French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron's political campaign was targeted by a group of Russian hackers last month, according to a report by a cybersecurity research group on Tuesday.

The Pawn Storm group, which has been linked to several high-profile attacks in the West, used “phishing” techniques to try to steal personal data from Macron and members of his En Marche! campaign, Japan-based Trend Micro said.

Pawn Storm, also known as APT28, is also believed to be behind the attacks last summer on the US Democratic National Committee, thought to be aimed at undermining Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

It is widely suspected of having links to Russia's security services, and Moscow has been seen as a keen backer of Macron's rival in the presidential race Marine Le Pen, who met President Vladimir Putin in a surprise visit to Moscow ahead of the vote.

But yesterday, Russia denied any involvement in the French election.

“Which groups? Where do they come from? Why Russia?” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“It resembles the accusations made by Washington which to this day remain hollow, and they do no honour to the people making them.”

Last Friday’s terror attack at an Army base at Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan in which nearly 140 people were killed has triggered a fresh debate in Indian circles on whether New Delhi should assist Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in boosting their capabilities to defend the war-ravaged nation.

Source here confirmed that Afghanistan has been nudging India to play a role in strengthening the hands of Afghan security forces as they struggle to fight Taliban insurgents who have launched a series of audacious attacks in recent months, bringing to naught all efforts by the international community to stabilise the security situation in the country.

"The fast deteriorating situation in Afghanistan is a threat to the whole region…it has accentuated the need for strengthening the hands of security agencies in Afghanistan,’’ he added.

As the first step, Kabul is learnt to have suggested to India to repair the grounded Afghan Air Force planes. At the insistence of Kabul, India had sent to Afghanistan last year a technical team to review the needs of the Afghan forces. The team had inspected the grounded planes, including 11 Mi-35 gunships and seven transport planes. It was of the view that the repair would cost around 50 million dollars.

The source said "the well-wishers of Afghanistan" had been assessing the scale of the challenge to the ANSF, particularly in the segment of close air support. Afghanistan has a large number of attack helicopters and transport aircraft grounded for want of spares.

The United States also, meanwhile, is said to be working on plans to replace the transport helicopters being used by the Afghan Air Force with the modern UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

India has been one of the largest contributors to Afghanistan since 2001. It has provided two billion dollars in economic aid and pledged another 1 billion dollars over the next few years. Unfazed by terror attacks orchestrated by Pakistan against Indian nationals working there, India has also undertaken major reconstruction projects, like the Parliament building and the Salma Dam, in the war-torn country, earning the love and respect of the Afghan citizens.

In 2011, India signed a historic Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) with the then Hamid Karzai Government in Afghanistan, making New Delhi the first strategic partner of Kabul in the post-Taliban era. Although under the terms of the agreement, India had agreed to assist ANSF in training and capacity building, it has been reluctant to do so practically for fear of backlash from Pakistan.

at an event here on Tuesday, Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Abdali indirectly blamed Pakistan for using terrorism as a tool against India and Afghanistan. ‘’State sponsorship of terrorism has become an old fact. We are hoping for this ground reality to change,’’ he added. He also stressed that the time had come to revive the India-Afghanistan-US trilateral to address pressing issues facing the region.

Microfinance body Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), on Tuesday launched an android-based application called ‘financial literacy’ for microfinance customers in India. The financial literacy app will be available in multiple languages including Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and English.

“Micro credit has contributed in improving microfinance beneficiaries’, especially women’s, financial and social status, it is also crucial that they are aware of their rights and importance of practicing responsible borrowing,” said Ratna Vishwanathan, CEO, MFIN at the inaugural of two-day international conclave ‘Microfinance in Asia – A Mosaic’.

“The app has different literacy modules with audio-visual elements for easy understanding and is designed to work in even low connectivity areas. We hope that through this app we are able to impart financial literacy to microfinance beneficiaries across regions,” said Vishwanathan.

The aim behind this app is to help clients in understanding the dynamics involved in microfinance including credit history, interest rates, repayment cycles and their rights as a borrower.

Director SS Rajamouli’s production Baahubali and its final part will be screened in 33 VFX studios.

With Baahubali, the director has successfully brought the Mahishmati kingdom to live in the minds of the audience and for that 33 VFX studios worldwide united to deliver this magnificent piece of art.

The studios worked for about 15 months on the post production of Baahubali: The Conclusion.

According to sources,the VFX work was predominantly carried out in India with studios from Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. In addition, about 10 international studios were also hired from Ukraine, Iran, USA, and UK. 

Baahubali: The beginning won accolades all over the world for its visual effects. And the trailer of Baahubali: The Conclusion promises to surpass the excellence of the National award winner VFX of the first installment.

The movie stars Prabhas in the titular role in addition to Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anushka Shetty and Satyaraj in pivotal roles.

