Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez enjoyed a romantic dinner date in Beverly Hills just days after returning from their whirlwind getaway to the Bahamas.

The pair was spotted leaving the Bel-Air Hotel together in a luxury car, reported E! Online.

Lopez, 47, wore her signature gold oversized hoop earrings to accessorize her light ensemble, while Rodriguez wore a black wool coat and matching shirt.

"All his friends can tell he really likes JLo (but) in the beginning they thought this may just be a fling. Friends are slowly thinking this may actually be a great match.

"He calls JLo his 'lady'. He would wife her up in a heartbeat… She is different than other people he's dated," a source said.

A leaked look of actor Jr. NTR from his next yet-untitled Telugu project has gone viral on social media, sending his fans into a celebratory mood.

In the film, being directed by Bobby, Jr. NTR will be seen in triple roles.

The look that is doing the rounds is rumoured to be the prosthetic mask he will be wearing in the film.

For one of Jr. NTR's characters, international make-up artist Vance Hartwell was brought on board.

In February, when Hartwell was in Hyderabad, he took measurement for a facial mask for the actor.

The makers had said in a statement that it was the first time in his career Jr. NTR will be seen using prosthetic.

Hartwell joined the sets earlier this month when the project started rolling.

Produced by NTR Arts, the film also stars Raashi Khanna as one of the leading ladies. The second heroine is yet to be finalised.

A leaked look of actor Jr. NTR from his next yet-untitled Telugu project has gone viral on social media, sending his fans into a celebratory mood.

In the film, being directed by Bobby, Jr. NTR will be seen in triple roles.

The look that is doing the rounds is rumoured to be the prosthetic mask he will be wearing in the film.

For one of Jr. NTR's characters, international make-up artist Vance Hartwell was brought on board.

In February, when Hartwell was in Hyderabad, he took measurement for a facial mask for the actor.

The makers had said in a statement that it was the first time in his career Jr. NTR will be seen using prosthetic.

Hartwell joined the sets earlier this month when the project started rolling.

Produced by NTR Arts, the film also stars Raashi Khanna as one of the leading ladies. The second heroine is yet to be finalised.

Anupa Barla and Vandana Katariya found the back of the net as India's women hockey team drew against Chile 2-2 in a closely-fought practice match ahead of Hockey World League Round 2, at West Vancouver on Sunday.

Chile started aggressively as Agustina Venegas struck a brilliant field goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead.

Barla then came responsibly to score an equaliser for India in the 35th minute via a penalty corner. 

Motivated by the move, Katariya gave India a 2-0 lead after scoring a stunning field goal in the 36th minute.

Chile bounced back in the 53rd minute as Venegas netted her second goal, this time through a PC, to help them draw the hard-fought clash.

In the next practice match, India will face Canada before finally stepping in to the 2017 World League Round 2 campaign, where they will play Uruguay first in their Pool A encounter.
 

Anupa Barla and Vandana Katariya found the back of the net as India's women hockey team drew against Chile 2-2 in a closely-fought practice match ahead of Hockey World League Round 2, at West Vancouver on Sunday.

Chile started aggressively as Agustina Venegas struck a brilliant field goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead.

Barla then came responsibly to score an equaliser for India in the 35th minute via a penalty corner. 

Motivated by the move, Katariya gave India a 2-0 lead after scoring a stunning field goal in the 36th minute.

Chile bounced back in the 53rd minute as Venegas netted her second goal, this time through a PC, to help them draw the hard-fought clash.

In the next practice match, India will face Canada before finally stepping in to the 2017 World League Round 2 campaign, where they will play Uruguay first in their Pool A encounter.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the 'New India' was a joint call and desire of 125 crore Indians and called upon the people to perform their duties as responsible citizens.

In his monthly radio address 'Mann ki Baat', the first since the Bharatiya Janata Party's victories in the recently concluded assembly elections in five states, Modi said small and steady steps by all Indians can lead to realisation of a new and transformed India. 

"We are in the 21st century and there is no Indian who doesn't want to transform India. New India is neither a government project nor a manifesto of a political party. It is the joint call and desire of 125 crore Indians to transform India," said Modi. 

"Everything is not linked to the budget or government funds. If every citizen pledges to be more responsible, performs his duties, then this dream of new and transformed India can be easily realised," he said. 

