After its three session slide, gold prices recovered slightly at the bullion market here on modest offtake from stockist and investors as well as low level jewellery buying interest on the back of improved International markets.

Silver also gained following mild speculative buying.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 95 to end at Rs 25,900 per 10 grams from Thursday’s closing level of Rs 25,805.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also went up by a similar margin to conclude at Rs 26,050 per 10 grams from Rs 25,955.

Silver (.999 fineness) moved up by Rs 85 per kg to close at Rs 36,205 as compared to Rs 36,120 yesterday.

Globally, in Europe gold firmed up after nine straight sessions of losses, as the dollar nursed losses following its biggest one-day fall in a month late yesterday.

In London, spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to USD 1,156.20 an ounce in early trade. While spot silver were down 0.3 percent at USD 15.52 an ounce.

Breaking a 28-year-long hiatus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on an important visit to Sri Lanka with the message that India favoured a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity for Tamils in its “new journey” of peace and reconciliation.
The first Prime Minister to visit the island after Rajiv Gandhi’s trip in 1987 after which the bilateral relationship had undergone several twists and turns while cash-rich China made its push, Modi met President Maithripala Sirisena and expressed his “admiration” for his efforts to build an inclusive future for Sri Lanka.
However, he made it clear that “unity and integrity” of Sri Lanka that fought a three decades of war for a separate Tamil Eelam with LTTE “are paramount” significance for India.

The family of an Arab Israeli man shown being killed by a young boy in the latest propaganda video for Islamic State (Isis) has denied he was a spy for the Israeli intelligence services.

The video, published by the group’s Furqan media outlet, shows Muhammad Musallam, 19, sitting in a room wearing an orange jumpsuit and talking about how he had been recruited and trained by Mossad. He said his father and elder brother had encouraged him.

It then shows Musallam being escorted to a field and being shot in the head by a boy, described by an older, French-speaking fighter as one of the “cubs of the caliphate”. The boy appears to be around 11.
Musallam’s mother, Hind, denied her son was a Mossad agent, saying that Isis had “brainwashed” him and was attempting to take away her son’s honour because he wanted to leave the extremist group.

“Not only have they killed our son but they wanted to destroy his image and our image. Look at our house. I work as a house cleaner and his father is a bus driver. If we were on the Mossad pay roll, I would not need to work. Honour is all we have. And they want to take that from us.”

Hind, 46, said Muhammad, who worked in the fire department in Wadi Joz, East Jerusalem, told his parents four months ago that he planned to go to Turkey with a friend.

“He packed his bag in front of me and he seemed so happy,” she said tearfully. “He asked us for money for his journey. And then he left. After that we did not hear from him.”

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Two months after he went missing the family contacted the police, concerned that something had happened to Muhammad en route to Turkey. Then Muhammad contacted the family through Skype and said he was with Isis.

“We saw his face and he was sitting with his friend. He said he would be receiving a lot of money from Isis and that they were going to find him a house and pay for his marriage.” At that time, according to his mother, he seemed enthusiastic to be with Isis.

“I’m sure they brainwashed him. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know better … They did not give me the chance to hug him or smell him or say goodbye. What kind of people are those. They are the devil. ”

Hind said she had spoken to her son three or four times on Skype. Last time he called he said he was afraid and wanted to come home and asked for money to come home. The family sent him $400 (£265) but did not hear from him again.

Hind used an Arabic slang expression to suggest that joining Isis was easier than leaving. The family believe that a roommate or another member of the group may have told superiors of Muhammad’s plan to leave.
Muhammad’s father, Said, a bus driver with the Israeli bus service, Eged, said: “My son was cheated and I am very sad that no one in the Israeli political leadership contacted me. The only one who spoke up for him was [Arab MP] Ahamd Tibi in the Knesset, who said this is the inevitable end of all the kids who join Daesh [Isis’s Arabic acronym].”

The authenticity of the footage, which also appeared on Twitter feeds used by Isis supporters, could not be independently verified by the Guardian.

‘Raising tomorrow’s mujahideen’: the horrific world of Isis’s child soldiers
Read more
Israeli security officials said they were aware of the video but could not confirm that it was authentic.

The man and the boy who appear in the Isis video are French citizens, an official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The man in the video speaks with a southern French accent and investigators are probing if he could be the step-brother of Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people in attacks on a Jewish school and paratroopers in the south of France beginning on March 11, 2012 exactly three years ago.

In the video, the man praises attacks on Jews “in your own stronghold in France” as he and the boy stand behind the man about to be killed.

