US President Donald Trump and House Republicans are still scrambling to reach a deal on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare ahead of a vote on Thursday, the media reported.

House Speaker Paul Ryan held a long meeting on Wednesday night with moderate Republicans. 

During the meeting, Republican Representative Charlie Dent, the leader of a moderate group, slammed the bill spearheaded by Ryan and Trump. 

The vote count for the bill is "tight", CNN reported. 

As of Wednesday night, 24 House Republicans have flat-out said they will vote against the bill called the American Health Care Act, while four more have indicated they were likely to oppose it.

However, the Freedom Caucus — a conservative Republican faction — is sounding more optimistic than ever after talking with Trump and the party leaders.

Trump was personally calling individual members of the Freedom Caucus on Wednesday evening as a possible deal emerged. 

Trump is not at all involved in the details, a presidential aide told CNN. 

"Either (he) doesn't know, doesn't care or both," an aide told CNN. But he is very involved in the sale now, and "appears energised by that".

On Monday, House Republicans unveiled a set of changes to modify the bill, as a last minute effort to win more votes for the legislation.

Many of the changes would make additional revisions to Medicaid — a programme that has provided coverage to more than 10 million people in 31 states — that was pushed by conservative members. 

Another alteration would immediately prevent states from expanding Medicaid. 

Trump and Ryan must get 216 Republicans on board and can afford only 21 defections, if no Democrat joins them.

Trump has been meeting with lawmakers at the White House to press for votes, but shied away from a public display of confidence. 

Asked if he plans to keep trying on health care if the House bill fails, the President said: "We'll see what happens", CNN reported. 

Trump has warned of big losses at the ballot box if Republicans fail to repeal and replace Obamacare, and the White House insists there is no alternative legislation or plan if they fail. 

"There is no Plan B. There's Plan A and Plan A," said White House press secretary Sean Spicer. 

"We're going to get this done".

After a hacker or group of hackers threatened to remotely wipe data from millions of iPhones including photos, videos and messages, Apple has denied any such breach into iPhones.

The hackers, who call themselves 'Turkish Crime Family', asked for $75,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum (a form of crypto-currency) or $100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards in exchange for deleting a large cache of iCloud and other Apple email accounts, Vice blog Motherboard reported.

Reacting to the threat, Apple told Fortune on Wednesday: "There have not been any breaches in any of Apple's systems including iCloud and Apple ID. The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained from previously compromised third-party services."

The hackers claim to have access to nearly 559 million Apple email and iCloud accounts.

The hackers provided screenshots of alleged emails between the group and members of Apple's security team and threatened to reset iCloud accounts and remotely wipe victim's Apple devices on April 7 unless Apple pay them.

The Apple spokesperson, however, said that Apple is "actively monitoring to prevent unauthorised access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved."

According to reports, several email accounts and passwords may belong to an earlier breach at the professional networking site LinkedIn in 2012.

However, Apple customers who secure their iCloud accounts with the same passwords they use with other online accounts must go for new, strong passwords, the report added.

Adobe and Microsoft are jointly working on artificial intelligence (AI) to offer better products and provide customers more automated, intelligence-based experiences, a top Adobe official said here.

Brad Rencher, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Marketing, of Adobe said the two tech giants were working on standard data models and sharing of core libraries between Adobe's Sensei and Microsoft's Cortana, both based on artificial intelligence.

Cortana is a search tool which can verbally provide answers to search queries and Sensei – a set of intelligent services from Adobe – integrates the advertising, marketing and analytics products offered on Cloud with back up of creatives and documentation.

Rencher, who was talking to a group of journalists here at the Adobe's annual Summit, said the joint research and development would combine the specific domain capabilities of Sensei with the wider core data platform of Cortana, thus building a service.

Adobe products can now use data from Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Azure into Sensei for intelligent machine learning.

Sensei will soon enter into Microsoft tools.

Rencher, however, said no discussion had taken place on how to monetise the collaboration.

Talking of Adobe's presence in India, Rencher said that it was the fastest growing market and they have had a very substantial amount of the company's research taking place in India, including on Sensei.

Rencher said large Indian companies are rapidly adopting Adobe's products and Cloud offerings.

"Reliance Industries was looking at how to integrate data across all its various divisions and Adobe had helped a very old newspaper, Malayala Manorama, to completely digitise its functions across the board," noted Rencher.

Despite the enormous amount of research taking place on AI, he said he did not believe that it could replace the creative side of human beings.

"What AI can do is reduce the time taken in intelligent data crunching and sometimes understanding what went wrong very quickly," Rencher added.

