Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been named 2017 CAF African Player of the Year.

The 25-year-old has scored 23 goals in 29 fixtures for the English football giants since joining the club from A.S. Roma. He also helped his national team finish second at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations — scoring goals against Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The Egyptian, who won the award for the first time ever on Thursday, defeated his Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane, who finished second. Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finished third.

Security establishments have been put on high alert across India after a CRPF vehicle with Jammu and Kashmir registration was stolen from outside the staff camp of the paramilitary force here last week.

The alert was sounded as a precaution ahead of the Republic Day celebration soon after a white “TATA Sumo Vecta” with registration number ‘JK 02A W5441’ went missing around 12.30 p.m. from the R.K. Puram camp in south Delhi on December 30.

“We have filed an FIR with Delhi Police,” Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Inspector General P.K. Singh told IANS. “There is no need to panic as the four-wheeler had no security feature.

“It was parked outside the R.K. Puram camp, where there is a hospital as well. In the morning it was found missing. It was used for ferrying medico staffs… We have informed (security) agencies who have issued an alert.”

CCTV footage reportedly revealed that the vehicle, with a ‘Police’ sticker, was stolen by a group of at least three persons.

The CRPF has asked all its units in Jammu and Kashmir and north India to be on heightened vigil.

 Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will lend his voice for a brand film of soon-to-be-launched entertainment channel Discovery JEET.

Conceptualized and written by Glitch and produced by Two Nice Men Mediaworks, the film is called Look, who’s watching!, read a statement.

The film captures the evolution of time from television’s perspective and highlights the evolution of consumption pattern.

It puts the spotlight on the evolution from the black and white era when the entire family used to sit together every evening and enjoy limited entertaining content available, to the era where consumers had plethora of options for entertaining content, to now where video consumption is increasingly becoming very ‘individual centric’.

Sameer Rao, Vice President at Head of Mass Entertainment-South Asia, Discovery Communications India, said: “Nawazuddin’s story is inspirational, an extraordinary tale of someone who made it possible with ‘hai mumkin’ (it’s possible) attitude. The depth of his voice helps in connecting the viewers with the times gone by and convey Discovery Jeet’s proposition.”

Nawazuddin said: “Somehow, the fervour for TV is no more the same. It is time to get it right with purpose driven entertainment content for family viewing that Discovery Jeet offers.

“I belong to a family of farmers from a very small village, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. There wasn’t much scope for education there so I moved to Delhi and joined the theatre. Since there was no money in theatre I had to take up a small time job. I could have easily given up chasing my dream but my continued belief in ‘hai mumkin’ got me this far.”

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday launched the nation’s first digital Online Oncology Tutorial Series, which aims to train doctors across the country in early detection, prevention, palliation, rehabilitation and treatment of various cancers.

The digital Online Oncology Tutorial Series has been designed by the Tata Memorial Centre in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry, and is part of a national programme that will be rolled out across the country in collaboration with state governments.

“This is a visionary step that will leverage advances in IT to strengthen health outreach and health services in the country,” said Preeti Sudan, Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (HFW).

According to Sudan, the initiative will help the doctors upgrade their knowledge and skills regularly thereby taking care of obsolescence.

“This initiative can save many precious lives and improve quality of life of many more,” Sudan added.

The course is intended for physicians, gynecologists, dentists and other healthcare professionals who are not oncologists, but can play a very crucial role in early detection and diagnosis of cancers.

“This will equip them with the skills and knowledge on basics of oncology to detect, diagnose and refer cancer cases early. The online video lectures are also designed to update oncologists with the evidence based guidelines and skill for the management of cancer,” said Sudan.

The overall course is designed for seven weeks with different modules based on various sites and sub-sites of Cancer.

It comprises of 14 hours of comprehensive e-learning through more than 40 video lectures, case studies, assessment questionnaires and periodic interactive Webinar sessions with respective consultants of Tata Memorial Hospital.

Rapper Nicki Minaj and emcee-rapper Nas, who are said to be expecting a child together, have reportedly parted ways.

The two were dating for seven months before breaking up a few weeks ago, reports tmz.com.

