Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh on Saturday said the government was taking all measures to gain consular access to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav despite Pakistan denying it “13 times”.

“Pakistan government has denied consular access to Jadhav despite India trying for 13 times. We are trying everything to to get access to Jadhav,” he said talking to reporters.

Singh maintained that Jadhav was abducted from Iran.

A Pakistan military court had on April 10 sentenced Jadhav to death in a secret trial for alleged involvement in “espionage and sabotage activities” in restive Balochistan and Karachi.

According to the Vienna Convention, the State which detains a national of another country must allow consular officers of the other country to access the detainee.

India had yesterday said it would appeal against the death sentence and demanded from Pakistan a certified copy of the charge-sheet as well as the army court order in the case, besides seeking consular access to the retired Indian navy officer.

Asked about a video of CRPF jawans being heckled by youths going viral on social media, the minister, who addressed a gathering of ex-servicemen on the second day of a convention on “Nationalism and Patriotism”, said: “Neither I watch such videos nor I comment on them without knowing the ground realities.”

“We all veterans will join hands and contribute to the development of the nation and teach people what we were taught our whole lives,” Singh said at the convention organised by Veterans India, a group comprising all-India ex-servicemen.

The month-old BJP-led coalition government in Manipur was rocked with senior Minister L. Jayentakumar – in charge of Health and three other important portfolios – tendering his resignation in protest against "uncalled for interference" by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

The Chief Minister has rushed to Delhi to firefight the political threat, it is learnt.

Jayentakumar submitted his resignation personally to Biren on Friday evening. 

Biren in his capacity as the Minister in charge of the Department of Personnel had suspended Okram Ibomcha, the Health Director, without consulting Jayentakumar. 

There was no specific charge against Ibomcha. The suspension order said that it was to take 'disciplinary actions' against him. Ibomcha is a close relative of previous Congress Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. 

Jayentakumar is one of the four MLAs of the National People's Party (NPP) who was sworn in on March 15 when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government was formed. 

The resignation letter says that he is thankful to the Chief Minister for inducting him in the ministry. But he was not able to fulfil his vision due to the "interference". 

Some other NPP MLAs have reasons to be unhappy with some of their portfolios, sources said.

Y. Joykumar, NPP MLA from Uripok, who is a former Director General of Police had reportedly wanted the Home portfolio, which is important in insurgency-hit Manipur. However, Biren kept it with him. 

Joykumar is the Deputy Chief Minister.

The coalition ministry was sworn in on March 15. Nine MLAs of BJP, NPP, Naga People's Front, LJP and Congress (who changed loyalty) were inducted. Three more Ministers and 12 Parliamentary secretaries were sworn in on March 23. 

Bollywood star Aamir Khan will attend the China premiere of his blockbuster Hindi entertainer Dangal at the Beijing International Film Festival, which begins on Sunday.

Aamir is a popular Bollywood face in China, especially after the super success of his movie PK, which minted a record of over Rs 100 crore with a release across 4,000 plus screens in the country.

Dangal, which made upwards of Rs.385 crore at the Indian box office, is expected to resonate well in China too.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the movie portrays an inspirational story of former Indian wrestler Mahavir Phogat, who trains his daughters Geeta and Babita to become world-class wrestlers.

The actor will be in China till April 21. After visiting Beijing, he will go to Shanghai and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
 

Actress Parineeti Chopra, who is currently busy shooting for the fourth part in the Golmaal franchise, on Saturday said she will not be performing at the ongoing Indian Premiere League (IPL).

"Guys – contrary to rumours, I am not performing at any IPL ceremony. I am shooting in Hyderabad for 'Golmaal Again'," Parineeti tweeted.

Parineeti is the latest addition to Rohit Shetty's Golmaal franchise.

Meanwhile, Parineeti currently awaits the release of Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Meri Pyaari Bindu.

Reality TV personality Kim Kardashian cried after watching Lion — a story of an Indian boy — and has urged everyone to see the film.

"Wow I just watched the movie 'Lion' and cried for the past few hours. If you haven't seen it please do. It's beyond sad," Kim tweeted on Saturday.

Set in India and Australia, Lion had bagged six nominations this year at the Oscars with Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel in contention for Best Actor in a Supporting Role trophy for the film.

Eight-year-old Indian actor Sunny Pawar, who essayed the child version of Dev's character Saroo Brierley in the film, was also present at the 89th Academy Awards. 