"By cutting six months of manual research to, say two minutes, it adds huge amount of strength to the creative aspects of human beings," he noted.

Three civilians and a police officer were killed in a "shooting incident" in northern Wisconsin, US, police said.

The shootings occurred on Wednesday at three locations in the Wausau area, said Everest Metropolitan Police Chief Wally Sparks.

An officer from the Everest Metropolitan Police Department in Schofield was also killed in the line of duty, Sparks added. The name of the officer was not released, CNN reported.

"There is one suspect, at this point in time. He has been taken into custody," Sparks told the media.

The Police Chief did not provide a possible motive for the shooting, and said the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was handling the investigation. 

It is not clear precisely where the four fatalities occurred. CNN affiliates reported the shootings took place at a bank in Rothschild, a law office in Schofield and an apartment in Weston.

Beijing officials warned a US military aircraft during a routine East China Sea flyover telling the pilots that they were illegally operating in its airspace and ordering the American plane to leave, a top official said.

The pilots of the US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber aircraft on Sunday responded to the Chinese air traffic controllers, saying that they were conducting routine operations in international airspace and did not deviate from their flight path, US Pacific Air Forces spokesman Major Phil Ventura told CNN on Wednesday.

The bombers had entered the Chinese Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, which covers airspace and islands that are also claimed by Japan.

"Pacific Air Forces … did not recognise the ADIZ when was announced in November 2013, and neither does not recognise it today," Ventura said.

"The ADIZ has not changed our operations".

The US plane was flying 70 nautical miles southwest of South Korea's Jeju Island.

The ADIZ declaration required airlines flying over the designated waters to first notify Chinese authorities before transiting, reports CNN. 

The US and Japanese governments do not recognise China's claim on the area.

According to the US Air Force, the Guam-based B-1 bomber was conducting a series of training missions with Japanese and South Korean military aircraft.
 

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says she might perform at Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour in May but nothing has been finalised so far.

The Grammy Award winning global pop sensation is slated to perform here in his maiden concert on May 10.

There were reports that Sonakshi may join him too.

On the speculations, the actress says, "Filaal toh bas baat chidi hai (right now there has only been some talk).

Nothing has been finalised yet:

"But if something like this happens, then I'll be very happy because it will be a great platform and I really like his music But when it gets finalised, I will let you all know," she says.

The actress was talking to reporters at the launch of "Gulabi 2.0" song from her upcoming film "Noor".

The track, composed by Amaal Malik, is a recreated version of the iconic yesteryear song – "Gulabi aankhein…".

Sonakshi feels there is nothing wrong in remixing the popular retro songs as they appeal to a generation who may not have heard the original.

"The older generation would definitely have a very special connection to the old songs but people from our generation, younger than us, kids of this generation have not heard the songs," she says.

"All we are doing is repackaging them and giving it to them in a way they understand and like. I think it's a great idea. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the remixes of classic songs that we have had in the last 1-2 years," she says.

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, "Noor" is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel 'Karachi, You're Killing Me!' 

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says she might perform at Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour in May but nothing has been finalised so far.

The Grammy Award winning global pop sensation is slated to perform here in his maiden concert on May 10.

There were reports that Sonakshi may join him too.

On the speculations, the actress says, "Filaal toh bas baat chidi hai (right now there has only been some talk).

Nothing has been finalised yet:

"But if something like this happens, then I'll be very happy because it will be a great platform and I really like his music But when it gets finalised, I will let you all know," she says.

The actress was talking to reporters at the launch of "Gulabi 2.0" song from her upcoming film "Noor".

The track, composed by Amaal Malik, is a recreated version of the iconic yesteryear song – "Gulabi aankhein…".

Sonakshi feels there is nothing wrong in remixing the popular retro songs as they appeal to a generation who may not have heard the original.

"The older generation would definitely have a very special connection to the old songs but people from our generation, younger than us, kids of this generation have not heard the songs," she says.

"All we are doing is repackaging them and giving it to them in a way they understand and like. I think it's a great idea. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the remixes of classic songs that we have had in the last 1-2 years," she says.

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, "Noor" is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel 'Karachi, You're Killing Me!' 

Only 37 per cent Americans have said they approve of President Donald Trump's job performance, with 56 per cent saying that they do not, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday said the latest figures are lower than earlier this month, when 41 per cent said they were fans of his presidency, CNN reported.

Just four-in-10 voters said they thought Trump cares about average Americans compared to about 57 per cent of Americans who feels he does not.

The remaining 40 per cent respondents said he does care about average people marks a four-point drop from a similar poll in February.

