Moon’s ears, even as the latest U.S.-led efforts to disarm the regime and end their unfinished war unraveled.

“That was the decisive moment,” Moon told a group of reporters before his May 2017 election. “He spoke those words as if they were his will.”

Twelve months into his tenure as president, Moon is on the verge of a breakthrough to outdo his famous predecessor: orchestrating an unprecedented summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It’s an encounter so fraught with consequence that it threatens to overshadow Moon’s own historic meeting with Kim planned for Friday, the first time a supreme leader from Pyongyang will set foot across their militarized border.

Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on Gaza Strip: Medics

Israeli forces shot dead a second Palestinian during a fourth consecutive on Friday of protests and clashes along the Gaza Strip's border, the health ministry in the enclave said.

The man killed in the north of the Gaza Strip was identified as Ahmad Rashad Al-Athamneh, 24.

Thirty-six Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since protests and clashes erupted on the Gaza border on March 30.

SGX Q3 profit at 10-yr high, focus on new India equity derivatives in June

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) reported its highest profit in a decade on Friday as a strong performance in derivatives and securities powered a 21 percent rise in net profit for the quarter to March 31.

Third-quarter profit of S$100.5 million ($76.5 million) on revenue up 10 percent to a record S$222.2 million.

"Our marketing efforts, together with longer trading hours enabled by our new derivatives trading and clearing platform, added to an increase in global participation across products and trading sessions," CEO Loh Boon Chye said.

"With improved global growth, more central banks are likely to adopt tightening measures. This could lead to investors rebalancing their portfolios," Loh told analysts and reporters. "As a result, we expect market activity to improve."

New India products

Market focus is also on how SGX can cope with an unexpected move by India's three main bourses to stop licensing their indexes and securities to foreign bourses from August. Worried by the potential decline in business, analysts have cut SGX's earnings estimates for the next few years.

German theatre asks guests to wear swastikas for Hitler play 'Mein Kampf'

A theatre in southern Germany is proceeding with plans to open a satirical play about Adolf Hitler's youth in which some patrons will be wearing swastika armbands.

The Konstanz Theatre's production of George Tabori's "Mein Kampf" opens on Friday for a month-long run.

Though named after Hitler's infamous anti-Semitic manifesto, the play tells a fictional story of how a young Hitler is befriended by a Jewish man who puts him on his political path.

In a twist introduced by the theatre, patrons who agree to wear a swastika armband will be given free admittance, while those who purchase tickets will be asked to wear a Jewish Star of David.

Theatre manager Christoph Nix says the point is to show how easily corruptible people are, and provoke dialogue about racism.

Leaders approve Prince Charles to succeed Queen as Commonwealth head: BBC

Commonwealth leaders agreed on Friday to back Prince Charles as the next head of the organisation, a day after Queen Elizabeth II said it was her "sincere wish" that her son would succeed her in the role "one day".

The 69-year-old Prince of Wales will be the next head of the 53-member Commonwealth, the BBC reported.

The decision is believed to have been taken at the retreat at the grand Waterloo Chamber of the Castle, one of the homes of Queen Elizabeth II the Head of the Commonwealth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present at the retreat.

The Commonwealth is one of the world's oldest political association of states, with its roots in the British Empire when some countries were ruled directly or indirectly by Britain.

Independent countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Pacific have joined The Commonwealth over the years, with the last two members to join Rwanda and Mozambique having no historical ties to the Empire.

Carmaker Nissan making short-term reduction volumes in Britain: Source

Nissan will cut hundreds of jobs at its Sunderland plant, Britain's biggest automotive factory, as it tackles declining demand for diesel models across Europe, a source told Reuters on Friday.

Nissan builds its Qashqai and Juke models at the northeastern English site and the company's sales in Britain, Europe's second-largest car market, have fallen 35 percent so far this year, worse than overall demand in the sector, which is down 12 percent.

Jaguar Land Rover is cutting around 1,000 jobs and output at two of its factories after a fall in sales which the industry has partly blamed on confusion over government diesel policy, with a tax hike having come into force this month.

Nissan said it is discussing the operational changes with its employees.

Wall St hit by tech, oil weakness; bank stocks gain on higher bond yields

US stock indexes fell on Friday, with Apple leading declines in the technology sector and as energy companies took a hit from lower oil prices after President Donald Trump's criticism on OPEC.

Apple fell 3.4 per cent and was the biggest drag on the major indexes. Morgan Stanley estimated weak demand for its latest iPhones, adding to fears raised by Taiwan Semiconductor of softer smartphone sales.

