Canadian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton sets sight on clinching record-equalling seventh title in Montreal
Montreal: Lewis Hamilton will return to his happiest stomping ground this weekend when he seeks to extend his world championship lead with a record-equalling seventh triumph at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The defending four-time champion, who leads the nearest rival and fellow four-time champion Sebastian Vettel by 14 points after six races, claimed his maiden Formula One win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007. Since then Hamilton has added five more wins, including a hat-trick of Mercedes triumphs in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to move within reach of becoming the first man to secure four straight pole positions – he converted pole in each of those years – and four consecutive wins.
World Bank approves India's Rs 6,000 crore ground water conservation scheme, says government
NEW DELHI: The World Bankhas approved India’s Rs 6,000 crore central scheme which aims to improve ground water management in priority areas in the country through community participation over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, said the Union water resources ministry on Wednesday
The ministry will soon seek Cabinet approval for the scheme - called Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY). The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
These states represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in terms of ground water availability in India.
RBI raises repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, revises predicted GDP growth for 2017-2018 to 6.7%
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday hiked the repo rate and reverse repo rate at 6.25 percent and 6 percent respectively.
Maintaining a neutral stance, the central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in its Monetary Policy Statement reiterated its commitment to achieving the medium-term target for headline inflation of 4 percent on a durable basis.
‘GDP growth is projected in the range of 7.5-7.6 percent in H1 and 7.3-7.4 percent in H2, with risks evenly balanced,’ stated the Monetary Policy statement.
Pakistan journalist Gul Bukhari returns home after being abducted in Lahore
A Pakistani journalist and rights activist who openly criticised the military and its alleged meddling in politics was freed early on Wednesday, several hours after being abducted, her family and colleagues said.
The journalist, Gul Bukhari, who is a dual Pakistani-British national, has been an unusually vocal critic of Pakistan`s powerful military on social media in the run-up to the July 25 general election. She has also defended Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party founder Nawaz Sharif, who has clashed with the military.
Bukhari was on her way to record a TV programme on Tuesday evening on the late-night Waqt news show when her vehicle was intercepted in the cantonment area of the eastern city of Lahore and she was taken away, her husband and two media colleagues said.
Virat Kohli's wax statue unveiled at Madame Tussauds
NEW DELHI: Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli's wax statue was unveiled at the Madame Tussauds museum in the capital on Wednesday.
Kohli is the latest sporting celebrity after Lionel Messi, Kapil Dev and Usian Bolt, who made it to the India branch of the iconic wax statue museum.
"I sincerely appreciate the efforts and incredible work undergone in making my figure. Thanks to Madame Tussauds for choosing me for this lifetime experience. I am grateful to my fans for their love and support.
MK Jain appointed RBI Deputy Governor
The Centre has appointed MK Jain, Managing Director and CEO of IDBI Bank, as the RBI’s Deputy Governor.
Jain will fill a position that had been lying vacant since August 2017 after the retirement of SS Mundra.
With the appointment of Jain, the Centre has stuck to the tradition of having a commercial banker occupy this post of RBI Deputy Governor (reserved for bankers). The central bank now has four serving RBI Deputy Governors.
India gets cheapest LNG as Russia’s Gazprom begins supplies
India on Monday received its cheapest LNG under a long-term deal as Russia began shipping natural gas at a delivered price of close to $7 per million British thermal unit.
At current oil prices, the Russian rate is $1.5 per mmBtu less than the price at which Qatar, India’s oldest supplier, delivered liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russian supplies are also cheaper by $1-1.5 per mmBtu than the LNG sourced from Australia and the U.S.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who flew in to Dahej to witnessed arrival of first LNG ship under a 20-year import deal with Gazprom, termed the event as Golden Day in the India’s energy pursuit.
Death toll from Guatemala volcano rises to 69
Guatemalan authorities have increased the confirmed death toll from the eruption of the Volcano of Fire to 69 as officials suspended the search until dawn on Tuesday.
Fanuel Garcia is the director of Guatemala's National Institute of Forensic Sciences and he announced the higher death toll late Monday. He said only 17 of the dead have been identified so far.
The agency says in addition that 46 people were injured. Nearly 2,000 people are in shelters and more than 3,200 were evacuated from the areas near the volcano west of Guatemala City.
The volcano erupted Sunday, burying people in ash and searing mud that raced down its flanks.
Few of the bodies have yet been identified because the intense heat left them unrecognizable.
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Apple jams Facebook's web-tracking tools
Apple will attempt to frustrate tools used by Facebook to automatically track web users, within the next version of its iOS and Mac operating systems.
"We're shutting that down," declared Apple's software chief Craig Federighi, at the firm's developers conference.
He added that the web browser Safari would ask owners' permission before allowing the social network to monitor their activity.
The move is likely to add to tensions between the two companies.
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook had previously described Facebook's practices as being an "invasion of privacy" - an opinion Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg subsequently denounced as being "glib".
2018 Intercontinental Cup: Double delight for Sunil Chhetri as India sink Kenya
Mumbai: A brace from Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua strike was enough as India strengthened their position at the numero uno spot of the 2018 Hero Intercontinental Cup table with a convincing victory over Kenya.
Action started in dramatic fashion as rain ascended down the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday with the 10000-odd capacity stadium going sold out for the evening. Sunil Chhetri was the cynosure of all eyes, with the India skipper marking his 100th cap. However, the first half belonged to the visitors who made most of the unfavourable conditions.