Noted novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, 74, died at his residence at Veerabahu Nagar in Pettai near here at around 1.30 a.m. on Friday.

He is survived by his wife Jaleela and two sons Shameem Ahmed and Mirzad Ahmed.

Born in the coastal hamlet of Thaengaaipattinam in Kanniyakumari district on September 26, 1944, Mohamed Meeran authored the novels Oru Kadalora Graamaththin Kathai, Thuraimugam, Koonan Thoppu, Saaivu Naarkkaali and Anju Vannam Theru between 1988 and 2011. Of these, Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.

Supreme Court has refused to regularise the services of nearly four lakh contractual teachers of Bihar and set aside the Patna High Court ruling that they were eligible to get equal pay for equal work. 

A bench of Justices Abhay Manohar Sapre and U U Lalit allowed the plea of the Bihar government challenging the October 31, 2017 high court order and declined to treat contractual teachers at par with regular educators. 

The apex court said, Bihar government is justified in having two different streams or cadres for teachers and there has been no violation of the rights of contractual teachers nor has there been any discrimination against them. 

Bank credit grew by 13.2% in financial year 2018-19 as compared to 10.3% in the previous financial year, mainly aided by loans to services and retail sector.

Deposit growth also gained momentum, growing by 10% as compared to 6.7% a year ago.

“We have to be a bit careful while looking at this data because a bump-up has happened in the month of March. If you see, up to February, credit growth was not that strong,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE Ratings.

Banks typically tend to push for more loan disbursement and also try to get more deposits ahead of the end of a financial year to shore up their balance sheet and meet year-end targets.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Thursday announced it will acquire iconic British toy-maker Hamleys for 67.96 million pounds (around Rs 620 crore) in an all-cash deal.

Hamleys, a 259-year-old toy-maker, has struggled to generate profits in recent times. It reported a profit after tax of 2.44 million pounds in 2018 after suffering a loss of 11.24 million pounds in 2017.

It is currently owned by Chinese fashion conglomerate C Banner International, which had acquired it for 100 million pounds in 2015. C Banner also owns the Chinese units of marquee consumer retail brands such as Steve Madden and Sundance.

"Reliance Brands Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, and C Banner International Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company, today signed a definitive agreement for Reliance Brands to acquire 100 per cent shares of Hamleys Global Holdings Ltd, the owner of Hamleys brand, from C Banner International," the company said in a statement.

India and China today agreed to resolve market access issues expeditiously in order to achieve the vision of the leaders of both countries by promoting a more balanced trade. 

After a meeting of Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and General Administration of Customs of China, Vice Minister Li Guo. Ministry of Commerce and Industry signed a protocol for export of Indian chilli meal to the neighbouring country. 

A release said, that both the sides discussed trade-related issues of pending Indian request for clearance of agricultural products in the meeting. 

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has lauded the contribution made by the Indian community worldwide. 

He said that the diaspora should contribute to the agenda of development in India. He was speaking at a  gathering of the Indian community in Hanoi. 

The Vice President said India was moving fast to transform itself into a modern 21st-century inclusive economy. 

He said 3Ds -- Democracy, Demand and Demographic Dividend were ing India's story and the Indian diaspora is the fourth D. 

Mr Naidu reiterated that India will become a  5 trillion US dollars economy by 2030.  He added that the government took steps to make the country one of the most favourable investment destinations in the world.

Earlier, Mr.Naidu arrived in Vietnam for a four-day official visit. He will hold meetings with his Vietnamese counterpart Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairperson of National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. 

Japan's SoftBank Group on May 9 reported annual net profit jumped more than a third, helped by gains from its investment fund which has ploughed billions into some of the hottest names in the tech sector.

Net profits for the financial year ending March at the telecoms and investment group came in at 1.41 trillion yen ($12.8 billion), up 35.8 percent.

The company hailed gains of 1.26 trillion yen from its investment funds, led by SoftBank Vision Fund, estimated to have firepower of around $100 billion with heavy Saudi Arabian backing.

A Singapore Airlines aircraft carrying 228 people made an emergency landing in the national capital on Wedneday after experiencing a glitch in the nose wheel.

The airline issued a statement, saying that the aircraft experienced a hydraulic system issue prior to its arrival in Delhi. It said that none of the passengers or crew on board were in any danger.

The airport official said full emergency was declared for the SQ 406 Singapore-Delhi flight. He said, the plane, which experienced some problem with its nose wheel, made a safe landing.

India and Turkey vowed to strengthen economic relations with the aim of reaching 10 billion US dollars bilateral trade by 2020.

Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, who is on a three-day visit to India since May 7, held talks with Gitesh A Sarma, Secretary (West) under the institutional mechanism of foreign office consultations on Wednesday.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement that Deputy Foreign Minister Onal and Secretary (West) held cordial discussions on various aspects of bilateral ties including examining opportunities for enhancing trade and investment relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Freedom Fighter and social reformer Gopal Krishna Gokhale on his birth anniversary.

In a tweet, Mr Modi said, Gopal Krishna Gokhale was known for his penchant for learning and social reform and he remained a strong pillar of support for the marginalised sections of society in their quest for empowerment.