Chelsea complete Davide Zappacosta signing from Torino Thursday August 31,2017

Chelsea have landed the signing of Davide Zappacosta from Torino in a £25million deal. 

The right-back has signed a four-year contract worth around £45,000 a week after tax at Stamford Bridge.  

And now, In an official club statement Torino have confirmed Zappacosta has left the club and has signed for Antonio Conte's side. 

They said 'Torino have surrendered to Chelsea' and allowed Davide Zappacosta to leave the club and join them. 

Their club president, Urbano Cairo 'thanked Davide for his dedication' and 'wished him the best' for the remainder of his career. 

2017-18 Premier League - Chelsea complete signing of Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City Thursday August 31,2017

Chelsea have completed the signing of Leicester City's Danny Drinkwater for £30million.

The Blues, who had pursued the midfielder for most of the summer, finally had a third bid accepted ahead of the transfer deadline on Thursday evening August 31,2017

Leicester had previously rejected a £23m bid by Antonio Conte's side but the Blues managed to get the deal over the line at the last minute

Danny Drinkwater said he is relishing the chance at Stamford Bridge after passing a medical.

He added: 'I'm delighted to be a Chelsea player and can't wait to get started. It has been a long journey to get here but I am very happy and am looking forward to helping the club win more trophies.' 

The 27-year-old is Chelsea's sixth signing of the summer and technical director Michael Emenalo said Drinkwater's experience would help.

Public Provident Fund(PPF) Withdrawal, Loan, Transfer And Other Rules - All You Need To Know

Despite falling interest rates on PPF or public provident fund remains one of the popular small savings schemes. Interest rate on PPF and other small savings scheme are being reset every quarter from April last year, as compared to the annual mode earlier. Investors in PPF currently get an interest rate of 7.8 per cent. 

The interest rate on PPF and other small savings schemes are benchmarked to yields on government bonds, with a small mark-up. In terms of tax implications, PPF enjoys EEE or exempt, exempt, exempt status - contribution, interest and maturity proceeds all are tax free. 

10 Things To Know About PPF Rules

1) Only one PPF account can be maintained by an individual, except an account that is opened on behalf of a minor. Joint accounts cannot be opened.

2) A subscriber can open account on behalf of a minor but subject to maximum yearly contribution limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh in all the accounts.

3) Rs. 100 is the minimum account needed to open a PPF account, according to India Post's website. 

4) The minimum deposit in a PPF account in a financial year is Rs. 500 and maximum is Rs. 1.5 lakh. A penalty of Rs. 50 is levied per year for default, if the customer does not deposit the minimum amount of Rs. 500 in a financial year. PPF deposits can be done maximum in 12 transactions in a financial year.

5) The maturity period of PPF account is 15 years but can be extended within one year of maturity for further 5 years and so on. An account can be transferred from one authorised bank or post office to another. In such case, the PPF account will be considered as a continuing account. 

6) If PPF subscribers fail to subscribe the minimum amount Rs. 500 in a financial year, the account will be treated as discontinued. The subscriber in such cases will not be entitled to obtain a loan or make a partial withdrawal unless the account is revived. The subscriber cannot open another PPF account in addition to the discontinued one.

7) A PPF subscriber can revive the discontinued account by payment of Rs. 50/- as penalty for each year of default along with arrear subscription of Rs. 500 for each year.

8) The PPF depositor is eligible for a loan in the third financial year of account opening. Loan up to 25 per cent of the balance amount at the end of first financial year can be availed. The rate of interest on the loan shall be at 2 per cent per annum above the PPF interest rate. The loan is repayable in 36 months.

9) Partial withdrawal is permissible every year from 7th financial year from the year of opening account, according to India Post's website. The maximum amount is limited to 50 per cent of the balance at the end of the fourth year immediately preceding the year of withdrawal or the amount at the end of the preceding year, whichever is lower.