Baahubali: The Conclusion is all set to hit theatres on 28 April.

Real Madrid on Tuesday confirmed the injury of Welsh winger Gareth Bale, and said it will first assess the damage before determining how long Bale will be out of action.

In a statement on the club's website, Real Madrid said: "Following the tests carried out on Gareth Bale by the Sanitas Medical Services, the player has been diagnosed with a grade 2 injury to his left calf. His recovery will continue to be assessed."

This is the winger's 17th injury on record since joining Real Madrid, reports Efe.

In fact, Bale returned from the sidelines to face Barcelona on Sunday in El Clasico, but lasted only 35 minutes before going down clutching his calf.

Bale, who might be sidelined for three weeks, could miss the Champions League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid, as well as the upcoming decisive ties in La Liga.

A commercially bred caterpillar can quickly break down polythene bags and may help get rid of the plastic waste accumulating in landfill sites and oceans, scientists say.

Researchers, including those from University of Cambridge in the UK, exposed around a hundred wax worms – the larvae of the common insect called greater wax moth – to a plastic bag.

Holes started to appear after just 40 minutes and after 12 hours there was a reduction in plastic mass of 92 milligramme (mg) from the bag, researchers said.

They conducted spectroscopic analysis to show the chemical bonds in the plastic were breaking.

The analysis showed that the worms – commonly used as fishing bait – transformed polyethylene into ethylene glycol.

To confirm it was not just the chewing mechanism of the caterpillars degrading the plastic, the team mashed up some of the worms and smeared them on polyethylene bags, with similar results.

"The caterpillars are not just eating the plastic without modifying its chemical make-up. We showed that the polymer chains in polyethylene plastic are actually broken by the wax worms," said Paolo Bombelli of University of Cambridge.

"The caterpillar produces something that breaks the chemical bond, perhaps in its salivary glands or a symbiotic bacteria in its gut," Bombelli said.

The degradation rate is extremely fast compared to other recent discoveries, such as bacteria reported to biodegrade some plastics at a rate of just 0.13 mg a day, researchers said.

"If a single enzyme is responsible for this chemical process, its reproduction on a large scale using biotechnological methods should be achievable," Bombelli said.

"This discovery could be an important tool for helping to get rid of the polyethylene plastic waste accumulated in landfill sites and oceans," he said.

The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

Indian nationals who hold a valid US visa or a green card will get a two-week UAE visa on arrival in the country from May 1, according to a media report.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week circulated a letter to all authorities to grant Indians with US visa or green card to get UAE visa on arrival following a Cabinet decision last month.

Shaikh Khaled Bin Essam Al Qassimi, Chairman of Department of Civil Aviation in Sharjah, said the circular was followed instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Gulf News reported.

The circular was given to all UAE borders points, including airports and ports.

Officials at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai confirmed that they will start implementing the order on May 1.

The visa will be valid for 14 days, extendable for a similar period one time only. The validity of the passport must be not less than six months and the fee for an entry permit will be Dirham 100 (Rs 1,750).

The fee for one-time extension of the entry permit will be Dirham 250, it said.

Preparations are in full swing in Shimla for the 27 April rally of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on the historic Ridge.

While the state capital has turned into a Police camp with men in khaki converging in and around the Mall road from the entire state to ensure security for the PM’s show, the Special Protection Group (SPG) arrived here a day ago to oversee flawless security in the city and around the venue.

Union minister for Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda personally supervised the arrangements around the venue along with other BJP leaders.

The Prime Minister is coming to launch ‘Udan’, a regional air connectivity scheme, from Jubbarhatti airport in Shimla, following which he would address a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally from the Ridge.

This is Modi’s first rally in Shimla after becoming the Prime Minister and second in Himachal Pradesh. He had earlier addressed a rally in Mandi in October last year.

The BJP has mobilised the people to accord warm welcome to the Prime Minister right from the AG office to The Mall as he comes to address the rally.

The city is being spruced up, the roads being done up and electricity poles on way to the Ridge, which otherwise are in bad shape with wires loosening all around, being repaired and painted to good them good look at the eleventh hour.

More than the state government and the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), the BJP leaders, including Union minister JP Nadda, former BJP chief minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal and state BJP chief, Satpal Singh Satti were seen in action with broom as they led the ‘Swacchta Abhiyaan’ in different areas of Shimla.

A large number of BJP workers, who already geared up for the Shimla Municipal Corporation polls slated in May month, were seen accompanying the leaders as per their individual loyalties in the special Swacchta Abhiyaan, which started two days ago.

“The cleanliness campaign is a must in every city wherever Prime Minister goes. The BJP has decided it nationally. In Shimla, we have taken it up on a larger scale for the workers are already charged for forthcoming civic body polls ahead,” Satti told The Statesman.

