The highly-anticipated Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal showdown at the Indian Wells Masters turned into a bit of anti-climatic meeting as the Swiss maestro beat his arch-nemesis 6-3,6-2 in the fourth round on Wednesday.

It was the stars' earliest meeting at a tournament since their first-ever match in the 2004 Miami Open and Federer started strongly as he bid to beat Nadal three times in a row for the first time in his glittering career.

Federer adopted an aggressive style of play which unsettled his Spanish opponent and once he broke Nadal in the very first game, raced to take a 3-1 lead and wrapped up the opening set in just 34 minutes. He did face a break point in his first service game, but crucially managed to hold and managed to break Nadal at 3-1 to virtually take an unassailable lead in the first set.

Rankled by his rival’s aggression, Nadal tried to up the game in the second set, but despite holding his serve well, Federer’s dominance on the night was too much.

Breaking to take a 2-1 lead in the second set, Federer’s pressure was too much for the normally unflappable Nadal and he wilted, failing to hold his serve when down 2-5 to give the Swiss two match points. Federer took the first one itself, with a sharp backhand winner straight into the corner.

The 35-year-old Federer will now face Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals, the spunky Australian who managed to upset defending champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets earlier in the day.

Singer Shawn Mendes will make his silver screen acting debut with filmmaker Ivan Reitman's upcoming musical Summer of Love.

Mendes, an 18-year-old Canadian, is best known for his singles like Stitches and Treat you better.

Reitman enlisted Mendes to star in the project, which is currently in pre-production stage, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

While plot details of the film are being kept under wraps, the title is believed to be a reference to the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young hippies, converged in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in opposition to the Vietnam War. 

The summer was known for iconic musical performances in Northern California by such artists as The Who, The Grateful Dead, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Byrds. 

Mendes earlier voiced a character in 2013 animated film Underdogs.

Using biofuels to help power jet engines cuts particle emissions in their exhaust by as much as 50 to 70 per cent, says a NASA study.

"We show that, compared to using conventional fuels, biofuel blending reduces particle number and mass emissions immediately behind the aircraft by 50 to 70 per cent," researchers said in the study published in the journal Nature.

During flight tests in 2013 and 2014 near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, data was collected on the effects of alternative fuels on engine performance, emissions and aircraft-generated contrails at altitudes flown by commercial airliners. 

Contrails are produced by hot aircraft engine exhaust mixing with the cold air that is typical at cruise altitudes several miles above Earth's surface, and are composed primarily of water in the form of ice crystals.

The tests involved flying NASA's workhorse DC-8 as high as 40,000 feet while its four engines burned a 50-50 blend of aviation fuel and a renewable alternative fuel of hydro processed esters and fatty acids produced from camelina oil. 

A trio of research aircraft took turns flying behind the DC-8 at distances ranging from 300 feet to more than 20 miles to take measurements on emissions and study contrail formation as the different fuels were burned.

"This was the first time we have quantified the amount of soot particles emitted by jet engines while burning a 50-50 blend of biofuel in flight," said study lead author Rich Moore of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

"Our observations quantify the impact of biofuel blending on aerosol emissions at cruise conditions and provide key microphysical parameters, which will be useful to assess the potential of biofuel use in aviation as a viable strategy to mitigate climate change," the study said.

The BJP-led coalition of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will face a floor test during the one-day session of the Goa Assembly on Thursday evening.

Parrikar was appointed by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha on Monday after he staked claim on Sunday to form the government.

The move came amid controversy and allegations of horse-trading and violation of constitutional norms and precedent by the Congress party, which had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member assembly.

While the BJP won 13 seats in the February 4 elections, after votes were counted on Saturday (March 11), the saffron party leaders were quick off the block and garnered support of three MLAs each from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward (GF) as well as two Independent legislators, before meeting the governor.

One more Independent, Prasad Gaonkar from Sanguem constituency, joined the ruling coalition on Monday, taking its strength to 22, one more than the magic mark of 21 seats.

