The legendary Ian Chappell feels Australia is in "no position to throw stones" at India as far as sledging is concerned but administrators should step in to curb on-field aggression before it escalates beyond control.

"The officials need to take a harder stance against on-field chatter. I also don't think the Australians are in any position to start throwing stones. They're no choirboys themselves," Chappell wrote in his column for 'Channel Nine'.

"There's been a lot of bad blood and chatter between the two countries so far, but that's because it's been good and intense cricket. But the administrators are foolish if they're going to allow all this talking to continue on the field," he added.

Chappell said inaction by administrators has aggravated the problem.

"It it does, there's going to be trouble. It's been allowed to escalate over the years, and nobody is stepping in to stop it. It's going to cause a huge problem one day on the field. It already causes a bit of animosity from time to time, but from the evidence so far this series it will go beyond that at some stage," he said.

Asking for strict measures to cut down on aggressive banter, Chappell said India captain Virat Kohli needs to keep his emotions in check.

"If I had one criticism of Indian captain Virat Kohli it's that he's a bit too emotional. I've always thought as a captain that it's best if you keep your display of emotions pretty even, but he doesn't.

"He's a very emotional guy. To say he's worse than somebody else is unfair as everyone does it, and some blokes do it differently to Kohli. It's ridiculous to allow that much chatter to occur on the field," the former Australia captain said.

Chappell said no team can claim to be fully compliant with the ICC rules on ideal behaviour on the field.

"All teams are into it, some more than others, but they're all guilty of it. If you wait for the ICC to do something about that nothing will ever happen.

"We've never had so many policemen at a game of cricket as we do now you've got referees, you've got four umpires, you've got all sorts of other people there, and yet nothing is done," he added.

To curb spying by authorities and other law enforcement agencies, Facebook has banned developers from using data obtained from them to provide tools that are used for surveillance.

In a post on Monday, social networking giant that also own Instagram explained that over the past several months they had taken enforcement action against developers who created and marketed tools meant for surveillance, in violation of their existing policies.

"Our goal is to make our policy explicit. We want to be sure everyone understands the underlying policy and how to comply. We also adopt policies that limit how developers, advertisers, and others can use our platform," said Rob Sherman, Deputy Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook in the post.

According to a report in the Guardian on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised the policy reform saying that written policies must be backed up by rigorous oversight and swift action for violations.

"Now more than ever, we expect companies to slam shut any surveillance side doors and make sure nobody can use their platforms to target people of color and activists," Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director at the ACLU of California, was quoted as saying.

Civil rights groups have raised their concerns about mass surveillance under Trump administration, and as such, this announcement from Facebook and Instagram comes as a victory for these activists.

"It's very important right now that tech companies like Facebook take a stand to be human rights champions, because otherwise they'll be used to violate human rights," Malkia Cyril, Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice, was quoted as saying.

Centre for Media Justice is a part of a coalition that pushed for the anti-surveillance reforms.

The ACLU had allegedly found that Facebook had let "special access" to Geofeedia — a controversial startup — that was working with law enforcement agencies to track streams of user content.
 

To curb spying by authorities and other law enforcement agencies, Facebook has banned developers from using data obtained from them to provide tools that are used for surveillance.

In a post on Monday, social networking giant that also own Instagram explained that over the past several months they had taken enforcement action against developers who created and marketed tools meant for surveillance, in violation of their existing policies.

"Our goal is to make our policy explicit. We want to be sure everyone understands the underlying policy and how to comply. We also adopt policies that limit how developers, advertisers, and others can use our platform," said Rob Sherman, Deputy Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook in the post.

According to a report in the Guardian on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised the policy reform saying that written policies must be backed up by rigorous oversight and swift action for violations.

"Now more than ever, we expect companies to slam shut any surveillance side doors and make sure nobody can use their platforms to target people of color and activists," Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director at the ACLU of California, was quoted as saying.

Civil rights groups have raised their concerns about mass surveillance under Trump administration, and as such, this announcement from Facebook and Instagram comes as a victory for these activists.

"It's very important right now that tech companies like Facebook take a stand to be human rights champions, because otherwise they'll be used to violate human rights," Malkia Cyril, Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice, was quoted as saying.

Centre for Media Justice is a part of a coalition that pushed for the anti-surveillance reforms.

The ACLU had allegedly found that Facebook had let "special access" to Geofeedia — a controversial startup — that was working with law enforcement agencies to track streams of user content.
 