Lion is a biographical film directed by Garth Davis and written by Luke Davies, based on the non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley with Larry Buttrose. 

The film's narrative shows the central character Saroo taking the help of technology of Google Earth to find his way back home in India from Tasmania, Australia. 

Lion also stars Indian actors Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Deepti Naval and foreign actors Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and David Wenham.

The EPFO has served notices to Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities seeking PF dues of employees working under contractors.

PF Commissioner Narinder Singh said, "The PF amount of employees working under the contractors has not been deposited." 

Last year, a notice was issued by the then PF Commissioner Mukesh Yadav but authorities failed to submit details.

Yadav has been transferred a week ago.

Narinder Singh said, "I have sent summons to authorities to bring the contractual employees details and deposit the dues." 

PF dues are pending since 2011.

The Association for Prevention of Corruption claimed it had brought the PF and other issues to the notice of the authorities. The association representative D K Garg said, "We had raised the PF scam before the Chief Minister. Now, contractual employees will get their PF dues.

In today's digital world, how does one transform a marketing organisation from "art" to "art and science"? By creating a culture that thrives and adds value through data and analytics — the analysis of this data, says the author of a seminal book on the subject.

"I wrote 'The Analytical Marketer' (Harvard Business Review Press/$32 on Amazon/pp 181) to share that experience and to help marketers transform themselves, and their teams, into more analytically-driven and more successful professionals in the digital and social era," the author, Adele Sweetwood, told IANS in an e-mail interview.

"When I led the marketing transformation at (analytics leader) SAS, this type of guide to analytical marketing didn't exist, and I wish it had. As a marketing leader, I often needed guidance on the 'how'– not just the 'why'. My hope is that can I provide readers with a firsthand, practical account of how to create a new marketing culture," said Sweetwood, who has more than three decades of achievements under her belt.

As Thomas H. Davenport, Research Fellow, MIT Initiatve on the Digital Economy (among his many hats), explains in the Foreword, "The real revolution (in marketing) got under way with the internet and the world wide web around the turn of the 21st century… For the first time, companies could extensively measure advertising, promotions and marketing-oriented content — whether and how long recipients viewed them and what they did after."

"Because marketers could know who actually bought their products and services, they could do a much more effective job of qualifying leads. And that meant they could and needed to work more closely with the sales function. In a decade or less, marketing functions could change their entire way of working and destroy old stereotypes," Davenport writes.

To this extent, analytics are today driving big changes, not only in what marketing departments do but in how they are organised, staffed, led and run. Leaders are grappling with issues that range from building an analytically-driven marketing organisation and determining the kinds of structure and talent that are needed to leading interactions with IT, finance, and sales, and creating a unified view of the customer.

At the same time, Sweetwood pointed out that becoming an analytically-driven organisation isn't only about having the right metrics, methodologies or technologies in place.

"It is also about driving the kind of change required to meet and shape customer expectations in the age of analytics, fundamental shifts are required in the marketing organisation itself: specifically, changes in the marketing mind-set, marketing structure, marketing talent, and marketing leadership," she maintained.

What then are the essential skills for the new marketing professional?

"The analytical marketer is curious, confident and customer-focused," Sweetwood said, adding that the key skills are "a knowledge of data management principles and analytical strategies, an understanding of the importance of data quality and data governance and a solid grasp of the value of data in marketing disciplines".

"A modern marketer must understand and utilise the methods in the design of marketing strategies, the monitoring of results and the agility in decision-making," she added.

Obviously, there are no quick-fix solutions but, in conclusion, Sweetwood shares her thoughts "on the three things you can start to do tomorrow (or Monday)" to begin your transformation into an analytical marketing organisation: Evaluate — know where you stand, Nurture relationships — build a guiding coalition of change agents, Embrace change — drive action and celebrate wins.

And, as part of the third thought: "Provide a platform to expose your efforts; partake in some shameless self-promotion."

That's some profound food for thought!

Superstar Rajinikanth starred in Bharathiraja's directorial debut film 16 Vayadhinile but he says the veteran filmmaker never accepted him as an actor.

“I like Bharathiraja very much. He likes me, but in his old interviews, when journalists used to ask him his opinion on me as an actor, he would say, 'He is a good human being.'

“He never accepted me as a good actor. I could always read his mind voice, 'How do people accept him as an actor?',” Rajinikanth told reporters here at the inauguration of Bharathiraja's BIIC (Bharathiraja International Institute of Cinema).