"If we look at the society, there are many who are serving the society in their own ways. Some are serving patients in hospitals, others are voluntarily donating blood and some others feeding the poor." 

"Service is the core of our values. If we obey traffic rules, pledge not to use petrol or diesel once a week, resolve to be more responsible, if we do things step by step, we can achieve a new India," Modi added.

The brazen terror attack on British parliament which killed four people ended within 82 seconds and was carried out by Khalid Masood who acted alone, Scotland Yard confirmed on Sunday, conceding they may “never understand” the 52-year-old attacker's motive.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command confirmed after detailed probe that the attack started at 14:40:08 (local time) on March 22, when the car that Masood was driving over Westminster Bridge first mounted the northbound pavement.

He continued towards Bridge Street along both the footpath and road until 14:40:38 before crashing into the perimeter fence of the Palace of Westminster. At 14:40:59, the first 999 call was made to the Met, reporting the incident, it said.

Masood left the vehicle and was shot by a police firearms officer inside the Palace of Westminster boundary at 14:41:30.

“Our investigation continues at pace. I am grateful for the public support so far, but I am asking for more help. If you knew Khalid Masood and had spoken to him in the months, weeks or days leading up to this attack please come forward,” said Met police Indian-origin Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, who is the Senior National Coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing.

“We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned,” Basu said.

His remarks came after two of the 11 people arrested in connection with the attack were questioned by police to establish whether the attacker acted alone or had associates.

“Whilst the attack lasted only 82 seconds it will remain in the memories of many forever. The thoughts of all those working on this investigation are with those so deeply affected,” Basu said.

“One person remains in custody in connection with the attack after 11 arrests in the aftermath of the attack,” he said.
Born as Adrian Russell Ajao in Dartford before converting to Islam, Masood was known to UK police and intelligences services.

He was born to a white mother and black father and is said to have been affected by racism while growing up.

“Even if he acted alone in the preparation we need to establish with absolute clarity why he did these unspeakable acts to bring reassurance to Londoners, and to provide answers and closure for the families of those killed and the victims and survivors of this atrocity,” Basu said.

“We must all accept that there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this. That understanding may have died with him.

“Nevertheless, we are determined to understand if Masood was a lone actor inspired by terrorist propaganda or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him. If the latter proves to be the case, they will face justice,” he said.

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were remembered in the public event at Hollywood's Forest Lawn Cemetery featuring music by Star Wars composer John Williams and a new track by family friend James Blunt.

Reynolds and Star Wars actress Fisher died within a day of each other in December last year.

Dancers, Dan Aykroyd and Star Wars' R2D2 were among those who took the stage at the mother and daughter's public memorial service, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Better late than never, as they say," Todd Fisher, Reynolds' son, said before adding the public event "is a show and not a memorial, because my mother didn't like memorials and funerals." 

"There were no finer people that I have ever known than my mother and sister." 

The service was a celebration of Reynolds and Fisher's legacies both on and off the screen. Blunt's tribute song was accompanied by a montage of photographs of the two.

Fisher's former beau Aykroyd took the podium to recall their friendship.

"I once saved her life, applying the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge a brussel sprout, and if I had been with our beloved showboat, I might have been able to save her again," he said.

"I know these women will have a song for us when we arrive at the crossing. After all, we're only seconds behind." 

Todd also recalled Reynolds' last day, during which she told him she wanted to be buried with Carrie.

"She looked at me to ask for permission to leave, said she wanted to be with Carrie, closed her eyes and went to sleep," he shared.

"It was a very peaceful exit that only my mother could've orchestrated. She was trained in Hollywood where they teach you to make a great entrance and exit. A beautiful exit.

All existing subscribers of mobile services will have to go for Aadhaar-based re-verification soon, with the government instructing telecom operators to initiate the process.

Cellular operators' body COAI said its members may meet this week to discuss the modalities of rolling out the verification process for the existing one billion-plus mobile phone users.

"…all licencees shall re-verify all existing mobile subscribers (pre-paid and postpaid) through Aadhaar-based eKYC process…," a notification issued by the telecom department said.

It further added that all licencees will have to inform existing subscribers — through advertisements in print and electronic media as well as SMS — about the order of the Supreme Court for re-verification activity. They have also been asked to upload the details of the exercise on their website.