He said the Prime Minister’s official programme was sudden but the BJP wanted to take advantage of his presence in the city fully, so a rally was planned. In the rally, he said, the BJP men different parts of Shimla Parliamentary constituency comprising Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts would come.
 

As IPL fever takes over the nation, even the Badshah of Bollywood could not save himself and gave a weird offer to cricketer MS Dhoni. 

Shah Rukh Khan, who owns a team in IPL called Kolkata Knight Riders, expressed his urge to get Dhoni to play in his team.

SRK said that he wants MSD to play for KKR, even if it takes him selling off his pants. 

"But for that he needs to come to the auctions," SRK said.

King Khan said, "I'm ready to purchase Dhoni even if it means selling off my pyjama, but he never appears under the hammer in IPL auctions.”

Earlier MSD played for Chennai Super Kings and won the Indian Premier League in 2010 and 2011.

Leading bourse National Stock Exchange will drop Cairn India from the securities lending and borrowing (SLB) segment from tomorrow as the cash-rich oil producer has merged into its debt-ridden parent Vedanta.

Besides, equity as well as equity derivative trading in the security of Cairn India will be discontinued.

“Participants are requested to note that Cairn India Ltd shall not be available for transactions in the SLB segment with effect from April 26, 2017,” the NSE said in a circular.

The SLB mechanism allows short sellers to borrow securities for making deliveries.

Under the merger deal, shareholders of Cairn India will get one share of Vedanta and four redeemable preference shares of face value Rs 10 and coupon of 7.5 per cent.

Furthermore, Cairn India shareholders, as on record date, who will become shareholders of Vedanta, will also receive an interim dividend of Rs 17.70 per share. The record date for the share swap has been set as April 27.

Last week, the BSE had said Cairn India would move out of the its Sensex Next 50 index and several other indices, including energy and infrastructure, from April 26.

Earlier this month, Cairn and Vedanta had announced the completion of the merger, which will help the metal and mining company Vedanta access the cash of Cairn India and cut down debt.

India will monetise 105 highway projects for about Rs 145,000 crore in the coming years as part of new innovative models of financing, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

“The traffic density in India is very high and the internal return on rates is very good,” the Minister of road transport and highways said during a presentation on India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit 2017 which will be held in New Delhi from May 3-5.

“105 projects will be monetised (for about) Rs 145,000 crore,” Gadkari said.

“Now we require investments because there is no risk factor,” he said, assuring of a good rate of return from highway toll collections.

“Particularly, for new investment, there are a lot of innovative models,” said Gadkari who also launched a roadshow for promoting National High Authority of India's (NHAI) first rupee-denominated masala bonds here yesterday.
He also highlighted NHAI's AAA ratings.

“There are opportunities … we are very transparent … and very committed to the progress,” he said.

Responding to financing and funding questions from delegates, the minister said he would be using “100 per cent of the National Investment Infrastructure Fund,” an another innovative way of financing projects.

Among some of the challenging projects, Gadkari assured that Brahmaputra Express Highway will be developed as a national highway.

It will be the first highway project in the northeastern region which will be developed along the Brahmaputra river in Assam at an estimated investment of Rs 40,000 crore.

“We are serious about it. We will declare it as a national highway and we will work on it,” he assured.

Detailed project report is expected in about three months for the 1,300-km of highway, construction of which would be completed in about three years.

A new company has been formed for road construction in the North East, he said.

“Connectivity in the North East is most important priority for our government,” he said.

Elaborating, he stressed “We have sanctioned more than Rs 40,000 crore of projects and I am confident within two years it would be Rs 1,50,000 crore of road construction in North East which is going to change the face of North East.”

Flying high with Punjab government's investment initiative in the state, Vistara airlines intended to introduce more flights on Tuesday.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed by Vistara chief executive officer (CEO) Phee Teik Yeoh after having detailed conversation with Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh. During the meeting, the Vistara team proposed working with the state government to project Punjab as a key tourist destination.

As per the move, Vistara airlines will be working in collaboration with Taj hotels to promote tourism through an MoU with the state government, a Punjab government spokesperson said here after the meeting.

"Vistara is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines. It could work with the Taj hotels, also owned by the Tata Group, to push tourism in Punjab in a big way," Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh said. He also said that the MoU could help target other foreign airlines to promote Punjab in select foreign countries.

Meanwhile, Vistara’s interest in promoting the state as a tourist destination was welcomed by Punjab CM. "The introduction of direct flights from Chandigarh to Singapore to facilitate travel to the south east Asian region. The tourism to these destinations is witnessing significant movement from Punjab," said CM.

