China, Pakistan and Russia are inching closer to form an alliance to stabilise war-torn Afghanistan, where the three countries see the emergence of Islamic State terror group as a common threat, a media report on Monday said.
The strategic calculation are changing after competing for well over two decades. Islamabad and Moscow are all set to become part of a possible alliance in a dramatic turnaround in their otherwise frosty relationship for decades.
What has compelled Pakistan and Russia to join hands is apprehensions that the United States may not be interested in bringing stability to Afghanistan for its own strategic interests, The Express Tribune reported.
“These fears have now opened up the possibility of an alliance between Pakistan, Russia and China in an unprecedented development that will shape the future of this volatile region,” according to the report.
It quoted military and Foreign Office sources as saying that the three countries were inching closer to formalising their relationship with an aim to bring regional stability, particularly seeking a political solution to the Afghan war.
The sources said Pakistan as well as China and Russia reached a conclusion that the US wanted to prolong the conflict in Afghanistan. This situation, officials pointed out, has left Pakistan with no other option but to seek a regional solution by involving Russia, China and Iran.
Moscow already hosted two meetings involving Pakistani and Chinese officials to discuss the Afghanistan problem. Another such gathering with a larger audience is scheduled later this month. The objective of these meetings is to evolve a regional consensus for the lingering conflict in Afghanistan.
The biggest fear among the regional countries, including China and Russia, is the emergence of IS in Afghanistan. There were reports that thousands of fighters were being sent to Afghanistan from Syria, a development, Pakistan, Russia and China believe is aimed at further destabilising the war-torn country.
These countries suspect the US may be using IS as a proxy to further its interests, particularly to counter China and a resurgent Russia.
For Pakistan, this is dangerous scenario as prolonged instability in Afghanistan will continue to cast shadow on its progress and stability. “Due to these compulsions Pakistan has now reached out to Russia and other regional countries,” commented defence analyst Lt Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib.
Gen Shoaib, who is closely connected with the military establishment, endorsed the assessment that the US was not ready to bring stability to Afghanistan. He also claimed that Pakistan has already conveyed to the Trump Administration that Russia and China were coming in a big way in Afghanistan if the United States does not take steps to clear the mess.
In a trilateral meeting in Moscow in December, Russia and China agreed to a flexible approach to remove certain Taliban figures from the UN sanctions lists as part of efforts to foster a peaceful dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban.
However, the US was not ready to accept it, something officials here said showed Washington's lack of interest in seeking a peace deal. In fact, Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, before being killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province in May last year, was pushing for this demand in order to show sceptics within his insurgent group the benefits of seeking the peace process.
The Afghan problem has brought Pakistan and Russia close in terms of strategic and defence cooperation. Last week, the Pakistan army took a high-powered Russian military delegation to the volatile North Waziristan Agency to give them a firsthand account of the country's anti-terror gains.
The development is part of a series of steps taken to open a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties that have long been held hostage to the politics of 'Cold War' era.
The rapprochement began in 2011 when Pakistan decided to broaden its foreign policy options after its ties with the US deteriorated due to a secret raid at Abottabad to kill Osama bin Laden in May that year and later the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in NATO airstrikes along the Afghan border.
“This is a realistic approach and is good for our interests,” said Gen Shoaib, who added that increased cooperation with Russia did not necessarily mean that ties between Pakistan and the US lost their utility.

The English Premier League never fails to surprise as there is almost always an eye-catching result, a golazo or two and some controversial moments from each Gameweek.

The Statesman lists the major talking points from Gameweek 30 below:

Big Sam’s Crystal Palace send shockwaves at the Bridge
Crystal Palace travelled to Stamford Bridge on the back of some serious form, but nobody could have predicted what unfolded on Saturday. The Eagles, in typical Sam Allardyce style, scripted a smash-and-grab victory to stun the impregnable Blues.
The mercurial talents of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke, some stubborn Palace defending and heroic keeping from Wayne Hennessey consigned Antonio Conte to his first home loss in over seven months.