The Supreme Court, in an order in February this year, had observed that, "an effective process has been evolved to ensure the identity verification, as well as, the addresses of all mobile phone subscribers for the new subscribers. In the near future, and more particularly within one year from today, a similar verification will be completed, in case of existing subscribers".

The telecom department has said the operators will use and share common device eco-system through mutual agreements, and will work out mechanisms to avoid public inconvenience and long queues.

When contacted, cellular operators association COAI said that the industry supported the move, but pointed out that the entire exercise will cost Rs.1,000 crore for infrastructure and training, which will have to be borne by the operators.

"The issue of fake subscribers will go away. We will try our best to cover the entire base within the stipulated time frame of one year but in case we cannot, we may ask DoT for an extension," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said.

For re-verification through Aadhaar-based eKYC process, the operator will send a verification code to the mobile number of the subscriber. Prior to starting the eKYC, the operator will verify this code from the subscriber so as to confirm the SIM card of the mobile connection is physically available with the subscriber.

"After the completion of the eKYC process, before updating or overwriting the old subscriber detail in database with the data received through eKYC process, the licencee will seek confirmation from the subscriber about the re-verification of his/her mobile number after 24 hours through SMS," the notification said.

The operator can re-verify more than one mobile connection in one service area through a single eKYC but not bulk connections. For issuing additional mobile connections to re-verified subscriber, the operator would have to follow a separate eKYC process.

Verification of a subscriber would not be required in case of conversions – that is pre-paid to postpaid connections or vice versa, it clarified.

Singer Liam Payne has welcomed his first child, a baby boy, with girlfriend Cheryl.

The 23-year-old former One Direction star shared the good news on Instagram by posting a photo of him snuggling his little bundle of joy close.

"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far," Payne captioned the photo.

"I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true," Payne said of Cheryl, 33.

"We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed." 

Cheryl shared the same picture of Payne and revealed that the baby was born on March 22.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who has consistently been amongst the runs in the domestic circuit, is now eyeing a batsman's slot in the national team, knowing all too well that it was far from easy to displace Wriddhiman Saha and Mahendra Singh Dhoni from their respective positions in Tests and limited overs cricket.

Karthik, who recently led Tamil Nadu to their fifth Vijay Hazare title by scoring 112 in the final against Bengal, finished the one-dayers as the top run-getter averaging 86.71, while amassing 607 runs in nine matches.

In the Ranji Trophy, the 31-year old totalled 704 runs in 10 matches at an average of 54.15.

Playing for India Blue in the Duleep Trophy, the right-hander scored 211 runs in the three games he played, averaging 52.75.

Next up is the Deodhar Trophy where Karthik will again lead Tamil Nadu against the likes of Harbhajan Singh's India A and Parthiv Patel's India B.

"This season has gone well for me and for the team (Tamil Nadu). We will look to continue the good form in the Deodhar Trophy as well," Karthik told IANS in a telephonic interview.

Karthik, who has played 23 Tests and 71 One-day Internationals (ODI) for India, last donned the hallowed blue in 2014 in a 50-over game against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup under Virat Kohli's captaincy.

"I see myself competing for a batsman's slot. I keep scoring runs and at the moment the team has six-seven places for batsmen. So I think I can contribute in the team in that way," Karthik said.

"I have been playing well for the last few seasons and my runs speak for themselves. I feel my batting skills are good enough to pick me solely as batsman," he said, dropping a hint to the national selectors ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in England in June.

The Vijay Hazare final century was his 10th List A century. For India, Karthik has seven half-centuries in both Tests and ODIs with only one ton in whites.

But at the moment it would be improbable to pencil Karthik in as a keeper with both Saha and Dhoni rubber-stamping their places.

While Saha's latest and perhaps his best knock of 117 in the third Test against Australia in Ranchi, coupled with his brilliant glove work, is another testament as to why the Bengal stumper will remain India's No. 1 choice behind the wicket in the longest format of the game; Dhoni, at 35, still walks into the limited overs XI.

Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel also made a comeback during the England series, replacing an injured Saha.

Among the younger crop of keepers, Delhi's 19-year-old southpaw Rishabh Pant and Jharkhand's 18-year-old Ishan Kishan are also in line.

From his personal ambitions to the current India-Australia series, Karthik did not want to comment on off-field issues that have mired the battle somewhat, rather talking about the on-field duel which according to him has been intriguing.