Minaj and Nas’ relationship “ran out of steam” because “living in different cities was just too much”, said a source. Both will focus on their work now.

While Minaj has multiple business ventures outside of music, the “I can” rapper is busy managing his record label and his chicken and waffles joint Sweet Chick.

“Minaj found out she was pregnant during Thanksgiving and she was supposed to announce her bundle of joy around the Grammys,” said the source.

The number of students enrolling for higher education in India saw a marginal 0.7 per cent increase in 2016-17, according to a government survey released on Friday.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar released the survey here. It said the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education had gone up 25.2 per cent in 2016-17 from 24.5 per cent in 2015-16.

The country has set an aggressive target of achieving 30 per cent GER in higher education by 2020. GER is the total enrolment in higher education among the population in the age group of 18-23.

According to the survey, the number of universities in the country rose to 864 last year as compared to 799 in 2015-16.

Tamil Nadu had the highest GER in the country at 46.9 per cent. Bihar is at the bottom with 14.9 per cent of its youth in the age group of 18 to 23 enrolling for higher education.

Tripura’s capital on Friday was linked with Bengaluru by “Humsafar Express”, becoming the second city in the northeast to get a newly introduced train, equipped with modern facilities.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain flagged off the weekly train that will link the two state capitals via Kamakhya, Howrah, Cuttack and Vijayawada.

Friday’s event was a formal inagurarl and services for the public will start on January 9.

The train service was launched from Kamakhya to Bengaluru (3,030 km) on December 25, 2016. Now it has been extended to Agartala.

According to the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), the train will halt at seven stations between Agartala and Guwahati and at 26 between Agartala and Bengaluru Cantonment station.

The Humsafar Express is a fully AC 3-tier service.

The NFR is now extending the railway line up to southern Tripura’s bordering town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala.

December 2017 dropped one name out of the list of India’s most eligible bachelors when Virat Kohli tied the knot with his lady love Anushka Sharma. As we step into 2018, here is the list of top hotties who are every woman’s dream.

Prabhas: Baahubali star Prabhas is sure to top this list with the massive female fan following he enjoys. He is undoubtedly the most eligible bachelor in our country at the moment. Each time there are rumours about his wedding, his female fans get heartbroken. It was earlier reported that he has received over 6000 marriage proposals. We guess it is his shy personality, his tough looks and mysterious aura that get all the girls chanting his name.

Salman Khan: Questions about this superstar’s wedding plans will continue to be asked this year as well. Salman Khan has been stealing hearts with his macho personality since years now. He maybe a bhai for the boys but girls refuse to call him that. Girls from across the country and even overseas fill his timeline every now and then with their love. He is one of the most desirable men.

Ranbir Kapoor: Bollywood’s man with Midas touch, his smile is enough to make girls swoon. With a great sense of humor and a chocolate boy looks, he surely knows how to make many a woman’s heart aflutter

Ranveer Singh: Though rumors of his. link ups never seem to die, Ranveer for his new age guy personality has girls falling for him at every corner of the country. Be it for his wacky fashion sense or out of the box humor, Ranveer’s behavior is something girls just can’t get over. The endless energy, the spark, the style and a body that woman can’t help adoring, he surely deserves a mention here.

Varun Dhawan: Dance, romance or comedy Varun Dhawan is sure to woo any girl with his powerhouse talent. By not commenting anything on his relationship status, Varun has all the attention in the world from girls vying for his kickass abs and comic timing.

NASA has announced that it would launch two missions to explore a little-understood area 96 km above Earth’s surface.

The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission will be launched aboard a commercial communications satellite in January 2018, and the designed spacecraft Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) will be launched later this year, the US space agency said on Thursday.

GOLD and ICON will team up to explore the ionosphere, a boundary area between Earth and the space where particles have been cooked into a sea of electrically-charged electrons and ions by the Sun’s radiation, reports Xinhua news agency.

These layers of near-Earth space are increasingly becoming a part of human domain as it is home to radio signals used to guide airplanes, ships and Global Positioning System satellites.