10) Premature closure is allowed only after the account has completed five financial years and under specific conditions like expenditure towards medical treatment, according to an amendment in 2016. "A subscriber shall be allowed premature closure of his account or account of a minor of whom he is the guardian on ground that amount is required for treatment of serious ailments or life-threatening diseases of the account holder, spouse or dependent children on production of supporting documents from competent medical authority," the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

Indian Railway Tatkal Booking, Cancellation Rules, Charges - All You Need To Know

IRCTC, which provides online e-ticket booking facility for Railways, processes about 1,30,000 Tatkal transactions daily. 

Bulk of these Tatkal tickets are booked within minutes of the quota opening. IRCTC has come up with new facilities to pay for the Tatkal tickets.

 IRCTC website also says that during the journey, at least one passenger, whose identity card number has been indicated on the ticket, will have to produce original proof of identity indicated on the ticket, failing which all the passengers booked on the ticket will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

Tatkal Booking Rules In 10 Points
1) Booking for Tatkal tickets AC classes open at 10:00 am and for non-AC classes at 11:00 am, one day in advance of actual date of journey, excluding date of journey.

2) Under the existing rule, no refund is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets.

3) Where confirmed reservation has been provided to RAC or waitlisted ticket holder at any time up to final preparation of charts, such ticket shall be treated as confirmed.

4) Cancellation Charges for RAC or Waitlisted Tickets: Refund shall be made if the ticket is cancelled up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure, says IRCTC website.

5) In case of Tatkal ticket issued for travel for more than one passenger, some passengers have confirmed reservation and others are on waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage shall be admissible for confirmed passengers, subject to the condition that entire tatkal ticket is surrendered for cancellation up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train, according to IRCTC website.

6) If a train is running late by more than 3 hours or the train is cancelled, please file Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) with proper reason for claiming refund, says IRCTC website.

7) No concession is allowed in Tatkal booking.

8) IRCTC has introduced new facilities for payment of e-tickets, including Tatkal tickets: ePaylater (powered by Arthashastra Fintech Pvt. Ltd.) and Pay-On-Delivery (Powered by Anduril Technologies. These options enable to book tickets first and pay later.

9) For example, in the ePayLater option, you get the payment link through email and SMS on making your booking. You get up to 14 days to make the payment. Basically, ePayLater pays for you whenever you book a ticket. And you have to pay 3.50 per cent as charges, plus applicable taxes.

10) Tatkal charges per passenger are in addition to normal tickets. Tatkal charges are fixed as a percentage of fare at the rate of 10 per cent of basic fare for second class and 30 per cent of basic fare for all other classes subject to minimum and maximum as given here below, according to the Railways website.

Class of travel	Minimum Tatkal charges (in Rs.)	Maximum Tatkal charges (in Rs.)
Second (sitting)	10	15
Sleeper	100	200
AC Chair Car	125	225
AC 3 Tier	300	400
AC 2 Tier	400	500
Executive	400	500

India captain Virat Kohli Becomes 1st player to stitch 10 double-century stands in ODIs Thursday August 31,2017

India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday August 31,2017 became the first player in the history to stitch ten double-hundred stands in ODIs. 

The 28-year-old achieved this feat during the fourth ODI match @ Colombo against Sri Lanka 

Here is the list of Virat Kohli's double-hundred stands in ODIs:

