The Centre is planning to install radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in trucks bound for Nepal and Bhutan in order to track their movement, an official said on April 20.

"We are trying to equip Nepal and Bhutan-bound vehicles with RFID devices. Whenever such containers are going to Bhutan and Nepal, they will be fitted with RFID. The device will track at which places the vehicle is going," said MK Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Port), Kolkata.

According to him, in case cross-border movement of goods vehicles, they are supposed to go through a specified route. "But diversion of routes happens. With the installation of tracking system, the number of diversion cases is supposed to go down."

He said: "Suppose, a cargo is bound for Nepal or Bhutan carrying imported products and it unloads goods in India, the central government loses potential revenue in that case. The government losses its revenue if imported goods come to Indian markets without any duty."

Asked about the timeline for the implementation of tracking system, he said, "It is in the pipeline."

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday signed agreements with three Singapore universities to provide training opportunities to students.

The memorandum of understandings (MoUs) will allow the universities and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, a business promotion agency, to tap into CII's network of over 8,000 members to create overseas attachment opportunities for enrolled students.

IE Singapore, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the lead MoU signatory, will be supporting these attachments under its Young Talent Programme.

The MoUs signatories are Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University.

These MoUs were signed at the ASEAN-India Business Forum.

The MoUs will help the universities' undergraduates access internship opportunities with CII's member companies across India, said Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran.

“This will help build our pipeline of India-ready talent that can support companies as they expand in this important market,” he said, underlining the importance of participation in the development of the Indian economy.

“Southeast Asia and India are increasingly important markets for Singapore and our businesses,” Iswaran told delegates at the forum.

“Companies should, therefore, closely examine their strategies for Southeast Asia and India, and be open to adopting new business entry models. IE Singapore stands ready to support companies as they develop and execute their market engagement strategies,” the minister said.

Prosecutors say a 28-year-old German-Russian citizen has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the bomb attack against a bus carrying members of the Borussia Dortmund soccer team.

A Dortmund player (Marc Bartra) and a policeman were injured in the triple blasts last week as the bus was heading to the stadium for a match against AS Monaco.

Investigators found notes at the scene claiming responsibility in the name of Islamic extremists, but quickly doubted their authenticity.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement that the suspect, identified only as Sergej W, was arrested Friday in the Tuebingen area.

They say the man is suspected of having acted for financial reasons and had speculated on Dortmund's share value dropping after the attack. 

The Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine the constitutional validity of the central government's decision to link the Aadhaar card with the Pan card.

A bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan took the decision even as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi stoutly defended the government.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan and Arvind Datar, appearing for the petitioners, including a former judge of Karnataka High Court, said it was extremely difficult to follow the rule as many people did not have an Aadhaar card.

There was also constant mismatch of individual details in the two identity cards.
 

The temperature in the national capital continued to soar further with the minimum recorded at 28.9 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season's average, on Friday.

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 43 degrees Celsius.

"The day ahead will remain partly cloudy with the possibility of lightening and thunderstorm," said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

Humidity at 8.30 amwas 56 per cent.

Thursday's maximum temperature settled at 43.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average, while minimum temperature was 25.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average.

Jaipur-based Au Small Finance Bank will provide its services at all locations where it was present as an NBFC.

The RBI issued a licence to Au Small Finance Bank to carry on the business of small finance bank in India and it started its operations on April 20.

The company served across ten states as a non-banking finance company (NBFC)-Au Financiers — before foraying into small finance bank space.

As an NBFC, the company had network of 300 branches spread across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa.

"We intend to start Bank branches in all such locations in next couple of months," Au SFB said in a statement today.

Sanjay Agarwal, Managing Director, Au Small Finance Bank, said: "Financial inclusion is one of the important aims of the current government and small finance banks with their reach in deeper geographies and middle and lower end of pyramid can help achieve this objective very well." 

Though India has regional rural banks, cooperative banks and other small entities, besides a giant network of public and private sector banks there is still a huge void in the banking sector, Au said.

"This gap can be bridged by small finance banks," it added.

The cast and crew of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion including actors Prabhas, Rana Daggubatti and Anushka Shetty along with director S.S. Rajamouli will be descending upon Dubai to unveil the film in a promotional event on April 25 at Roxy Cinemas, City Walk.

The occasion will be hosted at City Walk by the film's Middle East distribution partners Phars Film, Al Nisr Film & Cinema Company and AP International, said a statement.

Jean Marc, General Manager, Leisure and Entertainment, Meraas, said: "At Roxy Cinemas we celebrate the love of movies by going behind-the-screens to reveal the process and passion that goes into the art of film-making. 

"We invite our guests to dive into the filmmakers' creative process as they weave cinematic magic bringing an experience like no other in Dubai. We are therefore delighted to welcome the stars of 'Baahubali: The Beginning' to Roxy Cinemas, forging together that special relationship between our audiences and the silver screen."

Also will be In attendance will be the producer of the film Shobu Yarlagadda. 

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said: "Dubai Tourism is delighted that the producers of yet another epic film from India have chosen Dubai for the launch of their only overseas promotional campaign ahead of the film's release. 

" Expatriate Indians are a vibrant part of Dubai's multicultural society and with Indian visitors constituting a significant segment of the international visitors to the emirate, we are happy to facilitate such renowned entertainment projects that would further boost visitor arrivals from India in line with Dubai's Tourism Vision to attract 20 million visitors by 2020."

Released in 2015, Baahubali – The Beginning went on to become the highest grossing Indian film within India and the third highest grossing Indian film globally; receiving national and international acclaim. 

Four coaches of the Aurangabad-Hyderabad passenger train derailed on Fridaynear Khalgapur station in Karnataka, officials said. No injuries or casualties were reported.

"The Hyderabad bound train rolled off the tracks between Khalgapur and Bhalki stations around 1.45 a.m. in Bidhar district," South Central Railway spokesperson Umashankar Kumar M. told IANS.

"The engine and four coaches of the train derailed," he said.

The passengers were shifted to the rear portion of the train and were brought to Khalgapur station.

The official also said that the tracks were cleared.

"A high level five-member committee has been formed to inquire into the cause of derailment," he added.

On April 15, at least 14 passengers were injured when eight coaches of the Meerut-Lucknow Rajya Rani Express derailed near Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
 

Fresh evidence confirms that the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is most likely located to the north of of the actual search zone, Australian scientists said on Friday.

The evidence was featured in a report prepared for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) scientists 

The new area is twice the size of greater Sydney, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation news reported.

This latest research confirms their earlier drift analysis made in a report released in November 2016.

In their new report, the CSIRO team confirmed their new findings correspond to their previous predictions for the plane's location.

"The only thing that our recent work changes is our confidence in the accuracy of the estimated location, which is within the new search area identified … near 35 degrees south," the scientists said.

It is a region known as the Seventh Arc, which was searched incompletely during 2014-15 before efforts were redirected further south.

A total of 239 people were on board the flight travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, when it disappeared from aviation radars.

The search for the Boeing 777 was suspended in January, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation news.

Ministers from Malaysia, Australia and China agreed that there needed to be "credible new evidence" if the operation was to continue.

About 120,000 sq.km of the ocean bed have been searched to no avail, despite the more than $180 million cost of the operation.

Since the CSIRO's November report, the scientists conducted further detailed analysis based on the first tangible evidence of the crash – a part of the wing known as a flaperon – which washed up at La Reunion Island in 2015.

In the wake of an incident where Kashmiri students at Mewar University were allegedly called 'stone-pelters' by locals, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday urged all states to ensure safety of all Kashmiris.

"I appeal to all states to ensure safety of all Kashmiris in the country. They are also equal citizens of the country," the Home minister said.

According to reports, on Thursday a group of Kashmiri students studying at Mewar University in Rajasthan were allegedly taunted and called 'stone-pelters by some locals. Locals taunted them over the recent viral video of a CRPF jawan being heckled in Budgam.

The Kashmiri students have filed an FIR with the police. However, they have maintained that they did not want the issue to flare up as it was their exam time.

According to reports, a local outfit, Uttar Pradesh Nav Nirman Sena have put up banners across Meerut asking Kashmiris to leave Uttar Pradesh following the recent stone-pelting incidents on security forces in Kashmir.

Amit Jani, chief of the outfit, said that they will launch a 'halla bol' campaign from 30 April to 'banish' Kashmiris who do not leave the state on their own.

US President Donald Trump's daughter and special counsellor Ivanka Trump said she will donate the unpaid portion of her advance for writing a book called "Women Who Work" to charitable groups that help children in urban areas, a media report said.

She will also forgo a book publicity tour to avoid using her government perch to promote her private product, the New York Times reported.

In announcing her plans to donate $100,000 each to the National Urban League and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ivanka Trump released a statement calling the book part of a continuing effort to empower women that "has been central to my mission throughout my career".

Trump said her book aims to supply advice and tips on leadership, entrepreneurship, juggling work and family and building cultures where multidimensional women can thrive now and in the future.

"Like many other professional women, I have juggled the demands that come with growing my family and building my businesses, and I realize that I am more fortunate than most," she said in the statement.

She said she chose to donate to the Urban League and the Boys & Girls Clubs because both have "made it a priority to promote entrepreneurship and educational opportunities for women and girls in underserved communities", the New York Times reported.

Trump has come under intense scrutiny over potential overlap between the policies she plans to promote in office and any potential benefit to her businesses. She recently became an official government employee, which requires her to adhere to strict ethics rules.
 

