Mumbai rains: 7 dead, 25 feared trapped as 5-storey building collapses

This is the first major building collapse after Tuesday's Mumbai deluge

Seven persons were killed, 15 others injured, while around 25 people are feared trapped after a five-storey residential building collapsed in Bhendi Bazaar area of south Mumbai on Thursday.

The building, located at Pakmodia street near the J J Hospital, with 12 rooms and six godowns on the ground floor, crumbled at around 8:30 am.

According to fire brigade sources present at the spot, "There were around nine families staying in the building. Thirty people are feared trapped".

Also Read : Last day to link PAN-Aadhaar? Decision on extending deadline today

The disaster management cell of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) received a call about the collapse at 8.40 am.

"We immediately rushed fire brigade personnel to the site to rescue the trapped people," a senior MCGM official said.

A senior police official said seven persons, including an elderly couple, died and 13 others were injured in the incident. The injured were admitted to the J J Hospital.

"The exact number of trapped people cannot be known immediately," DCP, Zone 1, Manoj Sharma said.

Their identity is being established.

A 45-member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is carrying out the rescue operation with the help of fire brigade personnel.

It is not known whether the building was on the list of dangerous structures under the MCGM limits.

The incident occurred two days after the city was pummelled by torrential rains, which may have caused damage to the building.

Read our full coverage on Mumbai rains

FC Barcelona sues Neymar for $10m over PSG transfer

The club also demanded that Neymar pay back the sum he received

Current Affairs : Catalan football giants FC Barcelona on Tuesday took legal action against their former star Neymar, demanding 8.5 million euros ($10 million) over what they called breach of contract.

The club also demanded that Neymar Transfer pay back the sum he received when he extended his contract last year, given that the Brazil forward has now paid his 222 million euros ($261 million) buy-out clause to join Paris Saint-Germain, reports Efe.

"The club demands from Neymar Jr the amount already paid for the renewal premium due to the breach of contract, in addition to 8.5 million euros in damages and an additional 10 per cent in arrears," FC Barcelona said in a statement.

Also Read : Hyundai launches 2017 next gen Verna; price starts at Rs 8 lakh

Infosys spat: Murthy takes battle to investors today to explain his stand

Barcelona said they had sent the Royal Spanish Football Federation the lawsuit against Neymar that they submitted on August 11 to a court in Barcelona so it could pass it on "to the appropriate authorities in the French Football Federation and FIFA", Barcelona said in a statement.

"The club also requests Paris Saint-Germain take on responsibility for the payment of these fees if the player cannot do so himself," it said.

Barcelona continues to express their public disagreement after the player paid the buy-out clause to end the contract unilaterally.

Neymar said he was so sad with Barcelona's officials, after four great years at the club.

Personal attacks continue: Full text of Vishal Sikka's resignation letter

" The distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out

Vishal Sikka has resigned as managing director and chief executive of Infosys with immediate effect.

U B Pravin Rao has been appointed as interim-managing director and chief executive, India's no. 2 software services exporter said in a statement.

Sikka has now been appointed as executive vice-chairman.

Here’s the full text of Vishal Sikka's resignation letter.

Over the last few days, since our earlier call, I’ve met Sesh several times, talked to you individually at length, and spent time thinking things thru with Vandana. During this time, one of our employees, Sandeep Karamongikar, died in his sleep, likely of a massive heart attack. He was working on the chatbot frontend in Nia. Also over the weekend, in possibly the greatest demonstration of AI capability ever, a bot built by the researchers at OpenAI (yes, that OpenAI), defeated the world’s best players of DOTA2, a multiplayer online video game, a game where the bot learned to play entirely from scratch. Further demonstrating that the force to automate routine, even advanced, activities is an unstoppable and exponential one. And the Charlottesville incident here in the US demonstrated once again the power of words and silences to cause real damage, or to heal. Read More

Also Read:

Vishal Sikka quits as Infosys CEO, citing distractions and personal attacks

Vishal Sikka quits as Infosys CEO: Hits and misses of his 3-year journey

Vishal Sikka resigns as MD & CEO of Infosys with immediate effect

Gorakhpur tragedy: Cure hidden in Swachh Bharat Mission, says CM Yogi

Nearly 70 children have died at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur since August 7

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday stressed the importance of the Swachch Bharat Mission in the eradication of diseases such as encephalitis, which claim the lives of hundreds of children every year.