1. 224, with Gautam Gambhir for 3rd wicket vs SL, Kolkata, 24 Dec 2009

2. 219, with Rohit Sharma for 2nd wicket vs SL, Colombo (RPS), 31 Aug 2017

3. 213, with Ajinkya Rahane for 3rd wicket vs BAN, Fatullah, 26 Feb 2014

4. 212, Shikhar Dhawan for 2nd wicket vs AUS, Canberra, 20 Jan 2016

5. 209*, with Gautam Gambhir for 3rd wicket vs ENG, Delhi, 17 Oct 2011

6. 207, with Rohit for 2nd wicket vs AUS, Perth, 12 Jan 2016

7. 205, with Gautam Gambhir for 2nd wicket vs SL, Dhaka, 13 Mar 2012

8. 203, with Virender Sehwag for 3rd wicket vs BAN, Dhaka, 19 Feb 2011

9. 202, with Rohit for 3rd wicket vs SL, Kolkata, 13 Nov 2014

10. 200, with Kedar Jadhav for 5th wicket vs ENG, Pune, 15 Jan 2017

THE HURRICANE CATEGORY SCALE

THE HURRICANE CATEGORY SCALE

As storms pick up wind speeds, they increase from tropical depressions to hurricanes. In increasing order, the categories are:

Tropical depression: around 38mph 

Tropical storm: 39-73mph 

Category 1: 74-95mph

Category 2: 96-110mph

Category 3: 111-129mph

Category 4: 130-156mph

Category 5: 157mph and over

Hurricane Irma continues its voyage westward over the Atlantic Ocean

Hurricane Irma has been upgraded for the second time Thursday August 31,2017 and is now at Category 3 strength as it continues its voyage westward over the Atlantic Ocean.

Its winds are now blowing at a sustained 115mph

'Irma is forecast to become a major hurricane by tonight and is expected to be an extremely dangerous hurricane for the next several days,' warned National Weather Service forecaster Eric Blake.

It was already upgraded from tropical storm to Category 2 hurricane on Thursday, and wasn't expected to reach Category 3 until Friday Sep 01,2017

Hurricane Irma will take Hurricane Irma a week to cross the Atlantic - at which point it could either head north-west toward the Carolinas, or west and strike Puerto Rice and its neighbors

Note

THE HURRICANE CATEGORY SCALE

As storms pick up wind speeds, they increase from tropical depressions to hurricanes. In increasing order, the categories are:

Tropical depression: around 38mph 

Tropical storm: 39-73mph 

Category 1: 74-95mph

Category 2: 96-110mph

Category 3: 111-129mph

Category 4: 130-156mph

Category 5: 157mph and over

2017-18 Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur Sign Serge Aurier From Paris Saint-Germain(PSG) Thursday August 31,2017

Ivorian right-back Serge Aurier has joined Tottenham Hotspur from Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract, the two clubs announced on Thursday August 31,2017

Spurs are reported to have paid PSG around £23 million ($29.6 million, 25 million euros) to sign the 24-year-old, who won two Ligue 1 titles during his three years in Paris.

The deal was held up as Spurs' request for a work permit was complicated by the suspended two-month prison sentence Aurier was given after an assault on a police officer outside a Paris nightclub in May 2016.

"This is a huge and exciting opportunity at a massive football club and I am determined to prove myself as a professional both on and off the pitch," Aurier said in comments published on the Spurs website.

"This is a fresh start for me and I will do everything to make the Spurs fanbase, which is huge and diverse, proud of me.

"The fans are the most important people at any club and I am looking forward to showing them and everyone at Spurs the real Serge Aurier."

Aurier's conviction for elbowing a police officer meant he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the British authorities for PSG's Champions League game against Arsenal last November.

His reference to Spurs' "diverse" fanbase was a pointed one as he was suspended by PSG last year for making a homophobic slur against former coach Laurent Blanc in a social media video.

Aurier, capped 40 times by Ivory Coast, began his career with French club Lens and spent two and a half seasons at Toulouse before joining PSG in January 2014.

During his time at Parc des Princes, he also won three French Cups and three French League Cups.

At Spurs he will fill the void left by England right-back Kyle Walker's £45 million move to Manchester City. He can also play at centre-back.

Aurier is Spurs' fourth acquisition of the transfer window after Davinson Sanchez, a club-record £42 million recruit from Ajax, back-up goalkeeper Paulo Gazzanigga and Argentinian youngster Juan Foyth

MS Dhoni Creates World Record of Most Not Outs in His 300th ODI in the 4th ODI @ Colombo Thursday August 31,2017

Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined a select group of Indian players on Thursday to have represented India in 300 one-day internationals. And the former India captain celebrated that with yet another feat which takes him to the top of the list among batsmen with most not outs in ODIs.