Actress Priyanka Chopra spent time with Hollywood biggies such as actors Robert DeNiro, Whoopi Goldberg and film producer and organiser of Tribeca Film Festival, Jane Tribeca.
The 34-year-old star took to social media where she posted the picture in which she can be seen standing with the industry legends, ahead of 2017 edition of the film festival.
“An afternoon with the greats. Congratulations @whoopigoldberg @janetribeca #RobertDeNiro on 16 years of creativity and inspiration. Thank you for including me. #Tribeca2017 #TFF #JuryDuty,” wrote Priyanka, alongside the photo.
The Quantico actress is one of the jury members for the ongoing 12-day annual film extravaganza, along with actors Diane Lane, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Eggold, Diana Agron and more.

The powerful All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) on Friday described Beijing's move to rename six places in the state as an "uncalled for" and unwarranted act.

It also termed Beijing's move to rename six places in Arunachal in the backdrop of Dalai Lama's recent visit to the state as intriguing and unnecessarily interfering into the internal affair of a sovereign nation.

"History is the living witness that Arunachal was never a part of China at any given point of time," AAPSU President, Hawa Bagang said.

"Such parochial approach and idea won't have any takers in the state of Arunachal Pradesh who are one of the most patriotic people in the country," he said.

The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on April 14 on its website that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls "South Tibet".

The six names are Wo'gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bumo La and Namkapub Ri. The state-run Global Times, which reported the ministry's move on Tuesday, did not say which six places in Arunachal Pradesh were being referred to.

China had strongly protested the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to Arunachal Pradesh, especially Tawang earlier this month.

Describing the development "uncalled for" and "unwarranted" act on part of the China government, Bagang said: "It is a deliberate plan to create confusion and commotion for their long term sinister design in the international community."

On Thursday, India had dismissed China's act of giving its own names to six places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying "it doesn't make illegally held territory legal".

High surface winds scuttled NASA's sixth attempt at launching a stadium-sized super pressure balloon from Wanaka in New Zealand on Friday, the media reported.

NASA will make its seventh attempt at launching the balloon on April 22, a Stuff.co.nz report said.

"The wind speed was below our limit for a time, but unfortunately picked back up at a speed that would not support a launch today. We were close once again in our processing, but the winds didn't set up in the end," Gabe Garde, mission manager for the 2017 Wanaka Balloon Campaign, was quoted as saying.

The balloon and its science payload was expected to drift north east and begin a 100 day journey around the world. 

The balloon is designed to carry a pioneering telescope to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from near space.

The purpose of the flight is to test and validate the SPB technology with the goal of long-duration flight at mid-latitudes. 

In addition, the University of Chicago's Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB) is a mission of opportunity flying on the 2017 SPB test flight.

EUSO-SPB is designed to detect high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our galaxy as they penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. 

Death row inmate Ledell Lee has been executed in Arkansas, the state's first in 12 years, shortly after the US Supreme Court denied emergency motions in his case, the media reported on Friday.

Lee, 51, was administered the lethal injection at 11.44 p.m., on Thursday night and was pronounced dead 12 minutes later, CNN reported.

According to The New York Times, Lee received injections of three drugs: midazolam, to render him unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to halt his breathing; and potassium chloride, to stop his heart.

He requested the Holy Communion as his last meal, and declined to make a final statement, the Arkansas Department of Correction said.

The last execution carried out in Arkansas' was in 2005. 

The state had planned to execute eight inmates over 10 days starting April 17, but four of the men have received stays for various reasons

Lee was convicted in 1995 in the murder of Debra Reese, 26, two years prior, reports CNN. 

Reese was found dead in her home in Jacksonville, where she had been strangled and beaten with a small wooden bat her husband gave her for protection.

The Indian-American community in the US has launched a White House petition, seeking the Trump Administration's intervention to save Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani court for alleged espionage and subversive activities.

Created by one SS, the 'We the People Petition' on the White House website said the allegations against Jadhav that he was spying for India is totally false and fabricated.

The petition requires at least 100,000 signatures before May 14 to qualify for a response from the Trump Administration.

“The fact that India is not given consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav clearly proves the point that the charges over which death sentence is awarded to Jadhav are false and fabricated,” it said.

“In view of above, I humbly request appropriate and capable authorities to intervene in the matter and make sure that Kulbhushan Jadhav doesn't get punished for the act which he never committed, the petition said.

Jadhav, the 46-year-old former naval officer, has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged espionage and subversive activities     Pakistan claims its security forces had arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. It also claimed that he was “a serving officer in the Indian Navy.”

The Pakistan Army had also released a “confessional video” of Jadhav after his arrest.

However, India denied Pakistan's contention and maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped by the Pakistan authorities.

India had acknowledged that Jadhav had served with the navy but denied that he has any connection with the government.