Oil prices were down about half a per cent after Trump criticized OPEC for output reductions that have helped raise oil prices and said the action would not be tolerated.

The S&P energy index fell 1 per cent, while the technology index was weak for the third session in a row, dropping 1.4 per cent.

Schlumberger dropped 1.5 per cent after the oilfield services provider's profit just scraped past estimates. Rival Halliburton fell 0.3 per cent.

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $1 billion to settle customer abuses

Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay $1 billion in penalties to federal regulators to settle a probe into abuses at its auto and mortgage businesses, the bank and regulators said on Friday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

The settlement is the most aggressive move by regulators during the Trump administration to punish a major bank and follows revelations that the United States' third-largest lender had opened millions of sham retail accounts that customers did not want.

Wells Fargo said the settlement reduces its reported first-quarter 2018 net income by 16 cents per share to 96 cents per share. The bank said it has adjusted its preliminary results to account for an additional accrual of $800 million.

Wells Fargo said it would also be required to submit, for review by its board, plans detailing ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance and risk management, and its approach to customer remediation efforts.

Andhra special status: CM Naidu to protest by fasting on his birthday today

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will observe a day-long fast here on Friday to demand Special Category Status (SCS) to the state.

It is notable that Friday is also Naidu's birthday. Naidu will sit on hunger strike at Indira Gandhi Stadium from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm to pressurise the Centre to grant the SCS to Andhra Pradesh.

The hunger strike will be called 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' or 'Fight for Justice'.

The strategy for the hunger strike was finalised by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Naidu, on Monday.

Thirteen ministers of Naidu's cabinet will also organise simultaneous hunger strikes in the districts for which they are in-charge ministers. Remaining ministers will take part in the hunger strike along with the Chief Minister.

Sikh woman on Pak pilgrimage converts to Islam, marries Lahore man: Reports

A Sikh woman pilgrim from Punjab's Hoshiarpur district has reportedly converted to Islam and married a Lahore-based Pakistan national, reports reaching her family in Punjab have indicated.

Kiran Bala, daughter of Manohar Lal, wrote to the Pakistan Foreign Office that her visa should be extended as she married one Mohammad Azam, a resident of Lahore, during a ceremony held at Jamia Naeemia seminary in Lahore on April 16, The Express Tribune reported.

She went to Pakistan on her Indian passport with Pakistan visa valid till April 21.

Her old father-in-law, Tarsem Singh, alleged on Thursday that his daughter-in-law could have fallen into the hands of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and may have been forced to convert and remarry there.

Loya case: 'Assault on judiciary' makes SC see red; top 10 developments

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the death of special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, who was conducting a trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case -- Amit Shah, now the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was an accused -- does not merit an independent probe. The apex court dismissed petitions seeking a special investigation team (SIT) probe into judge Loya's demise and held that he died of "natural causes". Holding that there was absolutely no merit in the petitions, the court also rebuked the petitioners, saying that it became clear from their PILs that there was "a real attempt and frontal attack" on the judiciary's independence.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and judges A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud delivered the 114-page judgment. In all, there were five petitions, including those filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala and Maharashtra-based journalist B S Lone, seeking an independent probe into judge Loya's death.

How sudden spike in cash demand led to a major cash crunch in many states

India’s currency stocks have not kept pace with the Indian need for cash, and there are no reserves that allow the country to cope with sudden spikes in demands, such as those that led to recent shortages in many states, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of Reserve Bank of India data.

These currency stocks should have been adequate for India’s average requirements–if Indians had adopted digital transactions at the scale Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government envisaged after demonetisation, the controversial withdrawal of 86% of the country’s currency, by value, on November 8, 2016.

Currency with the Indian public was Rs 1.9 lakh crore lesser than it should have been in March 2018, said a April 18, 2018, report from the State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank. The bank’s chairman denied any such shortfall on April 17, 2018, an indication of the political sensitivity of the issue.

News digest: Battle for Essar Steel, TCS Q4 results, cash crunch, and more

Race for Essar Steel: NCLT directs lenders to review Arcelor, Numetal bids

In a major twist, the Ahmedabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday asked the resolution professional (RP) and the committee of creditors (CoC) of Essar Steel to reconsider the first round of bids and review offers from ArcelorMittal and Numetal.

The NCLT order rendered invalid the second round of bidding held on April 2. While Russia’s VTB-backed Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal India were the only two bidders in the first round held on February 12, Vedanta, which had joined the race in the second round, will be out of the bidding process now.

