Google: Search Quality & AdSense Teams Don't Talk, Ever

Google has said time and time again that the search team, the organic side, does not talk to the paid side, the AdWords teams. There is a pretty big divide, intentionally, between paid and organic. This is also true with the AdSense team. Google search, organic search, doesn't talk to the AdSense team.

Gary Illyes from Google said this on Twitter yesterday. In response to if they talk, Gary wrote "we absolutely don't talk to them." Adding that they "pretty much ever" never talk to the AdSense team.

Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ Hands On

The obvious star of the show here is the screen, which takes up nearly all of the front of the new smartphones. Samsung has managed to maximize the screen here by concealing the physical home button underneath the screen, and using virtual buttons that can disappear when they're not in use.

The result is surprisingly impressive. Given that Samsung has had a similar edge-to-edge design on the Galaxy S7 Edge for a couple of years now, I wasn't expecting to be impressed by a little more room. But kicking out the home button does make a noticeable difference on the phone - giving you more screen on which to surf, work and watch videos.

The change does give both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ a slightly weird screen size - they feel just a bit too tall for their width - that may be annoying to watch video on over time. The Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch screen, while the Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2-inch screen. Despite the odd shape, both models provide a lot of screen for a phone that I can use conveniently with one hand. That's not something I could say of the Galaxy Note 7, which had a 5.7-inch screen. I can't even really say that of the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

I thought the virtual buttons might throw me off as well, given my experience with similar designs in the past. But Samsung seems to have done a good job in making sure the button is always accessible, at least from what I saw.

The phone is also very fast and feels powerful. I spent a little time with Samsung DeX, the desktop mode that lets you plug your phone into a monitor and special dock (sold separately for about $160), which was also impressive at first blush. Samsung's secured full support for Microsoft Office for the mode, which makes it feel about as capable as a netbook - one that also shows you your text, call and other notifications. You can pair a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to the DeX dock, or opt to plug one in, so you can use all the same keyboard commands you're used to, as well as the option to drag and drop.

Samsung has included many of the features that made its phones great in the first place, including the option to expand the memory with your own SD card and waterproofing. It even improved the quality of the front-facing, a.k.a. selfie, camera. It's now 8-megapixel, up from 5-megapixel on the Galaxy S7, and will now auto-focus on faces.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the look and capabilities of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, and would tentatively say it's worth upgrading from an Galaxy S7. (And certainly from an Galaxy S6.) That said, there's so much about the phone that we still don't know. Yes, of course, there's the question of whether it will suffer the same battery problems as the Galaxy Note 7 - unlikely, given Samsung's new safety measures, but also not impossible.

It's worth remembering that the Galaxy Note 7 had rave reviews, too. Until the .And there are also some things that Samsung has promised that I'll need to try for a while before I pass final judgment. For example, I didn't get any real sense of how effective Bixby, the company's new voice assistant, worked in conversation - demonstration halls are notoriously noisy. The features I did see, including its ability to search online for product just by snapping a picture of something, were still in tightly controlled demonstration mode.

That's a pretty important feature to try before coming to a decision on whether this is a phone I'd recommend over, say, Apple's iPhone. Because while the new screen design is nice - and it is, it should be said again, very pretty - a little bit of beauty is not what's going to tip people over the edge when looking to drop $700 or $800 on a phone.

If Samsung is trying to wow us into trusting it again, it's done a pretty good job with this highly-polished, distinctive pair of devices

Reliance Jio Prime Last Date Is March 31: What Will Happen Next?

With last date for Jio Prime membership sign-ups on March 31, Reliance Jio customers will have to start paying for the operator's services from April 1, over six months after it started operations. So, there are several things customers need to figure out by Friday, March 31, such as whether you are a Jio prepaid or postpaid user, whether you should sign-up for the Jio Prime membership, what plans you should choose, and maybe even whether you should keep the Jio connection.

Are you on Reliance Jio prepaid or postpaid?

Although every Reliance Jio user we've talked to has a prepaid SIM, we've seen people in the comments mention using postpaid SIMs. So, step one is to check which one you're using, since if you are on postpaid, you will start receiving a bill from next month.

How to check if your Reliance Jio number is prepaid or postpaid:

• Open the MyJio app, and tap the Open button next to MyJio.
• Sign in with your Jio number and password, if you haven't already.
• Swipe in from the left side to show the menu.
• Tap on My plans

It'll say Happy New Year Offer on top, and it's followed by Prepaid recharge in our case. If you're a postpaid user, it will say postpaid. Now that you know which one applies for you, you can decide if you need to change things, and what plans to go for.