Politics News : He regretted that children were dying even 70 years after India's Independence.

"The cure of diseases such as encephalitis is hidden in the Swachch Bharat Mission. I been saying this repeatedly as I represent eastern UP," he said after unfurling the national flag on the occasion of Independence Day.

In the last three decades, Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome have claimed over 50,000 lives in eastern Uttar Pradesh, mostly in the Gorakhpur district.

Adityanath said in his first Independence Day speech as the chief minister that a large numbers of people, including children, died of diseases such as encephalitis, chikanguniya, kala azar, swine flu and other vector borne diseases.

Also Read : More shell firms found: PAN deactivation jolt for tax evaders in stock market

Nearly 70 children have died at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur since August 7. Many of the deaths were alleged to have been caused by shortage of oxygen, a claim dismissed by the state government.

The CM said a resolve has been taken to celebrate I-Day as 'sankalp diwas' to establish India as a super power and free the country of terrorism, naxalism and anarchy.

"We will have to take that resolve collectively in Uttar Pradesh also as the road to development of the country passes through the state," the chief minister said.

Referring to the work undertaken by his government, he mentioned the new industrial policy to check migration and creation of job opportunities and loan waiver of farmers.

"Safety is an important ingredient for development for which we have decided to provide the rule of law and security to all. The anarchy which had frightened the people and had hit the development ... We gave a new direction to policing...To deal sternly with eve teasers and those taking law in their hand," he said. Read More

India@70: Are we really ahead of China & Pakistan? Find out

In 56 years, Indian income up 21 times, but progress slower than China, Malaysia

Latest Current Affairs : In the 70 years since independence, India has made most progress in improving life expectancy, literacy, but has been slower in improving the level of income, and reducing infant mortality rates when compared to five other nations.

On the eve of Independence Day 2017 , we compared the progress India has made in improving income, health, education, and in preserving its forests, to five countries–China, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea and Brazil.

Why we chose these countries

We chose China because it had roughly the same per capita income in 1960 as India did. Our analysis showed that even though China and India are constantly compared, until now, China has outperformed India across most wealth and health indicators.

We looked at South Korea to get a sense of how India performed compared to a country that has gone from being a developing to a developed country after 1947.

We used Pakistan to compare progress in a country that shares the same history and culture, and was formed at the same time as India.

Brazil, one of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, serves as a comparison with another emerging economy that is estimated to become one of the largest in the world over the next 30 years.

We picked Malaysia because it is, like India, multicultural and, although it was more prosperous than India when independence came, it has weathered significant ethnic tension and conflict. It represents the unique dynamism of a region, southeast Asia, in close proximity to India.

In 56 years, Indian income up 21 times, but progress slower than China, Malaysia

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (current US$)–which is the average income of each citizen and reflects the well being of the population–increased 21 times from $81.3 (Rs 1,705) in 1960 to $1709.4 (Rs 1,14,530) in 2016, according to World Bank estimates. But India made slower progress as compared to China, Malaysia, Brazil and South Korea. Read More

Amazon Great Indian Sale: 50% off on smartphones, home appliances, fashion

Amazon Great Indian sale starts from August 9 and will go on till August 12. Know latest offers

The season of the online sale is back and it's time to lighten your pockets once more. Starting from tomorrow, the sale will go on until August 12. Amazon will be offering discounts on smartphones and mobile accessories. The Amazon Great Indian sale will feature deals offered by thousands of sellers and brands on select products. Users on the Amazon app as well as the web will have access to it.