Several experts, including the journalist David Thomson, who wrote a book about French jihadists, say the man is Sabri Essid, reportedly the half-brother of Merah.

Wednesday marks the third anniversary of the start of Merah’s killing spree, which ended with him dying in a shootout with police.

Natasha Underhill, a senior lecturer in international relations at Nottingham Trent University and expert on insurgency and international terrorism, said the conflicts in Iraq and Syria had made it easier for children to be exploited by Isis.

“The legacy of violence in these countries essentially means that these children have become entirely desensitised to the violence,” she said. “This in turn makes them almost immune to it and thus they can be moulded much easier into becoming killing machines.”

Underhill said the use of children in particular was likely to be a message by Isis that the group has longevity, with the ability to indoctrinate youth. “The fear with this is that these youths tend to be much more extreme as they really see no limits to their use of violence,” she said.

A full transcript of Hillary’s press conference on private use of emails:

I know there have been questions about my email, so I want to address that directly and then I will take a few questions from you. There are four things I want the public to know.

First, when I got to work as secretary of state I opted, for convenience, to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the state department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and my personal emails instead of two.

Looking back, it would have been better if I had simply used a second email account and carried a second phone. But at the time, this didn’t seem like an issue.

Second, the vast majority of my work emails went to government employees at their government addresses, which meant they were captured and preserved immediately on the system at the state department.

Third, after I left office, the state department asked former secretaries of state for our assistance in providing copies of work-related emails from our personal accounts. I responded right away and provided all my emails that could possibly be work-related, which totalled roughly 55,000 printed pages, even though I knew that the state department already had the vast majority of them.

We went through a thorough process to identify all my work-related emails and deliver them to the state department. At the end I chose not to keep my private, personal emails, emails about planning Chelsea’s wedding or my mother’s funeral arrangements, condolence notes to friends, as well as yoga routines, family vacations, the other things you typically find in inboxes. No one wants their personal emails made public. I think most people understand that and respect that privacy.

Fourth, I took the unprecedented step of asking that the state department make all my work-related emails public for everyone to see.

I am very proud of the work that I and my colleagues and our public servants did during my four years as secretary of state, and I look forward to people being able to see that for themselves.

Again, looking back, it would have been better for me to use two separate phones and two email accounts. But I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously it hasn’t worked out that way

Madonna may be one the most famous singers in the world, but when it comes to being a parent, she is the same in the boat as the rest of us.

Following in her superstar mum’s footsteps, Lourdes is going to the University of Michigan but her mum isn’t allowed to cheer on her old football team.

The 56-year-old singer who is touring Australia soon, sat down with US TODAY’s Carson Daily and opened up about being a mum to a college student.

“I’m not allowed at games! You think my daughter wants me at a game?” Madonna joked.

Madonna known for pushing the envelope puts on the ‘mum hat’ when it comes to her 18-year-old living at college.

“I’m very ‘mom,’” she said of how she acts when she’s visits Lourdes.

“I’m very, you know, worried: ‘Are you okay? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating right?’ You know, I set up a humidifier in her room with eucalyptus oil. I was worried about the fact that she didn’t have enough towels, Q-tips.”

Madonna attended the same university back in late 1970, but dropped out to pursue her music career, yet the star had some sage advice for her daughter.

“Try to do everything in moderation! Try not to kill all your brain cells. And try to go to class

MUMBAI: Churchgate residents are worried about the impact construction work of the Metro-III will have on their iconic, art decor buildings, some of them dating back to the 1930s.

Residents of Thakur Niwas on Jamshedji Tata Road had written to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) about their concerns on March 11. The letter quoted Jamshedji Tata in a letter to his son Dorab, saying, “Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick growing variety. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens. Reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks. Earmark areas for Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques and Christian churches.”

Shefali Kapadia, a resident, said, “Our building was built in 1953. J Tata Road is reclaimed land and ground water seepage is high in the area. Our building reverberates every time a BEST bus passes. An underground Metro could impact our building as it is over 60 years old. We wish to understand the safety and long-term impact of the Metro.”

The residents clarified that they were pro-development. Neera Punj from Lotus Court, built in the 1950s, said, “Ours is a six-storeyed building. We are concerned about the long-term hardships we may face. We are pro-development but not at the cost of damaging our peace of mind with the noise and air pollution the construction will cause. We have worked hard to maintain quality life in our area with street vendors being allowed in a particular area and footpaths being kept for pedestrians. We are not rabble-rousers. What if the work causes cracks in our buildings?”