Sources in the Congress party said on condition of anonymity, that the Congress leadership, which is being accused of acting sluggishly and thereby losing the opportunity to form the government, is now in contact with leaders from the MGP and GF, requesting them to switch over.

The Congress needs only four more MLAs to reach the crucial mark.

The floor test is expected to take place at 5 pm, while the new legislators will be administered oath of office on Thursday morning.

Sinha on Sunday had granted Parrikar 15 days to prove his majority in the assembly, but the Supreme Court, which was hearing a petition filed by Congress legislative party leader Chandrakant Kavlekar, directed on Tuesday that the floor test should be held without delay on Thursday.

Domestic equity markets touched all-time high in the first half of trade on Thursday following positive global markets after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps signaling gradual rate hike in future.

The broader Nifty hit fresh record high of 9152, surpassing 9,122 levels reached on March 14, post BJP's UP election victory. At 11.10 am, the Sensex at the BSE was trading 158 points higher at 29,554 and the Nifty at the NSE was trading 57 points up at 9,142.

Broader markets again outperformed the key benchmark indices. BSE Midcap index gained 1 per cent while Smallcap index rose 0.9 per cent.

All the BSE sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone with Metal index leading the rally, up 2% per cent. Telecom index slipped 0.2 per cent.

On Wednesday, the Sensex had closed 45 points down at 29,398 and the Nifty had closed two points lower at 9,085.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Adani Ports (up 4 per cent), Tata Steel (up 2.7 per cent), Asian Paints (up 1.5 per cent), HDFC (up 1.3 per cent) and Infosys (up 1.1 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Bharti Airtel (down 0.6 per cent), Hero Motocorp (down 0.6 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 0.5 per cent), Reliance Industries (down 0.4 per cent) and SBI (down 0.3 per cent).

In the global markets, US stocks closed higher on Wednesday following US Fed’s decision to hike interest rates gradually.

Asian markets were trading in the green zone. China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose around 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.5 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was trading flat with a negative bias.

Removing investors’ fear of faster rate hikes, the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates by 25 bps, as expected, signaling no pick-up in the pace of tightening rates.

Back home, the Rupee continued its upward trend and traded 29 paise higher at 65.63 against the US Dollar.

In a major development in the controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's case, the Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed his plea challenging a ban by the Home Ministry on his organisation.

Earlier in February, the Court had set up a Judicial Tribunal to look into banning Zakir Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

A notice had also been issued to IRF to respond to a plea by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to hold in camera proceedings

The National Investigation Agency had also filed three affidavits in sealed cover before the court giving reasons for the ban on the IRF.

The IRF, earlier moved a petition seeking directions against the ban imposed on it by the central government.

On November 15, the central government had banned the IRF for five years after declaring it as an 'unlawful association' under the anti-terror laws, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) followed up with raids on its premises in Mumbai on November 19.

According to the Home Ministry, Naik has allegedly made many provocative speeches and engaged in terror propaganda.

The BJP-led coalition of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will face a floor test during the one-day session of the Goa assembly on Thursday evening.

Parrikar was appointed by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha on Monday after he staked claim on Sunday to form the government.

The move came amid controversy and allegations of horse-trading and violation of constitutional norms and precedent by the Congress party, which had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member assembly.

While the BJP won 13 seats in the February 4 elections, after votes were counted on Saturday (March 11), the saffron party leaders were quick off the block and garnered support of three MLAs each from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward (GF) as well as two Independent legislators, before meeting the Governor.

One more Independent, Prasad Gaonkar from Sanguem constituency, joined the ruling coalition on Monday, taking its strength to 22, one more than the magic mark of 21 seats.

Sources in the Congress party said that the Congress leadership, which is being accused of acting sluggishly and thereby losing the opportunity to form the government, is now in contact with leaders from the MGP and GF, requesting them to switch over.