While the effective rate of indirect taxes under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime still remains unclear, as fitment in tax slabs is under way, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has said that taxes were likely to "increase a bit" from the current level.

"That is our belief (that the current level of taxation will not lessen at least for first five years). It will be the same, that's our belief, and it will increase a bit," CBEC Chairman Najib Shah said.

Shah said that the fitment of goods and services in the four tax slabs — 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent — is a work in progress.

Apart from the tax rates, there will also be a cess on top of it, which will form the corpus to compensate the states for any revenue loss for the first five years of implementation of GST.

"The Council will determine the commodities which will have the cess. We will suggest, but all decisions will be taken by the Council because, after all, it is a question of revenue for the states and the Centre," Shah said.

"Rates is an issue that is sensitive and will be determined only by the Council," he said.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia recently announced that the Council has increased the cGST (central GST) and sGST (state GST) peak tax rate from 14 per cent to 20 per cent each, amounting to a peak rate of 40 per cent.

Though the current tax slabs will remain the same, the peak rate has been increased for future contingencies, Adhia had said.

CBEC Chairman also said that GST is being looked upon as bringing about a possible 1-2 per cent increase in GDP.

"Whenever we talk of GST, we talk of a possible increase in GDP by 1-2 per cent. That's the sort of belief we have got, he said.

Where is that GDP going to come from?

He said that with the implementation of GST, tax evasion should come down as all filings will be IT driven and evasion will get difficult.

He also said the GST regime is likely to be rolled out by July 1.

The Chairman said that it will ensure that the laws regarding the new indirect tax regime are finalised by April 1, so that the industry has three months to prepare for the transition.

"That should give everybody time to adjust to the new requirements. We have trained 49,000 officers of the states and the Centre till last week. Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) — GST's IT infrastructure arm — and CBEC together will now conduct trainings, so that people know how to file their returns," he said.

"Outreach programmes from April 1 are going to be massive. We are targeting all major towns. We will first create a group of master trainers and then ask them to train the trade and industry," he added.

Shah said that he hoped the GSTN portal is able to handle the massive rush that it will see post July 1.

"Existing VAT dealers, central excise assessees and service tax assessees are approximately over six million. The total number of assessees (under GST) will be lesser than that as there is some overlap. Instead of filing three returns, they would be filing one return now. When the final migration takes place, then only we will know the exact number of assessees," he said.

Though any new change will have hiccups because of the existing legacy issues, the Central Board of Excise and Customs is trying to ensure the transition is smooth, he said.

"It's a new law, all the states and the Centre are moving to a new taxation regime. So there are going to be challenges because not only the trade and industry but the administration also has to change. All existing legacy issues may continue for some time," Shah said.

One of the hurdles before CBEC seems to be the concern of officials that their work load will reduce drastically, as 90 per cent of assessees below Rs 1.5 crore turnover will be assessed by the states.

"There is a certain section of officers that is concerned that perhaps they would be having lesser work under the GST. We have flagged the concerns, but the government will take a final call. The 90 per cent assessees below Rs 1.5 crore turnover to be assessed by states is a decision taken by government. That is an administrative arrangement," he said.

"We believe there would be enough work. Apart from the work, there are other concerns as well. We will be addressing those concerns as well," he added.

Shah said they will not require any additional staff as of now. "We will manage with the existing staff. As we go ahead, we will see how the workload is," he said.

Leicester City head coach Craig Shakespeare said on Monday that his team is capable of winning the UEFA Champions League and that he has full faith in his side's options against Sevilla in the second leg match of the UEFA Champions League pre-quarterfinal on Tuesday.

When asked if Leicester can win the Champions League, Shakespeare said: "Why not? We are in it. We have to try and be competitive every game."

Despite considering the match as a complicated encounter, Shakespeare believes that his team has a great opportunity against Sevilla at Leicester's King Power stadium, as a step towards winning the UEFA Champions League, which he considers possible, reports Efe.

"There is a great opportunity for us and we will give it our best shot. We have to compete for the 90 minutes or extra time. We have practiced penalties and we try to leave no stone unturned. By the way the penalties were good!" Shakespeare said during a pre-match presser on Monday.

Leicester were defeated in the first leg 1-2, but Shakespeare thinks that having an away goal, which Jamie Vardy scored, is just another step forward.

"We knew by getting the away goal it gave us a great opportunity. We give ourselves a great chance. It makes it very interesting. It will be a special occasion and the atmosphere will be electric," he said.