With five more planes in its fleet, Vistara sees huge potential to connect Punjab with many more cities and countries. At the moment, it connects Delhi and Amritsar. Team Vistara stressed the importance of the airlines working in co-ordination with the roadways and railways to promote religious tourism in Punjab, which draws lakhs of people every year to the holy city of Amritsar.

CM also assured Vistara that his government was keen to promote tourism as a means to generate employment and revive the economic growth of the state. He further assured the visiting team that all efforts would be made by his government to help Vistara execute any plans in the interest of the state’s welfare.

Actor Prabhas, who gained popularity because of his role in Baahubali, was injured twice while shooting for the film and the injury has left two injury marks on his body.

The actor, who dedicated five years of his life to the film, underwent rigorous training to pep up for his double role in the film.

Director SS Rajamouli wanted Prabhas to act as a ferocious warrior, the grueling war scenes resulted in the actor suffering injury marks on his body. 

Both the parts of Baahubali series have extensive war sequences, which resulted in the actor getting battle marks on his body.

Prabhas had spent nearly 600 days filming for the Baahubali franchise, with the actor refraining from signing any other film over the tenure of five years while shooting for the magnum opus project. 

Helmed by Rajamouli, Prabhas plays titular role in addition to Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anushka Shetty and Satyaraj in pivotal roles. 

The film is slated to release on  28 April.

The Chainsmokers wanted to honour Pittsburgh during their performance but the DJ duo had
an embarrassing moment as they misspelled the name of the city.
The duo, made up of Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart, had a banner behind them which had Pittsburgh spelled as 'Pittsburg'.
The Chainsmokers responded to the spelling error in a tweet that read, "Well at least we got another chance this week in Clevlande."
The Chainsmokers are currently touring their debut studio album, Memories…Do Not Open,' released earlier this month. The record includes singles Paris and Something Just Like This.

In a major decision, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday scrapped the moderation policy under which grace marks are given to students in exams for difficult questions.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting.

The move comes after the CBSE had in December last year requested the HRD Ministry to help develop a consensus among all state boards on completely removing the marks moderation policy which is considered as the reason behind inflated scores in board exam results.

Under the moderation policy, examinees are awarded up to 15 per cent extra marks in certain papers if the questions are deemed to be difficult.

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.

If the states also decide to adopt the policy, then the soaring cut-offs for admission to colleges are likely to go down.

The CBSE has 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.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli took time off from the nets to hang out at a gaming joint in the city's upscale shopping mall on Monday, unfazed by last Sunday's humiliating 82-run defeat by two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a league tie at the Eden Gardens.

"It's great fun to be at Smaaash, which has been my favourite hangout for a long time, as the popular venue pumps energy to play video games, enjoy music, dance and dine," Kohli said on the occasion through a statement released by the company on Tuesday.

Located in 1, MG Road Lido Mall in the city centre, the year-old 'Smaaash' is a vibrant multi-spots and entertainmet zone where sports, virutal reality, gaming, music and dining turn into a heady mix to treat guests with family, friends and children alike.

The visit also coincded with Kohli tweeting and greeting Indian batting maestreo Sachin Tendulkar on the Mumbaikar's 44th birthday on Monday.

"Having youth icon Virat at our Bengaluru zone adds value to our brand, as his energy and zeal for sports, including cricket, resonates with our hangout and his frenzied fans," said Smaaash Entertainment Ltd Chief Imagination Officer Shripal Morakhia in the statement.

With only four points from two wins and five losses in seven games, last year's IPL runners-up RCB are languishing at the bottom of the eight-team table. 

They need to perform better in their upcoming matches in order to secure a spot in next month's IPL-10 play-offs.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday directed the department of industries to provide for the same concessions to the existing industries as are being proposed to be given to new industries in the state under the new industrial policy.

The directive came during a meeting with a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) delegation led by Sumant Sinha, chairman Northern Region, which called on the CM to discuss ways and means of promoting ease of doing business in the northern states, particularly Punjab, which currently ranks number 12 on this count.

Amarinder accepted the CII delegation’s suggestion to ensure a level playing field for industrial groups that had chosen not to flee the state due to the adverse policies of the previous government. He issued immediate instructions to the concerned officials to incorporate this in the new industrial policy, which the department of industries is working on.

The CII suggested to the CM steps to promote agro-based food processing industry and small-scale industry in the state. The delegation also suggested improving the power supply, as well as infrastructure development and air connectivity to boost industry in Punjab.

The delegation underlined the need for air connectivity with Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state. While expressing concern over frequent load shedding due to poor distribution of electricity, the CII delegation appreciated the state government’s move to provide power to the industry at a lower tariff of Rs 5 per unit.

Captain Amarinder told the delegation that the Prime Minister had responded positively to his proposal to sell power to neighbouring Pakistan. In fact, CM revealed that the Prime Minister had indicated that Punjab should look for other trade options also with Pakistan.