Amazon Great Indian sale - Smartphone offers

In the Amazon Great Indian Sale, customers can get 40 per cent off on mobiles and accessories which would also include up to 35 per cent discount on iPhones. Amazon will be offering discounts on smartphones and mobile accessories, and the list of devices includes Apple’s iPhone 7, 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, along with OnePlus 3T, Lenovo, Moto, Samsung, Honor, Coolpad devices. There will be discounts of up to 75 percent off on software products, up to 50 per cent off on home entertainment products and PC accessories, up to 45 per cent off on tablets and cameras, and up to 35 per cent off on printers and cartridges.

Here’s a quick look at the top deals on Amazon Great India Sale

— Apple iPhone: If you’re looking to buy an iPhone, the coming few days will be a good time to consider one. Apple iPhone 6 with 32GB storage is currently on a discount of eight per cent on Amazon India available at a price of Rs 26,899. Flipkart plans to reveal a special price for same phone as part of its Big Freedom Sale. Apple’s older iPhone 5s with 16GB on board storage is retailing at Rs 16,899 for those looking to get an iPhone under Rs 20,000. Read More

Also Read : Latest Current Affairs

Maratha morcha: Lakhs expected to attend protest march in Mumbai today

To seek reservations in jobs and education for the Maratha community

Latest Current Affairs : Lakhs of people from across Maharashtra are expected to attend a protest march in Mumbai on Wednesday, seeking reservations in jobs and education for the Maratha community.

This will be the 58th — and the largest-protest march of the Maratha community, exactly a year after the first march was held in Aurangabad, the organisers told reporters in Mumbai.

So far, 57 protests, in the form of 'Mook Morcha' (silent rallies), have been held in various parts of the state following the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old Maratha girl in Kopardi in Ahmednagar district in July 2016.

On Wednesday, the Maratha Kranti Morcha will begin at 11 am from the BMC's Jijamata Udyan and culminate at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, the organisers said.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter have been used to spread the morcha message to community members, they said.

The JJ flyover will be closed for traffic on Wednesday in view of the morcha, police said.

Schools in south Mumbai will remain closed tomorrow as a precautionary measure, an official said.

The silent protest is a peaceful way to pres the demand for reservation in jobs and educational institutions and punishment for culprits in the Kopardi case, the organisers said.

Their other demands include Amendment in SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) to stop its misuse, loan waiver to curb farmer suicides, and remunerative prices for agricultural produce.

The morcha has been organised by the Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella organisation of several Maratha groups.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to use the Bombay Gymkhana ground adjacent to the Azad Maidan, to handle the large number of people expected to participate in tomorrow's morcha, an official said.

BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta and Commissioner of Police Datta Padsalgikar had met last week to discuss preparations and necessary arrangements from a security point of view, he said.

How to avail IRCTC's book now, pay later scheme for tatkal tickets

IRCTC users will be able to pay via cash, debit card or credit card by with option of home delivery

Current Affairs : People can now pay later for tickets booked under the tatkal quota on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) website.

Till now, this service was available only for general reservations. For tatkal bookings, people had to pay first via the standard online payment gateways before the IRCTC portal confirms the ticket.

For tatkal tickets, IRCTC users will be able to pay via cash, debit card or credit card by opting to have tickets delivered at their doorstep.

IRCTC processes 130,000 Tatkal transactions daily. A majority of these tickets are booked within minutes of the quota opening.

The new feature eliminates the transaction failures as often the money gets debited and the ticket is not issued due to multiple reasons. The refund cycle is about seven to 15 days.

"The pay on delivery feature completely circumvents the use of a payment gateway and will help users make the bookings in just a few seconds greatly increasing their chance of booking a confirmed ticket under the tatkal quota," said Anduril Technologies CEO Anurag Bajpai.

Here's how to avail the IRCTC service: