Google bans 'deceptive' payday loan adverts from search results

Google is banning adverts for payday lenders from its search results, adding the short-term loan industry to a blacklist that includes guns, tobacco and drugs, and dealing a bitter blow to the industry.

The internet giant announced that from mid-July it would ban payday loans from its AdWords system that displays adverts at the top of search results.

The move cuts off a crucial channel for many online-only lenders. Google’s dominant search engine is a key online storefront, with lenders bidding fiercely against each other for a prime position at the top of its results.

The announcement added to a series of setbacks to the industry, which has been criticised for extortionate interest rates and predatory behaviour. Since 2014 lenders have been limited in the interest rates and additional fees they are allowed to charge, and the number of short term loans has subsequently slumped.
"These loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users"Google's David Graff

Although Google’s policies prohibit a long list of illegal or offensive practices, it is very rare for a licensed and regulated industry to be expressly blacklisted.

“When reviewing our policies, research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users so we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that,” Google’s director of global product policy David Graff said.

“This change is designed to protect our users from deceptive or harmful financial products.” He said any loans where repayment is due within 60 days would be banned.



The move was instantly criticised by the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), which represents short-term lenders.

“UK consumers enjoy a vibrant, highly competitive credit market and we will be interested to read the evidence that Google uses to justify overruling open market advertising of a legal, regulated industry to deny people freedom of choice,” the CFA’s chief executive Russell Hamblin-Boone said.

“Short term loans are a legal source of credit used by millions of people across the UK and the industry is highly regulated with a cap on the total cost of credit.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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Expect unconditional apology, not silence, CM Chandy to PM Modi after Somalia remark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced more heat on Thursday for comparing Kerala to Somalia with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saying people of the state expected an unconditional apology from him and not his silence after it whipped up a controversy.

The comparison made by Modi at a poll rally in the state early this week when he said the “infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia” has set off a political storm and triggered criticism in the social media.

Twitter users have responded with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Get lost Modi), a take off from the Mohanlal starrer, which features the famous punch line “Po Mone Dinesha” to ridicule some of the characters of his hit film ‘Narasimham’. Chandy flayed Modi for not withdrawing his controversial comment while CPI-M leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said his statement would result in a setback to BJP in the ensuing polls as it has insulted the people of the state. Kerala goes to polls on May 16.

In his Facebook post, Chandy said Modi had kept mum on the controversy and what Keralites want is not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the election campaign rally without answering my questions. It could be due to the wide criticism he had received not only from the state, but also from Malayali community world over,” the senior Congress leader said.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to face impeachment trial

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is set to face trial after the Senate on Thursday voted to impeach and suspend her.

Fifty-five of the 81 members of Brazil's upper house voted in favour of the motion. Twenty-two voted against, BBC reported.

Rousseff, the country's first woman president, is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she has denied.

Vice-President Michel Temer will now assume the presidency while Rousseff's trial takes place which may last upto 180 days, media reports said.

Rousseff made a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected. Her suspension brings an end to 13 years of the rule of her Workers' Party.

The senators were each given 15 minutes to speak, with a buzzer indicating when their time was up. In total 71 of the house's 81 members spoke.

Former president Fernando Collor de Mello, himself impeached by the senate in 1992, said that he feels the country has "regressed politically", CNN reported.

His colleague Armando Monteiro said the impeachment was politically motivated and would set a dangerous precedence.

"We will, indeed, be promoting a rupture in the nation's institutional order."

Rousseff, who was first sworn into office in January 2011 and started a second term in 2015, has called the steps to remove her a "coup".

Rousseff has been also blamed for the worst recession since the 1930s, now in its second year.

Senator Waldemir Moka told the upper house during the motion that if the impeachment trial was successful, the future president would assume a government with a 250 billion Brazilian real debt ($72 billion) according to conservative projections, with the possibility of being up to 600 billion real ($174 billion).

Rousseff would be suspended during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro which starts on August 5.

When the investigation ends -- which could be as late as November -- the process would return to a special Senate committee.

At that point, Rousseff would have 20 days to present her case. Following that, the committee would vote on a final determination and then present it for a vote in the full senate.