Personal loans account for 96% of new bank loans during FY18: RBI data

In a first, personal loans are set to account for most of incremental growth in non-food bank credit during 2017-18.

Judge Loya's death: Congress failed to end Shah's political career says BJP

A political slugfest erupted on Thursday over Supreme Court's verdict dismissing petitions seeking a SIT probe into the death of Judge B. H. Loya, with the BJP accusing Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as the "invisible hand" behind the pleas for "character assasination" of its chief Amit Shah while Gandhi attacked Shah, saying truth has its own way of catching up with people like him. Soon after the court verdict, senior BJP leaders including Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad alleging that the pleas were a conspiracy by the Congress and its President to finish the political career of Shah. Addressing a press conference, Prasad said: "This was not a PIL.

 Basically, it was filed to promote the interest of Congress. It was filed to cause damage to Amit Shah in particular." Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to attack Congress, saying that the judiciary has sent a message that it cannot be misled by allegations based on political vendetta.
"It is extremely unfortunate that there have been several attempts of targeting the BJP and assassinating the character of its top leaders on the basis of 'fake facts'. These attempts have failed miserably once again," he said, adding that the apex court has not only rejected the PIL pertaining to Justice Loya's death but also raised serious questions on the intention of filing such PILs

IPL 2018: Gayle's ton helps KXIP hand Sunrisers first defeat of season

Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their first match to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) by 15 runs in pursuit of 194. KXIP kept it tight and did not let SRH batsmen score runs. Earlier, Gayle scored the first ton of the IPL 2018. With the win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab consolidated their position in the top three of VIVO IPL Points table.
Sunrisers Hyderabad had a bad start to their innings as opener Shikhar Dhawan was retired hurt after being hit on the elbow in the first over. After that Wriddhaman Saha was dismissed cheaply and Yusuf Pathan followed him soon after. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has been chasing 194 runs, thanks to Chris Gayle's brilliant century.
Powered by Chris Gayle 100, Kings XI Punjab made 193-3 from 20 overs. Gayle hit massive sixes and four all around the ground and smashed Rashid Khan for four consecutive sixes. He was helped by all the other batsmen who came in. The run rate of Kings XI Punjab maintained the run-rate throughout their innings. Chris Gayle smashed one four and 11 sixes. He remained not out through the innings

James Comey memo reveals Trump complained about Flynn's 'judgment issues'

President Donald Trump told former FBI Director James Comey that he had serious concerns about the judgment of his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Trump's chief of staff asked days later if Flynn's communications were being monitored under a secret surveillance warrant, according to memos maintained by Comey and obtained by The Associated Press.

Trump also told Comey that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that Russia had "some of the most beautiful hookers in the world" even as he adamantly, and repeatedly, distanced himself from a salacious allegation involving prostitutes in Moscow, the documents state.

The 15 pages of documents contain new details about a series of interactions with Trump that Comey found so unnerving that he documented them in writing.

England's Premier League football teams have never been so profitable

England’s Premier League football teams made a collective pretax profit of half a billion pounds in the 2016-17 season, more than doubling the previous record set three years earlier, according to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.

Revenue was boosted by a broadcast deal that poured in 5.1 billion pounds ($7.3 billion) over three years. That was up from a previous, 3 billion-pound arrangement, a rate of growth that outpaced even football stars’ escalating pay.

With wages increasing by 9 percent, to 2.5 billion pounds, in 2016-17, “this increase is nowhere near the level of revenue growth noted,” said Dan Jones, partner and head of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.

Deloitte says clubs have recorded a collective pretax profit in three of the last four years, making them more attractive to investors. Eighteen of the 20 clubs were profitable at a pretax level in 2016-17, the firm said.

P&G to acquire consumer health unit of Germany's Merck for about $4.21 bn

Procter & Gamble Co said on Thursday it has signed an agreement to acquire the consumer health business of German pharmaceuticals company Merck KGaA for about $4.21 billion (3.4 billion euros).

The acquisition enables P&G to add to its portfolio of existing consumer healthcare capabilities and brands such as Vicks, Metamucil, Pepto-Bismol, Crest and Oral-B.http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/p-g-to-acquire-german-merck-s-consumer-health-business-for-about-4-21-billion-118041900220_1.html

Amazon Prime has now topped 100 million subscribers, reveals Jeff Bezos

Amazon has persuaded more than 100 million shoppers to subscribe to its Prime service that offers free two-day shipping and other perks that help bind people to the company and its ever-expanding empire.

