Chongqing Lifan has announced the signing of Brazilian winger Fernandinho da Silva on a free transfer from Copa Libertadores champions Gremio.

Fernandinho had been in talks with the Chinese Super League club since Gremio ended their 2017 season with a 0-1 loss to Real Madrid in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in December, reports.

“It is hoped that in the new season Fernandinho can continue to maintain his level, rising to new challenges and achieving even better results,” Chongqing Lifan said on their official website on Wednesday.

Fernandinho will join fellow Brazilians Alan Kardec, Hyuri and Fernandinho Conceicao in Chongqing Lifan’s squad.

The 32-year-old played 57 matches in 2017 and scored 12 goals, including a stunning long-range strike in the Copa Libertadores final against Argentina’s Lanus after running half the length of the pitch.

Chongqing Lifan finished 10th in this year’s Chinese Super League standings with nine wins, nine draws and 12 losses from 30 matches.

The latest buzz from the tinsel town has surprised everyone as Saif Ali Khan’s son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, will follow the legacy of his family by acting in films.

It was not long ago when people got to know about Saif’s eldest child Sara Ali Khan’s career plan of making her Bollywood debut in the upcoming film Kedarnath. Now, it seems like Sara’s brother is also set to follow her, as he has shown a keen interest in acting.

According to Saif, who is a little worried about his son’s acting interest, says that Ibrahim and other star kids like Aarav Kumar (Akshay Kumar’s son) want to have a chiseled muscular body and act in films.

“Ibrahim, Aarav (Akshay Kumar’s son) and that group of youngsters want six packs and aspire to be Bollywood stars. I don’t know if anyone wants to be an actor. It is kind of disturbing because not everyone makes it,” Saif told a known newspaper.

While Sara is busy prepping up for her upcoming debut film, we now know that her younger brother will soon follow his family’s footsteps.

Whether the young lad will win hearts with his performance like his parents (Saif and Amrita Singh) will only be known when the official announcement for his debut will be made.

But as of now, the star kid has surely got all the eyeballs for his good looks and resemblance to dad Saif and has become one of the most popular star kids around the block.

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🎄The Gut 2k17

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The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 63.3914 against the US dollar and 76.2472 for the euro.

The corresponding rates were 63.4833 and 76.5418, on Wednesday.

The according to an RBI statement, the exchange rates for the pound and the yen against the rupee were 85.7432 and 56.31 per 100 yens, respectively, based on reference rates for the dollar and cross-currency quotes at noon.

The SDR-rupee figure will be based on this rate, the statement added.

Two railway gangmen were killed after being hit by a goods train while inspecting a railway line, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place near Ujhani Railway station when gangmen Dilip (32) and Hasif (30) were inspecting the railway line.

Due to severe cold both of them had covered their ears and probably could not hear the approaching train, police said.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem.

A probe has been ordered by railways.

Russian former world number one Maria Sharapova marched into the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open here today with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.

Sharapova, who has worked her way up to 59 in the world rankings since her return from a doping ban last year, will face either of the Czech pair Kristyna Pliskova or Katerina Siniakova in the last four in southern China.

The 30-year-old Sharapova, who is unseeded in the tournament that serves as a build-up to the Australian Open, is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month drugs ban in April.

The five-time Grand Slam winner was never really in trouble against Diyas, who is 66 in the world and joins Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu in the Shenzhen semis.

With speculation on the release date of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis “Padmavati” — January 26 and February 9 — going around, the producers of the other films lined up for release in the last week of January and the first two weeks of February are anxious.

Prernaa Arora, the co-producer “Pad Man”, which will open on January 26, and “Pari”, which is slated to hit the screens on February 9, feels it would be foolhardy to release her films on the same day as “Padmavati”, which might release as “Padmavat”.

“The curiosity level to see ‘Padmavati’ has increased to a hysterical point now. Whenever it opens it is going to be an instant crowdpuller. Any film released on the same day would have to take the brunt of the ‘Padmavati’ wave,” said Arora.

With two release dates for “Padmavati” being put forward, Arora is now in a dilemma.

However, a source dismisses all rumours regarding the release date.

“There is no clarity on the release date of ‘Padmavati’ yet. The director and his producers are yet to take a call on when to release the film,” said the source.

The sentencing of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a case of fodder scam was on Thursday deferred, yet again by a special CBI court in Ranchi. The quantum of punishment may now be pronounced on Friday.

The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Shivpal Singh delayed the sentencing of the former Bihar chief minister along with 15 others.

The sentencing was postponed on Wednesday on account of the death of two lawyers.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, who was lodged in the Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi after being convicted on December 23, was brought to the court in the morning on Wednesday and was present inside when the hearing was on.

He was taken away at around 12 noon.

Lalu’s lawyer had on Tuesday said that they would urge the court for minimum punishment owing to the RJD chief’s age.

Lalu is likely to get three to seven years’ punishment, as per reports. If he is awarded three years’ sentence, he will be able to get bail soon.