Reliance Jio Prime and non-Jio Prime

Speaking of plans, there are two possibilities here - Jio Prime, and non-Jio Prime. If you subscribe to Jio Prime, you get to access some additional plans, but you'll have to pay Rs. 99 for the year to do so, though you can easily get that money back. Jio Prime subscribers also get nearly double the data benefits on all plans, for a limited amount of time. The big draws here are the Rs. 303 a month (28 days) and Rs. 499 a month plans, which net you 28GB of data, and 56GB of data respectively, capped at 1GB and 2GB per day, respectively.

Reliance Jio Prime vs Non-Jio Prime Plans

If you're happy with the plans you can find on Reliance Jio (with or without Jio Prime) then you should get your plan activated by this weekend to continue using your Jio account.

With Jio Prime last date as March 31, if you don't sign up for the subscription plan by then, you will have to pay for its services without the benefits that Jio Prime members get. If you're a Reliance Jio prepaid customer then you'll need to select a prepaid plan from the MyJio application on your phone, or just visit a nearby Jio Store to select a plan and pay for it, in order to keep using your connection. The other option would be to become a postpaid user - this is pretty easy to do as well; just go to a Reliance Jio store, and you can get your connection changed to postpaid, and select a plan.

Disconnecting from Reliance Jio

If you are a Jio prepaid user, disconnecting is pretty straightforward. Take the SIM card out of your phone, and don't touch it for three months. After 90 days of inactivity, with zero balance, prepaid SIMs are disconnected.

To end a Reliance Jio postpaid connection, you have to call up customer care, or to visit a Jio store, and ask for your number to be disconnected. They will ask for your reasons, and once the request has been accepted, the account should be closed within seven working days. This also works for Jio prepaid, if you don't want to wait 90 days. If you're planning on doing this, make the call before April 1 so no charges are attached to your account.

Paytm pulls out of Snapdeal buyout talks, leaves ball in Flipkart's court

Noida-based Paytm has pulled out of talks to acquire struggling e-commerce firm Snapdeal on valuation issues, highly placed industry sources told Moneycontrol.

According to top sources, Paytm was not keen to consider a valuation of over USD 800 million to USD 1 billion for Snapdeal.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that besides rival Flipkart, Paytm was also in talks to acquire Snapdeal as both had Alibaba Group as a common investor.

Watch: Why are Indian Startups stumbling?

Snapdeal has raised close to USD 1.76 billion from investors such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund, Softbank, Alibaba Group, Temasek and others. A low valuation would also mean that late stage investors in the company could get a low or negative return on their investments.

This leaves the ball in the court of Flipkart's top investors such as Tiger Global to consider an acquisition of the Softbank-backed company.

Flipkart is also in talks to raise USD 1 billion in funding from investors such as Microsoft, eBay and Tencent. A merger would make eBay as a common investor in both Flipkart and Snapdeal.

Will not grow e-commerce through buyouts: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Last month, Paytm had unveiled its online shopping portal – Paytm Mall as a new version of its existing e-commerce business.

It was largely expected that the company will acquire Snapdeal to grow its e-commerce business. An integration of Paytm's wallet business with Snapdeal-owned Freecharge was also on the cards which would have resulted in a much larger marketshare for the company.

However, Paytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma told Moneycontrol that it will never acquire a company just to expand its e-commerce business citing integration issues.

"We believe it is better to build vs buy because there are lot integration challenges in the company ...we are a small, nimble company where we believe that the speed of execution happens better if we are building it vs buying," he said. Sharma declined to confirm on talks with Snapdeal.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that Softbank, the Japanese investor in Snapdeal was leading sale talks with Paytm and Flipkart.

Snapdeal continues to be in conversation with Flipkart. If all goes well, the merger could be announced in May, a person close to developments said.

March is the new May: Summer woes hit northern and western India, rain relief for Delhi likely this week

Vast swathes of northern and western India are reeling under near heat-wave conditions with experts expressing concerns over the sweltering temperatures that have shot past 40 degree Celsius in the first few weeks of summer.

Maximum temperatures hovered around five degree Celsius above normal in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and even in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh. Large parts of Odisha, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are also witnessing daily temperatures of more than 40 degree Celsius. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, temperatures are forecast to touch 47 degree Celsius in the next few weeks.