Rajinikanth, 66, says Bharathiraja asked for his 'time' only on two occasions in his four-decade-long career.

“First was the call sheet for 16 Vayadhinile. The second is to attend this function. I too was a film institute student. Although I learned more from my mentor late K Balachander on sets, I know how studying in a film school could be helpful and hone your skills,” the “Kabali” actor says.

Bharathiraja, 75, says he is happy that he has played a minuscule role in Rajinikanth's incredible career.

“I saw Rajinikanth as a simple guy when he played the villain in 16 Vayadhinile. Now, he has reached unattainable heights in his career. I'm happy that I've played a minuscule role in it. I would never say I played an important role in his career growth. He's a self-made man.”

Actor Kamal Haasan, who has collaborated with Bharathiraja on films such as 16 Vayadhinile, Sigappu Rojakkal, Tik Tik Tik and Oru Kaidhiyin Diary, says the director contributed a lot to his career in the industry.

“Bharathiraja is a Samana Munivar. Back in the time, I used to scold youngsters who would come to Chennai to become the next Bharathiraja. Cinema is a democratic art put together by a group of 200 people or more.

“A lot of mistakes are bound to happen in a project. That's why we call a director the Captain of the ship. Bharathiraja learned everything as a creator properly and crossed a lot of hurdles effortlessly. He is a great hurdler.”

Asked about the nepotism controversy surrounding the National Film Awards, Haasan says the jury comprises of 12 members and that both good and bad things are bound to happen.

Exposure to higher levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular disease risk by lowering levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), commonly known as "good" cholesterol, says a study.

Higher exposure to black carbon, a marker of traffic-related pollution, is significantly associated with a lower "good" cholesterol level, showed the findings published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

The lower levels of HDL observed with high levels of air pollution "may put individuals at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease down the line," said lead author Griffith Bell from the University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle.

In the study of 6,654 middle-aged and older US adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds, participants living in areas with high levels of traffic-related air pollution tended to have lower HDL levels.

Higher particulate matter exposure over three months was associated with a lower HDL particle number, the researchers said. 

Changes in HDL levels may already appear after brief and medium-length exposures to air pollution, the authors noted.

Men and women responded to air pollutants differently. While HDL was lower at higher pollution exposure for both sexes, but the magnitude was greater in women.

The findings are part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ongoing US study examining the lifestyle factors that predict development of cardiovascular disease. 

Nearly 300 million years ago, the frozen, inhospitable Antarctica was covered by lush subtropical forests, according to scientists.

"That Antarctica was once green is a matter of consensus among scientists, but still unknown to many people," Marcelo Leppe, a paleontologist who works with the Chilean Antarctic National Institute, told Efe news on Friday.

Leppe, Chile's representative to the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, has spent his professional life searching for fossils that offer clues to the origins of the flora and fauna of the White Continent.

Forests began to appear in Antarctica some 298 million years ago during the Permian geologic period, as glaciers retreated and the global climate entered a warming phase, Leppe said.

Fossils from the subsequent Jurassic period reveal the existence of fern and conifer forests where the Cryolophosaurus species of dinosaur thrived.

But the golden age of vegetation in Antarctica was the Cretaceous period, which began 145 million years ago and lasted until around 66 million years ago.

"Roughly 80 million years ago, walking in Antarctica was like walking today in a tropical or subtropical forest, something like what we could encounter in south-central Chile or in New Zealand," Leppe said.

One thing that still puzzles scientists is how the forests survived the six-month-long Antarctic night.

"We know that some dinosaurs migrated before the arrival of winter, but in the case of plants, the matter continues to be an enigma," the paleontologist said.

While the plants would have received as much as 22 hours of light per day during the Antarctic summer, "that doesn't necessarily imply that they had the capacity to carry out photosynthesis for longer hours than now," he said.

The tundra that was the last vestige of the forests disappeared 15 million years ago, leaving Antarctica a frozen desert.

Now, however, scientists see grass and wild oats growing in the areas of Antarctica where the ice has retreated due to global warming, Leppe said.

Climate change, the introduction of invasive plants, and the retreat of the glaciers are creating the conditions for the White Continent to turn green again.

Expressing concern over Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering issue, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said the Election Commission should answer the cases of EVM tampering issue and demanded that ballot papers should be used in future elections.

