Apollo Tyres on Wednesday announced its foray into European truck and bus radial (TBR) tyre market with the launch of a new range of products to be sold online.

The company is making its TBR tyres available through its platform ApolloTyresDirect.com and is initially being piloted in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Other countries will also follow soon. For online customers in countries outside the scope of delivery, arrangements would be made from the company's Hamburg warehouse, Apollo Tyres said in a statement.

Announcing the launch at the ongoing Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, Apollo Tyres Chief Retail & Marketing Officer Marco Paracciani said that for the European TBR market, it was felt that a strong product offering was not enough.

“We saw an opportunity to innovate in the go-to-market approach,” he added.

Commenting on the development, Apollo Tyres Group Head of Global Product Management for Commercial Vehicles Benoit Rivallant said: “This launch today, is the culmination of our five-year testing and development programme for the Apollo brand of truck-bus radials in the UK and Europe.”

The new range has been extensively tested over 250 million kilometers across six European countries across a wide range of applications by around 50 fleets and drivers, the company said.

Apollo Tyres has four R&D centres and six manufacturing plants globally, including the recently inaugurated state-of- the-art factory in Hungary.

Queen of pop Madonna has criticised Blonde Ambition, which is an unauthorised biopic on her, saying only she could tell her story.

“Nobody knows what I know and what I have seen,” wrote Madonna on Instagram.

“Only I can tell my story. Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool. Looking for instant gratification without doing the work. This is a disease in our society,” she continued.

Madonna's planned biopic is written by Elyse Hollander and became No. 1 screenplay on the 2016 Black List.

The project has landed on Universal, with Michael De Luca being set to produce.

There hasn't been any comment from Universal regarding Madonna's remarks, reported Ace Showbiz.

Set in early 1980s New York, the biopic follows Madonna Louise Ciccone who works on her first album and tries to deal with the business with dismissive attitude towards women.

It will also follow her burgeoning love life and her rise to fame.

Blonde Ambition is Hollander's debut script. Previously, Hollander worked as an assistant to Alejandro G. Inarritu when he made Birdman.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday advised the Aam Aadmi Party to swallow pills to “digest” its crushing defeat in the Delhi MCD polls.

The minister, known for his off-the-cuff remarks, said the AAP suffers from bouts of “indigestion” after every poll defeat.

“The Election Commission, along with conducting the polls, should also distribute digestive tablet so that the party which loses the polls is able to digest the defeat,” he tweeted.

“After every polls, the AAP suffers from indigestion. After Punjab and Goa, now they are not able to digest the results of the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections,” he said in another tweet.

The AAP was on Wednesday handed a severe drubbing in the Delhi MCD polls by the BJP, triggering charges of “EVM manipulation” from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party amid murmurs of dissent within its ranks.

The AAP's humiliating defeat plunged it into a crisis even as its top leadership put up a brave front suggesting it was all expected due to tampering with EVMs, an allegation that has been rubbished by the Election Commission.

Following CBSE's decision to scrap its marks moderation policy, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has said it was up to various state education boards to take a final call on the practice of awarding grace marks to students in exams for difficult questions.

“It is a good decision (by the CBSE). Several states have been taken on board, a consensus has been developed. But the final decision will be of the states, this is just like a suggestion,” Javadekar told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.

“All boards should not be in a race to increase marks and any sky-touching grade should be replaced with genuine scores. The boards should not keep inflating marks in competition, this should not happen.

“A good consensus has been developed. Let's see how it progresses. I will take a brief on the meeting,” he added.
In a major decision, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had yesterday scrapped the marks moderation policy.

According to a senior HRD Ministry official, “A consensus has been developed but how to implement it, is the states' prerogative. They can't be forced to implement it, the decision though consensual, is just suggestive in nature.”

The CBSE had in 1992 adopted the practice of awarding grace marks of up to 15 per cent in certain papers if the questions are deemed to be difficult.

The CBSE had in December last requested the HRD Ministry to help develop a consensus among all state boards on scrapping the marks moderation policy which is considered as the reason behind very high scores in board exam results.