The Sevilla clash is the first for Shakespeare since he was confirmed on Sunday as Claudio Ranieri's replacement until the end of the season, after being in charge as caretaker.

Shakespeare confirmed that midfielder Nampalys Mendy will miss the clash with Sevilla due to a knee injury.

Actor Sridevi who stole the limelight with English Vinglish in 2012, is all set to make a comeback on big screen on with her new film Mom.

The actress took to Twitter to share the first look of her upcoming film Mom.
In the poster, Sridevi is seen in an intense look with Mom written in different languages all over the poster

Sridevi shared the picture on Twitter and captioned it saying, “When a woman is challenged… Here's presenting the first look of MOM. #MOMFirstLook"

Mom which also stars actor Akshaye Khanna, Abhimanyu Singh in a pivotal role, is all set to hit the theatres on July 14.
 

One day after Goa Governor Mridula Sinha invited the BJP to form the government in the state, senior Congress leaders such as Digvijaya Singh are coming under attack as they weren't quick to negotiate support from smaller parties and stake claim despite its higher numbers.

Newly elected legislators of the Congress were seen arguing loudly this morning at the Goa Congress office, while senior party leader Digvijaya Singh tried to calm them down.

The Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 17 legislators and reportedly had the support from an independent in the 40-seat assembly. It was just three short of the majority mark of 21. But it was the BJP – which had just 13 legislators – that ended up with the invite.

On Monday evening, the Congress knocked on the Supreme Court's doors in Delhi to stop Manohar Parrikar – who quit as Defence Minister earlier in the day – from taking oath on Tuesday evening.

The petition has argued that the Governor should not have invited the BJP, but the Congress by virtue of the mandate to the party.Back in Goa, state Congress leaders are not too sure if it is too late.

One of the more vocal critics of the party leadership was the Congress leader Vishwajit P Rane, the leader of opposition in the outgoing Goa assembly who many believed was in the running for the chief minister's job.

On their target was the Congress general secretary and the party's in-charge for Goa, Digvijaya Singh, who accused the BJP of buying support.

"Money power has won over people's power. I apologise to the people of Goa as we couldn't muster the support to form the government," Singh tweeted.

Digvijaya has said he will meet the governor on Tuesday. "The normal convention allows the single largest party to be invited first. The Governor should have followed this procedure," he said.

Singh said the Congress wants an opportunity to prove on the floor of the assembly that it has majority support in Goa.

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram had also accused the BJP of stealing the elections.

On Monday, Governor Sinha had invited the BJP's Manohar Parrikar to take oath as Goa chief minister. The Congress has requested her to stop the swearing in ceremony and has also petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene.

Parrikar had met the Governor on Sunday evening to stake claim to form a BJP government. He said he had the support of regional parties the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party or MGP and Goa Forward and also two independents to help the BJP across the 21-seat majority mark.

Intel will buy Israeli car tech firm Mobileye for more than $15 billion, the companies said on Tuesday in a deal signalling the US computer chip giant's commitment to technology for self-driving vehicles.

Israeli media reported that the deal worth approximately $15.3 billion was the largest ever cross-border acquisition for an Israeli tech firm.

It comes with Intel and Mobileye previously collaborating with German automaker BMW to develop self-driving cars.

Intel and Mobileye said they expected to combine to become a global leader in "autonomous driving" that could provide the technology at a lower cost.

"The combination is expected to accelerate innovation for the automotive industry and position Intel as a leading technology provider in the fast-growing market for highly and fully autonomous vehicles," it said.

"Intel estimates the vehicle systems, data and services market opportunity to be up to $70 billion by 2030."

Last year, BMW announced that it was joining forces with Mobileye and Intel on a self-drive project for "highly and fully automated driving" to be commercially available by 2021, called the BMW iNext.

BMW announced in January it would deploy 40 self-driving vehicles for tests in the United States and Europe this year.

In August, Mobileye and UK-based auto-equipment maker Delphi said they were teaming up to develop an autonomous driving system which would be ready for vehicle-makers in 2019.

Nearly all the major global automakers are involved in testing autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, with some expecting full autonomy within a few years.

Mobileye, whose speciality includes systems for accident avoidance, has concluded an agreement with Volkswagen on road data technology as well.

The Israeli firm was founded in 1999 and employs some 660 people. It has developed real-time camera systems used to avoid accidents with the help of algorithms that interpret the data.