His co-accused and former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra was let off in the case pertaining to embezzlement of over Rs. 85 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.

A total of 17 accused including Lalu were pronounced guilty by the court while six were let off.

The RJD chief has already been convicted in another fodder scam case that cost him his Lok Sabha seat and disqualified him from contesting elections. Both Lalu and Jagannath Mishra are out on bail in the case.

Hearing in the multi-million fodder scam case was completed on December 13 in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court of Ranchi.

In all, there were 34 accused in the case, out of which 11 died during the course of the trial, while one turned CBI approver and admitted the crime.

Pakistan on Thursday released another video of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav purportedly confessing that he was a commissioned officer of the Indian Navy and that the diplomat who was accompanying his family for the meeting yelled at his mother.

However, the veracity of the video which was released by the Pakistan Foreign Office could not be ascertained.

The video was released days after India had hit out at Pakistan for violating understandings for the Jadhav-family meet and raised questions about the 47-year-old Indian national’s well being.

India had also asserted that Jadhav appeared coerced and under considerable stress during the tightly-controlled interaction on December 25 in the Pakistan Foreign Office.

During the meeting, whose pictures were released by Pakistan, Jadhav was seen sitting behind a glass screen while his mother and wife sat on the other side. They spoke through the intercom and the entire 40-minute proceedings appeared to have been recorded on video.

In the purported video, Jadhav said, “I saw fear in her (mother’s) eyes, the Indian diplomat was shouting at my mother the moment she stepped out. I saw him shouting, yelling at her. This [meeting] was a positive gesture so that she [my mother] could be happy and I could be happy.”

However, it was not clear how Jadhav saw the diplomat shouting at his mother once she stepped out. The diplomat accompanying Jadhav’s family was India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad.

Jadhav, who was captured in March, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, an accusation that India has dismissed as concocted.

Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday said the government’s Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion in PSU banks would narrow the gap between the capital profiles of public and private sector banks.

Besides, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) could peak in current fiscal, but elevated levels of provisioning on these NPAs will continue to negatively affect the banks during fiscals 2018 and 2019, Moody’s Indian affiliate ICRA said.

“The gap between the capital profiles of Indian public and private sector banks is expected to narrow following the government’s announced Rs 2.1 lakh crore (USD 32 billion) recapitalisation plan for the public sector banks, which are financially weaker entities,” Moody’s said in a statement.

The government in October last year announced plans to infuse Rs 2.11 lakh crore into PSU banks over the next two years. Of this, Rs 1.35 lakh crore would be infused through issue of recapitalisation bonds and remaining Rs 58,000 crore through government stake dilution.

“The capital infusion will also help public sector banks build their provisioning coverage ratios as they will be able to allocate much of their operating profits towards loan-loss provisioning without having to worry about the impact on their capital positions,” Moody’s VP and Senior Analyst Alka Anbarasu said.

Weak capitalisation profile is the “key credit weakness” of PSU banks when compared to their peers in the private sector, it added.

As of September 2017, Tier 1 capital ratio of rated public sector banks was 8.7 per cent compared to 12.2 per cent for the rated private sector banks.

“However, the gap is expected to narrow, given the government’s recapitalisation package,” Moody’s said.

Moody’s believes that the package will facilitate the two key policy initiatives of non-performing loan (NPL) resolution and Basel III implementation.

In addition, it will strengthen the government’s bargaining position for pushing through some of its more fundamental reforms, such as those targeting corporate governance and industry consolidation, said the US-based agency.

ICRA said while the gross NPAs are likely to peak by the end of FY2018, the negative impact arising from elevated provision levels for weak assets is likely to continue until fiscal 2019.

Led by Virat Kohli, Indian squad is going to face the biggest challenge of the year in South Africa. In 2017, Virat Kohli shattered many records and it seemed as if the Indian team was invincible on home soil.

Last year, India beat England 4-0 in the five-match Test series when the Men-In-Blue hosted the Englishmen. The current Proteas coach, Ottis Gibson, was England’s bowling coach in that tour and he remembers watching England falling apart in front of Virat Kohli’s boys. In that series, the Indian was unstoppable as he went on to score 655 runs with the help of two centuries and two half-centuries.

While talking to ‘www.sport24.co.za’ Gibson recalled, “They were too good for us. They played really well and were led very well by the captain, who got a lot of runs. There were times in those conditions where we couldn’t get him out.”

However, Gibson have some good news for South Africans, as he is not expecting the repeat of Virat Kohli’s performance in Africa as the condition will be different in the rainbow nation. “I think in these conditions it will be a lot different,” Gibson said, adding, “We’ll have some plans for him as we will for every other player in the team.”

Arsenal avoided their defeat to Chelsea here, thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Hector Bellerin that left the two English Premier League sides deadlocked at 2-2.

For Bellerin, it was redemption after he committed the foul that led to Eden Hazard’s goal for the Blues in the 67th minute on Wednesday, reports Efe.