Trump has spent his first months hamstrung by a series of events, such as his debunked insistence that Trump Tower was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama and the lengthy saga over campaign ties to Russia.

Quinnipiac also found that his approval rating on the economy now tilts negative for the first time in its polls — 48 per cent say they disapprove of how he has handled it, while 42 per cent approve.

The poll surveyed 1,056 voters between March 16-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
 

The 2017 F1 season is all set to get underway at Albert Park, Melbourne. Before the lights turn green at the Australian Grand Prix, thestatesman.com takes a look at the five main teams that are certain to be hogging the headlines all year round.

Mercedes AMG Petronas

The past three years have seen a massive dominance by the Silver Arrows, with Lewis Hamilton (2014,15) and Nico Rosberg (2016) the chief protagonists for the Brackley-based team. Rosberg’s shocking departure after winning his maiden title, however, changes things dramatically for his replacement, Valterri Bottas is yet to feature on a podium, let alone win a race. So while Hamilton just might dominate the driver’s rankings, Mercedes’ stranglehold on the constructors title may be seen slipping in 2017.

Their car (the W08) has not been the quickest in pre-season testing, another reason to spark hopes among neutrals that the 2017 season will be see Toto Wolff-led team pushed to the limit by other manufacturers.

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton, Valterri Bottas

Scuderia Ferrari

For most fans, Ferrari are the F1 team to support, despite their struggles in recent years (the last championship came in 2007).
They are eyeing a major comeback and if pre-season testing is anything to go by, the signs look good for F1’s most successful team. With drivers who have five championship titles between them, 2017 may just be the Prancing Horse’s year. Pre-season testing has seen them leading the pack but whether the results translate into success at the end of the year is a different story altogether.

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen 

Red Bull Racing
Last year’s surprise package, in a sense that while everyone expected the fancied boys from Ferrari to push Mercedes, it was Red Bull who came a very creditable second in the constructor’s rankings. They have some of the brightest drivers in F1 and with the genius that is Adrian Newey running things from the paddock, the sky is the limit for 2017.

Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen

Williams Martini Racing

Bottas’ departure to Mercedes has hurt Williams make no mistakes. For Massa has long been a fading force in F1, brought out of retirement after Bottas left and with rookie Lance Stroll the other part of the line-up, Williams may struggle to score regularly this season. Their pre-season testing wasn't the greatest and Stroll in particular, may find F1 to be a steeper learning curve than expected.

Drivers: Felipe Massa, Lance Stroll

Sahara Force India

The perennial dark horses of F1, the Mercedes-powered Force India team has an interesting drivers line-up for 2017. Sergio Perez has plenty to prove after an underwhelming stint at McLaren and while Esteban Octan is no rookie, he is still an unknown quantity most would say. While they have consistently punched above their weight, their 2017 season challenge will be to disrupt the ‘big three’ on a consistent basis.

Drivers: Sergio Perez, Esteban Octan

There is no report of any Indian casualty so far in the terror attack near the UK Parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday night.

India has condemned the attack in London in which three people were killed and more than 20 injured.

London's Metropolitan Police said a man mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and stabbed a police officer with a knife outside the British parliament before being shot dead.

"I am in constant touch with Indian High Commission in London. There is no Indian casualty reported so far.

#LondonAttack @HCI_London (sic)," she wrote on Twitter.

"Indian High Commission is there to help all Indian nationals in London. Please note the Telephone nos: 020 8629 5950 & 020 7632 3035 (sic)," Swaraj wrote.

The minister advised people to avoid going to Parliament Square.

"All are advised strongly to avoid Parliament Square and check Met Police website for further details on the attack.

Stay safe! (sic)," she tweeted.

"India strongly condemns Westminster terrorist incident & condoles loss of life. No place in democracies & civilised societies for terrorism (sic)," Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Gopal Baglay tweeted.

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says if she was a journalist, she would ask superstar Salman Khan the same question that everybody puts to him – about his marriage plans.

The actress plays a journalist in her upcoming Noor.

When quizzed what questions she, as a journalist, would ask her father Shatrughan Sinha and actor Salman Khan, Sonakshi says in a lighter vein, "If I had to ask my dad a question, I would ask something to which he won't say 'khamosh'.

"To Salman, I would ask the same question everyone is asking him for years," she says hinting at the question of when he would get hitched.

The actress was talking to reporters at a special event of the film last evening.

The Akira star feels as an artist, she would love to be asked questions about the craft of acting.

"If I were a journalist, I would ask questions regarding an artist's work, the amount of hard work that goes behind a film is often not known. As an artist I would like them to see what kind of hard work is put into it," she says.

