In the letter Swamy wrote to the PM he said, “I am getting reports that on the directions given by Shri S S Palanimanickam, the officers of these wings of the department are harassing witnesses of the 2G spectrum case. Incidents have come to my knowledge that officers have gone to the residences and work places of relatives of the witnesses with a message that these relatives should give statements against the witnesses to the effect that the witnesses hold income excess to their known sources of income.” Further, he wrote “The officers of customs & central excise department have also been misused by Shri S.S Palanimanickam to threaten the relatives of witnesses who are doing businesses in various places.” Earlier also, Swamy has played a major role in the orders issued regarding spectrum allocation and now he is all set to bring one more aspect into the notice of the authorities. “These acts of Shri S S Palanimanickam appear to be to help Ms Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, daughter of the DMK president. By pressurizing the witnesses, the aim is to derail the process of fair trial in the 2G spectrum case.”

Swamy also wrote his suggestions to the PM, demanding, “Palanimanickam is unfit to be in your council of ministers so that free and fair trial may be ensured in the 2G spectrum case, at least he should be shifted from the ministry of finance to any other portfolio where he cannot misuse the official machinery for intimidating the witnesses in the 2G spectrum case.”

According to the table scores, Indians are at a very shaky situation at present in the Commonwealth Bank ODI tri-series, with a negative run-rate and 10 points from six matches. On the other hand, the Australian team is leading with 14 from five and after their win, the Lankans have 11 points from five matches, and have jumped to the second spot of the table. The Indian innings were not well planned and even lacked the determination that was required of the players. A good start was required from the Indian side, but unfortunately was smashed in the early overs. Virender Shewag was knocked out by playing Lasith Malinga that was picked up at the third man. Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were also sent back to the pavilion by Kulasekara. Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli’s 92 run partnership was the only highlight in the Indian innings. If the Indian team wants to get itself out from the corner and the lowest position on the tables, then the players cannot afford to miss even a single game. Coordination and determination have to play a major role in improving the performance of the team.

CBSE introduced a system in the academic session 2010-11, wherein class X students had an option of choosing school-based assessment over board exams. While a large number of students chose internal assessment last year, the number has gone down to single digits in many of the city schools. Students are worried about the limited career options available with the internal assessment, and hence consider board exams as a better option.

Few schools have in fact asked students to appear for board exams only. “After the results were out, our students had to run around to get multiple approvals. Students who were interested in taking up admissions to state’s junior colleges managed to get seats which were left after the mainstream admissions were over. Even after the admissions were given, they did not have the board certificate which was mandatory for their admissions in junior colleges,” said Shiny George, Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, Deolali. The school had only 17 students last year, who had opted for board exams.

However, many students who were interested in polytechnic courses, being offered by the state, were disappointed after learning that the school assessment will not get them admissions. “Polytechnic courses ensure a lateral entry in to engineering courses in the second year. Many students aspire to get into engineering courses via this channel,” added George.

Considering the fact that the opting for school assessment will leave them with a few options, many students are choosing the board exams. M Sawhney, Vice Principal, Army Public School, Deolali, agrees, “This year more than 60% of students are appearing for the board exams as they wish to move out of CBSE board.”

The relation between the two countries has been under much more strain post 2003 when the Americans started intruding in government matters. Last year the two countries were in a conflict because of the pro-democracy protest being held in Bahrain. The Sunni supporters have been long unsupportive of the Shiite majority.

Another progress that has been seen by the two countries is the discussion on prisoner exchange. Last Tuesday saw Iraqi lawmakers agreeing to the proposed step that the nations want to take for mellowing down bitter experiences. Arkan Arshad Zebari, an Iraqi lawmaker on Parliament’s foreign relations committee says, “Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are two neighbours and have a history, so we can’t cancel all of that because of conflicts or political disagreements”. He further added, “The Saudi initiative is good and welcome.”

According to Martin Kobler, who is the special representative of the United Nations secretary for Iraq, the step is an important one and is welcomed since it will normalize the relationship between the two nations. The peace initiative has been taken by Saudi Arabia for the first time post Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in the year 1990.

The supplement reports, “The commercials that get the youth excited for brands like Diesel, Burger King and Nike have been bawdy, irreverent and just flat out weird at times.” Such commercials are a huge hit amongst the youthful audience and often make up for the losses that the company is going through or has undergone. This is achieved by these commercials luring the audience and rightly positioning the brand in the minds of the consumer. For example, the Nokia brand has been making many losses due to diminishing consumer trust and then making up for it by coming up with a campaign that features them as the “best friend”.

Recently, 7-Up has come up with a fresh and peppy commercial with the punch line “I Feel Up”, an advertisement that quickly was talked about and created a buzz about the brand in the markets again.

The Top 5 brands that were listed by the Brand Equity survey are Nokia, Coca-Cola, 7-Up, Thums Up and Mirinda. Nokia was on the top spot with Coca-Cola on the second one and the remaining in the mentioned order. Anupama Ahluwalia, VP – Marketing, nods to the statement that it is a big deal to be appreciated by such a large audience, for the brand’s commercials. She says, “We listen to the consumer and learn from them. Youth symbolises optimism and hope, which are extremely important attributes to build on and capitalise in today’s day and age.”