It would take a two-thirds majority to then remove the president from office.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com

UPDATE 1-Uganda blocks social media, clamps down as president sworn in

May 12 Ugandan authorities blocked social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp on Thursday as President Yoweri Museveni was sworn in after a disputed re-election that led to a crackdown on dissent.

Museveni, 71, who took the oath of office at an event in Kampala, officially won 60 percent of the vote in the February ballot, extending his 30-year rule by another five years.

The opposition said the vote was rigged and protests broke out, leading to clashes with police and dozens of arrests.

Ugandan officials said it was free and fair, and dismiss accusations that they have clamped down on free speech.

On Wednesday, police arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye after a street protest. Besigye, who heads the Forum for Democratic Change party, won 35 percent of the vote. He has been under house arrest on and off since then.

Godfrey Mutabazi, the executive director of Uganda's telecommunications regulator, said security agencies had asked access to social media websites to be blocked "to limit the possibility of terrorists taking advantage" of visits by dignitaries.

Uganda is hosting several heads of state for the ceremony.

Residents said the sites had been inaccessible since late Wednesday.

The authorities also blocked social media during voting and shortly afterwards, a move criticised at the time by the United States and rights groups, who said it undermined the integrity of the process.

EU monitors said the election was held in an intimidating atmosphere and the electoral body lacked independence and transparency.

The government has also banned live television or radio coverage of protests.

One mobile operator, South Africa's MTN Group, told customers in a message that social media had been temporarily blocked at the request of the authorities.

In the days leading up to Museveni's swearing-in, authorities also placed more security patrols on the streets of Kampala and residents said there was a strong presence of military and police on Thursday.

Opposition to the president is strongest among youths in urban areas, where frustration has been fuelled by unemployment, corruption and crumbling public services.

Since coming to power in 1986, Museveni has been credited with restoring order after years of chaotic rule.

The economy has been growing, but experts say it has failed to keep pace with the rising population, and critics also complain about Museveni's failure to stem corruption and a clampdown on opposition voices. (Additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema in Nairobi; Editing by Edmund Blair and John Stonestreet)

Source: http://in.reuters.com

Brazilian Senate set to launch Dilma Rousseff impeachment

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was only hours from possibly being suspended at the start of an impeachment trial Wednesday in a political crisis paralyzing Latin America's largest country.

Her government lawyer lodged a last-ditch appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the court would even respond in time.

Barring a dramatic twist in events, the Senate was to start debating impeachment at approximately 9:00 am, with voting expected either

Her government lawyer lodged a last-ditch appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether the court would even respond in time.

Barring a dramatic twist in events, the Senate was to start debating impeachment at approximately 9:00 am, with voting expected either late at night or in the early hours of Thursday.

A majority of more than half of the senators in the 81-member chamber would trigger the opening of a trial and Rousseff's automatic suspension for up


A majority of more than half of the senators in the 81-member chamber would trigger the opening of a trial and Rousseff's automatic suspension for up to six months. In the final judgement, removing her from office would require a two-thirds majority.

She is accused of breaking budgetary laws by taking loans to boost public spending and mask the sinking state of the economy during her tight 2014 re-election campaign.


Rousseff says the accounting maneuvers were standard practice for many governments in the past and describes the impeachment as a coup mounted by her vice president, Michel Temer, who will take over if she is suspended.

A onetime Marxist guerrilla tortured under Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s, Rousseff therefore faces possibly her final day in power Wednesday.

Her official agenda released daily to the public contained a solitary item: "Internal paperwork."
Rousseff vows to resist.

"I am going to fight with all my strength, using all means available," she told a women's forum in Brasilia on Tuesday.

Rousseff called her opponents "people (who) can't win the presidency through a popular vote" and claimed they had a "project to dismantle" social gains made by millions of poor during 13 years of Workers' Party rule.

In an effort to cripple Temer's ambitions, Rousseff allies went to the top electoral court asking that the prob ..

The country's first female president has also become deeply unpopular with most Brazilians, who blame her for presiding over the recession and a massive corruption scandal centered on the state oil company Petrobras.

In an already chaotic week in which the interim speaker of the lower house tried to order the upper house to halt impeachment proceedings -- only to back down hours later -- there was no patching over the sprawling South American country's deep divisions.

Workers' Party faithful on Tuesday burned tires and blocked roads in Brasilia and in Sao Paulo in a potential taste of more street trouble to come.

Lawmaker Jose Guimaraes, a Rousseff ally, said that despite almost certain defeat in the initial Senate vote, the impeachment trial itself would be an all-out fight.

"We will have 180 days in the Senate, talking with every one of them, to get them to change their minds," he told journalists, warning that "our main fight today will b ..

Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

slamic State detonates car bomb in Baghdad market, kills 45

An explosives-laden car bomb ripped through a commercial area in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 45 people and wounding dozens in an attack that was swiftly claimed by the extremist Islamic State group.

Shortly after the explosion, one of the deadliest recently in the Iraqi capital, the Sunni extremist group — which sees Shiite Muslims as apostates — said it was behind the assault. IS said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Iraqi officials denied that.
Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad. AP

Security forces and citizens inspect the scene after a car bomb explosion at a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad. AP

The bombing showed that while IS has suffered a number of territorial defeats in the past year, the militants are still capable of launching significant attacks across the country. They also have recently stepped-up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield defeats.

Wednesday's bomb struck a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr City, two police officials said, adding that the blast also wounded up to 65 people, several seriously, prompting fears the death toll could rise further.

Ambulances rushed to the scene where dozens of residents walked through the twisted and mangled wreckage of cars and other debris that littered the pavement, trying to help the victims. The street was stained red with blood in many places and front-side facades of several buildings were heavily damaged. Smoke billowed from ground-level stores gutted out by the explosion.

Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.

"It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground," Salih told The Associated Press.

"The force of the explosion threw me for meters (yards) away and I lost consciousness for a few minutes," the merchant added. He suffered no injuries, but two of his workers were wounded.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the car bomb. AP

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the car bomb. AP

Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to release the information to reporters.

In its online statement, IS said it had carried out a suicide attack that targeted a gathering of Shiite militiamen. The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the claim but it appeared on a website commonly used by the Sunni militants.

IS also a controls significant area in northern and western Iraq, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul. Commercial and public places in Shiite-dominated areas are among the most frequent targets for the Sunni militants seeking to undermine Iraqi government efforts to maintain security inside the capital.

In February, the group carried out devastating back-to-back market bombings in Sadr City, the stronghold of followers of an influential Shiite cleric. That attack claimed the lives of at least 73 people.

According to the United Nations, at least 741 Iraqis were killed in April due to ongoing violence. The U.N. mission to Iraq put the number of civilians killed at 410, while the rest it said were members of the security forces. A total of 1,374 Iraqis were wounded that month, UNAMI said.

In March, at least 1,119 people were killed and 1,561 wounded in the ongoing violence.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Xiaomi Mi Max: Top 5 Features of Xiaomi's Largest Smartphone

Xiaomi launched its largest display smartphone on Tuesday, the Mi Max. Featuring a 6.44-inch display, the smartphone is available in three variants, ranging from a 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage model up to a 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage model.

China and its massive adoption of large-screen smartphones, or phablets as they are called, was single-handedly responsible for making Apple reverse its decision on smartphone display sizes being limited to 4 inches. It's in this phablet-obsessed market that Xiaomi has launched its largest smartphone till date.

(Also see: Xiaomi Mi Max Full Specifications)

The company says the "supersized screen" on the Xiaomi Mi Max makes it ideal for watching movies and TV shows on the go. We take a look at the new smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer, and try to single out its top features.

Large display
Of course, without question, the top feature of the Mi Max is its large display. The 6.44-inch screen features a full-HD resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, and comes with a Sunlight Display mode that enhances legibility even under harsh sunlight. The company is also touting a night reading mode, apart from the "dynamic global pixel adjustment".