Title-race isn't over just yet
Taking advantage of Chelsea’s shocking loss, second-placed Tottenham Hotspur left it late, but managed to beat Burnley 2-0, trimming the Blues’ lead to seven points. Spurs could potentially close the gap to four points should they beat Swansea away and Manchester City do them a favour by beating Chelsea midweek. While it is unlikely that Chelsea lose two home games in a row, Spurs will hope for the best and even a draw could mount pressure on Antonio Conte’s men.

Manchester United aren't fun to watch, but Jose Mourinho sure is
Shorn of some of their finest attacking talents, Manchester United bored fans with 0-0 result at home against West Brom. After the game, a journalist asked Jose Mourinho whether he felt the draw was a fair result and if the teams had cancelled each other out. To this, the Portuguese exploded with a “Are you serious? One team plays the game almost entirely in the other’s half and you say we cancelled each other out? I’m sorry, but that is a stupid question.” The poor journalist promptly apologised but the fact remains that United without Zlatan Ibrahimovic are like a toothless tiger and the Swede’s imminent return against Everton couldn't have come sooner. 

Arsenal can dig deep when required
Manchester City traveled to Arsenal as heavy favourites, facing a team that seemed shorn of all confidence and unity. The Gunners, however, surprised many with their gritty display, twice fighting back from a goal down to equalise in a thrilling game which had plenty of end-to-end action. They proved that Alexis Sanchez may well be their talisman, but goals can flow from other avenues as well. While a win would have been perfect, a draw was just and Arsene Wenger’s men can take plenty of positives as the crunch time of the season approaches. 

Refereeing inconsistencies remain

Liverpool-Everton and Arsenal-Manchester City were the highlight games of the weekend and they delivered with some brilliant footballing displays but officiating blunders in both fixtures took away from the sheen of the results.

First, in the Merseyside derby, Everton’s Ross Barkley poor first-touch forced him to go extremely high on Emre Can. The English midfielder had his studs up and left several marks on Can’s knee. Such was the impact of the horror tackle. Referee Anthony Taylor, despite having a perfect view of the foul, chose to show Barkley a yellow when in fact, it should have been a straight red.

Then, when Arsenal hosted Manchester City, Theo Walcott executed a challenge similar to Barkley’s on City midifielder Fernadinho. Again, the studs were up and clearly caught the opponent.  Match referee Andre Marriner, inexplicably, didn't even blow his whistle, allowing play to carry on. To add insult to injury, Walcott would go on to equalise for Arsenal, putting the spotlight on the officials’ poor decision making even more.

Tata Motor's wholly owned subsidiary TAL Manufacturing on Sunday announced that BRABO — the first Made-in-India robot — has received "CE" certification for commercial sale in the European market.

The BRABO — showcased at the 'Make in India Week' last year — is a cost-effective solution meant to automate micro, small and medium enterprises. 

The robot now complies with essential requirements relevant to European health, safety and environmental legislation, permitting its export to customers in Europe.

"With the CE certification we have raised the benchmark for the BRABO to deliver solutions to global businesses, steering towards automation, including that of labour-intensive industries, freeing up precious manpower time in other areas of business, to transform businesses into technologically advanced ecosystems," Amit Bhingurde, COO, TAL Manufacturing & Solutions Limited, said in a statement.

BRABO has been indigenously designed to create efficiencies right from raw material handling until packaging of finished product and can be programmed to operate 24/7 in all situations. 

The robot can be used for varied applications for tasks like pick and placement of materials, assembly of parts, machine and press tending, as a sealing application, camera and vision based jobs etc. 

"The BRABO is a cost-effective solution and we believe, over time it will become the preferred option for businesses who hope to bring in automation. We are eager to begin our commercial launch in Europe," Bhingurde said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said that Iran has released 15 Indian fishermen who were detained with their Bahraini boats in 2016.

"I am happy to inform that Iran has released our 15 fishermen from Tamil Nadu. They were detained with their 3 Bahraini boats," Swaraj said in a tweet.