“A large high pressure area over central and north west region is producing the extreme heat conditions. This is not conducive to cloud formation and it exposes the earth’s surface to unrelenting solar radiation,” said DS Pai, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department.

Scattered rain by the end of the week is expected to bring some relief to Delhi and neighbouring areas where temperatures have almost touched 40 degree Celsius. But in other places, officials warned no respite was in the offing, raising concerns about the high temperatures even in March and in hill stations such as Srinagar and Dehradun.

IN MARCH, FEEL THE HEAT LIKE MAYHeatwave conditions over parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have now spread to isolated areas in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh and Odisha, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD)

CITIES ON A SIZZLE

MERCURY RISING

Maximum temperatures were over 5 degrees Celsius above normal in parts of Rajasthan; East Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. In Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi too maximum temperatures will be between 3.1°C to 5.0°C above normal

FORECAST

■ Temperatures in areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh likely to touch 47°C

■ The IMD predicts rains from western disturbances in coming days, which may bring some respite

A large high pressure area over the central and north west region is producing the extreme heat conditions. This is not conducive to cloud formation and it expose earth’s surface to unrelenting solar radiation

— DS PAI, scientist at IMD, Pune

Akola in Maharashtra, recorded 44.1 degree Celsius, Barmer in Rajasthan recorded a high of 43.4 degrees Celsius while Narnaul in Haryana sizzled at 42 degrees Celsius, nine degrees above normal. Ludhiana in Punjab recorded seven degrees above normal 36.7 degrees.

The searing temperatures comes on the back of the hottest summer in a century last year that killed 550 people and left not enough food to eat or water to drink in parts of an area that holds about 25% of India’s 1.2 billion people. Officials were forced to transport water in trains to towns and villages in the west earlier this month amid reports of children collapsing in the heat while fetching water, and of armed men guarding wells and ponds to stop farmers from stealing water.

The high temperatures also renew fears a another drought that is likely to sap rural demand, gut agriculture and pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to double farm income by 2022.

Junior minister for science and technology and earth sciences, YS Chowdary, told the Lok Sabha last week that “the frequency of severe heat waves had increased sharply in the recent years.”

It was a hot day in Delhi with the mercury settling six notches above normal at 38.2 degrees Celsius. Temperature in Dehradun as well as Srinagar was recorded much above normal for this part of the year.

IMD officials said they would verify the temperature readings at Bhira in Raigadh. “We realised that something is wrong as no other place nearby recorded so high a temperature,” S G Kamble, divisional In charge of Regional Meteorological Department, Colaba in Mumbai, said. Wardha, Nagpur and Chandrapur recorded 43 degree Celsius.

In Uttar Pradesh, heat-wave like conditions prevailed with the mercury crossing 40 degree Celsius in Varanasi, Allahabad, Hamirpur and Agra.

The Met office said Varanasi and Agra were the hottest place in the state recorded 41.4 degrees, followed by Hamirpur at 41.2 deg C. It predicted hot weather conditions in various parts of the state in the next 24 hours.

Heat wave conditions continued in Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch regions. The highest temperature of 42.9 degree Celsius was recorded at Amreli, followed by 42 degree Celsius at Surendranagar and Kandla, IMD data showed. Ahmedabad city reported the maximum temperature of 41.8 degree Celsius.

On Monday, the temperature in Ahmedabad had touched 42.8 degree Celsius, highest for the month of March in the last seven years. Fourteen places in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. The highest temperature was recorded in the city of Bolangir at 43.3 degrees Celsius while Titlagarh town sizzled at 43 degrees Celsius.

The Met Office said the heatwave would continue in the state for the next few days, making life unbearable.

Heat wave prevailed in almost 80 per cent of Madhya Pradesh today as the highest temperature of 42.9 degree Celsius was recorded in Hoshangabad district. “This situation may continue for at least another two or three days,” India Meteorological Department’s Bhopal centre director Dr Anupam Kashyapi told PTI Wednesday evening.

36 injured as six bogies of Mahakaushal Express derail PTI | Mar 30, 2017, 10.08 AM IST

BANDA (UP): At least 36 passengers were injured, 10 of them seriously, as six bogies of the Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Mahakaushal Express derailed early today in neighbouring Mahoba.

The incident took place between Mahoba and Kulpahad railway stations near Supa village when the last six bogies derailed, SP (Mahoba) Gaurav Singh said.

Ten of the seriously injured have been admitted to a private hospital in Mahoba, he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed state Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh to visit the accident site.

The health minister said he was personally monitoring the rescue and relief efforts.