"The EC should answer the cases of EVM tampering issue. In future we want that elections should be conducted using ballot papers," Akhilesh said.

BSP chief Mayawati on Friday had said that the BSP might consider allying with other aniti-BJP parties in its fight against the EVM tampering issue.

"BSP has no reservation in taking help of anti-BJP parties in fight against EVM tampering issue," she added.

On 13 April, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and the Election Commission for not using EVMs with voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), based on a plea filed by the BSP.

The two-day BJP national executive meeting begins here on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah expected to underline strategy for a big saffron push in states like Odisha where it has traditionally been weak.

A meeting of BJP office-bearers has started to finalise the agenda of the executive meeting, expected to begin after Modi reaches here later in the afternoon.

The executive meets against the backdrop of the partys stunning win in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand besides maiden conquest in Manipur.
It will focus on expanding the party in politically important states like West Bengal and Odisha, which are key to Shahs 2019 Lok Sabha poll strategy.

The choice of Odisha as the national executive venue highlights Shah's focus on the state as he believes that the party can boost its prospects here due to anti-incumbency against BJD chief and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has been in power since 2000, and declining fortunes of the Congress.

An impressive show by the BJP in recent local body polls in the state, and internal fights in the BJD have boosted its morale.
Modi will be accorded a warm welcome when he arrives in the city with the party planning receptions for him at several places on his way from airport to the Raj Bhawan, where he will stay tonight.

Shah was also presented with a garland of 74 lotus, a reference to the majority mark in the 147-seat Odisha assembly.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan called Odisha a “laboratory” for the pro-poor policies of the Modi government as he hit out at the state government a day before the executive begins.

Modi will also felicitate the members of 16 families associated with an 1817 rebellion in Odisha against the British rule.

Continuing with the BJP's dalit outreach, the party has named the venue of its executive meet after noted Odia poet and reformer Bhima Bhoi.
The Dalits constitute over 17 per cent of the state's electorate and have never been traditional voters of the saffron party, which is now wooing them aggressively.

Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday dismissed Pakistan as an empty vessel making noise and said the neighbouring country is up to something or the other, to remained engaged.

His comments come against the backdrop of the death sentence given by a Pakistani military court to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy official.

“There is a proverb in Konkani, and Hindi as well which means empty vessels make the most noise. We should not take much note of what they (Pakistan) say,” Parrikar said during an interview to DD News responding to a question on Pakistan.

“Pakistan wants some or other reason to remain engaged. It is playing a dangerous game. It should understand that if India starts retaliating, then Pakistan does not have the power to fight back, whatever they may project themselves as.”

“But we (India) want peace, we don't want provocation, because of which they should give back Jadhav. First of all he has been abducted. He was not in Pakistan. He was in Iran. Iran has said that Taliban kidnapped him and took him to Pakistan. Pakistan has a habit of doing something or other,” the BJP leader said.

“About Jadhav, I can only say that, for what Pakistan is going to do…for that Sushma Swaraj (External Affairs minister) has given an apt reply. We will not keep quiet. Country will do what is required to do. We can take care of Pakistan if it tries to do anything ill-advised,” he said.

“They were talking of nuclear power usage which they have stopped after surgical strikes. I hope they have understood that they cannot blackmail us as India has the power to counter them,” he added.

The ex-Defence minister who is now back in Goa as the Chief Minister after the recent assembly polls, said India achieved many things under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.

Referring to relations with neighbouring countries like Pakistan and China, Parrikar said, “There was soft diplomacy and also there was use of hard power. This has happened for the first time.” Parrikar said during his tenure as Defence Minister, several measures were adopted to increase the military strength of the country.

“I can say that we were able to bring potency to the potential of the Armed forces. If you see the CAG report of 2013 they have pointed out that 121 type of ammunition had stock of less than ten days. Now I can say that number has been reduced to 20-22. In next one or two years, it will be almost zero,” he said.

“Finally Army works on ammunition. If anyone asks me what was the gap in capability on the parameter of 100 and how much have you reduced it, I can say I have reduced it up to 75-80,” he said.

“Some things have already been acquired and some are ordered and will be arriving in next one year,” Parrikar said.

“I transferred all my revenue power to the Armed forces and asked them to bridge the gap in building the capability. When I left, the Armed forces had completed deals worth Rs 25,000-30,000 crore that too in eight per cent less cost. We saved Rs 22,000 crore through that. This is because we took quick decisions,” he stated.