NASA said the two missions were complementary. ICON in low-Earth orbit, at 560 km above Earth, flies through and just above the ionosphere, like a close-up camera.

GOLD runs in geostationary orbit over the Western Hemisphere, about 35,398 km above the planet’s surface. It will build up a full-disk view of the ionosphere and the upper atmosphere beneath it every half hour.

The two missions can cooperate with each other when ICON passes through GOLD’s field of view and each mission can get a snapshot of the same region. This overlap in their data makes it easier to identify what caused a certain change to the upper atmosphere at a given time, NASA said.

One of the missions’ goals is to measure how upper atmosphere changes in response to hurricanes and geomagnetic storms.

“We used to think only solar wind could affect the ionosphere, and only the lower atmosphere was affected by terrestrial weather,” said Doug Rowland, ICON mission scientist at NASA.

“But now we’re going to get to see how that energy couples together.”

The solar wind is the Sun’s constant outflow of charged particles and magnetized material.

GOLD will also explore how the upper atmosphere reacts to geomagnetic storms, which are temporary disturbances of Earth’s magnetic field set off by solar activity.

During night-time, GOLD will examine disruptions in the ionosphere, which are dense, unpredictable bubbles of charged gas that appear over the equator and tropics, sometimes interfering with radio communications.

Director Adrindam Sil’s crime thriller film Aschhe Abar Shabor has finally got a release date as the film is all set to release on January 19.

The film is the sequel to 2016 film Eagoler Chokh and is the third installment in the Goenda Shabor film series. The film is based on the story of Prajapatir Mrityu O Punorjanmo, which has been written by Shirshendu Mukhopadhayay.

The film, which stars Saswata Chatterjee in the lead role, has picked up the fans curiosity after the release of the trailer. The trailer has been appreciated by fans and critics and has already grossed more than 120k views on Youtbe.

After witnessing such a good response to the film, the makers finally decided to announce the official date of release for their film on Instagram.

#AscheAbarShabor #19thJan

A post shared by SVF (@svfsocial) on Jan 4, 2018 at 12:20am PST

Presented by SVF and directed by Adrindam Sil. Aschhe Abar Shabor is all set to release in selected cinemas on January 19.

Militants shot dead a suspected rapist in Manipur and have threatened to carry out more such killings.

The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) killed Laiphrakpam Sana Ningthem, 35, of Imphal West district on Thursday while he was returning home, police said.

The UNLF accused the victim of raping a housewife on April 26, 2015 and trying to kill her too. Ningthem was arrested and was out on bail.

The UNLF said it will again start punishing rapists and sex offenders in Manipur. The outfit has done this in the past.

Last week, Judge A. Noutuneswori of the fast track court for women sentenced another rapist to life imprisonment and two accomplices to 20 years in jail.

Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has set up the fast track court in an effort to help reduce crime against women.

Neeraj Pandey’s espionage thriller ‘Aiyaary’ is all set to release this Republic day. The filmmaker who has time and again presented issues of social relevance with his films is immensely loved and respected by his cast.

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah shared his thoughts about working with the prolific filmmaker saying, ” I’m happy and I would want to congratulate Neeraj (Pandey
) for even after the success he has achieved, he still continues to make the kind of films”.

Sidharth Malhotra who will be working with the filmmaker for the first time, the actor too shared his thoughts on Neeraj Pandey saying, “I am working with Neeraj sir for the first time, he makes it very easy for me. I think he has really thought out what we can do.”

The actor further added,”Our General @neerajpofficial is not only a keen observer but also backs his vision to the fullest… #Aiyaary in cinemas this Republic Day”

Manoj Bajpayee shared, ” He makes me feel comfortable, he makes me feel as if I belong to the sets. He is coming up with different different kinds of subjects and does it in a very different fashion.”

He also added, “It’s a pleasure and an honour to work with Neeraj Pandey.”

Noted actor Adil Hussain while talking about Neeraj Pandey’s film said, ” The film I think is a very important film because we shy away from talking about the state of so many issues in India.”

Naseeruddin Shah further added, “If you in any capacity can be a part of a film that you believe in, that is about an issue that you feel is important to be told I think that gives me the most happiness.