The Gunners were overall the better side in an exciting London derby in front of the Arsenal faithful.

Jack Wilshere put Arsenal ahead 1-0 in the 63rd minute with his first goal of the Premier League season.

But the advantage lasted last than five minutes, as Bellerin fouled Hazard in the box and the Belgian striker converted from the spot.

The equaliser spurred Chelsea to press for the win and Marcos Alonso got what looked to be the winning goal in the 84th minute, knocking in a cross from Davide Zappacosta.

Bellerin, however, had other ideas and brought the Gunners level in the 92nd minute, two minutes before Zappacosta’s potential game-winner bounced off the cross-bar.

The result leaves Chelsea with 46 points from 22 matches, one point behind second-place Manchester United and 16 behind league leaders Manchester City.

Arsenal have 39 points, one fewer than fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who will play their 22nd match on Thursday against West Ham United.

Acclaimed filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan responded to a casteist tweet by fellow filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri by saying he won the award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival without using his Dalit identity.

Amidst the unrest in Maharashtra over clashes between Dalits and Maratha groups, Agnihotri spoke about how he once saw a grandson of a Dalit leader in a Business Class seat in a plane while he himself, a Brahmin, was seated in the Economy Class and remarked that the “pyramid is inverted”.

Ghaywan on Wednesday replied to Agnighotri: “I am a Dalit. I won the Cannes Film Award for our country. Also the Cannes advertising award. I won the National award and the Filmfare award. All without using my Dalit identity. And yes, I fly Business Class now and I will offer you my seat next time you are on the same plane.”

A shutdown called by Dalit parties hit Maharashtra on Wednesday following Monday’s riots in Pune district.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday questioned the government on why the benefit of lower crude oil prices was not being passed on to the consumers.

He said the government has also slashed funds for all welfare schemes.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during zero hour, Kharge said: “Consumers are not getting any benefit of the low crude oil price, the entire money is going into the government’s coffers.”

He said the government has earned a profit of Rs 550,000 crore due to low crude oil prices.

“They have cut the finance for all welfare schemes… The government should tell which social welfare scheme they have invested the money in,” he added.

The 11th edition of the most talked about cricket tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, is still far away, yet all the franchises taking part in the event have started preparing to dominate the event.

The IPL started in 2007 and with the end of its 10th season, every team has a chance to prepare from start as the players’ contract has expired.

The mega IPL auction is going to take place on Jan 27 and 28 in Bengaluru. And ahead of the auction, the player retention is going to commence in Mumbai on January 4.

Well, ahead of the auction, here is everything that you need to about the IPL 2018 Players’ Retention Policy:

What is Pre auction Retention?

In Pre auction retention, every single franchise taking part in the tournament can retain a maximum of three players.

For a sum of Rs 33 Crore, 3 players can be retained.

For a sum of Rs 21 Crore, 2 players can be retained.

For a sum of Rs 12.5 Crore, 1 player can be retained.

Right-to-Match card

The Right-to-match card is like a trump card for every franchise. It gives a chance to franchise to retain a player at the same auction price.

Squad size of every franchise

Every single franchise taking part in the 11th edition of IPL can have maximum 25 and minimum 18players in their side. In the 25-member squad, a franchise can have a maximum of eight foreign players in their squad.

List of players who are likely to be retained by their teams:

MI – Pandya Brothers, Rohit Sharma

KKR – Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Manish Pandey

RCB – AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli

SRH – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan

RR – Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith

CSK – MS dhoni, Suresh Raina, DJ Bravo

KXIP – David Miller, Glenn Maxwell

DD – Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West, who moved into their new mansion here a few weeks ago, have banned jewellery at the property.

“Kim decided to put the policy in place at the Hidden Hills home because she doesn’t want it to be a target for thieves,” a source told tmz.com.

Kim’s collection of jewellery, which is worth millions, is being stored elsewhere and in “under constant supervision, with very elaborate security measures to get to it”, the source shared.

While there won’t be any expensive ornament at Kim’s new home, she will still live under tight security every time.

According to the site, the couple decided to do so as “the trauma of the Paris robbery is still on Kim and Kanye’s minds”.

After actress Pooja Hedge wowed audiences with her role in ‘DJ'(Duvvada Jagannadham), she has signed another big Telugu film officially for the same producer and seems to be in a contract with Dil Raju.

The actress will be paired up with hero Nithiin in Dil Raju’s next production called ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam’.

Srinivasa Kalyanam will be directed by Sateeh Vegesna who was responsible for the fame of ‘Shatamanam Bhavati’.

The actress is also being considered as the main heroine in many other films such as the one directed by director Vamshi Paidipally and produced by Dil Raju in a role opposite Mahesh Babu.

She will also be seen playing opposite Belllamkonda Sai Srinivas in his movie titled ‘Sakshayam’ and has agreed to do an item song for Ram Charan’s movie ‘Rangasthalam’.