She also thanked the Indian Embassy in Tehran, appreciating their "good work" for facilitating the release.

The fishermen, working for some Baharainians, were detained for entering the Iranian waters without permission.

They were said to be confined to their boats since their arrest on September 22.

Anupam Kher has expressed his gratitude to Mahesh Bhatt, the director of his debut film "Saaransh". The veteran actor says it was wonderful for him to be a part of the celebration of the anniversary of filmmaker's banner.

Vishesh Films, owned by brothers, Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, completed 30 years of it's existance on Sunday. 

Anupam on Monday mornign took to Twitter to share a photograph of himself along with with Mahesh, Mukesh, Salim Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Anu Malik, Pooja Bhatt and Dino Morea. 

"Wonderful to be part of celebrations of 30 years of Vishesh Films. Will always be full of gratitude for Mahesh Bhatt saab (sir) for Saaransh," Anupam captioned the image. 

Mahesh replied: "Anupam when one looks at life through eyes of gratitude, the world becomes a magical place. I thank you for your part in my journey. Thank you!"

The actor, a National School of Drama alumnus, was only 28 when he took on the role of a retired middle class Maharashtrian man, who had lost his son in

Anupam's stellar performance not just won him his first Filmfare best actor award, but the film was also chosen as India's official entry for the 1985 Academy Award for best foreign language film.

If you are diabetic and prefer to go to bed late, you may be at an increased risk of developing depression, researchers say.

According to a study, people with Type 2 diabetes who are "night owls" and prefer the evening for activity report having more symptoms of depression — regardless of the quality of their sleep — than those who sleep early and are early risers. 

"These findings are important because depression is common in patients with Type 2 diabetes," said lead investigator Sirimon Reutrakul, Associate Professor at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The study supports an association between circadian regulation and psychological functioning in patients with Type 2 diabetes. 

"Learning more about the relationship between depression and circadian functioning might help us figure out strategies to improve physical and mental health for patients with diabetes," Reutrakul said.

For the study, presented at the Endocrine Society's 99th annual meeting in Orlando, the team examined people with type 2 diabetes.

Because chronotype — propensity for an individual to sleep at a particular time during a 24-hour period — may differ by geographic location with a greater morning preference near the equator, the researchers studied diabetic patients from two different geographic regions: Chicago and Thailand. 

The US group consisted of 194 patients, 70 per cent of whom were women, while the Thai group consisted of 282 patients, 67 per cent of whom were women. 

For both groups, those who preferred the evening reported more depression symptoms than did those with a morning preference, the researchers said. 

Film: Khujli

Cast: Neena Gupta, Jackie Shroff

Director: Sonam Nair

Stilted dialogues and an exaggerated perception of middle-class bravado do not take away from the sheer pleasure of watching short film Khujli — in which actors Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta come together for the first time as an ageing, though far from fading, couple trying out new sex positions for the first time in their compatible togetherness.

It all happens in a flash after the huffing and wheezing Shroff discovers a pair of sexy handcuffs in his son's room.

"Do you even have an idea what he must be doing with it," he fumes, red-faced and frazzled.

Turns out that wife Neena Gupta knows all about BDSM. She has been reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" in her 'me' time and picking up helpful, but useless, hints for an 'us' time that never happens.

"Aap toh… Bas," she sniggers at her aghast husband.

The parodic premise of a husband suddenly discovering layers of sexual repression in a wife who suddenly wants to experiment in the bedroom could have been interesting. In India, we presume that parents of grown up children prefer to lead sexless lives. Khujli thinks giggling and bantering is all one needs to make the couple's pleasurable new pilgrimage look powered and exciting.

Jackie is a bit clumsy doing the clumsy act, maybe because he has never been comfortable with intimacy on screen even in his heydays. But Neena lets herself go with unabashed abandon. It is their combined post-menopause effervescence that furnishes the somewhat unfinished film with some kind of a closure.