Anupam Kher shares a very special bond with the filmmaker. The duo has collaborated with Neeraj Pandey for several times now and also expressed his thoughts on the filmmaker. The actor when asked what has changed in Neeraj Pandey from A Wednesday to Aiyaary, he answered, the Brilliance of Neeraj Pandey continues.

Actress Pooja Chopra too took to Twitter to express her thoughts on the filmmaker saying, “The experience of working with @neerajpofficial sir on #Aiyaary was one I’ll never forget! #Aiyaary in cinemas on 26.01.18 @RelianceEnt”.

Another member of the film’s team said, “Neeraj sir’s good quality is that people who work with him become his friends.”

Neeraj Pandey will return to direction two years after his last directorial ‘M.S. Dhoni’ which not only won accolades from the audience and critics but also emerged victorious at the box office.

With films like ‘Special 26’, ‘Baby’, ‘Rustom’ amongst others Neeraj Pandey has paid tribute to the uniform officials of the nation that serve its public. ‘Aiyaary’ will yet again be an ode to army officials.

Neeraj Pandey is known to present films backed by power packed performances by an ensemble cast. Starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sidharth Malhotra as the mentor and protege, Aiyaary also stars Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Rakul Preet Singh, Kumud Mishra, Pooja Chopra, Adil Hussain and Vikram Gokhale in pivotal roles.

Aiyaary revolves around two strong-minded army officers having completely different views, yet right in their own ways. The film portrays Sidharth Malhotra as an army officer sharing a mentor-protégé bond with Manoj Bajpayee.

The trailer of ‘Aiyaary’ has got everyone hooked and is adding to the excitement to the film. Neeraj Pandey who can be regarded as a pioneer of espionage thriller is set to present Aiyaary which will prove to be treat this Republic day.

Plan C and Jayantilal Gada (Pen) presents ‘Aiyaary’ A Neeraj Pandey Film. Produced by Shital Bhatia, Dhaval Jayantilal Gada, Motion Picture Capital is slated to release on 26th January, 2018.

A Twitter attack by US President Donald Trump against Pakistan on New Year’s Day will further strengthen the already close ties between Islamabad and Beijing, a report in a leading Chinese daily said.

In his first tweet of 2018, Trump charged Pakistan with deceit and treachery and cut off all further aid to Islamabad for harbouring terrorists US troops were hunting in Afghanistan. These words were used by Donald Trump on the issue of Pakistan …

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018

The move drew a stern backlash in Pakistan and a staunch defence of Islamabad in Beijing – a dynamic that experts said highlights the further strengthening of the relationship as the US seeks closer ties with India while “casting aspersions on Pakistan”, the Global Times said.

A day after Trump’s tweet, the State Bank of Pakistan announced it has taken steps to ensure the use of the yuan in bilateral trade and financing transactions.

It also said that public and private sectors were free to choose the Chinese currency for bilateral trade and investment activities.

According to the daily, the State Bank of Pakistan’s statement “may not be a dramatic policy change, but the timing made the more significant.

“This is more of a political statement in response to pressure from the US, telling the US that Pakistan has a great relationship with China and that Pakistan would become even closer with China,” said Dong Dengxin, Director of the Finance and Securities Institute at Wuhan University of Science and Technology.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Thursday: “We encourage market entities from both countries to use our own currencies in clearing bilateral trade and investment.”

The daily said Washington’s strategic shift towards New Delhi could also improve military cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing.

Citing a report published in US media, the paper said China was in talks with Pakistan to build an overseas military base as part of a push for greater maritime capabilities along strategic sea routes.

“Both Beijing and Islamabad have the ability to build a joint naval and air facility in Pakistan. But it is unnecessary at this time,” said Lin Minwang, a professor at Fudan University’s Centre for South Asian Studies.

He said if “the US and its allies push their Indo-Pacific strategy to the extreme, China will surely carry out a plan with Pakistan to ensure the security of sea routes”.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Friday that the Budget session of Parliament will commence from January 29 and the Union Budget will be presented on February 1.