CEO Jeff Bezos quantified the size of Amazon's Prime membership for the first time Wednesday in his annual letter to the Seattle company's shareholders. Before Bezos' revelation, analysts had been left to guess how many people had been willing to pay $99 per year for the Prime service, which Amazon launched 13 years ago as a way to foster customer loyalty.

The scope of Prime's success stunned even the most optimistic of analysts, such as GBH Insights' Daniel Ives. He had previously estimated Amazon had 92 million Prime subscribers.

"It's a mind-boggling number that serves as a key barometer to how big Amazon's kingdom has become," Ives said.

Costco has been selling annual memberships to get bargains on goods stocked in its warehouses for decades, and already been outdone by Amazon's Prime service. Costco has 50.4 million memberships that allow 92 million cardholders to shop in its warehouse and website.

Cuba elects its first non-Castro president in 60 years: Miguel Diaz-Canel

Cuba is poised for the end of an era today as President Raul Castro steps down, formally handing power to his long-time deputy Miguel Diaz-Canel -- and thereby ending his family's six-decade grip on the island.

The silver-haired Diaz-Canel, 57 -- a top Communist Party figure who has served as first vice president since 2013 -- will become the island's first leader born after the 1959 revolution and the first in 60 years who is not named Castro.

Between them, father of the nation Fidel and his younger brother Raul made the Caribbean island a key player in the Cold War and helped keep communism afloat despite the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Raul, now 86, has been in power since 2006, when he took over after illness sidelined Fidel, who seized power in the revolution.

Diaz-Canel, who has spent years climbing the party ranks, was named the sole candidate for the presidency yesterday.

Apple, Philip Morris, chip stocks lead Wall Street slide; financials gain

US stocks dropped on Thursday, weighed down by a broad-based decline in technology stocks from Apple to chipmakers as well as a tumble in consumer staples such as Philip Morris and P&G.
A warning from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker and an Apple supplier, on soft demand for smartphones and on the semiconductor industry's growth this year sparked a tumble in chip stocks.

Apple's shares also fell 2.3 percent, with analysts telling Reuters that TSMC's warning was related to the iPhone maker. Apple was the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq.

TSMC's US-listed shares fell 6.3 percent. Intel declined 3.1 percent, falling the most on the Dow. All stocks on the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index were in the red, with the index itself tumbling 3.9 percent.

The S&P consumer staples sector declined 3.2 percent as Philip Morris plunged 17.4 percent after the tobacco company's weak results and forecast.

5.9-magnitude earthquake hits Southern Iran, rattles nuclear power plant

A moderately strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake on Thursday hit Iran's southern region of Bushehr, home to the country's only nuclear power plant, without causing casualties or damage, media reported.

"The earthquake had no effect on the activity of the plant," Mahmoud Jafari, project manager at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant, said according to the Telegram news channel of Iran's state television.

The University of Tehran's seismology centre said the epicentre of the earthquake that hit at 0634 GMT was in the sparsely populated Kaki region, around 80 kms from the Bushehr plant.

The head of emergency services said no one was killed or wounded in the quake, media reported.

Bushehr has a 1,000 megawatt reactor built by Russia that became operational in 2011 and reached full capacity the following year.

Iran sits atop several fault lines and has been hit by a series of earthquakes since November 2017, when a 7.3-magnitude tremor killed 620 people in the western province of Kermanshah and eight in Iraq.

Meet Cuban President Diaz-Canel: Know about Raul Castro's ally in 10 points

Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel, who formally replaced Raul Castro as president on Thursday, has the task of steering the communist island through a period of uncertainty as it turns the page on six decades of Castro rule. In his opening speech, the silver-haired 57-year-old vowed to "continue the Cuban revolution" as laid out by his predecessors, his maiden speech triggering a standing ovation in the chamber.

Formerly first vice president, Diaz-Canel, who succeeds Fidel and Raul Castro, has spent three decades climbing to the summit of the Communist Party. And now he will be tasked with pushing through with the economic reforms that were initiated by his 86-year-old mentor. He becomes the first Cuban leader born after the 1959 revolution -- and perhaps crucially for some of the generals that will be under his command, the first not to have fought in it.

"There is a tradition in Cuba of strong men at the head of the State... (but) the profile of Miguel Diaz-Canel seems weaker," said Cuban watcher Arturo Lopez-Levy of the University of Texas-Rio Grande. "He has no more power than what he has been given."