Tag: thesamikhsya

United Nations, Feb 1 (UNI) The crisis in Venezuela will not be solved by sanctions that “can lead to starvation”, a UN-appointed rights expert said.

Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, who reports to the Human Rights Council, issued the warning against the background of widespread suffering in the South American country, linked to spiralling economic woes and deep political uncertainty.

An estimated three million people have left the oil-rich country since 2015, while supporters of self-appointed interim President Juan Guaidó, continue to demonstrate against the government of the incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, who was re-elected last May amidst allegations of electoral irregularities and a widespread opposition boycott.

“Sanctions which can lead to starvation and medical shortages are not the answer to the crisis in Venezuela,” Mr Jazairy said in a statement, prompted by the imposition of sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company by the United States.

“I am especially concerned to hear reports that these sanctions are aimed at changing the government of Venezuela,” he added, while also noting his concern about reports of serious rights violations that include “the growing risk of violence and implicit threats of international violence”.

In a call for “compassion” for the people of Venezuela, Mr Jazairy, who is UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures, insisted that “precipitating an economic and humanitarian crisis…is not a foundation for the peaceful settlement of disputes”.

Such “coercion” by outside powers “is in violation of all norms of international law”, the rights expert maintained, before calling on the international community to engage in constructive dialogue with Venezuela to find solutions to problems that include hyperinflation and the fall in oil prices.

In a recent statement issued by the office of António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General urged parties to “lower tensions” in Venezuela and called for all relevant actors to commit to inclusive and credible political dialogue.

Concerned by reports of casualties during demonstrations and unrest in and around the capital, Caracas, the UN chief also called for a transparent and independent investigation of those incidents.

Last Saturday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in the country, in which the UN’s top political official said that dialogue and cooperation were vital to ending the crisis.

The meeting was requested late last week by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo following days of political unrest and deadly clashes in Venezuela between protesters and security forces.

The UN human rights office OHCHR reported on Tuesday, that at least 40 had been killed in the unrest, including 26 shot by pro-Government forces. More than 850 were detained following demonstrations in the past week, including 77 children.

“We must try to help bring about a political solution that will allow the country’s citizens to enjoy peace, prosperity and all their human rights,” Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under Secretary-General of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, urged the 15-member body.

Nearly all 30 million Venezuelans are affected by hyperinflation and a collapse of real salaries, Ms DiCarlo warned, citing shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies, along with a deterioration of health and education services and basic infrastructure such as water and electricity.

Mr Jazairy, urged all countries to avoid applying sanctions unless approved by the Security Council, as required by the UN Charter

Kolkata, Feb 1 (UNI) This year, the state government is organizing the Milan Utsav festival which will showcase some of the choicest foods from a wide range of cuisines in Kolkata. The food festival will be held from February 1 to 4 at Park Circus Maidan from 12 noon till 9 pm in the evening. The specialty of this food festival highlights the cultural confluence of various minority communities of Bengal. Cuisines of traditional specialties of different religious communities will be available at the festival.
The Muslim community is being represented by bakkarkhani, nihari, paya, nankhatai, kanji, biryani, kebab, etc.
The Christian community is being represented by cake, chicken and mutton roast, kopta curry, rose cookie, vindaloo, bread pudding, caramel custard, etc.
The Sikh community is being represented by makai ka roti, sarson ka saag, aloo paratha, muli paratha, fullgobi paratha, lassi, halwa, etc.
The Jain community is being represented by dhokla, khandui, unjiu, thepla, etc.
The Parsi community is being represented by dhansak, fish patia, papeta-par-eedu, dar-ni-pari, malido, lagan-nu-custard, etc.
The Buddhist community is being represented by Tibetan momo, various sweets, etc.
Apart from it being a food festival, a major attraction of the Milan Utsav is the presence of stalls for job fair, career counselling and job oriented counselling. Moreover, a health check-up centre is also being set up for the benefit of the visitors.

Panaji, Feb 1 (UNI) The Goa Legislative Assembly was adjourned sine die on Thursday after a brief session of three days.
A total of 419 Legislative Assembly Questions (LAQ), including 147 starred, 65 condolence messages, 11 zero hour mention notices and three calling attention notices were tabled during the three day session, which had commenced on January 29, 2018, with the customary address to the House by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
On second day of the session, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds finance portfolio, presented state annual budget for financial year 2019-20 and on the concluding day, the assembly passed the Vote on Account of Rs 8165.88 crore for five months.
During the brief session, eight bills were introduced and passed by the assembly.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) The National capital on Friday woke up to a cold morning with the minimum temperature settling at 11 degrees C, three points above season’s average.