Much of their play-acting in the secrecy of their bedroom looks improvised, and not in a very inspired way. I mean, how far can you stretch a joke about a husband playing Gabbar and wife playing Basanti? Nonetheless, just watching the lead pair have fun with the rather meatless material is a pleasure.

The short film by Terribly Tiny Talkies, begins and ends with the creaking of a bed and pleasurable sounds from the couple.

We get it.

And give Khujli two-and-half stars.
 

Engineering experts from the University of Exeter have developed smallest, highest-capacity memories for flexible and transparent electronic devices.

They produced this innovative new memory using a hybrid of graphene oxide and titanium oxide that is low cost and eco-friendly to produce, are also perfectly suited for use in flexible electronic devices such as 'bendable' mobile phone, computer and television screens, and even 'intelligent' clothing.

According to the results of their research published in scientific journal ACS Nano, these devices may also have the potential to offer a cheaper and more adaptable alternative to 'flash memory', which is currently used in many common devices such as memory cards, graphics cards and USB computer drives.

The research team insists that these innovative new devices have the potential to take flexible electronics to a new age in terms of speed, efficiency and power.

"Our hybrid graphene oxide-titanium oxide memory is just 50 nanometres long and eight nanometres thick and can be written to and read from in less than five nanoseconds — with one nanometre being one billionth of a metre and one nanosecond a billionth of a second," said Professor David Wright, lead author of the paper.

Professor Craciun, a co-author of the work, added that being able to improve data storage is the backbone of tomorrow's knowledge economy, as well as industry on a global scale.
 

Infosys shares were trading with declines in the late morning trade on Monday after fresh row erupted between the company founders and the Board over the pay hike to Chief Operating Officer (COO) UB Pravin Rao.

The shares were trading Rs.13.25 or 1.25 per cent down at Rs.1007.55 at the Bombay Stock Exchange. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), it was trading Rs.13.45 or 1.32 per cent down at Rs.1008.80.

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy on Sunday said that the compensation hike to COO UB Pravin Rao approved by the board in February was not “proper” and “will likely erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board”.

“The impact of such a decision will likely erode the trust and faith of the employees in the management and the board,” he added.

The pay-hike was approved with 67 per cent of votes. Thirty-three per cent voted against the hike.

(With inputs from agencies)

Researchers have found that two new gene-based blood tests can reliably detect previously unidentifiable forms of one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer.

Having quick and accurate monitoring tools for all types of metastatic melanoma, the medical term for the disease, may make it easier for physicians to detect early signs of cancer recurrence, the researchers said.

The new blood tests, which take only 48 hours, are currently only available for research purposes.

"Our goal is to use these tests to make more informed treatment decisions and, specifically, to identify as early as possible when a treatment has stopped working, cancer growth has resumed, and the patient needs to switch therapy," said senior study investigator and dermatologist David Polsky, Professor at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. 

The new tools are the first to identify melanoma DNA in the blood of patients whose cancer is spreading and who lack defects in either the BRAF or NRAS genes, already known to drive cancer growth, the study authors said.

The new tests monitor blood levels of DNA fragments, known as circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), that are released into the blood when tumour cells die and break apart, said Polsky who presented his team's latest findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC.

Specifically, the tests detect evidence of changes in the chemical building blocks (or mutations) of a gene that controls telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), a protein that helps cancer cells maintain the physical structure of their chromosomes.

The blood tests, developed in conjunction with Bio-Rad Laboratories in Hercules, California, may have advantages over current methods for monitoring the disease because the tests avoid the radiation exposure that comes with CT scans, and the tests can be performed more easily and more often, Polsky said.

Chilling online “death groups” on popular social media that egg on teenagers to kill themselves are causing panic in Russia after a string of teen suicides.

Hidden groups on social networking site VK, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, are reportedly controlled by “mentors” who incite their members to take their own lives.

The existence of these groups, highlighted in an investigation by Novaya Gazeta opposition newspaper last year, has rattled parents and sparked heated debate in a country where suicide is largely a taboo subject.