The Congress needs only four more MLAs to reach the crucial mark.

The floor test is expected to take place at 5 p.m., while the new legislators will be administered oath of office on Thursday morning.

Sinha on Sunday had granted Parrikar 15 days to prove his majority in the assembly, but the Supreme Court, which was hearing a petition filed by Congress legislative party leader Chandrakant Kavlekar, directed on Tuesday that the floor test should be held without delay on Thursday.

A devastating fire swept through one of the largest slums in Dhaka on Thursday, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving thousands displaced, Bangladesh police said.

However, there were no immediate reports of any casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.

The slum, called Korail-Boubajar, shelters about 300,000 residents.

Eighteen fire fighting units rushed to the spot at about 2.00 a.m., the police said.

The blaze was doused at about 7.00 a.m., said a firefighter, adding the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

About 500 homes made of scrap sheet iron, plastic and cardboard were destroyed fully, he said.

The rupee rose by another 47 paise to hit a new 16-month high at 65.22 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on sustained foreign fund inflows and increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Forex dealers said that besides a higher opening in domestic equity market, the dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates supported the rupee.

On March 15, the rupee had continued its stellar run against the dollar to finish at a fresh 16-month high of 65.69 as exporters aggressively offloaded the US currency ahead of the Fed meet outcome.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex shot up by 206.40 points, or 0.70 per cent, to trade at 29,604.51 in opening trade on Thursday.

Rj turned actor/anchor Pritam and his wife Amanjjot are the latest couple to join the Nach Baliye bandwagon. While Pritam was last seen on television in Box Cricket League as an anchor and is known for being a participant of Bigg Boss and his wife Aman has been a part of the Punjabi film industry.

It's the first time though that the duo will be working together for a project. Pritam confirms and says, "Yes we have started rehearsing and while dancing is definitely not an easy task, we both are enjoying this new phase."

 Audiences will get to see other side of Pritam in the upcoming season of Nach Baliye. The couple has been working hard for the opening act and has been rehearsing round the clock.

The government has permitted five public sector banks to raise about Rs.950 crore from markets, Parliament was informed on March 15.

Government has allowed five banks– Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, United Bank of India, Central Bank of India and UCO Bank– to raise Rs.949.27 crore from markets via preferential shares," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Replying to another question, Gangwar said that total accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in the country were 27.83 crore as on March 1.

"The balance of deposits in PMJDY accounts as on November 9, 2016 was Rs.45,636.60 crore and as on January 4 was Rs.70,070.79 crore," he said.

Jan Dhan accounts which fulfil Know Your Customer requirements may be converted into savings bank accounts at the request of the account holders, and such conversion is not linked to deposit of more than Rs.50,000, he said.

In a separate reply Gangwar said, the number of customers who have opened e-insurance account with four insurance repositories as on March 7 is 9.70 lakh.

The Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India has permitted crediting of electronic insurance policies to the electronic insurance accounts and not the funds, he said.

New Zealand's Whanganui River has gained its own identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person, after a 170-year battle, the media reported on Thursday.

Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament on Wednesday, will establish a new legal framework for the river, stuff.co.nz reported.

It recognised the river as an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea.

The river is a sacred and revered waterway to New Zealand's Maori Iwi people and its interests will now be represented by an Indigenous group.

Among other things, the river could now be represented in court proceedings, Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said.

"I know the initial inclination of some people will say it's pretty strange to give a natural resource a legal personality.

"But it's no stranger than family trusts, or companies or incorporated societies," The New Zealand Herald quoted Finlayson as saying.

Long revered by New Zealand's Maori people, the river's interests will now be represented by two people.

The Whanganui River Deed of Settlement was signed in 2014 and legislation was introduced in 2016.

Government will amend EPF scheme to enable around 4 crore members of retirement fund body EPFO to withdraw up to 90 per cent of their fund for making down payments while buying homes, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
The amendment in the scheme+ will also allow the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers to use their EPF accounts for paying equated monthly instalments (EMIs) of home loans.