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, Noor is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel Karachi, You're Killing Me! 

The actress says she had a great time playing a journalist in the film as she got to experience the "other side" of the things.

"It was a great experience. It was great to be on the other side of the mike, behind the camera. But of course, the kind of journalist I play in the film is not the kind of journalist my character wants to be," she says.

"But it was a great experience. I am glad I got to play this character," Sonakshi says.

Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's nominee for the vacant Supreme Court seat, completed his Senate confirmation hearings and managed to avoid commenting on the legality of the travel ban.

The three hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee came to a conclusion on Wednesday without Gorsuch having to take a public position on Trump's executive order, an issue of vital importance to Democrats, who want to assure themselves that the magistrate has the willpower to oppose the President who nominated him, Efe news reported.

The ability of the judge to dodge the questions of Democratic lawmakers ultimately began to "irritate" California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee.

"What worries me is you have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have ever seen before," Feinstein said. 

"And maybe that's a virtue, I don't know. But for us on this side, knowing where you stand on major questions of the day is really important to a vote 'aye', and so that's why we pressed and pressed."

Even at earlier hearings, Gorsuch continued to avoid making any pronouncement on the revised travel ban signed by Trump on March 6 to temporarily bar US entry to refugees and the citizens of six Muslim-majority nations, a measure that has since been blocked by two federal judges.

Gorsuch also managed to dodge taking a position on abortion, same-sex marriage and campaign financing, the dynamic of which changed in 2010 when the Supreme Court allowed the creation of so-called "superPACs" that can take in and donate unlimited amounts of money to political candidates.

Gorsuch answered all these questions with the same phrase: "I have declined to offer any promises, hints or previews of how I'd resolve any case."

Thus, like many other Supreme Court nominees, Gorsuch was able to get through the confirmation hearings without taking a political position that could restrict him in future votes on the high court.

Gorsuch, who currently is a judge with the Missouri-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one of the federal courts just below the Supreme Court, was tapped by Trump on January 31 to fill the high court seat left vacant by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.

To be confirmed for the lifetime appointment, Gorsuch needs 60 votes in the Senate, a barrier that could be difficult for him to surmount because the Republicans hold just 52 seats there, although that is a majority. 

Thus, they need the support of at least eight Democrats and, so far, no member of the opposition party has said they will vote for Gorsuch.

Democrats are still irritated by the decision by Republican lawmakers not to hold confirmation hearings for former President Barack Obama's own high court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, using the argument that it made no sense to approve him in an election year.

Trump, meanwhile, has asked Senate Republicans to resort to the so-called "nuclear option" whereby they could invoke a rule passed by Democrats to approve bills or appointments by a simple majority of 51 votes.

The Judiciary Committee may vote on Gorsuch on April 3 and, if so, the full Senate could vote on confirming him that same week. 

As the world celebrates March 22 as World Water Day, it is a grim reminder of the prevailing water crisis across the world and the need to conserve water. The UN's theme this year is 'Wastewater'. Last year, in 2016, it was 'Water and Jobs'.

“Today, 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio,” a UN-Water report stated.

According to the report, globally 663 million people are living without access to clean water sources. The worst scenario is that every day, over 800 children below the age of five die due to consuming contaminated water over inadequate or zero supply of clean water.

On March 21, a day ahead of World Water Day, a report by the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), revealed that almost 600 million kids worldwide would face shortage of potable water, living in areas with extremely limited water resources by 2040.

These reports are enough to warn every human who are yet to consider water shortage as a serious threat to mankind.

One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure access to safe water to every human by 2030. Access to safe water will also help fight against extreme poverty globally.

The world is fighting hard to tackle water shortage threats and save each drop from being wasted through slew of awareness campaigns, programmes, mechanism, advocacy or policies.

There is no denying that water is as precious as our life. Some of the routine things that all humans must apply to make effective and limited use of water keeping the shortage of water in mind are:

1. Do not overuse water or waste unnecessarily in washing your vehicles, cleaning houses, bathing cattles or playing pool party at home.

2. Serve water for drinking as per the person's thirst or once consumption capacity. Make sure you ask the person first and then fill up the glass to avoid wastage.

3. Reuse hard water left from washing clothes, dishes, cleaning vehicles, new houses, floors etc.

4. Avoid taking shower or using bathtub and use bucket instead for bathing to avoid wasting water.

5. Stop the habit of keeping your water tap on while brushing your teeth, washing clothes, dishes or while applying soaps.

6. Keep a check on your water tanks. Make sure that your water motor is immediately switched off once the water tanks are filled.