Large battery
Of course, with such a large display, a large battery would also be required. The Xiaomi Mi Max bears a 4850mAh battery, the highest capacity battery on any of the company's smartphones. While Xiaomi has not provided detailed battery life figures, it says the battery can support up to 14 hours of streaming video (via Wi-Fi) on a single charge.

High-res camera
The Xiaomi Mi Max features a 16-megapixel rear camera with a 5-lens setup and a large f/2.0 aperture. It is accompanied by a dual-tone flash, and supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF) apart from HDR. The front-facing camera on the other hand sports a 5-megapixel sensor, and is accompanied by the same large f/2.0 aperture apart from an 85-degree wide-angle lens.

Slim build
While not especially slim for a phablet - after all, as the size of the smartphone increases, it is easier to space out components to keep thickness in check - the Xiaomi Mi Max is just 7.5mm thick. This was touted by CEO Jun Lei ahead of the launch as well, and should be useful in slipping the massive phone away into a pocket.

Fingerprint sensor, infrared emitter
Once again, while the fingerprint scanner is by no means an extraordinary addition in the smartphone segment, the inclusion of the sensor on the Mi Max will be useful for users, from authorising online payments to unlocking the smartphone. The Mi Max also comes with an infrared emitter, which can be used as a universal remote controller - a handy feature.

Honourable mentions
Other standout features of the Xiaomi Mi Max that didn't make the list include the presence of 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the top variant, the ability to expand storage via a microSD card, as well as VoLTE connectivity.

SOurce: http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Donald Trump, Bucking Calls to Unite, Claims ‘Mandate’ to Be Provocative

Donald J. Trump’s behavior in recent days — the political threats to the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan; the name-calling on Twitter; the attacks on Hillary Clinton’s marriage — has deeply puzzled Republicans who expected him to move to unite the party, start acting presidential and begin courting the female voters he will need in the general election.

But Mr. Trump’s choices reflect an unusual conviction: He said he had a “mandate” from his supporters to run as a fiery populist outsider and to rely on his raucous rallies to build support through “word of mouth,” rather than to embrace a traditional, mellower and more inclusive approach that congressional Republicans will advocate in meetings with him on Thursday.

Mr. Trump’s strategy is replete with risks. Roughly 60 percent of Americans view him negatively, according to pollsters, who say more-of-the-same Trump is not likely to improve those numbers. While a majority of Republican primary voters said they were looking for a political outsider, Mr. Trump will face a majority of voters in November who prefer a candidate with political experience, according to primary exit polls and several national polls. Many Republicans think they will lose the presidency and seats in the House and Senate if he continues using language that offends women and some racial and religious groups.

Still, Mr. Trump’s message, tone and policy ideas have drawn followers who are more passionate than Republican nominees typically enjoy, and he has monopolized the political conversation and news coverage of the race. Some Republicans argue that he cannot afford to change his stripes too much, while strategists in both parties say he is shrewdly sticking with a style that drowns out attacks that could deepen his negative rating.

“His rally rants and Twitter brawls are meant to dominate the media coverage and public conversation so that Democratic challenges have less space to break through all of the noise,” said Guy Cecil, the chief strategist and co-chairman of Priorities USA, the “super PAC” supporting Mrs. Clinton. “He doesn’t want people talking about his record or positions.”

Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview, compared his candidacy to hit Broadway shows and championship baseball teams, saying that success begot success and that he would be foolish to change his behavior now.

“You win the pennant and now you’re in the World Series — you gonna change?” Mr. Trump said. “People like the way I’m doing.”
Graphic: Why Republicans in Congress Are Opposing or Supporting Trump

He argued that he stood a better chance of inspiring voters in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania if he was his authentic self, rather than shifting from populist outsider to political insider to please a relative handful of Republican elites who are part of the establishment he has railed against for months. He said his huge rallies, where outbursts of violence and racist taunts have vexed many Republican leaders, and his attacks against adversaries on Twitter and in television interviews would continue because he believes Americans admire his aggressive, take-charge style.
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“I think I have a mandate from the people,” Mr. Trump continued, referring to his victories in 29 states, including Nebraska and West Virginia on Tuesday night. “The people are tired of incompetent leadership at the highest level. They’re tired of trade deals that are ripping our jobs apart and taking their wages.”