"It's been a brilliant series to watch. The brand of cricket has been great. There have been lots of ups and downs for both teams. I feel it will be an excellent Test match at Dharamsala," he said.

Asked to comment on the Australian media taking a dig at Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Karthik, whose last game for India was under Kohli's leadership, preferred to remain coy.

"It will not be right for me to comment on this. I haven't seen the incidents on the field or read about them. I think India have played really well and have shown a lot of character."

In the upcoming 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), starting April 5, Karthik will feature for the Gujarat Lions, led by Suresh Raina.

Exuding confidence about his side, who will take on former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Rajkot on April 7, Karthik said: "We have got a good set of all-rounders which gives us a lot of options. The team is well balanced and I am sure we will put up a good challenge."

Top al Qaeda leader Qari Yasin, who was involved in multiple deadly attacks in Pakistan which claimed dozens of innocent lives, has been killed in a US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan, the Pentagon has said.

Yasin, who is said to be responsible for plotting the September 20, 2008 bombing on a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 in Lahore, was killed on March 19 in Paktika Province of Afghanistan.

“The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice,” US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on March 25.

Pentagon said Yasin was killed in a US counter terrorism strike and the senior leader was responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people, including two American service members.

The senior terrorist figure from Balochistan had ties with Tehrik-e Taliban and had plotted multiple al Qaeda terror attacks, including the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad in which US Air Force Maj Rodolfo I Rodriguez and Navy Cryptologic Technician Third Class Petty Officer Matthew J O'Bryant were killed, it said in a statement.

Yasin was also responsible for the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed and six members of the team injured, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon's confirmation comes a few days after the Pakistan Taliban confirmed that Yasin had been killed in a US drone strike.
Describing Yasin as a “close assistant” of the Pakistani Taliban, spokesman of the outfit Mohammad Khurasani said the senior al Qaeda leader was a “trainer of Mujahideen.”

Three of Yasin's “companions” were also killed in the US drone strike, he said.

The US had been hunting Yasin for at least four years, according to Long War Journal.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who grew up in Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday bought his first ever house here and gifted it to his mother.

Kher said he always wanted to own a property in Shimla as he has spent all his childhood here.

The actor shared the happy news on Twitter by sharing a video with fans and followers.

"We Indians want to have our own home in a place where we grew up. Happy to share, we have our 1st ever home in Shimla.

Presented it to Mom," Kher captioned the clip.

Sharing his mother's feelings, Kher said in the clip, "My father was a clerk in the Forest Department here. All our life we have lived in government quarters and rented houses and due to some reasons I could not buy a property here.

"Today I've come to Shimla. I've bought a small house here which I want to gift to my mother. And she is really happy.

She has been teary-eyed since yesterday. She said this is the most beautiful thing that could have happened. I wish my dad was here.

Kher, 62, was born on March 1955 in Shimla in a Kashmiri Pandit family. He received education at D A V School. He had also performed various plays at the Himachal Pradesh University.

The Centre is considering slapping import duty of not less than 25 per cent on chana (gram) to curb shipments and protect local farmers from possible price crash in the wake of record output.

India is all set to harvest a record 22 million tonnes of pulses including all-time high chana output of 9 million tonnes this year on good monsoon and sharp rise in prices.

According to sources, the Agriculture Ministry has moved a proposal to impose import duty on chana as it fears that the prices of this rabi crop could fall sharply to the disadvantage of farmers.

The Ministry is of the view that imports need to be controlled for at least chana to protect farmers' interest and has proposed import duty of not less than 25 per cent.

The government does not want to impose import duty on other varieties of pulses as the country will still have to depend on other countries in spite of record output this year.

Wholesale prices of some of the pulses varieties like tur grown in the kharif season of this year have already fallen and the government fears that chana prices could also fall.

Similarly, the retail pulses prices have dropped by about 30 per cent in the last one year and rates of chana dal are likely to fall on bumper production, the government had said last week.

After retail prices skyrocketed to Rs.200 per kg last year, the government took several steps to boost domestic production and reduce import dependence.

Now, that the output has increased sharply by 6 million tonnes, it wants to ensure that farmers get right price for their produce and continue sowing pulses in the coming years.

The annual domestic demand of pulses is around 25 million tonnes. The country had imported about 5.8 million tonnes last fiscal and the shipments are likely to be around same level in the current 2016-17 financial year.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt does not want his comeback film Bhoomi to release on the same day when Aamir Khan's home production Secret Superstar hits the screens.