Thirty doctors and 21 ambulances have been rushed to the accident site, the minister said.

The SP said relief and rescue operations are on in full swing and two helpline numbers have been activated for the help of passengers and their family members.The numbers are 05101072 and 051921072.

The bogies which derailed comprised three AC and three general.

Earlier, the Chief Public Relations Officer, North Central Railway had said that around eight coaches from the rear side of the train have derailed.

Senior administrative and railway officials have reached here and investigations are going on to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Flipkart Electronics Sale, Android O Features, Samsung Pay in India, and More: Your 360 Daily

The Flipkart Electronics Sale started today, with discounts on popular smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other gadgets. The e-commerce startup is providing discounts and exchange offers on the likes of iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel and Pixel XL, Moto Z, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro, and many others. In the Flipkart sale, you can also get deals on iPads, Lenovo Yoga 3, Apple Watch, Moto 360, Google Chromecast. SBI credit card holders also get instant discount of 10 percent (minimum purchase of Rs. 5,999, maximum discount Rs. 1,500) in the Flipkart Electronics Sale.

Android O features revealed as Google releases Developer Preview 1

Google has released the Android O Developer Preview 1 ahead of its official unveiling at the Google I/O 2017 developer conference. The Android O features revealed with the developer preview include a focus on battery optimisations via tighter control on background limits for apps, revamped notifications with Notification Channels framework, adaptive icons, and support for autofill apps. Other Android O features you can look forward to are picture-in-picture mode, new connectivity options, high-resolution audio support, better keyboard navigation, improved WebView, faster Android Runtime, among others.

Samsung Pay launched in India, comes with UPI integration

Samsung Pay mobile payments platform, which allows users to make payments at retail outlets via compatible Samsung phones, has been launched in India. Partner banks for the payments solution include Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Standard Chartered, and American Express; support for Citibank is on the cards. Samsung Pay is also compatible with UPI platform, and can be integrated with Paytm wallets. Smartphones compatible with Samsung Pay include Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016), and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016).

Oppo F3 Plus to launch in India tomorrow

Oppo will launch its latest 'Selfie Expert' in New Delhi on Thursday. Oppo says that the Oppo F3 Plus will be its first smartphone to sport a dual selfie camera setup. It is set to pack a 16-megapixel main camera on the front. The Oppo F3 Plus will be launched in four other markets alongside, namely, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Snapdeal says not in talks with Flipkart, Paytm for sale

Snapdeal denied a media report that says the e-commerce company is in talks with rivals Flipkart and Paytm to be acquired. A Snapdeal spokesperson said that the “information is incorrect and without basis.” The report says the acquisition talks with Paytm are at a more advanced stage than with Flipkart. Snapdeal, on the other hand, says it is focussed only on becoming profitable, an effort for which the company recently laid off 500-600 people and its founders took 100 percent paycuts.

Google Search App gets 'tappable shortcuts' for interest-based searches

Google has redesigned its Search app to include a new app launcher that allows users to find interest-based topics with one tap. There are several shortcut icons for topics like entertainment, sports, weather, food and drink, and many more in the redesigned Search app. Utility ‘tappable shortcuts’ on the app launcher include translate, nearby attractions, flights, hotels, internet speed test, currency converter. The feature is limited to US users only for now, and there’s no word on global release yet.

Lava Z10, Z25 4G VoLTE smartphones launched in India

Lava has launched two Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based 4G VoLTE smartphones in the Indian market – Z10 and Z25, priced at Rs. 11,500 and Rs. 18,000, respectively. The new Lava Z10 has a 5-inch HD screen, octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage, support for microSD cards of up to 128GB capacities, 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel selfie camera, and 2620mAh battery.

On the other hand, Lava Z25 features bigger 5.5-inch display with HD (720x1280 pixel) resolution, octa-core processor with 4GB RAM, 32GB built-in storage, microSD card support up to 128GB, 13-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, 3020mAh battery, and fingerprint sensor. Both smartphones feature multilingual keyboards with support for 11 regional languages, Smart Gestures, and OTG.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 said to have dual rear cameras, fingerprint sensor in front

A new Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 concept video has surfaced online, claiming that the smartphone will feature design similar to that of its predecessor Mi MIX’s but with dual camera setup on the back. In the video, the upcoming Xiaomi smartphone has the same black ceramic body as the one we saw on last year’s model, and has the fingerprint sensor on the back, going against reports that claim the fingerprint sensor will be moved to the front with Mi MIX 2. Previous reports have said that the next model will have dual curved screens on the sides and AMOLED display.