While addressing the press, Ananth Kumar said, President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 29 and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day.

The first phase of the session will be from January 29 to February 9. The second part of the Budget Session will start on March 5 and conclude on April 6, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Said.

Anant Kumar Said, The first phase of the session will be from January 29 to February 9. After a recess, Parliament will meet again from March 5 to April 6.

The Winter session of Parliament ended on this Friday.

(with Input from IANS)

BJP national General Secretary Kailash Vijayvergiya on Friday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerje for her remarks on the updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, saying it was an insult to the Constitution and the Supreme Court.

Banerjee’s comment was part of her “sinister political motives”, Vijayvergiya said.

“The NRC is being updated in Assam after consultation with all stakeholders, communities, political parties and outfits. Such comments are not only an insult to the Constitution and Supreme Court but also against the spirit of the federal structure of our country,” Vijayvergiya said in a statement.

The NRC of 1951 is being updated in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court to identify original residents of the state in order to check illegal migration.

The BJP government in Assam has also condemned Banerjee’s statement, saying it was “derogatory, insulting to the people of Assam and against the Constitution as well as the spirit of the Supreme Court.”

FIR lodged against Mamata

The Assam Police have registered an FIR against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly promoting enmity between communities in the state.

Addressing a meeting at Ahmedpur on Thursday, Banerjee had accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of “hatching a conspiracy” to drive out Bengalis from Assam by “excluding” their names from the first draft of the NRC published on the 31 December midnight.

On Thursday, the police booked Mamata for hate speech after multiple complaints made by several lawyers alleged that her speech over the updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) was inflammatory and could create enmity between communities in Assam.

Banerjee had claimed the updating of the NRC to determine the state’s original inhabitants was a “conspiracy to drive away Bengalis” from Assam.

According to media reports, on the issue of FIR, Deputy Commissioner (Central) of Guwahati Police Ranjan Bhuyan said that Latasil police station received a complaint regarding an alleged speech of the West Bengal Chief Minister. We have registered the complaint and will carry out the investigation as per law.

The complaint was filed by Gauhati High Court advocate Tailendra Nath Das and the police have registered an FIR under Section 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code, he added. The section pertains to promoting enmity among groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.

The FIR sparked an angry response from the Trinamool Congress which said, such an action would not stop her from fighting for the cause of the Bengalis while the BJP accused Banerjee of trying to make an “issue out of an non-issue” for reaping political dividends.

One person died and at least 47 people have been infected with suspected scrub typhus virus at Phullen village in Aizawl district, Health department officials said on Friday.

Nodal officer of the State Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, who visited Phullen village on Thursday said the spread of the disease has been contained and the patients were given medical treatment.

Phullen village is about 125 kilometre north-east of the state capital.

Lalmalsawma said that the first case was detected during the last part of November and new infection detected till January 3.

Scrub typhus is a mite-borne disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia tsutsugamushi).

Symptoms are fever, a primary lesion, a macular rash, and lymphadenopathy.

Cases of scrub typhus infection have been detected in Champhai, Aizawl and Lunglei districts.

Over a hundred people have died in the state during the past few years due to scrub typhus infection, Health department officials said.

Radhika Apte sets the temperature soaring as she graces the cover of Cosmopolitan, January issue.

The actress looks jaw-dropping gorgeous as she slays perfectly on the magazine cover with an oomph factor.

The sultry actress has not only won hearts over her unique body of work but has also stunned everyone with her style game.

In this latest cover, Radhika opted for a sexy bralette and paired it with a sheer embellished skirt. She styled her look with a diamond choker. With minimalistic makeup and smokey eyes, she kept her hair loose and looked amazingly beautiful.

Radhika Apte is truly a revolutionary in our Cinematic world. She has managed to surprise everyone with her versatile movie choices and insight.

The actress is currently all geared up for her upcoming release Padman and her latest mag shoot is in complete contrast to her movie character.

On the work front, Radhika will next be seen is films like Padman, Baazaar and Sriram Raghavan’s next with Ayushmann Khurrana and Netflix’ Sacred Games.