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A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including a Brazilian first division soccer team heading to   Colombia Plane Crash   for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport. Aviation authorities said there are reports of at least six survivors. "It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told   Blu Radio   on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed. Aviation authorities said the British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a Bolivian charter airline named Lamia, declared an emergency at 10 pm on Monday (0830 IST Tuesday) due to an electrical failure. Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated but an air force helicopter had to turn back because of low visibility. They urged journalists to stay away from the hard-to- access zone and stay off the roads to facilitate the entry of ambulances and rescuers. The area has be

She was an elusive figure in the campaign, had no political experience before her husband's stunningly successful outsider campaign A long-distance   first lady   will be one of the many different things about Donald Trump's administration. Breaking with tradition, Melania Trump and 10-year-old son Barron will remain in New York City until the end of the school year, after the new president moves into the   White House on January 20. The decision sets Melania Trump apart from other first ladies. But it seems in character for the former model and naturalised US citizen from Slovenia. She was an elusive figure in the campaign and had no political experience before her husband's stunningly successful outsider campaign. In an interview with US Weekly earlier this year,   Melania Trump   said that Barron "needs a parent at home, and I like to keep it as normal as possible. Read Source>>>

By involving star footballers and advertising it during qualifying matches ahead of the tournament World governing body FIFA should start promoting   FIFA World Cup 2018   more actively by involving star footballers and advertising it during qualifying matches ahead of the tournament, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko has said. Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino here on Friday, reports   Sputnik. But Mutko said before the meeting that they expect FIFA to start its preparations to reach a global audience.   Read More

United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US will quit the   TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP   ( TPP ) trade deal on his first day in the   WHITE HOUSE . The mega trade deal involves 12 Pacific rim nations including major economies like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. With a collective population of about 800 million, almost double that of the European Union’s single   MARKET , the bloc currently accounts for 40 per cent of world trade. While the free trade deal will see tariffs slashed between member nations to boost falling trade, sections within the US has argued it will further accelerate the slide in American jobs and production. Guessing that Trump does not go back on his decision, something he is known to do, India stands to benefit in a plethora of ways if TPP does not materialise. HERE ARE A FEW OF THEM:- 1) Access to lucrative US market to be cut for India’s export competitors: 2) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership deal to com

The move comes after govt reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes To encourage widespread usage of digital payments post demonetisation, the government on Wednesday said no transaction charges will be levied on debit cards till December 31. All public sector banks and some private sector ones have agreed to waive the transaction cost for all payments made through   Debit Card Payments , Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said. The move comes after the government reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and decided to encourage digital payments. "Public sector banks and some of the private sector banks, and some of the service providers who provide switching services, have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016," Das said. As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards which operate international card net

Through 'Jan Jan Ki Baat,' Modi asked 10 questions to gauge the mood of nation post demonetisation After ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the   Narendra Modi   government is experimenting with ‘Jan Jan Ki Baat’ to get people’s feedback on burning issues. Within an hour of the Prime Minister asking citizens of the country to rate his latest initiative—demonetisation —on his narendramodi app, there were 3,700 retweets and 7,900 likes on his Twitter handle. Soon, Jan Jan Ki Baat was trending on social media with ‘’cashless India’’ stopping to give its feedback on the banning of big notes. It is not known yet how many have taken time out to assess the latest initiative of the government, but the questions asked are pointed. With several state elections lined up through 2017, the PM wants to be sure how people have responded to demonetization as a step to eliminate black money. It’s a 10-step survey, beginning with a simple question—do you think there’s black money in India. Then it goes o

Modi's demonetisation drive marks a break from past practice but his claim is just a jumla It’s hard to tell whether  demonetisation  will turn out to be a bold hit or a costly miss, but it appears to many that the government has taken the black money bull by the horns. Announcing the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, Prime Minister  Narendra Modi listed several steps that his government had taken so far in its war on black money: Looks impressive, what’s not to like? Just that, once you discount the hype, it’s not very different from what’s been done by past governments, whether the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) or the United Front (UF). Show me the money Consider the figure of Rs 1,25,000 crore collected over two-and-a-half years. The government hasn’t provided a break-up, but based on finance ministry replies to parliamentary questions, it includes the following: Rs 65,250 crore declared under the 2016 Income Disclosure Scheme (of which 45% will flow in

Only once the ATMs are recalibrated and enough Rs 500 notes are printed, the chaos will be under control, say bankers. Ten days on, the banking sector is yet to recover from the government's  demonetisation move. There are two main reasons for this. One, there is just not enough new notes being supplied by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), even after running its printing presses over time. And the second, there are not enough technicians to recaliberate automated teller machines in the countries. Only once the  ATMs  are recalibrated and enough Rs 500 notes are printed, the chaos will be under control, say bankers. Even as top bankers are assuring public that the situation will normalise in a week, bankers behind the counters think otherwsie. The new 500 notes have not been released in rural areas. Most of the branches just 20-30 kilometers from metros have not seen the new 500 rupee note as the currency chests are currently available only in cities. Even in metros, the