President Vladimir Putin has publicly expressed concern, this month calling for harsher punishments for those convicted of incitement to suicide — a crime that currently carries a prison sentence of up to three years.

Several dozen Russian teenagers out of the total of 130 who committed suicide between November 2015 and April 2016 were pressured by members of “death groups” on VK, who remain in the shadows as they spread a suicide cult, Novaya Gazeta reported.

A “mentor” on one death group, 22-year-old Filipp Budeikin, was arrested by investigators in the city of Saint Petersburg in November after allegedly inciting 15 teenagers on VK to commit suicide.

In an interview with local media shortly before his arrest, Budeikin outlined his tactics to attract teens he referred to as “biodegradable waste” and “people who are worthless for society.”

“First you have to create groups with depressing content that plunges you into a special atmosphere,” he said. “People click on links and enter a closed group. That's when the game starts.”

Budeikin admitted he asked his victims to share personal information and perform certain “tasks”, which often involved self-mutilation or scarification.

“I just explained to some people why it was best to die, nothing more,” he said. “They are the ones who made that decision. No one forced them.”

Budeikin added that he was simply “cleansing society”.

“Death groups” even threaten to blackmail their members by telling them they will go after their loved ones if they refuse to carry out the tasks, Novaya Gazeta reported.

The discovery of the VK death groups sent a jolt through Russian society, where the suicide rate among minors — 20 for every 100,000 people — is three times higher than the global average, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data.

Russia's children's ombudswoman Anna Kuznetsova said this month that the suicide rate among minors had increased nearly 57 percent last year after dropping in previous years, attributing the phenomenon to the “death groups.” 

A parliamentary committee has expressed concern that no land and airspace in and around the stations have so far been commercially developed as part of the station redevelopment programme.

Railway Convention Committee (RCC) in its latest report has asked the Railways to look into the matter with a sense of urgency so as to ensure that the station redevelopment programme as announced in successive rail budgets is truly achieved.

The redevelopment plan of railways envisages that the entire cost of station redevelopment will be met by leveraging commercial development of land and airspace in an around the stations.

The RCC headed by BJD MP Bhartuhari Mahtab has observed that for capacity augmentation and modernisation, railways require Rs.8.56 lakh crore between 2015 and 2019, out of which approximately Rs.1.2 lakh crore is estimated to be mobilised from extra budgetary resources, including public private partnership.

The 18-member committee has urged the Railways to expedite the completion of three joint-venture (JV) projects in port connectivity.
The JV projects including Obulavaripalle-Venkatchalam new line, Angul-Sukinda new line and Hridaspur-Paradip new line should be expedited so that railways capacity augmentation takes place as per the schedule, the panel in its report submitted to the Parliament said.

Taking note of the works on private freight terminals (PFT), the committee recommended that the completion and commissioning of 40 PFTs undertaken at the moment to be speeded up so as to serve the very purpose of the scheme.

Private freight terminals launched in 2010 aims to facilitate development of a network of freight terminals with private investment and provide efficient and cost effective logistic services.

The committee asked railways to make efforts to rope in more private operators to run the container trains so that there is further increase in the loading capacity and revenue earning for the public transporter.

The RCC suggested Railway Ministry to facilitate procurement of more rakes by various firms under liberalised wagon investment scheme so that more investment is made in the railways capacity augmentation programme.

The committee also suggested for according approval to the private companies for procurement of more rakes in future for induction in railways under the policy for automobile freight train operator scheme so that railways market share in transportation of automobile increases.

Tracking positive Asian markets, domestic benchmark indices were trading with marginal gains in the first half of trade on Monday with Capital Goods index leading the rally.

At 11.15 am, the Sensex was trading 169 points or 0.57 per cent higher at 29,789 while the Nifty50 was trading 31 points or 0.34 per cent up at 9,204.