India stands with UK in fight against terrorism, PM Modi expresses solidarity; no Indian casualty reported

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the terror attack in London and expressed grief saying, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

Five people were killed and 40 others injured when a terrorist suspect mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and stabbed a police officer outside parliament complex before being shot dead by Scotland Yard officers in an incident inspired by 'international terrorism'.

Taking to micro-blogging site, Modi tweeted, "Deeply saddened by the terror attack in London. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

He further added, "At this difficult moment, India stands with UK in the fight against terrorism."

India on Wednesday condemned the terror strike saying there is no place for terrorism in democracies and civilised societies.

"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.

A British police officer was today stabbed and his attacker shot dead near the British Parliament complex, in what Scotland Yard are describing as a "terrorist incident".

In a related incident, a woman was killed when a speeding grey Hyundai i40 mowed down several pedestrians on Westminster Bridge nearby before ramming into the iron railings on the side of the Palace of Westminster - which houses the House of Commons and Lords as well as the iconic Big Ben.

Indian High Commission in the UK said: "Any Indians injured during the Westminster incident may reach Public Response Unit of HCI ASAP: info.london@hcilondon.in; 02086295950."

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said there has been no report so far of any Indian casualty in the attack. "I am in constant touch with Indian High Commission in London. There is no Indian casualty reported so far.

#LondonAttack @HCI_London (sic)," she said 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.

Terror attacks, ceasefire violations declined in Kashmir after surgical strikes, claims govt

New Delhi: Terror attacks and ceasefire violations have relatively declined in Jammu and Kashmir after army carried out surgical strikes across Line of Control (LoC) in September last year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

During the question hour, which saw a heated debate between the opposition and treasury benches, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said the ceasefire violations by Pakistan have come down post-surgical strikes.

Representational image. Reuters

"There were 228 ceasefire violations at the LoC in 2016 and 221 at the IB (International Border). However, till February 2017, there have only been 22 ceasefire violations till now and six on the IB," he said while replying to the supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha.

Leader of opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad criticised the minister for not giving a proper reply and said he had never "witnessed butchering" of such an important issue during his 36 years of his Parliamentary career.

However, Home Minister Rajnath Singh came to the rescue of his junior minister and rejected the charges of Azad saying that appropriate answer had been given to the question.

He read out a statement which was similar to a written reply given by Ahir in Lok Sabha on Wednesday which showed that terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have come down after the surgical strikes were carried out by the Indian Army on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

In his reply, Ahir said that during the three months prior to the 29 September surgical strikes, there were 110 terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which 34 security personnel and seven civilians were killed.

But during three months, post-surgical strikes, there were 87 terror incidents in the state in which 19 security personnel and six civilians were killed, he said.

The surgical strikes were carried out by the army after the terror attack at in North Kashmir on 18 September last year in which 19 soldiers were killed.

The government had said that during the strikes, many terror launch pads were destroyed and several militants killed in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

"The government has continuously encouraged to mainstream the youth, including providing employment opportunities to wean them away from militancy," Ahir said.

Maharashtra civic polls 2017: Behind BJP’s art of winning, there’s craft too

The skill to sense “electoral merit,” was until now considered to be Congress’s speciality. The recent elections in Maharashtra show that BJP has mastered the art to outsmart not only India’s GOP — but all of the Opposition. The BJP, for the recent elections, had a two-pronged strategy. Fight wherever it is strong. And, wherever it isn’t, import whoever is strong.

It has worked to remarkable effect — the party has bagged eight of the 10 municipal corporations where elections were held.

Take the case of Pune, for example.

There, more than half of BJP’s elected corporators are either from the NCP, Congress or Shiv Sena. In Pune, it was the NCP and Congress that ruled for over a decade. Once a fiefdom of Congress’s Suresh Kalmadi, it later became a strong bastion of the NCP, especially of Ajit Pawar. For over a year, the BJP selectively wooed many lieutenants of Pawar Jr including one of the most maligned, an all-party-experienced toll-contractor. Throwing all talk about probity and transparency to the poll wind, the said contractor was handed over the responsibility to “manage” Maharashtra’s cultural capital.


The result is that BJP recorded a historic win in Pune, thanks to a large number of leaders borrowed from all parties.

Ditto is the case in neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad. Here, the BJP handed over the reins of its party to a former NCP strongman who brought in the saffron fold many Ajit Pawar loyalists.