Relative humidity at 0830 hrs was 93 per cent, as per the weatherman.

The sky is likely to be generally cloudy through the day with a a possibility of  light rain or drizzle, while maximum temperature is to hover around 21 degrees C, according to the Met office.

Air quality in the city was poor, while there was slight improvement in the index value that was 290 at 1000 hours.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature settled at 21.5 degrees C.

(UNI) en by Sky NewsA series of training exercises will be held in the United Kingdom in the coming days to prepare the nation’s armed forces to deal with potential consequences of a no-deal Brexit, in particular, a possible slowdown in the flow of goods across borders, local media said Thursday.

The UK Defence Ministry considers being prepared for a possible withdrawal from the European Union without a divorce deal as its “highest priority,” a senior defense official said in a letter se.
Operation Yellowhammer will reportedly involve 3,500 soldiers designated to assist with cargo at various ports of entry or be on standby in case of rapid deployment overseas.
The majority of these troops will help ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods if the nation fails to set the terms of withdrawal. The military has also agreed to make its infrastructure available for civil storage.

It is a celebratory time in the Kapoor house as the country’s most successful film and television producer, Ekta Kapoor welcomes home her beautiful newborn baby boy via surrogacy.

It is learnt that, Ekta Kapoor was extremely keen to carry her own child but that couldn’t be possible.

Dr Nandita Palshetkar, who guided Ekta throughout the process throws light on it and shares, “Ekta Kapoor came to me some years back to become a mother. We tried to help her get pregnant with multiple cycles of IUI and also multiple cycles of IVF. But we were unsuccessful. Hence we had to take help of the technique of surrogacy which we performed nine months back at our Bloom Ivf centre. Nine months later she had achieved success with the birth of a child on Sunday.’

The baby boy, who was born on January 27 has been named Ravie Kapoor after Ekta’s father’s name. It is for the first time that a female celebrity has chosen the route of surrogacy and become a single mom.

Sources close to Ekta reveal that, “She was keenly involved in the entire process. She would take constant updates about the mother and baby’s health at every stage from the doctor. It was her pure determination to become a mother that made this happen.”

A couple of years back, Ekta Kapoor’s brother, Tusshar Kapoor also became a father via surrogacy.

An ecstatic Ekta Kapoor shares, “By God’s grace, I have seen many successes in my life, but nothing beats the feeling of this beautiful soul being added in my world. I cannot even begin to express how happy my baby’s birth has made me. Everything in life doesn’t go the way you want it to but there are always solutions to those hiccups. I found mine and today I feel immensely blessed to become a parent. It is an emotional moment for me and my family and I can’t wait to begin this new journey of being a mother.”

She further adds, “I would like to thank Dr. Nandita Palshetkar under whose constant support and guidance, I was able to fulfil my dream.”

India’s Budget, due to be presented on Friday, could give some indication of the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation, which is one of the main sensitivities in the sovereign rating, says Fitch Ratings.

Higher pre-election spending could risk a second consecutive year of fiscal slippage relative to the government’s targets and would further delay plans to reduce the high general government fiscal deficit and debt burden.

The final budget for the fiscal year ending in March 2020 (FY20) will be presented soon after the next government takes office following general elections, which are due by May 2019.

Pressure for new expenditure to attract votes, particularly among rural and small-business owner voters has increased as polls have shown the ruling (BJP is becoming less assured of victory in the general elections.

‘The BJP has reportedly lost votes in some recent state elections due to rural distress and public concerns over job creation. Targeted cash programmes appear the most likely form of support, as they would avoid downside risks of alternatives, such as the farm loan waivers that undermined the loan repayment culture in the past,’ the report said.

Populist spending would aggravate fiscal pressures, which are already building due to revenue shortfalls so far in FY19.

‘We believe the central government may still be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of GDP for FY19, which would help support its fiscal credibility, although this may be achieved by deferring capital expenditure and postponing bill payments until after March,’ it said.

In any case, longer-term trends are more important to the sovereign rating profile.

Officially, the government still aims to adhere to a debt ceiling of 60 per cent of GDP by March 2025, as adopted under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.

However, this would require significant and politically difficult fiscal consolidation.

The newly elected government’s final budget, likely to be presented around July, should provide more meaningful guidance on the medium-term fiscal outlook.

Fitch’s base-case scenario is that general government debt will remain close to 70 per cent of GDP in the next few years, which is almost double the ‘BBB’ median of 36.0 per cent and continues to constrain India’s sovereign rating (BBB-/Stable).

Indian budgets normally offer guidance on plans for structural reforms and tax changes.

‘The current government could choose in its interim budget to signal the reform direction it would adopt in a possible second term, but we believe it is more likely to include such plans in the final budget, in order to allow for negotiations between coalition members on more difficult or controversial proposals,’ according to the report.

The government’s reform efforts have led to a strong improvement in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking in recent years, but FDI inflows have remained roughly stable as a percentage of GDP over the past five years, as there are lingering difficulties, such as in enforcing contracts and the functioning of the labour market.(UNI)

Leading private sector bank HDFC Bank today organised its fourth Digital Innovation Summit in Ahmedabad of Gujarat.
The Summit is a platform for start-ups to showcase their innovations aimed at powering the bank’s next phase of growth.
At the summit held in Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad, 24 start-ups shortlisted from 151 applications presented their ideas to a jury comprising HDFC Bank’s top management, representatives of CIIE, and a partner start-up 91springboard. Three winners hand-picked by the jury will get a chance to deploy their solutions in HDFC Bank.
The Bank will help the identified start-ups evolve into a consumer-ready product. It’ll use its domain expertise to mentor start-ups on customer experience, reduce time-to-market and costs, among other domains. In turn, the entrepreneurs will get the Bank’s platform to test their ideas in the real world; and expert insights.
Overall, more than 150 entrepreneurs applied to participate in the summit. Their innovations have been in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics, and robotic process automation etc. These ideas were evaluated and shortlisted by a jury on the basis of four parameters: Uniqueness,Business Potential, Usability and Scalability and Compatibility with HDFC Bank’s business and technology platforms.

Attacking the Narendra Modi Government on the ‘leaked survey’ by the national sample survey office, which showed a surge in joblessness among youth in 2017-18, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said it was time for the Prime Minister to go.

In a post on social media,  Gandhi said, “NoMo Jobs! The Fuhrer promised us two crore jobs a year. Five years later, his leaked job creation report card reveals a National Disaster. Unemployment is at its highest in 45 yrs. 6.5 crore youth are jobless in 2017-18 alone. Time for NoMo2Go.’’

Gandhi also tagged a media report on his Twitter handle, which cited an NSSO survey which said the unemployment rate was highest in 45 years.

Earlier, AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala also alleged that the unemployment rate was at a 45-year high and said this was the reason why the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report on jobs was withheld. “This is why the members of National Statistical Commission resigned,” he claimed.

In a series of tweets, he said, “Modi ji, unemployment rate is at a 45-year high. This is why the NSSO report was kept under the wraps. This is why members of NSC resigned.”

“Promise of two crore jobs turned out to be a cruel joke. India does not want a government that has left the future of our youth in jeopardy,” Surjewala said on Twitter.

Reactuing on the report, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “If figs inconvenient, doctor them; if experts indep, make them lame duck & forced 2resign; if doctoring nt possible, change basis of calculation! Vive #bjp #Modi.”

In another tweet, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, “Modiji don’t torture Data! Release National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO’s) periodic labour force survey (2017-2018). Jobless Rate (2017-2018) Amongst Youth: Rural Male: 17.4 per cent Rural Female: 13.6 per cent Urban Male: 18.7 per cent Urban Female: 27.2 per cent Result of Pakordanomics?’’

As per a media report, the NSSO survey shows a surge in joblessness among youth in 2017-18.

According to the report, the country’s unemployment rate stood at a 45 year high of 6.1 per cent during 2017-18.

The report, published in an English daily, quotes the NSSO survey as saying that the unemployment rate in 2017-18 stood at its highest level since 1972-73- the period since when the jobs data is comparable.

The NSSO report says that the joblessness is higher in urban areas (7.8 per cent) than the rural parts (5.3 per cent) of the country.. Also, more people were withdrawing from the workforce as the labour force participation rate stood at lower level than the previous few years.(UNI)

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Thursday took custody of Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena and a corporate aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar in the VVIP choppers case within hours of the deportation of the duo to India from Dubai.

Saxena was wanted in Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers Money Laundering case and lobbyist Deepak Talwar was wanted by the ED and CBI in a case of misusing over Rs 90 crore taken through the Foreign Funding Route (FFR), were brought in a special plane to Delhi around 1:30AM and were arrested by the ED.