7. Bought a bottle of 1 litre packaged drinking water and can't finish it? Don't throw away, instead offer to a poor.

8. Gallons of untreated water discharged from agriculture, domestic and industries can now be treated for further reuse, all thanks to technology. Learn from dedicated water agencies on wastewater treatment.

9. Lastly, try to save every drop of water and educate others on this for a better tomorrow.

On this Water Day, let’s pledge together to tackle water crises by being a responsible human and save water as every drop counts for the existing as well as future mankind.

 Grammy winning singer Adele broke records in every city she visited during her eight-concert tour in Australia.

Adele sold as many as 600,000 tickets during her tour Down Under, which included the biggest single concert ever held on Australian soil in Sydney's ANZ stadium, where she performed in front of 100,000 people, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Tour promoter Michael Coppel told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It's the highest-selling tour I've ever been involved with, which is quite remarkable after working with Pink and U2 and Fleetwood Mac and Roger Waters."

And Coppel suggested Adele's achievement may never be repeated again.

"We may never see her again," he added.

Adele's show in Perth, Western Australia, was the quickest-selling event in Domain Stadium's history, while her gig at the Adelaide Oval beat the stadium's highest audience attendance record.

In Brisbane, meanwhile, Adele's two concerts attracted a combined crowd of 120,000 — which is a record for music events in the city.

The London-born star also performed in front of 75,000 fans at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered over 147 points in early trade on fresh buying by investors in blue-chip stocks amid a firm trend in Asia.

The 30-share index rebounded by 147.50 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 29,315.18.

The index had closed at near two-week low of 29,167.68 on Thursday after falling by 318 points — its biggest loss in a single day since December 2. The barometer had lost a total 481.31 points in previous three sessions.

All the sectoral indices, led by capital goods, oil&gas and metal, were trading positive, rising up to 0.92 per cent.

The NSE index Nifty was also trading higher 45.90 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 9,076.35.

Brokers said investors turned net buyers amid a firm trend on Asian bourses.

Larsen & Toubro, GAIL and Hero Motocorp were among the major gainers with gains of up to 1.8 per cent.

Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki India rose up to 1 per cent in early trade.

Axis Bank also rose close to 1 per cent after it debunked rumours of resignation of its CEO.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.13 per cent and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.14 per cent while Shanghai Composite gained 0.27 per cent in early trade today.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.03 per cent lower on Wednesday.

A new vaccine that is cheap to make and does not require refrigeration has shown promise in preventing rotavirus, a contagious and fatal disease that disproportionately strikes children in Africa, researchers have said.

A trial in Niger found that the new vaccine was almost 67 per cent effective in preventing gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe diarrheal disease in the world.

More than 500,000 children die each year from dehydration and complications of rotavirus, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

There are already two vaccines on the market against rotavirus, but they require refrigeration and can be costly.

"This trial brings a vaccine which is adapted to African settings to those who need it most," said Sheila Isanaka, assistant professor of nutrition at Harvard University and co-author of the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"When the vaccine becomes widely available in Africa, it will help protect millions of the most vulnerable children." 

The vaccine, called BRV-PV, is manufactured by Serum Institute of India.

The randomized, controlled trial involved 3,508 healthy infants who received three doses of the vaccine or placebo at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age.

About a month after the final dose, far fewer children who had been vaccinated showed signs of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach distress from rotavirus.

"At 28 days after the third dose of vaccine or placebo, severe rotavirus gastroenteritis had been reported in 31 infants in the vaccine group and in 87 in the placebo group," said the study.

The new vaccine's efficacy of 67 percent was higher than the RotaTeq vaccine, which was 39.3 percent effective according to a previous trial.

A similar trial in South Africa and Malawi found the efficacy of the Rotarix vaccine was 61.2 percent, according to background information in the article.

The BRV-PV vaccine has been licensed in India. It is awaiting prequalification by the World Health Organization before it can be purchased by the United Nations and government agencies.

Although 27 children in the vaccine part of the study died, along with 22 in the placebo group, researchers said their deaths were unrelated to the vaccine.

The "most common causes of death were infections and infestations (in 37 infants) and metabolism and nutrition disorders," said the study.

No serious adverse events were found to be linked to the vaccine.

"After the successful clinical trial of this new vaccine, we hope that it can be made available as soon as possible to children in Niger and across Africa," Isanaka said. 

Britain will not change its terrorism threat level despite an attack in London which left three people and the assailant dead, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

"The UK threat level has been set as severe for some time and this will not change," May said in a televised address outside her Downing Street office.

The attack saw a police officer and two others killed by an assailant who was then shot dead by armed police outside the parliament in central London.