Similar is the story in Nashik where Raj Thackeray-led MNS was ruling for last five years. The younger Thackeray had no chance of continuing this run, largely due to his party’s inept and lacklustre handling of governance. Here, too, ahead of elections, the BJP gobbled up almost the entire city unit of the MNS — and pocketed Nashik.

The story in Ulhasnagar, another mega city bordering Mumbai, too, is the same.

Here, the BJP showed little inhibition joining hands with local muscleman Pappu Kalani. Interestingly, it was this notorious gangster who was at the centre of BJP’s campaign against criminalisation of politics in early ‘90s. The BJP’s late Gopinath Munde had then accused Maharashtra’s former chief minister Sharad Pawar of shielding Kalani. In the current election, the gangster-turned-politician was BJPs accomplice. Result: BJP along with Kalani clan will rule the city.

Of the eight municipal victories, BJP had a strong chance only in two: Nagpur and Akola.

Rahul Gandhi, galaxy of leaders to attend Captain Amarinder's coronation

CHANDIGARH: Amid the power struggle in Goa and Manipur, almost all top guns of the Congress party are expected to attend Captain Amarinder Singh's oath-taking ceremony at the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Thursday.

The chief minister-designate has chosen 10.16am as the time for taking the oath as it is considered auspicious. At the top of the list is party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who confirmed his presence for the event.

Former PM Manmohan Singh has been invited, but has not confirmed whether he will attend. Amarinder has invited 49 top leaders of the party, including former Union ministers of UPA-1 and UPA-2 and leaders who were once part of coalition governments with the Congress.

Outgoing Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav was also invited, but he sent former Akali MP and former UP minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia as his representative. Ramoowalia had switched to Samajwadi Party in 2015 after rebelling against outgoing Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Badal.

The list also includes Amarinder's friends P Chidambaram, Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid, Renuka Choudhary, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot and R P N Singh. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, whose daughter is married to Amarinder's grandson Angad, is also expected to attend the ceremony.

There will be some royal flavor too at the ceremony with scions of the erstwhile royal families of Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura - Karan Singh and Deb Barman - coming to Chandigarh for the event.

Amarinder had also invited National Conference leaders, the father-son duo of Farooq Abdullahand Omar Abdullah, but both tweeted their unavailability and wished Amarinder good luck for his second innings as chief minister of Punjab.

Three former chief ministers of the Congress - Digvijaya Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Moti Lal Vora - have confirmed their participation for the oath-taking ceremony. Congress has already announced an eight-minister cabinet, including former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu who joined the party a fortnight before voting day and Manpreet Badal.

Stay updated on the

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/punjab/news/rahul-gandhi-galaxy-of-leaders-to-attend-captain-amarinders-coronation/articleshow/57661717.cms

India's Rap To Pakistan At UN: Don't Lecture Us On Minorities

GENEVA: 

If there was such a thing as a diplomatic roast, what India served to Pakistan on Wednesday at the United Nations would come quite close to it. Following Pakistan's unrestrained shots at New Delhi over minorities and the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India used its right to reply at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva to serve a sharp rejoinder: not only has Pakistan become the "world's terrorism factory", it has also alienated its own people through the "continued mistreatment" of Hindus, Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyas and other minorities.

"In this Council, Pakistan has referred to situation of minorities in India. Minorities in India have been Prime Ministers, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, senior Cabinet Ministers, senior civil servants, cricket team captains, Bollywood superstars. Can the minorities of Pakistan claim even a shadow of this? All they have are blasphemy laws and relentless abuse and violation of their human rights," Indian Representative Nabanita Chakrabarti said

.

Arvind Kejriwal's Mid-Term Test: A 10 Point Guide To Delhi Municipal Polls

NEW DELHI: Just out of the electoral setback in Punjab and Goa, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's next big challenge, the municipal elections in the national capital, is round the corner. Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party needs to wrest control over the three municipal corporations from the BJP - that is looking for a third consecutive term - not just to make it easier to deliver on the state government's mandate but also signal that he still had the popular support from the electorate in Delhi who had given him 67 out of 70 seats just two years earlier. But the April 22 vote is a lot more than just a battle of survival for the city's political parties. It will determine the quality of life that residents of Delhi would lead.

Here is your guide to Delhi's municipal bodies and the elections

In all, 272 municipal councillors are going to be elected on a five-year term in the April 22 polls to the national capital's three big municipal corporations; one each for North Delhi (104 seats), South Delhi (104 seats) and East Delhi (64 seats). Of these, 114 are reserved for women.

Each seat, called a ward, approximately covers a population of 60,000 voters. Because the government has just reworked the boundaries of these wards, the shape and size of most constituencies has changed since the last election in 2012.

The three corporations were created in 2012 when they were carved out the humongous, erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which covered 94 per cent of Delhi's 1484 sq km. It was hoped that smaller corporations would be more efficient and manageable that the monolithic corporation, among the largest in the world.

The BJP had won all three in the 2012 elections, scoring a clear victory in East and North Delhi corporations. In South Delhi, it had to rope in some independents. The Congress came second in all three while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was a distant third.

The 2017 election, however, will be a different ball game with AAP debuting in the full-fledged municipal polls. Apart from the three major players, BJP, Congress and the BSP, the Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj India is also hoping to make its mark this time.

The BJP, which is desperate to retain its tight control on the councillors, has decided not to field its councillors again. The BJP's calculation is that this would help limit the anti-incumbency factor and let their candidates fight on a clean slate.

The municipal corporations, each headed by a Mayor selected every year, are mandated to provide sanitation services such as sweeping streets, running primary schools, enforcing building rules, running municipal hospitals and keeping the mosquitos under check.

In contrast, the Delhi Development Authority has the mandate to plan for the capital's housing demands, acquire and manage land for the Centre and draft the city's master plan. It too does enforce building rules but only in a small part of the Capital.

The municipal corporations work more closely with the Delhi Government than, say the DDA which is headed by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Most of the municipal funds, to supplement revenues generated by them, are routed through the state government, but the Lieutenant Governor - Delhi's super boss - always has the last word.

Counting of the votes cast in 13,234 polling stations across the three corporations will be held on April 25. The results will be out the same day as State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava has ruled out paper ballots, and stuck to Electronic Voting Machines. But this time, voters in the civic body polls will also have the right to reject all voters, and go for Nota

Political, security cooperation on BRICS agenda in 2017: China

China on Wednesday said this year’s BRICS Summit hosted by it will seek breakthrough in political and security cooperation and widen the grouping’s circle to make it the “most influential platform” for developing countries.

The summit to be held in September in the southeastern Xiamen city will seek breakthroughs in political and security cooperation making full use of the meeting of the national security advisors and negotiate initiating the first official meeting of foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Other than China, BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

At his annual press conference, Wang said the grouping will build a platform for “south-south” cooperation, exploring a ‘BRICS-plus’ model by holding talks with other developing countries to establish a more extensive partnership.

“We will widen the circle of friends and turn BRICS into the most-influential platform for south-south cooperation in the world,” he said.

Referring to the challenges faced by some member-nations, Wang said the mechanism of emerging markets has seen ups and downs over the past years, and each member faces its own set of challenges. Despite the ups and downs, the BRICS mechanism will not lose its lustre but will shine more brightly if its members stay united, he added. Wang did not elaborate which members he referred to.

This year opens the second decade of the grouping, and the September meeting will be the ninth BRICS leaders’ summit.

As the chair, China will work with other members to review its experience, plan the future, usher in cooperation and provide the “BRICS plans” for world peace and development, he said.PTI

Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge's Android 7.0 Nougat Update Gets Delayed

While Samsung is all set to mend its image as a mobile manufacturing giant with the Galaxy S8 launch in March, it seems a bit cautious in issuing software updates for its previous generation smartphones as well. Last month, Samsung started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat update to Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, and the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge were due to receive it by the February-end. Now, the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the latter devices has been delayed indefinitely.

According to Samsung UK, the Android 7.0 Nougat update "has been delayed" as the company is in the process of reviewing its "quality" before pushing it out. It could mean that there are some issues still not solved in the Android Nougat update for Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Furthermore, there is no confirmation on when this update will finally roll out. Samsung recommends that Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge users should keep their software updater app enabled.

With the brand new Android 7.0 Nougat update, Samsung will introduce some significant UX changes including new Quick panel and notifications, multi-window support, performance mode, and Samsung Pass. The Android Nougat update information has been shared in the UK and there is no word about the rollout in India.

Recently, Samsung launched its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, in India in partnership with major banks and Paytm. The Samsung Pay service is in early access phase, and it will go live widely later.

INdia Vs Australia: In Barb For Barb, Virat Kohli Takes On Ian Healy After Win

Indian captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday brushed aside criticism by Australian wicket-keeping great Ian Healy, who had stated that he was losing respect for the Indian for his on-field conduct. "We have 1.2 billion people in India and one person doesn't make a difference," said Kohli after his side pulled off a spectacular 75-run win against Australia in the Bengaluru Test.