Dhoni, who survived a dropped catch to stay unbeaten on 49, and helped India post a total of 375 after a century stand with Manish Pandey (50*) has now been unbeaten in 73 innings in ODIs, which is the most for any player in the history of ODI cricket.

Before the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka, Dhoni was tied with the bowling duo of Shaun Pollock from South Africa and Sri Lankan Chamonda Vaas, who both have been unbeaten on 72 occasions.

Michael Bevan, a man who comes very close to Dhoni in terms of his legendary status in ODI cricket, and perhaps the best finisher that Australia has had in the 50-over format, was unbeaten on 67 occasions.

Muttiah Muralitharan comes next with 63 not outs to his name while New Zealand all-rounder Chris Harris was unbeaten in 62 innings.

Dhoni's status as one of ODI cricket's finest finishers ever has long been established, but the man continues to find his name on top of some list or the other as he enters the twilight zone of what has been a remarkable career

No Direct Entry For Sri Lanka at 2019 World Cup After India Thrashing in the 4th ODI @ Colombo on Thursday August 31,2017

The Sri Lankan cricket team has been unable to seal a direct qualification place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, after failing to win two matches in the ongoing series against India.

The hosts were thrashed by 168 runs in the penultimate match in Colombo and that puts them 0-4 behind in the five-match series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma slammed majestic centuries as India thump Sri Lanka by 168 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday August 31,2017

This is the largest defeat at home for Sri Lanka in ODIs (in terms of runs). Virat Kohli and Co. bettered India's previous record of 147-run win in 2009, which also came at the same venue.

The 1996 World champions needed two wins in the five-match series to secure a place in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over event, which will take place from 30 May to 15 July in the United Kingdom. The top seven ODI sides apart from host England as on 30 September qualify directly. 

But with India taking a 4-0 lead, Sri Lanka will now have to wait for the Windies to lose at least one of its upcoming matches to be able to clinch that berth. If Sri Lanka wins the last match of the series on Sunday, they will reach 88 points on the points table but that will not be enough to ensure an automatic qualification. 

The Windies will be able to overtake Sri Lanka in such a scenario since it can also reach 88 points and edge Sri Lanka on decimal points if it wins its upcoming six matches – one against Ireland on 13 September and all ODIs of a five-match series against England from 19 to 29 September.

In case Sri Lanka loses the series 5-0, the Windies will be able to overtake it by beating Ireland and winning either all five matches against England or the last four matches for a 4-1 series win. Teams not getting direct places in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will get another shot through a Qualifying tournament.

ISRO Faces Failure: PSLV Rocket Fails to Launch Navigation Satellite Into Orbit

It was a black Thursday August 31,2017 for Indian space programme as it suffered a serious setback after its workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) failed to deliver India's eighth navigation satellite into its intended orbit. 

The 1,425 kg Indian Regional Navigation Satellite-1H (IRNSS-1H), which was launched at 7 p.m. on board the PSLV, was declared unsuccessful after its heat shield failed to separate. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said: "The mission was unsuccessful."

"The rocket heat shield didn't separate. The satellite is inside the heat shield," he added. Speaking to the media, Kiran Kumar said the rocket engines performed well but only the heat shield did not get separated. "The satellite was seen rotating inside the heat shield enclosure," he said. Queried about the impact of the mission failure on getting commercial launch prospects, the ISRO Chairman said the issue has to be studied. 

The IRNSS-1H satellite was to have been slung into orbit at around 507 km above the earth. Rocket scientists are perplexed at the failure. "It is really perplexing that such a thing has happened. Normally the PSLV rocket has several redundancies built into it," R.V. Perumal, a former ISRO scientist, told. He said all the commands are pre-planned and built into the computers. "There cannot be any manual command," he added.