Its proprietary EyeQ5 computer vision processor gets input from the 360-degree surround view sensors as well as localisation.

Drivers may be familiar with its system that warns when they are approaching too closely to another vehicle or pedestrian.

Mobileye co-founder Ziv Aviram said of the acquisition that "together, we will provide an attractive value proposition for the automotive industry".

"We expect the growth towards autonomous driving to be transformative," he said in the statement.

BJP member Kithaganahalli Vasu has been reportedly killed in Bengaluru on Tuesday after being kidnapped by unidentified assailants. According to a national daily, the news of Vasu being killed was confirmed by Bengaluru’s Surya City Police station on Tuesday morning. The police is yet to confirm the assailants’ identities.

According to reports, Vasu was out for his morning walk when the group confronted him and hacked him to death.

The incident in Karnataka joins a list of similar incidents in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in recent times following political instability.

Turkey will impose political sanctions against Netherlands for the moment, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said after the Dutch authorities barred Turkish politicians from holding rallies in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

The sanctions would be under the political framework at the moment, Kurtulmus told reporters late Monday after a cabinet meeting which measures against the Dutch government were discussed, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Dutch ambassador to Ankara, who is out of the country at the moment, will not be allowed enter Turkey until Netherlands meets Turkey's demands, Kurtulmus said.

The Turkish government will suspend "high-level relations and all planned meetings "with Netherlands, he said, adding that a permission given in December for diplomatic flights for Dutch officials is also cancelled.

The Turkish government will propose the Parliament abolishing a Turkish-Dutch parliamentary friendship group, the Deputy Prime Minister stated.

Diplomatic tensions between the two countries escalated over the weekend after the Dutch authorities cancelled Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's flight permission to the Netherlands and then blocked Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday.

Hyundai has signed a deal worth three billion euros ($3.2 billion) to invest in a major Iranian oil project, it confirmed on March 13.

Hyundai Engineering plans to invest 3.1 billion euros in the second phase of the Kangan oil production and refinery project in southwest Iran, it said in a statement.

The agreement marks one of the biggest investments since a nuclear accord with world powers lifted global sanctions on Iran.

The South Korean firm will have nine months to secure financing for the project — a potential obstacle given the continued reluctance of international banks to engage with Iran.

Securing the financing through Korean banks will be "the most important and most difficult step," said Asghar Arefi, head of Iran's Ahdaf Investment Company which is partnering on the project, according to the Shana news agency, which is linked to Iran's oil ministry.

"The start and execution of this project relies on 95 percent of the project's financing coming from Korean banks (with) full support from the Hyundai Engineering Company in securing those funds," Arefi told Shana.

However, a Hyundai Engineering spokesman told AFP that 85 percent of the funding would come from Korean lenders, including Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

The second phase of the deal, involving the construction of four production plants at the Kangan site, is expected to take four years.

Iran has signed initial oil deals with European firms Total and Shell in recent months, potentially worth billions of euros.

But doubts persist over how these deals will be financed so long as Iran remains frozen out of the international finance system by continuing US sanctions.

The US Senate has confirmed Indian-American Seema Verma for a top health care position in the Trump administration and she was set to play a key role in the government's bid to "repeal and replace" Obamacare.

Verma, who has been described by the White House as the "unquestionably qualified" first generation Indian-American, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 55-43.

She is likely to play a key role in the health care reform of US President Donald Trump, who has made it a priority to repeal and replace the affordable healthcare of his predecessor Barack Obama.

The second Indian-American in the Trump Administration to be confirmed by the Senate, Verma would head the USD 1 trillion Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services that provides health services to 130 million people.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was the first Indian-American Cabinet rank official to serve in any presidential administration.

The Senate vote on Verma's confirmation was mostly on party lines.
 

The US Senate has confirmed Indian-American Seema Verma for a top health care position in the Trump administration and she was set to play a key role in the government's bid to "repeal and replace" Obamacare.

Verma, who has been described by the White House as the "unquestionably qualified" first generation Indian-American, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 55-43.

She is likely to play a key role in the health care reform of US President Donald Trump, who has made it a priority to repeal and replace the affordable healthcare of his predecessor Barack Obama.

The second Indian-American in the Trump Administration to be confirmed by the Senate, Verma would head the USD 1 trillion Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services that provides health services to 130 million people.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was the first Indian-American Cabinet rank official to serve in any presidential administration.

The Senate vote on Verma's confirmation was mostly on party lines.
 