The CBSE had opined that a unilateral scrapping of the policy would put its students at a disadvantage during undergraduate admissions and considered it important that all state boards agree to it.

If the states also decide to adopt the policy, then the cut-offs for admission to colleges are likely to go down.
However, the practice of awarding grace marks will continue to ensure that a student clears an exam if he or she needs a few marks to do so.

The ICC's first ever Women's Cricket Forum which was held before the CEC meeting, focussed on bringing together the sport to develop a long-term strategy to accelerate the growth of the game.

With senior representatives from all 10 full members plus PNG, Ireland and the Netherlands — the workshop, which ran over two days, considered a vision for the women's game as well as the opportunities for the sport and the challenges faced by all members.

The outputs from the day, along with further stakeholder consultations will then form the basis of the global womens strategy for growth over the next five years.

Clare Connor, Chair of the ICC Womens Committee said: “Women in cricket is an integral part of the wider ICC strategy, but to drive true growth and transformation and realise the opportunity for the sport we need a specific plan.”

“The need to innovate was a recurring theme throughout the day whether that was through formats, schools programme or the way we grow the appeal of the game to new and existing audiences. There is a genuine sense of excitement within the sport about the potential of womens cricket both in a commercial and societal context.”

David Richardson, Chief Executive of the ICC said:”There is a clear opportunity to grow the game and a firm commitment from our members to work in partnership to make that happen. The strategic plan will address the challenges and opportunities women and girls face and ensure that we do not take decisions about the growth of the womens game through a male lens.”

Gayatri Yadav, President    Consumer Strategy and Innovation at Star Network was the guest speaker at the Forum where she shared Stars inspirational Nayi Soch (New Thinking) campaign. She spoke of the need to change perceptions with ground-breaking campaigns and ensure female players were painted as heroes.

Clare Connor added:”Gayatri's involvement in the forum added another dimension and brought home how to make changing the game a reality. It was encouraging to see how Star are using the platform of cricket to break-down wider cultural stereotypes and drive social change.

“It reminded us of the possibilities of sport and the impact the growth of the womens game could have around the world.”

The BJP on Wednesday moved towards a thumping victory in all the three municipal corporations in Delhi by winning over 160 seats, crossing its existing strength of 138 as it decimated the AAP and the Congress.

The saffron party may bag more seats as the counting of votes polled in around 35 wards of MCD is still underway. The party has crossed the halfway mark of the total number of seats.

According to latest trends, the Aam Aadmi Party finished second in the municipal polls with 39 seats, followed by the Congress with 26.

The BJP has bagged 57 seats in the North MCD. Though the Aam Aadmi Party managed to win 17, the Congress bagged 12 seats in NDMC.

In East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), BJP got 42 seats while AAP and Congress won 10 and three wards respectively.

BJP managed to win 61 seats in South Delhi where AAP got 12 seats. Congress got 11 seats in the SDMC.

Counting of votes began at 8 AM today with the BJP gaining early leads in all the three municipal corporations – NDMC, SDMC and EDMC.

Meanwhile, the BJP dedicated its impending win to the slain CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district and decided to refrain from any celebrations.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that every heart is filled with grief over Monday's killing of 25 CRPF men by Naxals in Sukma and the party will not celebrate the victory.

"But for the Sukma incident, we would be on the streets celebrating this massive victory. We dedicate this win in the feet of Sukma martyrs," he said.

The AAP's humiliating defeat plunged the party into a crisis even as its top leadership put up a brave front suggesting it was all expected due to tampering with EVMs, an allegation that has been rubbished by the Election Commission.

"EVM tampering is the bitter truth of the country's democracy. One can crack jokes on us initially, but fearing being made fun of, we cannot refrain from speaking the truth," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.

Meanwhile, DPCC chief Ajay Maken offered to resign from his post, accepting moral responsibility for the Congress' dismal performance in the civic polls.

"It is a reasonable revival of the Congress but I had hoped for something better than this. I had expected to perform a little better.