While Reliance Industries will hold 74.9 per cent share in the JV, Sibur will account for the remaining 25.1 per cent. A facility for the JV will be commissioned by mid-2014, and is expected to call for an investment of approximately US$ 450 million. Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director of Relaince Industries Limited said, “The joint venture company is expected to post a revenue of INR23 billion to INR25 billion ($463 million-$503 million) in the first year itself and we are putting up this at the Jamnagar plant because of the ready availability of feedstock.” RIL and Sibur have also signed a licensing agreement whereby Sibur’s proprietary butyl production technology will be accessible to the JV. Sibur, it is expected, will develop basic engineering designs for the facility and will also train the JV’s personnel at its production site in Togliatti, Russia.

RIL is one of the largest producers of polymers in world. Its partner, Sibur, is known to have one of the most refined and high-end petrochemical process chains, including gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to the processing of plastics. Collaborating with Sibur is a reflection on RIL’s part to make way for developing domestic capabilities in meeting demands for products like butyl rubber.

Given the rise in demand for butyl rubber, particularly from India’s automotive sector, the RIL-Sibur JV comes as a major boon for meeting domestic demand for the product. India’s automobile sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. With rampant rise in production of two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four wheelers, the prospects of India becoming the hub of automotive sector are very promising. At present, India’s automotive industry requires 75, 000 tonnes of butyl rubber every year, a requirement presently being satisfied by imports. Following institution of RIL-Sibur joint venture, the demand for butyl rubber could be met domestically, with possibilities of export opportunities as well.

The match seems to be a challenge for both the teams, where India is confident with one win and a tie against the Lankans and the Lankan team recently played extraordinary cricket against Australia. The Sri Lankans are definitely tough opponents to play with at this moment and even the Indians would be very well aware of their win over the Australians in their last match. If the Lankans take away the match, they would be on par with India with 10 points and a better run rate. Presently, Australia is stable with 14 points from 5 matches, whereas India is at 10 points from 5 matches and Sri Lanka has 7 points from 4 matches. If the Indians want to stay alive in the series, then it’s time they perform well in Gabba.

Since June 2011, the level of Brent crude recorded has been the highest. It has risen by 47 cents and has reached almost $120.10 per barrel at 1455 GMT having hit a $121.15 per barrel mark for a short time. According to market reports, US crude reached $105.44 a barrel, which has been its highest since May, 2011.

On Sunday, Iran decided to stop its oil sale to British and French companies to retaliate against strictness of EU sanctions over the nuclear programs, which have resulted in strained relationships between Iran and the Western countries. The last straw, however, was the announcement on huge price cuts that Europeans oil buyers made with regard to oil purchase from Iran.

Caroline Bain, a commodity analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit says, “Banning the tiny quantities of exports to the UK and France involves very little risk for Iran, indeed quite the opposite, it catches the headlines and leads to a higher global oil price, which is something Iran is very keen to encourage.”

The crude price rise has also resulted because of China’s central bank cut banks’ required reserved ratio, which pushed lending capacity beyond $150. According to an ANZ analyst, “The RRR cut will most likely result in an acceleration of economic activity and that China’s first-quarter growth is likely to surprise us on the upside.”

Seven years later, he has got a chance to work with Karan and once again he had to drop out of the film, due to date issues. The actor is hoping to work with Dharma very soon in the coming time. “Long back we were supposed to work together and it was seven years before we got another opportunity. I hope it doesn’t take us another seven years to work again,” the 30-year-old actor said at the Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Female Male Awards.

Shahid, famous for his chocolate boy looks and dancing skills, was supposed to work with the director, Punit Malhotra’s in his next film, to be produced by Karan Johar, but he had to leave the project for Maneesh Sharma’s film. “I was really keen to do Punit’s film and I was really looking forward to work with Karan. Unfortunately, the dates are clashing and it won’t be possible. But I really hope that I get an opportunity to work with Dharma because I have great respect and regard for Karan, who is also a friend,” he said.

The actor has been finalized to work with the Band Baaja Baraat director, Maneesh Sharma in his untitled project and is excited to team up with him. “The film was about to start but then Maneesh broke his back because of that the film got delayed for four months. Now the shooting will start in September. I cannot say anything more than this except that I am very excited about the film,” added Shahid.

This is not the first time that the airline has cancelled or delayed a major chunk of the flights, but it is the second time in the past four months that Kingfisher has managed to cancel a major number of flights and caused a lot of inconvenience to passengers. The airline made the decision of cancellation of the flights without informing either DGCA or passengers. On the other hand Kingfisher airline chief, Vijay Mallya has informed the Aviation Minister Ajit Singh that the airline will come back to its normal track within two or three days.

Even business travellers have complained that Kingfisher did not inform them about the cancellations earlier. The reason for such a mess in the airline is also due to the chunk of pilots leaving the cash-strapped airline. On February 14, thirty-five of the A320 commanders resigned and joined IndiGo the very next day. In the last six months, 300 and 350 KFA pilots have left Kingfisher airline, sources said.  The impact of the pilots leaving the airline is seen on its operation where only 14 out of 64 aircrafts are being operated. Kingfisher’s A320 aircraft flights will be tremendously affected with the departure of 50 commanders within a period of one week, industry experts said.