The residents are also worried about the large green cover they may lose. “They are planning to destroy a boulevard of old trees for the Metro-III. The authorities say they will knock down our compound wall for better access. Their track record has not been very good, hence we are worried,” said Leetu Shivdasani, who has been at Lotus Court for nearly two decades.

Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd officials said buildings will be monitored daily or more frequently during and after construction through vibration-monitoring machines. MMRCL said special attention will be paid to heritage/historic and sensitive structures.

Around 50 supporters of slain TV executive Neeraj Grover, today held a protest rally from Dheeraj Solitaire building, where he was stabbed to death, in suburban Malad to Tulip Star Hotel in Juhu, demanding justice.

The protest rally was led by filmmaker Ashok Pandit for the gruesome murder of Grover.

“Earlier in the day, police picked up 15 supporters and took them to Bangur Police station, as they said that they did not have permission to hold the rally. Later, I called up Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam and he intervened in the matter. After talking to a senior police officer, we were granted permission to hold the protest rally,” Pandit said.

The supporters were detained and were later released by the police. Those who joined the protest rally include actor Raza Murad, television actress Jaya Bhattacharya and actress-VJ Teejay Sidhu among others.

The candle light vigil will be held in the evening at Sykz fitness centre at Lokhandwala at 6 pm.

On May 7, 2008, Grover was killed at Kannada actress Maria Susairaj’s flat by her enraged fiancé Emile Jerome Matthew, a naval officer, after he found the TV executive sleeping in Maria’s bedroom.

After the murder, Jerome and Susairaj chopped the victim’s body and stuffed it in bags. They then drove to the jungles of Manor, in Thane district, where they set Grover’s remains on fire.

In line with local equities, the rupee on Wednesday dipped for the third straight session and eased by two paise to close at fresh two-month low of 62.78 against greenback on sustained demand for US dollar from importers.

Continued slide in local equities amid fresh withdrawal of funds by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also weighed on the rupee while some dollar selling by exporters helped the rupee to cushioned the fall, Forex traders said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the Indian rupee resumed lower at 62.83 a dollar from Tuesday’s close of 62.76. It moved in a range of 62.69 and 62.87 before ending at 62.78, showing a loss of two paise or 0.03 per cent.

In three days, it has lost 62 paise.

“The Indian rupee has fallen over the last six sessions against the Dollar as the Greenback holds onto gains amid expectations of mid-year U.S. Fed rate hike. Investors continue to believe that Fed will adopt a hawkish stance at the upcoming policy meeting. The only thing limiting the fall is selling from exporters and other corporates,” said Suresh Nair, Director, Admisi Forex India.

The dollar index, consisting of six major global rivals, was up by 0.77 per cent. In the New York market, the dollar rose against five of its six currencies yesterday as investors worried that the Fed could raise rates prematurely.

The S&P BSE Sensex on Wednesday closed down by 50.70 points or 0.18 per cent in see-saw trade while FPIs sold shares worth Rs 748.13 crore Tuesday as per provisional data.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group, CEO said, “Trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 62.40 to 63.20.”

Meanwhile, the forward premia dropped further on persistent sluggishness on sustained receipts from exporters.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in August dipped to 225.25-227.25 paise from 229-231 paise Tuesday and the forward contracts maturing in February 2016 also tumbled to 437.25-439.25 paise from 444.5-446.5 paise.

The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 62.7450 and for Euro at 67.0955.

The rupee remained firm against the pound to 94.45 from overnight closing level of 94.53 and also shot up further to 66.37 against the euro from 67.48.

It moved up slightly to 51.67 per 100 Japanese yen from 51.71 on Tuesday.

Keywords: rupee rate, rupee v dollar, currency values, foreign exchange, forex markets

New Delhi: Foreign tourist arrivals in India grew by 2.1 percent in the first two months of this year despite the Delhi gang rape, Minister for Tourism K. Chiranjeevi said Wednesday.

“There has been some speculation in the media about the state of Indian tourism because of some extremely unfortunate events,” Chiranjeevi said at a tourism related function.

“The growth of foreign tourists has been positive,” he added.

Foreign tourist arrivals grew by 2.1 percent in January and February, he said.

“There is no negative growth. During these two months, foreign exchange earnings from tourism rose by 19.8 percent in rupee terms and 11.4 percent in dollar terms,” he added.

Chiranjeevi said his ministry had discussed the safety of foreign tourists with chief ministers and of all states and police chiefs. “We will take care (of the foreign tourists) to the maximum,” he said.