After a request made by Indian agencies both of them were picked by Dubai authorities on Wednesday.

British National Christian James Michel, the alleged middleman and co accused in this matter, was extradited last year in the month of December from Dubai to India and is currently in judicial custody.

It is submitted on behalf of counsel for Saxena that no extradition proceedings were started against him in the UAE and he was not allowed to access his family or lawyers while being sent to India.

In this matter, Talwar has been charged with criminal conspiracy, forgery and under the various provisions of the FCRA for allegedly diverting Rs 90.72 crore worth of foreign funds meant for ambulances and other articles received by his NGO from Europe’s leading missile manufacturing company.

The ED and CBI have booked Talwar in criminal cases of corruption and Income Tax Department has charged him with tax evasion.

The ED had summoned Rajeev Saxena multiple times in the case and had arrested his wife Shivani Saxena from Chennai airport in July, 2017 and she is now out on bail.

It is alleged on behalf of ED that Rajeev, his wife and their two Dubai-based firms Ms UHY Saxena, Dubai and Ms Matrix Holdings routed “the proceeds of crime and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/shares among others”.

ED further alleged that “AgustaWestland International Ltd, UK paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks through Gordian Services Sarl, Tunisia and IDS Sarl, Tunisia and “these companies further siphoned off the said proceeds of crime in the name of consultancy contracts to Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, and others which were further transferred to UHY Saxena, Dubai and Matrix Holdings Ltd. Dubai and others”.

ED alleged that Rajeev was “beneficial owner” of Interstellar Technologies Ltd and both his companies received proceeds of crime in their respective Dubai bank accounts from this firm and couple have remitted/ transferred a “huge amount of money” through their Dubai based companies to various other accounts.

On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore paid by the firm for securing the deal.

Rajeev Saxena and Deepak Talwar were produced before Additional Session Judge Arvind Kumar in Patiala House Court on Thursday.

Soon after, the India lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in the fourth ODI in Hamilton, few hours later on Thursday Dave Richardson, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said India are the favourites for the ICC world cup 2019.

ICC Chief said on the occasion that The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Coca-Cola India, here jointly announced that they have entered into a five years of global strategic partnership.

When Richardson was asked about his claim, that India is the strong contender for the title in the World Cup, but the team was bundled out on 92 runs in the fourth ODI in New Zealand’s Hamilton, Richardson smiled at it and said , “Everyone has their own day.”

IT major Mphasis on Thursday today partnered with NASSCOM to felicitate best in class AI start-ups at the upcoming NASSCOM Technology and Leadership Forum 2019.
In an effort to drive the adoption of futuristic technologies including Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Analytics, the partnership will recognize, nurture and promote bright young startups to scale the current AI ecosystem in India.
India is ranked amongst the top ten AI/Data Science ecosystems globally and in future, the demand for advanced deep tech and AI-related technologies is expected to unlock a trillion-dollar opportunity.
The Data Science industry in India is expected to become a USD 16 billion ecosystem by 2025, from the current USD 2 billion, translating to an 8x growth. AI has the potential to add US$957 billion, or 15 percent of current gross value added to India’s economy in 2035 and Advanced Tech startups will drive this transformation as well as spearhead the broad structural transformation of the economy.
To meet the growing need to support the ecosystem, thirty AI focused start-ups from the NASSCOM 10,000 startups initiative are invited to participate in the ‘Mphasis Pitch Day’. The showcase is aimed at identifying the most innovative AI startups that will bridge the technology gap across enterprises business, a company release said here.(UNI)

Days after the government moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking return of undisputed land at Ram janmbhoomi site to Ram janmbhoomi Nyas, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey on Thursday said that the grand Ram Temple will be soon built in Ayodhya of Uttar Pradesh.

Talking to reporters in Parliament premises, Mr Choubey said, “I have full faith that the grand temple of Lord Ram would be constructed very soon. As you are aware, the government has requested the Supreme Court to grant those lands which are undisputed. We also appeal to the apex court that the disputed land must be resolved as soon as possible, so that the sentiments of crores of people could be respected.”

However, the apex court has deferred the January 29 hearing in SC in the Ayodhya case . The new date has not yet been announced.

BJP’s ally LJP was of the view that the court’s judgment should be accepted by all.

Minister of Food and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters here, “Our party’s stand is that whatsoever the court’s judgment, it should be acceptable to all.”