"So, as the president of Delhi Congress, I take moral responsibility and offer to resign from my post. I have decided to resign from my post," Maken said.

Business schools of three IITs – Kharagpur, Delhi and Roorkee – have featured in the top 10 list of NIRF Management ranking this year.

The ranking was made from a total number of 542 business schools who submitted data for the rank, an IIT-Kharagpur release said on Wednesday.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is approved by the MHRD.

IIT Kharagpur's Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSoM) was ranked seventh, while the management schools of IIT Delhi and IIT Roorkee were ranked sixth and eight.

The key strength of these three B-schools has turned out to be research and professional. Acting Dean of Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSoM), IIT-KGP, Prof Prabina Rajib said, “Faculty must undertake innovative and deep-learning R&D projects to add new dimensions to classroom teaching”.

VGSoM is modelled on Sloan School of Management at MIT, while aligning itself to the research focus of its mother institution IIT-KGP.

IIT-KGP was the first IIT and among the foremost engineering colleges to set up a business school. VGSoM was set up in 1993.

Pakistan drops Kamran from Champions Trophy squad

Pakistan's selectors on Tuesday dropped opener Kamran Akmal from the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in England in June but recalled his younger brother Umar.

35-year-old Kamran was part of Pakistan's squad which won a three-match one-day series 2-1 in the West Indies earlier this month but managed scores of 47, 21 and nought.

The four-member selection committee headed by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq included Umar in the squad after being dropped for the West Indies series following failed fitness tests.

Former one-day captain Azhar Ali returned to the squad following his absence in the Caribbean limited over series.

Inzamam said the squad was selected keeping in mind English conditions.

“Ali is making a comeback in the team after looking at his good track record in English conditions, while Umar also returns after considerable improvement in his fitness,” said Inzamam.

Sarfraz Ahmed will lead the squad after replacing Ali as captain for the West Indies tour.

Pakistan will play arch-rivals and defending champions India in their first Group B match at Birmingham on June 4 followed by matches against South Africa (June 7 in Birmingham) and Sri Lanka (June 12 in Cardiff).

Group A comprises of hosts England, Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Fahim Ashraf, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Shadab Khan.

Warning against canal water theft, Punjab Irrigation and Power Minister Rana Gurjeet Singh onTuesday directed irrigation department  to create a complete check on canal water theft besides ensuring water supply to the tail ends.

Rana Gurjeet Singh also warned unscrupulous elements involved in the canal water theft to mend their ways or be ready to face stringent action.

“I have received reports regarding canal water theft by some unscrupulous elements with the connivance of some officials of the department. I want to make it clear that I will make surprise visits to check the ground reality and no one will be spared, if found guilty”, he said during a meeting with senior officials of Irrigation department here at Hydel Bhawan.

Rana further added that those days have gone when people living at the tail-ends of canal would have to yearn for even a drop of water. He said that Captain Amrinder Singh government has been fully committed to end all such discrepancies and during next month he would make surprise visit to various places to personally monitor that whether water has reached till tail-ends or not.  He asked officials to launch a toll free help line of the department for people to launch their grievances and complaints besides launching night patrolling to check water theft.

Model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne has shaved her head to get into her character for Life in a Year.

The 24-year-old star, who will play a cancer-stricken person in the movie, was spotted flaunting a bald head on the film set, reported AceShowbiz.

Delevingne was seen wearing a yellow robe and green hoodie on the set.

This new look comes after the actress appeared in pastel pixie crop recently.

Life in a Year follows a 17 year old, who finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.

The film also features Jaden Smith and Nia Long.

Actor Kunal Kapoor, who will be seen in National Award-winning filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's next Raag desh – Birth of a Nation says it has been an incredible movie-making experience.

"This has been such an incredible movie-making experience! And such a huge learning! Thank you. Tigmanshu Dhulia, Raag Desh," Kunal tweeted. 

The film also stars Amit Sadh and Mohit Marwah. 