Under the new proposed provision in the EPF scheme, EPFO subscribers would have to form a cooperative society with at least 10 members for availing the facility.

"The Government has taken a decision for modification in the Employees' Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme+ , 1952, to add a new paragraph 68 BD," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on a query about Housing Scheme for the members of EPFO.

The minister told the House that the new proviso provides that "a member of Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) being a member of a co-operative society or a housing society having at least 10 members of EPF, can withdraw upto 90 per cent from the fund for purchase of dwelling house/flat or construction of dwelling house/acquisition of site."

The proposed proviso also provides that "monthly instalments for repayments of any outstanding payments or interest may also be paid from the amount standing to the credit of the member, to the Government/housing agency/primary lending agency or banks concerned."

The Sensex rebounded by over 206 points and the NSE Nifty scaled a life-time high of 9,153 (rpt) 9,153 in opening trade on Thursday amid a firming trend in global markets after the US Fed hiked the key lending rate.

The Federal Reserve, as expected, raised the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, but gave a more dovish outlook for future hikes.

The rupee was in a sweet spot, strengthening by another 47 paise to hit a fresh 16-month high of 65.22 against the dollar.

The 30-share index surged 206.40 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 29,604.51. The gauge had shed 44.52 points in the previous session.

All the indices, led by metal, infrastructure and capital goods, advanced with gains up to 1.24 per cent.

The NSE index Nifty rallied by 68.10 points, or 0.74 per cent, to trade at an all-time intra-day high of 9,152.90, breaching its previous record of 9,122.75 (intra-day) touched on Tuesday.

The buoyancy is in line with a firming trend at other Asian bourses, tracking overnight gains in the US, after the Federal Reserve went for a rate increase.

Besides, a flood of foreign capital in domestic bourses gave a push to the equities, traders added.

Japan's Nikkei, however, shed 0.13 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.54 per cent higher on Wednesday.

Hollywood has opened its doors to many Indian stars who are bagging noticeable roles in various projects. A case in point is Deepika Padukone. Priyanka Chopra, one of the most popular exports to Hollywood from India, says gone are the days when actors used to feel insecure with others' success.

"That is such an age-old stereotype and definitely not in my DNA," Priyanka said when asked if actors today have become more open when it comes to appreciating the work of their colleagues, unlike the common perception that they have cat fights due to jealousy.

"I'm very secure in who I am and the work I do. These are my friends and colleagues, and I like to share in their achievements and happiness. Good work should be applauded. I believe that there is enough work out there for everyone. We don't live in the dark ages any more," she added.

Priyanka's journey in showbiz started at the age of 17 when she was crowned Miss World. It was followed by her Bollywood debut in 2003 with "The Hero: Love Story of a Spy".

She later bagged the role of FBI agent Alex Parrish in "Quantico" for which she won the People's Choice Award — the first South Asian actress to do so. The "Quantico" fame also got her a role in "Baywatch", a movie alongside Hollywood A-listers Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.

The year 2016 also saw her becoming the presenter at Oscar Awards and Emmy Awards, followed by an invitation to the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. 

She was conferred India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, and even featured in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the world.

And this has seen her winning her second People's Choice Awards… and she just can't wait for more.

"Yes, 2017 has begun well. To win a second People's Choice Award, this time as a Favourite Dramatic TV Actress, is an awesome feeling. Winning an award from the people, the audience, is a vindication that both 'Quantico' and my character connected globally.

"Also, when I see the amazingly talented women I was nominated with, it feels like I must be doing something right. As for the rest of the year, I'm looking forward to it."

The second season of "Quantico" and the shoot are on in full swing.

"'Baywatch' releases on May 26 and we will be promoting the film across the globe. As a producer with my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, I have a lot of exciting projects lined up across genres and languages. Many announcements are on the anvil on that front," said the actress in an email interview.