On the first day of winter session in Parliament, President Ramnath Kovind addressed the joint sitting of LOk Sabha and Rajya Sabha .

“The President’s address indicates that we have worked on ground in the last 4.5 years. We have given priority to the development and taken forward the concept of “sabka sath – sabka vikas”. It was a historic address,” Mr Choubey said.(UNI)

Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P on Thursday took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command at Mumbai.

He succeeded Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, who retired upon superannuation, after an illustrious career spanning nearly four decades in the Indian Navy.

At an impressive ceremonial parade at the Naval Air Station Shikra, the outgoing and incoming Cs-in-C were accorded a guard of honour after which they proceeded to the Headquarters of the Western Naval Command for a formal handing-taking over, the Indian Navy said.

On completion, Vice Admiral Luthra was “pulled out” in true Naval tradition.

An alumnus of Sainik School Kazhakootam and the National Defence Academy, Vice Admiral Kumar was commissioned in the Indian Navy on July 1, 1981.

As a specialist in Missiles and Gunnery, the Flag Officer has served onboard frontline warships of the Indian Navy and abroad.

Vice Admiral Kumar has the rare distinction of commanding six warships, including two foreign warships. These include guided missile corvette INS Kulish, guided missile frigate INS Talwar, guided missile destroyers INS Mumbai and INS Mysore.

The officer has completed the Naval Higher Command Course and is also an alumnus of the prestigious Naval War College, Newport, USA.

The Admiral has served extensively in the Western Naval Command in the initial specialist and Command appointments. He has also been the Chief Staff Officer (Operations) of the Western Naval Command.

Vice Admiral Kumar has also been the Flag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Fleet, Commanding Officer of Gunnery and Missiles Training School – INS Dronacharya, served as Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resources Development) at IHQ MoD (Navy) and Chief of Staff of Southern Naval Command.

(UNI) Private airline IndiGo and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) — operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) — have entered into a 20-year agreement to sub-lease land at the BLR Airport to build a state-of-the-art Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility.
The 13,000 sq mt hangar, to be built on five acres in the BLR Airport campus, would be able to accommodate two narrow body aircraft and will have support infrastructure, including an engine QEC shop warehouse and engineering offices for all repair and maintenance.
Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Operating Officer, IndiGo, said: “Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB), with its strategic location, will play an even more important role going forward. It is for this reason that IndiGo decided to build a hangar as the core of our maintenance centre in South. This facility will become operational by 2020.”

(UNI) China’s Chang’e-4 probe, having made the first-ever soft landing on moon’s far side, found that the temperature of the lunar surface dropped to as low as minus 190 degrees centigrade, colder than expected.

This is the first time Chinese scientists have received first-hand data about the temperatures on the surface of the far side of the moon during the lunar night, Xinhua reported.

The rover and the lander of the Chang’e-4 probe have been awakened by sunlight after a long “sleep” during their first extremely cold night on the moon, the China National Space Administration announced on Thursday.

As a result of the tidal locking effect, the moon’s revolution cycle is the same as its rotation cycle, and the same side of the moon always faces Earth.

“According to the measurements of Chang’e-4, the temperature of the shallow layer of the lunar soil on the far side of the moon is lower than the data obtained by the U.S. Apollo mission on the near side of the moon,” said Zhang He, executive director of the Chang’e-4 probe project, from the China Academy of Space Technology.

“That’s probably due to the difference in lunar soil composition between the two sides of the moon. We still need more careful analysis,” Zhang said.

A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang’e-4 probe switched to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power.

Temperatures vary enormously between day and night on the moon. Previously, Chinese scientists had no data on exactly how cold it could be.

The rover and the lander carried the radioisotope heat source, which helped keep the probe warm during the lunar night.

The lander was also equipped with an isotope thermoelectric cell and dozens of temperature data collectors to measure the temperatures on the surface of the moon during the lunar night.

The launch of OneWeb communications satellites from the Kourou space center in French Guiana, planned for February 20, has been delayed due to problems with the equipment of the Russian carrier, Greg Wyler, the chairman of OneWeb, said Thursday.
“It’s true, there is an anomoly on the rocket which will cause us to push out the launch. Our satellites are fine and ready to go!” Wyler tweeted.

Australian palaeontologists have found fossilized bones which they believe came from a theropod, the bipedal, carnivorous and predatory group of dinosaurs best known from the likes of Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor.