Despite grabbing a hat-trick in his debut Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 game for Gujarat Lions on Friday, Australian Andrew Tye said his first choice is the traditional format of the game.

The 30-year-old returned with figures of 5/17 to guide the Gujarat Lions to a seven-wicket win over the Rising Pune Supergiant in a home game at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here.

"It's a good format of cricket, but traditionally, I would still love to play Test cricket. The slower ball worked very well for me," Tye, who was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match, said after the match.

"Every wicket is different around the world, so you have to assess conditions to find out which ball works where," he added.

Elated after registering their first victory in the IPL 2017, Gujarat skipper Suresh Raina said it took a lot of heart to bounce back after the losses in the initial two games.

"I think when we lost two games, it was difficult for us to come back strongly," Raina said. 

Heaping praises on Tye's brilliant effort with the ball, Raina said: "I thought Andrew bowled brilliantly. He is a very smart cricketer who varies his pace, especially in the death overs."

"Jason Roy missed out today (Friday), but then Brendon (McCullum) and (Dwayne) Smith did it for us. They have done it for CSK and they did it again today," he added.

Visiting skipper Steve Smith had no qualms over the nature of the wicket and blamed his side's regular fall of wickets for the loss.

"I don't think that wicket really changed over the course of 40 overs. It was a pretty good wicket," Smith said. 

"We got ourselves into a good position but lost a few wickets in clumps and we weren't good enough tonight. The surface played better than we thought it would."

Hailing Gujarat's opening duo of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum for their brilliant strokeplay, Smith said: "When Dwayne and McCullum get going, it's hard to stop them and we could not come back after that."

With Pune playing their second IPL, the 27-year-old Australian acknowledged the problems of leading a new side which do not have a settled playing XI.

"One of the disadvantages of being a new team, Gujarat are on the same boat, we are still trying to find out our best XI. A few guys put their hands up tonight, which was good," he said.

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri carded a sedate one-under 70 in the second round to be tied 16th at the midway stage of the RBC Heritage at the Harbour Town Golf Links.

Lahiri had turned in a fine four-under 67 in the first round.

The Indian ace, who is returning to the course after the Arnold Palmer Invitational, is five places down from his first round T-11th.

Lahiri is five shots behind co-leaders Canadian Graham Delaet and Luke Donald, who has been second here four times but never won the title. Both shot 67 each after identical 65s in the opening round.

Ian Poulter (66-68) and Webb Simpson (66-68) are tied third while first round leader Bud Cauley (63-72) is Tied- fifth with four others.

Lahiri birdied the second and the 11th and dropped his only bogey on 14th.

In the ongoing season, Lahiri has one Top-3 (CIMB Classic T-3) and two other Top-15 finishes at Honda Classic (T-11) and RSM Classic (T-13) and is currently 60th in the FedEx Cup rankings.

However, Lahiri is aiming for some good finishes to get back to Top-50, up from his current 80th, and also wants to qualify for the President's Cup later this year.

Delaet followed up his career-best six-under 65 in the first round with a 67 to share the lead with Luke Donald midway through the RBC Heritage.

Donald has finished second or third in six of his past eight visits to the RBC Heritage — and put himself in position for another stellar finish this time, too.

Poulter, playing on a major medical extension, is on the clock to keep his card and needs about USD 145,000 in his next two events to maintain his playing status and is off to a strong start.

His 66-68 is the just the second time in seven career visits to Harbour Town he's opened with two sub-70 rounds.

First-round leader Bud Cauley followed his 63 with a 72 and was in a group of five at seven-under that included former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner and Sam Saunders, the grandson of golf's late king, Arnold Palmer.

There were 74 golfers who made the cut which came at one-under par, the lowest ever at Harbour Town.

Those going home included Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and Charley Hoffman, who contended at Augusta National for much of the week before falling off the pace.

India has called off maritime security dialogue with Pakistan, scheduled for early next week, amid tensions over death sentence being awarded to Kulbhushan Jadhav on charges of spying.

A delegation led by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (MSA) was to visit New Delhi April 16-19 to discuss issues related to fishermen and search and rescue operations.

Coast Guard sources said the Ministry of Defence has not given clearance for the delegation's visit.

The development comes amid tension between the two countries over Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer, being awarded death sentence by a Pakistani military court.

India has said if Jadhav were to be executed, it will be considered as a “premeditated murder”.