Bhoomi was slated for a released on August 4 along with Aamir's home production Secret Superstar, starring Zaira Wasim.

Dutt has requested his producers Bhushan Kumar of T-series and Sandeep Singh to change the release date of his film.

"I know the kind of hard work and effort that goes into making a film. I believe, after all the work being put in, it can't be reduced to a clash at the box office," Dutt said in a statement.

"Aamir is a dear friend and I wouldn't want my comeback film to be pitted against his. In this industry, we should all make an effort to help each other." 

The final decision on the release date will be taken by T-Series and Legend Studios.

Directed by Omung Kumar, Bhoomi is a revenge drama and it stars Aditi Rao Hydari as Dutt's daughter.

Secret Superstar, directed by Advait Chandan, narrates the story of a child who aspires to be a singer.

American Venus Williams and Germany's Angelique Kerber both advanced in windy conditions at the Miami Open tennis tournament, earning victories in second-round matches that ended in the wee hours of Saturday.

With strong gusts making every rally an adventure and forcing her to play more defensively than usual, the 11th-seeded Williams leveraged her experience and greater consistency to secure a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, reports Efe.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion went up an early break only to hand it back when she sent a forehand sailing well over the baseline.

Venus committed nine double faults in the match and looked tentative because of the conditions, yet she notched a crucial service hold to go up 5-4 and then finished off the first set with a forehand winner in the next game.

In the second set, Venus went up 4-2 when Haddad sent a backhand long and then held for 5-2 with a swinging volley winner.

Serving at 5-3, Venus went down 0-30 but she battled back and earned a match point with an unreturnable serve and then sealed the victory with a curling ace that clipped the line.

"It wasn't easy out there. The wind felt like a gale force," Williams said before praising her 166th-ranked opponent. "I'm very impressed with her game and determination, and that will take her very far."

Next up for Venus in the third round will be Romanian qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, who upset 22nd-ranked Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 on Friday.

Just minutes after Venus' match finished, German world No. 1 and top seed Angelique Kerber wrapped up a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over China's Duan Ying-ying.

Kerber's consistency was also the key factor as she dominated the baseline rallies that ensued when Duan missed her first serve, winning 19 of the Chinese player's 24 second-serve points.

Kerber also commented on the difficult conditions.

"It is windy and it's really late, actually," she said in her on-court interview. "I'm very happy about my win. It's always tough to play your first match here, especially with these conditions."

Kerber will square off in the third round against American Shelby Rogers, who topped Russian No. 31 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 5-7, 6-0.

In men's singles action Friday, Spain's Rafael Nadal began his quest for his first Miami Open title by defeating Israel's Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-4.

Automation is the new norm across sectors and will affect the bottom of pyramid so much so that four out of every 10 jobs globally would be lost due to this by 2021, experts say.

Automation is the new normal in sectors like engineering, manufacturing, automobiles, IT and banking. As automation adoption increases, all high transaction and labour intensive jobs will take a hit.

According to PeopleStrong CEO and Founder Pankaj Bansal, there will be a visible change in the next 3-4 years, first major effects will be seen in the sectors like manufacturing, IT and ITeS and security services and agriculture.

"We predict that by 2021, 4 out of every 10 jobs globally would be lost because of automation. And of these, one in every 4 will be from India. That sums up to 23 per cent of job loss in India," Bansal said.

India produces 5.5 million jobs (across levels) every year, but this number falls short of jobs needed to employ available talent and automation is further increasing the gap.

"If five years ago, there were 1,500 jobs in the assembly line, it has been reduced to 500 jobs now as focus has moved away from skilling to automation," said Francis Padamadan, Country Director KellyOCG India, a talent management solutions provider.

Experts said low skill and high transaction jobs will be affected as automation takes away their jobs. Hiring for short term projects, flexi hiring would be the way forward in these areas for roles that cannot be automated.

To cater to this fallout, government needs to focus on two key areas strengthening the mid-market segment and reskilling the workforce to take up new jobs which will emerge post automation, PeopleStrong's Bansal said.

KellyOCG India's Padamadan believes "automation will not take away all the jobs because you still need someone to build and monitor the robots. So, while jobs mostly at the bottom of pyramid will be affected, new jobs will get added".