Elizabeth Smith of the Australian Opal Centre unearthed the set of opalized bones at Lightning Ridge in central New South Wales, before passing them on to the palaeontology team at the University of New England (UNE), they revealed on Wednesday.

However, due to the limited find, which constituted part of a hip bone and some tail bones, the team from UNE stopped short of giving the new dinosaur a name.

“We identified some similarities between this newly discovered set of bones and megaraptorids, but because of the limited material we couldn’t say for certain that it actually was a megaraptorid, or confirm that is belonged with any other theropod group,” UNE palaeontologist Tom Broughman said.

“Because of the uncertainty of its identification, this new specimen has not been given a formal name,” Broughman said.

From the dimensions of the bones, Broughman said the dinosaur would have been about five to six meters in length and was likely a carnivorous hunter.

The bones bear resemblance to that of megaratorids previously found in the area, a subtype of theropod best characterized by a strongly curved claw on the first digit of each hand.

Historically Australia has proved a difficult place for fossil hunters, with much of the land flat and heavily weathered. However, Lightning Ridge, where the latest fossils appeared, has a reputation for turning up big finds.

“Lightning Ridge is a pretty special place for doing vertebrate palaeontology,” Broughman said.

“Back in the Late Cretaceous, Lightning Ridge would have been at the shores of an inland sea, the Eromanga Sea, that covered most of central and northern Australia at the time, but which was steadily retreating northwards.”

“All of the fossils at Lightning Ridge have been found from the efforts of miners who excavate opals from deep underground,” Broughman added.

Broughman and his team hoped to find out more about the dinosaur fauna of Lightning Ridge, believing that what’s been found so far is just a fraction of what lies beneath the surface.

Washington’s sanctions against Venezuela will not bring the country to a standstill, but still do damage, Hector Rodriguez, the governor of the northern Venezuelan state of Miranda, said in an interview with Sputnik.
“In general, the sanctions do not stop us, but make the development more expensive. At the same time, this urges us to change technologies and [look for new] partners — not only political, but economical as well,” Rodriguez said.
He added that the country was currently going through a tough period.
“But at the same time this is a possibility for Venezuela to finish the process of liberation — not only in terms of politics, but also in terms of the economy and technology,” Rodriguez specified.
Venezuela is currently in a state of political and economical crisis, with Juan Guaido, the head of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly, having declared himself the country’s interim president last Wednesday. Since the United States and several allies have instantly recognized Guaido, incumbent leader Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of orchestrating a coup in Venezuela.
On Monday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that the United States was imposing sanctions against Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, banning deals with the company and blocking $7 billion in PDVSA’s assets. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that by blocking PDVSA assets, the United States took care of this company in the interests of the people of Venezuela and also took measures to protect its own market.(UNI) 

MoneyOnClick, a technology and data science based lending startup, today announced that the company has successfully raised Rs 15 crore (USD2.15 million) as part of its seed capital fund from marquee investors such as Orios Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, and 3one4 Capital.
Established in 2018, MoneyOnClick aims to disrupt a large segment in the consumer lending space.
MoneyOnClick is focused to provide a lending platform to consumers who fall outside the margins of the formal banking system due to their lack of a credit history or low credit ratings. MoneyOnClick aims to provide unsecured loans to these customers especially those who reside in Tier II & III markets while keeping very low default rates.
Talking about the funding, Vishal Chopra, Co-Founder at MoneyOnClick, said, “We are excited to partner with Orios Venture Partners, 3one4 and Kalaari Capital who have chosen to invest in our vision to provide unsecured loans to customers not served by banks and NBFCs. These funds would enable us to hire a great team and
build technology capabilities that will form a solid foundation for our company.”
The company plans to utilise the funds to hire leadership and operations teams across verticals. Also, a part of the funds will be invested to strengthen the core technology with Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning based credit underwriting and risk assessment platform.
A large number of borrowers today are forced to seek credit from unorganised lenders who charge high-interest rates, which these consumers have no option but to pay if they are to avail credit.
This is one of the primary problem areas which MoneyOnCick, with the help of digitization coupled with AI-ML, will seek to solve while secure more ‘new to credit’ (NTC) consumers for easy and credible access to personal loans.(UNI)

(UNI) The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Coca-Cola India, here on Thursday jointly announced that they have entered into a five years of global strategic partnership.
The five years agreement includes all ICC events around the world including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, the ICC statement said.
ICC chief Executive David Richardson said, its our pleasure to welcome Coca-Cola on board as an ICC partner for the next five years.