भारत और इंग्लैंड  के बीच विशाखापत्तनम के डॉ. वाईएस राजशेखर रेड्डी स्टेडियम में सीरीज का दूसरा टेस्ट मैच खेला जा रहा है। पहले दिन टी तक भारत ने 2 विकेट के नुकसान पर 210 रन बना डाले। लंच तक भारत ने 2 विकेट के नुकसान पर 92 रन बना लिए थे और इसके बाद कप्तान कोहली और चेतेश्वर पुजारा की जोड़ी ने भारतीय पारी को मजबूती दी। कोहली और पुजारा ने शानदार 186 रनों की साझेदारी की। टी तक पुजारा ने 97 रन और कोहली 91 रन बनाए। पहले दिन के खेल में कोहली ने अपने करियर का 13वां और पुजारा ने 11वां अर्धशतक लगाया। कोहली को 42.2 ओवर में एक जीवनदान भी मिला, जब बेन स्टोक्स की गेंद पर रशीद ने उनका कैच छोड़ा। पुजारा भी कोहली के साथ विकेटों के बीच ठीक से संवाद न कर पाने की वजह से दो बार रन आउट होते-होते बचे। पहले दिन लंच तक भारत ने 2 विकेट खोकर 92 रन बनाए। लंच से पहले तक भारत अपने दोनों सलामी बल्लेबाजों एल. राहुल और मुरली विजय को शुरुआती 5 ओवर में ही खो चुका था। भारत को पहला झटका दूसरे ओवर में लग गया था, जब गौतम गंभीर की जगह प्लेइंग इलेवन में मौका पाने वाले एल. राहुल (0), स्टुअर्ट ब्रॉड की गेंद पर बेन स्टोक्स

Sources said some 50,000 people, including politicians and celebrities, have been invited for the wedding Mining baron Gali  Janardhana Reddy  has returned to Bellary in Karnataka with a bang and is hosting an over Rs 500 crore lavish wedding of his daughter at the Bangalore Palace grounds on Wednesday. The details of the marriage have taken social media by storm at a time when the nation is scrambling for cash after the government's demonetisation announcement. The Bellary mining baron was arrested in 2011 on charges of illegally mining iron ore and was in prison for over three years. Reddy was also the state tourism minister in BS Yeddyurappa’s government before his arrest. Reddy is said to have minted Rs 5,000 crore through iron ore mining in Bellary. The criminal charges against Reddy relate to the Andhra Pradesh branch of the multi-billion dollar mining empire he runs with family and two brothers, popularly called the Bellary brothers. Several reports suggested that

The video call is end-to-end encrypted which means other than the sender and receiver no one can access it WhatsApp finally rolled out its  video calling  feature on Monday though slightly late to the party dominated by Facebook's own Messenger, Google's Duo, Skype, and Viber. But with its massive user base of more than one billion, Facebook's backing and other features similar to Snapchat like stories, animations, filters and graphics it can make up for the lost time. WhatsApp has more than 160 million users in India and they don't have to download other apps to make video calls anymore. WhatsApp has even said it has optimised the feature to handle the low-bandwidth internet connectivity and cheap phones used in most parts of India. Since  WhatsApp  chat is based on the phonebook contacts you don't have to deal with annoying call requests from anonymous people. The video call is end-to-end encrypted which means other than the sender and receiver no on

The clean-up drive saw the bank forgoing almost Rs 1,201 crore in dues owed by Vijay Mallya's defunct Kingfisher Airlines The  State Bank of India  has cleaned up non-performing assets worth Rs 7,016 crore from its books by writing off loans given to 63 wilful defaulters, Daily News & Analysis reported on Wednesday. Of the 63 accounts, 31 have been partially written off and six shown as NPAs. The clean-up drive saw the bank forgoing almost Rs 1,201 crore in dues to Vijay Mallya’s defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which is at the top of the list of wilful defaulters. In other words, loans given to Kinfsiher Airlines will no longer be shown in the bank’s balance sheet, though the airline has outstanding dues of almost Rs 1,201 crore. Some of the other prominent defaulters who feature in the write-off list are KS Oil (Rs 596 crore), Surya Pharmaceuticals (Rs 526 crore), GET Power (Rs 400 crore) and SAI Info System (Rs 376 crore). The Congress party immediately reacted to the

Swaraj, ever since having taken over at South Block in June 2014, has followed a punishing schedule External Affairs Minister  Sushma Swaraj  is unwell. On Wednesday, Swaraj tweeted that she is hospitalised because of kidney failure and is undergoing tests for a kidney transplant. This has led to speculation within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might look for her successor. Swaraj tweeted: "I am in  AIIMS  because of kidney failure. Presently, I am on dialysis. I am undergoing tests for a Kidney transplant. Lord Krishna will bless. Friends, this is to update you on my health." The job of an External Affairs Minister involves hectic travelling. Swaraj, ever since having taken over at South Block in June 2014, has followed a punishing schedule. Swaraj, in seven months of 2014, visited 15 countries. She visited neighbouring countries and ASEAN member countries as part of the PM's vision t

ArthaKranti claims its leading light Anil Bokil, an Aurangabad-based chartered accountant and architect, was allocated nine minutes' audience with Modi in July this year Pune-based economic think tank ArthaKranti, which claims to have suggested to Prime Minister   Narendra Modi   to demonetise the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, wants the government to abolish income tax and 56 other taxes and replace it by a banking transaction tax, or BTT, of two per cent on earnings. “Imagine, taxes reduced. Petrol at Rs 28 per litre. That is ArthaKranti’s next proposal,” the outfit tweeted on Monday. ArthaKranti, which literally means financial or economic revolution, is a group of technocrats and chartered accountants. It first proposed its five-point proposal for tax reforms in 1999. It had even planned a meeting in Pune on November 11-13 to demand that the PM implement its five-point agenda. According to the organisation, it has had regular interactions with officials in the Pr