It's not just films, she is busy with brand endorsements too. Priyanka was announced the newest global brand ambassador of hair care brand Pantene, for which she launched a new product that promises to make hair thicker and stronger in 14 days.

Priyanka says she prefers to be careful about choosing the brands she endorses.

"I have to believe in a brand to endorse it. I look at products that I endorse as a consumer… Is it something I would use, do I like what it offers? If my name and brand are being used to advertise a product, then it's something I believe in," she said.

With so many things happening in her life and with so much success, is there something that this global star wants to achieve now?

"I just want to be the best version of myself as an entertainer and as an individual. I want to try new things, explore all aspects of my creative self and basically have an adventure every day. I have always believed that it's never about the destination… The journey matters more," she said.

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Thursday inducted as a cabinet minister in the new Congress government in Punjab headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Sidhu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore.

However, Sidhu has not been designated as Deputy Chief Minister, as was being speculated in political circles.

Sidhu, who joined the Congress party in January, just days ahead of the February 4 assembly elections in Punjab, won the Amritsar-east assembly seat with a margin of over 42,000 votes.

Sidhu had earlier remained Member of Parliament (MP) from Amritsar when he was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was elected MP in 2004, 2007 (by-election) and 2009.

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Narendra Modi government in April 2016.

Atletico Madrid booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for a fourth consecutive season but had goalkeeper Jan Oblak to thank for avoiding defeat in a 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Oblak produced a remarkable triple save midway through the second half as Atletico held on to their 4-2 first-leg advantage to take their place in Friday's draw for the last eight.

"It is not easy to be in the quarter-finals four years in a row," Oblak told BeIN Sports Spain.

"I hope Atletico will continue like this, keep growing like in the last few years and I am sure we can achieve great things."

On a night of few Atletico chances, the home fans didn't even get to cheer the return of hero Fernando Torres.

Two weeks on from being knocked unconscious in a sickening head clash Atletico boss Diego Simeone left Torres on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

New Leverkusen boss Tayfun Korkut was taking charge of his first Champions League game after Roger Schmidt was sacked when Leverkusen's first-leg defeat was followed by a 6-2 thrashing at Borussia Dortmund.

Korkut summoned a much-improved performance from the Germans as they forced Atletico onto the back foot for long spells.

However, the damage had already been done as the hosts registered their 17th clean sheet in their last 21 Champions League home games.

Leverkusen had the chance to bring the tie back to life after just four minutes but Kevin Volland pulled his shot across Oblak and beyond the far post.

Atletico have only ever been eliminated from the Champions League under Simeone by Real Madrid.

Javier Hernandez got Real's winner in their quarter-final clash two years ago, but the Mexican didn't come back to haunt Simeone's men as he blazed over with another decent opening.

Atletico took until seven minutes before the break to threaten but then forced Bernd Leno into two fine saves in 60 seconds.

Firstly, Angel Correa was denied before Koke's low driven shot was turned behind by the German international.

Only a poor cross from Volland denied Hernandez what should have been a tap-in at the start of the second half after great work from Julian Brandt.

At the other end, Atletico went close twice in quick succession once more as Correa danced inside two Leverkusen challenges before stabbing just wide.

Antoine Griezmann was then inches away from his 22nd goal of the season with a measured chip over Leno that floated just wide.

The highlight of the match came 21 minutes from time when Oblak pulled off an incredible triple save to end Leverkusen's hopes of a comeback.

Brandt pounced on a slack pass from Jose Maria Gimenez and after he was denied one-on-one with Oblak, the Slovenian twice pulled himself off the ground to save Volland's follow-up efforts.

Oblak's work for the night wasn't done as he still had to make saves from long-range efforts by Leon Bailey, Wendell and Kevin Kampl to prevent Atletico slumping to just a second Champions League home defeat under Simeone. But the hosts held on to extend Spanish clubs' winning run over German sides in European competition to 11 ties.