Broader markets outperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap index gained 0.5 per cent while BSE Smallcap Midcap index surged by 0 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Capital Goods index registered the biggest gain with a jump of 2 per cent. Consumer Durables (up 1.2 per cent), Oil & Gas (up 0.8 per cent) and FMCG (up 0.5 per cent) indices were other notable gainers. Telecom and Teck indices slipped 1.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Reliance Industries (up 3.8 per cent), L&T (up 2.9 per cent), Gail (up 2.6 per cent), HDFC (up 1.2 per cent) and Tata Steel (up 1.1 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Bharti Airtel (down 2.9 per cent), Wipro (down 1.3 per cent), Infosys (down 0.9 per cent), Bajaj Auto (down 0.9 per cent) and TCS (down 0.4 per cent).

Asian markets were trading in the positive zone. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 0.8 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.1 per cent, Korea’s KOSPI index jumped 0.3 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged 0.4 per cent.

Back home, the Rupee was trading seven paisa higher at 65.02 against the US Dollar.

Vandana Kataria scored a stunning back-handed field goal as India’s women hockey team beat Belarus 1-0 to enter the semi-finals of Women's Hockey World League Round 2 in West Vancouver on Monday.

With the victory, India topped the Pool A points table to enter the semis, scheduled on April 8.

Both the sides started aggressively, though the first quarter ended with no goal despite both teams having claimed a penalty corner each.

It was Vandana's sensational field goal in the 26th minute that gave India an edge over Belarus ahead of half-time.

Motivated by the goal, India continued dominating Belarus in the third quarter and earned three PCs. They, however, couldn't extend their lead.

Belarus came stronger in the fourth quarter, seeking to score an equaliser desperately. They earned a PC in the 58th minute, though Indian goalkeeper Savita stood tall in front of the net to ruin all efforts by Belarus.

Post-merger of five associate banks, the State Bank of India opened as one bank with 500 million customers and started normal operations from Monday, SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya announced here.

The associate banks which merged with the SBI are State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank Of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore.

"The SBI opened as 'one bank' on Monday and will continue to operate in the same manner as before post-merger," Bhattacharya told the media.

The treasuries of the SBI and associates have also been completely integrated and have now started work as a single entity, she added.

With the merger, SBI is now catapulted among the top ranking 50 banks in the world in terms of assets.

Singer Sonu Nigam, who has collaborated with Sachin Tendulkar for the iconic cricketer's debut track Cricket waali beat, says he is a very good singer.

The song will have its world TV premiere on the grand finale of singing TV reality show Indian Idol 9 on Sunday night on Sony Entertainment Television.

Talking about it, Sonu said here: "I am glad to be part of Sachin's new innings. The song that he has sung with me is called 'Cricket waali beat'. I was very surprised to see the way he was pitching right. That's why I believe that when God blesses someone with genius, it spills in other faculties too."

Sonu can now vouch for Tendulkar's singing skill.

"He is a very good singer. We did not use pitch corrector on his voice as he was singing in the right sur (tone) and (despite being) the shy person that he is, he got extremely comfortable the moment I kind of increased the masti (fun) quotient while we were shooting the video. It was wonderful and I am very happy that people are loving the song," the singer said.

Sonu judges Indian Idol 9 with composer Annu Malik and choreographer-director Farah Khan. The finale will see three contestants — LV Revanth, Khuda Baksh and PVNS Rohit — competing with one another on a stage, which will also see a comedic act by Sunil Grover as Dr. Mashoor Gulati and Rinku Bhabhi.

About having Sachin on the show's stage where he will also announce the winner's name, Sonu said: "'Indian Idol' is my family, my house, my domain and Sachin coming in and releasing the song for its world TV premiere, is a matter of pride for all of us."

"Sachin Tendulkar is a phenomenon not just for India, but for the world, especially for the world of cricket. When he is given the title of god, it's not just by chance. His whole demeanour, whole career, entire reputation and the spotless career that he has had, is the reason why he is called the God of cricket," Sonu added.

The Arjuna Award winner had earlier released his autobiography named Playing It My Way, and recently he launched his digital app 100MB.