On the work front, Kunal will be starring in a multilingual war drama Veeram, directed by Jayaraj.

The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and is set in North Malabar region of the south. Since the story revolves around a warrior of that region, various action sequences are part of the film.

A Chinese court has convicted an American businesswoman for spying, sentencing her to three-and-half years in prison and ordered her deportation.

Sandy Phan-Gillis, resident of Houston, Texas, has been in custody in China since March 2015 when she was detained during a business trip.

One of her lawyers, Shang Baojun said she pleaded guilty on Tuesday to espionage charges in a closed court hearing in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, CNN reported.

It wasn't immediately clear how much longer Phan-Gillis will remain in Chinese detention before she is deported.

Her husband, Jeff Gillis has been campaigning for her release, insisting that she is innocent. 

Jeff Gillis has said in the past that he has documents that show his wife was in the US during the period in the 1990s when she is alleged to have spied for the American government in China.

Phan-Gillis may have chosen to plead guilty at her trial in order to try to secure an earlier release, according to the report.

"She's supposed to serve the sentence in China," her lawyer Shang said. 

"But maybe there's a condition based on which she can be deported to the US before the imprisonment. We hope she can return to the US as soon as possible," he added.

China hasn't publicly released details of the allegations against her. 

Shang said he wasn't permitted to reveal further information about the case without official approval.

The US government is in contact with the Chinese government at the "highest levels" about the case, a spokeswoman at the US embassy said.

Last year, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention criticised China in relation to the case, saying it was not observing "international norms relating to the right to a fair trial and to liberty and security".

Sporting played a 1-1 draw with Espanyol, missing out on two points that would have bolstered their dwindling hopes of avoiding relegation from La Liga.

The sides sparred in midfield for the opening minutes of the match at Gijon's El Molinon stadium here on Tuesday.

Chances developed for both squads as the minutes passed, but neither seemed capable of seizing the initiative until the 38th minute, when Victor Rodriguez put Sporting ahead 1-0 with a direct free kick that surprised the Espanyol goaltender and defenders, reports Efe.

Espanyol lost Felipe Caicedo for the night after the Brazilian striker collided with Sporting keeping Cuellar while both were chasing a loose ball.

The visitors dominated early in the second half and Jurado botched a chance to equalise, but Gerard Moreno made no mistake in the 54th minute when a great ball from Leo Batistao — Caicedo's replacement — found him alone in front of the Sporting net.

Minutes later, Duje Cop inexplicably missed a chance to put Sporting back in the lead.

The hosts mounted a late charge, but were unable to get the vital second goal.

Espanyol, with 50 points from 34 matches, sit in ninth place. Sporting, who have only 24 points, remain mired in 18th, three points from safety. 

Harry Potter star Emma Watson says social media is helping common people become more relatable.

The 27-year-old actress says social networking websites such as Facebook and Instagram have allowed everyday people to experience some fame in their own right, reported Femalefirst.

“I feel like it's becoming so much more relatable because it's not like fame is something that only celebrities are experiencing anymore.

“To a certain degree, everyone who uses social media or has a social media platform or whatever else is broadcasting themselves, marketing themselves, sharing intimate details of their lives (the way A-listers do),” Watson says.

Just like celebrities, the actress says, common people are also receiving likes on their posts and photos.

“And they're receiving comments, they're receiving likes, dislikes. They're experiencing exactly what I'm experiencing, of course to lesser and greater degrees.

“The way that the world is moving, like my experiences I don't feel like are unique so much anymore in a really interesting way.”

The Punjab government has decided to ban the use of plastic in a bid to conserve its deteriorating environment.

A notification to this effect will be issued after a formal approval by the state Cabinet on the decision taken on Tuesday at the Local Government Department meeting, chaired by Chief Minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh.

The CM directed the officials to impose the ban after giving people sufficient time to move to alternative packaging, according to an official spokesperson.

Several states across India have already banned the use of plastic bags and other plastic materials, with courts also intervening proactively to rid the environment of the unhealthy practice of using plastic.