"And also I think you should go and search on YouTube when he was given out in Centurion down the leg side. I heard he said something about me not having good behaviour with the umpires. I think you all should YouTube that video," the Delhi batsman further added.

The Australian said he was "losing respect" for the 28-year-old due to his constant sledging of Steve Smith's side in the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Healy said Kohli disrespected Australia and the star batsman should tone down his trademark on-field aggression. He also said that Kohli's confrontational attitude was putting pressure on his teammates.

"The pressure is starting to tell on (Kohli). I'm losing respect for him. He's got to be a lot more respectful of his opponents. The stuff he did with Steve Smith was unacceptable," the 119-Test veteran Healy told Melbourne radio station SEN.

"I've said in the past, he (Kohli) is the best batsman I've ever seen. His feistiness and real aggression towards the opposition has been good (in the past), especially when he was not captain. It would lead his team with him. They're more timid than they look and they let on, the Indian cricketers.

"So Kohli's aggression was good for them. But I think it's not good for them anymore. He's really putting some pressure on (his players). You can read pressure all over Ravi Ashwin's face. I think there are massive cracks showing in (Kohli)," said Healy.

Ravichandran Ashwin picked six wickets as the hosts dismissed Australia for 112 runs in the second innings to win the second Test and level the series 1-1. Having set the visitors a target of 188 runs to win, Indian bowlers made the most out of a favourable bowling track as the Australian batsmen crumbled under pressure. Ashwin finished with figures of 6/41, while Umesh Yadav picked two crucial wickets for the hosts. Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja both claimed a wicket each.

Women’s Day special: 10 apps that you should keep in your phone

Smartphones have become an inseparable part of our lives and what makes them all the more important is the kind of apps we can download on our devices. From beauty and fitness apps to period tracking apps and those that make us look good on social media; there’s a whole bunch of such applications that make our day-to-day lives easier.

This International Women’s Day, let us take a look at apps that women must have on their smartphones.

Nykaa: Nykaa pretty much takes care of all our beauty product needs, be it for skin, hair, bath & beauty or in the fragrance department. Nykaa app has an ‘offers’ tab where you’re likely to find pretty generous deals and discounts at any given time.

Nykaa has partnered with Maharashtra State Women’s Council (MSWC) to donate a percentage of its earnings from March 3 to March 8. Additionally, the app has a Holi Hungama offer, where users can avail a discount of up to 40 per cent on products from brands such as Loreal, Lakme, Maybelline, The Body Shop and more.

Grofers: Online grocery shopping has pretty much changed the way we buy stuff. Such apps are a boon, especially for women living outside of their homes. Grofers isn’t merely a grocery shopping app but has expanded itself to offer electronics, pet care products as well as stationery and plasticware.

Grofers is easy to operate when it comes to UI, given sections are neatly segregated and stacked one below another. Grofers is currently celebrating Women’s Week, and there are offers from ABOF, and up to 15 per cent off on products from brands such as Quaker and Tropicana.

Snapseed: Snapseed is one of the best photo-editing apps out there. It gives pictures a subtle touch-up without making them look too dramatic. With Snapseed, it might seem like the app has limited options for editing pictures but you are in for a surprise as you start using the app going to one effect from another, one by one.

What really sets Snapseed apart is its easy-to-use UI. The app is ideal for people who are a lot more occupied with other things but won’t share pictures on social media without editing.

Period Tracker: If you’re one of those who forgets her period every single time, then Period Tracker is an absolute necessity. To save you from the harrowing experience of forgetting to keep a tab on your period, the app sends you a reminder two days in advance.

Apart from tracking your period, this app can efficiently manage things such as next dates of your periods, symptoms, medicines etc. It allows you to add personal remarks as well, helping for any symptoms like headaches, acne, hectic fever, hot flashes, PMS etc. There’s also a pill reminder feature.

Netflix: Netflix is entertainment on-the-go, which makes it one of the essential apps on our list. Especially with the new download option, you can binge-watch even in places where there’s no stable network connection. Women who travel long distances for work will find surely find Netflix a great option to pass time in metro or office bus.

Plus, Netflix has a wide array of TV shows, documentaries and movies; some of which can be downloaded to watch later. Moreover, it has stacked up an impressive lineup of inspirational movies on Women’s Day to inspire you to do more.