Mandates are usually claimed after a presidential candidate wins a general election, not a party nomination, but part of Mr. Trump’s style and strategy is to project a supreme confidence in himself and his popularity with voters. Several Republicans said they put little stock in his claim, arguing that he had won support from only a fraction of the electorate and that he had yet to prove he was worthy of leading the entire Republican Party, rather than just his fractious and highly visible wing.

“Donald Trump did earn a mandate from Republican primary voters,” said Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican facing a tough re-election fight in Pennsylvania, whose primary Mr. Trump won with 57 percent of the vote. “My advice to him is that he should now consider how he will appeal to the many Republican and non-Republican voters who have serious concerns about his candidacy.”

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said that electoral mandates were a fallacy in American politics, and that leaders only did well when they focused on “ideas in the center that unite people.”

“I don’t even think the 1980 Reagan landslide gave Reagan a mandate,” said Mr. Gregg, whose state gave Mr. Trump his first win in the primaries, and who has not decided if he will follow through on his pledge to support the Republican nominee. “He was effective because the country was in terrible shape and he was able to bring large numbers of people behind his ideas. Trump hasn’t done that.”

But Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator and past presidential candidate, said Mr. Trump was rallying historic numbers of voters with a mix of conservative ideas and anti-establishment populism that evoked, among other politicians, Ross Perot and his magnetic appeal in the 1992 campaign. Mr. Perot lost, of course, but Mr. Buchanan said that Mr. Trump might stand a better chance.

“With the largest Republican turnout ever, Trump eliminated 16 rivals and is on track to winning more votes than any Republican nominee in history,” Mr. Buchanan said. “That gives him a mandate to lead the Republican Party and move ahead with his plans to secure the border, pull back from foreign interventions and wars, and end these terrible trade deals.”
The Electoral Map Looks Challenging for Trump

With many Republican leaders and elected officials torn between supporting their presumptive nominee and withholding their endorsement as leverage, Mr. Trump sounded torn himself. He said he wanted party unity but was unwilling to abandon the brand of politics and communication that has energized many Americans and divided others. He described his eight million followers on Twitter as a singular “advantage” and indicated that their support mattered more to him than the backing of Mr. Ryan, whose statement last week that he was “not ready” to endorse Mr. Trump led to the meetings Mr. Ryan is organizing on Thursday.

David Winston, a Republican pollster who worked on Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign in 2012, said Mr. Trump was putting himself at a severe disadvantage in the general election.

“At this point, at a minimum, he’s at least 50 million voters short of what he’s going to need,” Mr. Winston said. “He has created an interesting dynamic in that, during the course of the campaign, he was basically calling those individuals names, which didn’t endear him to their supporters.”

Uniting people behind Mr. Trump is “eminently doable, but it will take significant focus,” he said.

In Mr. Trump’s view, the rallies and the Twitter wars — even when he is punching down against a little-known evangelical leader (Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention) and a cable talk show host (Joe Scarborough of MSNBC), as he did recently — are crowd-pleasers, creating buzz that is critical to dominating the political landscape and overshadowing Mrs. Clinton’s message and attacks. Last week, he kept his commitments for rallies in Nebraska, Oregon and Washington State, even though he already had a lock on the nomination.

“In a Broadway theater, the best, the best, absolute best sale is called ‘word of mouth,’ ” said Mr. Trump, who once dabbled in theater producing. “If people love a Broadway show, it’s better than if you write a good review. Word of mouth is the No. 1 thing. And the word of mouth at my rallies is like, ‘You’ve got to go see it.’ And, you know, one person goes and they talk about it to 20 people.”

Over the coming weeks, Mr. Trump will offer policy speeches, including one on law and order, and another on judges — the latter being, in part, a response to conservatives who have said he cannot be trusted to pick Supreme Court justices.

But Mr. Trump is reluctant to trade in pitchfork populism for something more demure. He was gleeful, in fact, that so much attention was being paid to his Capitol Hill meetings on Thursday.

“Somebody said the paparazzi is going crazy over that meeting,” he said.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com