Malaysian no-frills carrier AirAsia on Tuesday announced discounted fares, starting as low as Rs.899 for travel within India and Rs.4,999 for international flights for a limited period.

The special low fare offer is applicable for all the flights operated by AirAsia, including AirAsia India, AirAsia Berhad, Thai AirAsia and AirAsia X.

The tickets under the offer can be booked from March 13 to March 19, for travel between September 1, 2017 and June 5, 2018, the AirAsia said in a release.

The promotional all-inclusive fares start from Rs.899 on domestic destinations such as Bengaluru, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune, New Delhi, Guwahati, Imphal, Vizag, Hyderabad, Srinagar and Bagdogra connected by AirAsia India, it said.

For international travel, customers can choose from destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Bali, Melbourne and many more for an all-in return fare starting at as low as Rs.4,999, the airline said.

The recently launched Bhubaneswar-Kuala Lumpur route, which is being operated by AirAsia Berhad, is also a part of the sale offer, the release said.

AirAsia group's services network connects over 120 destinations across Asia and Australia, the release said.

Actress Sonakshi Sinha will perform at Grammy Award winner and global pop sensation Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour here in May, she said on Monday.

The actress will perform as one of the opening acts at the highly anticipated gig, which will be held at the DY Patil Stadium here on May 10.

"I am really fond of Justin Bieber's music and I love how his sound has evolved over the years and today he reaches out to a universal fan base. I'm definitely looking forward to this event," Sonakshi said in a statement.

The Lootera actress is currently working on a new single and intends to launch it at the Purpose Tour.

Arjun Jain, Director, White Fox India — the sole promoters of the tour, said: "We are looking at very innovative opening acts for the Bieber concert and we would love to have Sonakshi to be a part of it. It's too preliminary to confirm anything but the discussions are underway."

The 22-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter is expected to perform hits like Where are you now, Boyfriend, Love yourself, Company, As long as you love me, What do you mean?, Baby and Purpose.

Bieber's latest jaunt is in support of his fourth album Purpose, wherein he has experimented with more exploratory electronic sounds.

Apart from India, the Asia leg of the tour comprises Tel Aviv in Israel and Dubai in the UAE.
 

The rupee soared 42 paise to 66.18 against the dollar early on Tuesday on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amid higher foreign inflows following BJP's resounding win in UP and positive IIP numbers.

Forex dealers said that a weakening dollar against other currencies overseas and domestic stock markets zooming to new highs with the NSE Nifty hitting a record 9,122.75 points in opening trade kept the rupee going.

Furthermore, industrial production bouncing back in January, expanding by 2.7 per cent year-on-year too supported the rupee, they added.

On Friday, the rupee had gained 11 paise to close at a fresh 4-month high of 66.60 against the dollar on renewed selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Forex market remained closed on March 13 on account of Holi.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 615.70 points, or 2.12 per cent, to 29,561.93 in opening trade on Tuesday.

The NSE Nifty too spurted by 188.20 points to trade at an all-time high of 9,122.75, surpassing its previous high of over 9,119 points on March 4, 2015.

The BJP's landslide victory in UP and Uttarakhand worked wonders for the market as the Nifty hit an all-time high of 9,123 and the Sensex soared 616 points in opening trade today after a gush of capital inflows.

What made mood more buoyant was better than expected industrial output numbers. IIP (index of industrial production) in January bounced back by expanding 2.7 per cent year-on-year.

All sectoral indices led by bank, capital goods and realty were in the positive zone with gains up to 2.20 per cent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 188.20 points, or 2.10 per cent, to record an all-time high of 9,122.75 intra-day, surpassing its previous corresponding figure of 9,119.20 on March 4, 2015.

The 30-share Sensex too zoomed 615.70 points, or 2.12 per cent, to trade at 29,561.93, a level last seen on March 4, 2015. The gauge had gained 44.29 points in the past two sessions.

Markets were shut yesterday on account of Holi.

Sentiment turned extremely bullish as the BJP's huge victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand is seen as giving a fillip to the government's reform agenda, which triggered a flurry of buying by participants, including foreign and domestic institutional investors.

Besides, expectations of more liquidity in bourses had a positive impact, traders added.

Sectorally, the BSE bank index gained the most, rising 2.20 per cent, followed by capital goods 2.10 per cent and realty by 1.61 per cent.

In rest of Asia, Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were up while Japan's Nikkei dropped in early trade today as investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.10 per cent yesterday.