Earlier, at around 7 p.m. the rocket PSLV standing around 44.4 metres tall and weighing 321 tonnes with a one-way ticket hurtled towards the skies ferrying the IRNSS-1H.

 With a rich orange flame at its tail, the rocket ascended towards the evening skies amidst the resounding cheers of ISRO scientists and media team assembled at the launch centre. 

Space scientists at ISRO new rocket mission control room were glued to their computer screens watching the rocket escaping the earth's gravitational pull. 

The IRNSS-1H is a substitute for IRNSS-1A as the three rubidium atomic clocks of the latter has failed.

 The launch failure has shocked the Indian space community as PSLV has a good record of success missions since 1993 and has been a major revenue earner for Antrix Corporation, ISRO's commercial arm.

PSLV is a four stage (engine) rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively. 

The first and third stages are fired by solid propellant and the second and fourth stages are fired by liquid propellant. 

The rocket that failed on Thursday August 31,2017  is the much powerful variant called PSLV-XL.

 But for two failures - one in 1993 and the other on Thursday - the PSLV has an excellent success record launching several Indian and foreign satellites.

Incidentally, the launch of the first navigation satellite IRNSS-1A was also postponed from its original launch date. 

The launch had to be put off initially after finding a problem in one of the electro-hydraulic control actuators in the rocket's second stage/engine. 

The second stage had to be dismantled to replace the actuator, which is an assembly of several components. 

It weighed around 20 kg. ISRO also had earlier dismantled a fully assembled PSLV rocket to check a component in the rocket's second stage.

In 2010 a fully assembled PSLV rocket was dismantled to replace a gas motor in its second stage/engine with an uprated one. 

The gas motor powers the rocket's second stage control actuators for manoeuvering the engine's nozzle - the process is called gimballing.

 The process enables the rocket to maintain a steady course on its way up. 

The failure of PSLV on Thursday August 31,2017 is expected to impact ISRO's prospects in the global small and medium sized global satellite launch market.

The Hajj in Numbers - Pakistan Sends Most International Pilgrims to Date

The largest annual international gathering in the world is currently underway, with 2 million Muslims expected to make this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. 

For perspective, that's nearly five times the number of foreigners who traveled to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 

This year, more than 80 nationalities will gather at the Holy City of Mecca. To date, Pakistan has sent the highest number of foreign representatives at 184,000, followed by India and Bangladesh. 

As one of the five pillars of Islam, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca is mandatory for physically and financially capable Muslims to perform at least once in their lives. The rituals are intended to cleanse the soul and demonstrate the equality and solidarity of all Muslims in their submission to God. 

According to the Kingdom's Ministry of Culture and Information, the number of foreign visitors has soared over the years: In 1941, a modest 24,000 pilgrims made the journey to Mecca, compared to 1.325 million in 2016. 

While the Hajj is one of the oldest pilgrimages in the world, logistically, this year's edition is thoroughly modern.

Every pilgrim is given an electronic identification bracelet containing personal and medical information in the event of a medical emergency. The GPS-enabled devices also inform pilgrims about prayer times and feature a multilingual help desk for pilgrims who don't speak Arabic. 

Likewise, this year's Hajj is embracing technology and social media as a way for Muslims unable to make the journey to follow the pilgrimage via livestream. A portal has also been created educating non-Muslims about the ancient tradition. 

SaudiWelcomesTheWorld.org posts photos of the pilgrimage and invites pilgrims to share stories of their personal journeys, while Hajj2017.org livestreams the event. 

The Hajj runs between August 30 to September 4. 

Here's the Hajj in numbers

184,000 pilgrims from Pakistan 

170,000 pilgrims from India 

127,000 pilgrims from Bangladesh 

90,000 pilgrims from Turkey 

41,200 pilgrims from Malaysia 

23,500 pilgrims from Russia 

12,700 pilgrims from China 

6,000 pilgrims from the Philippines 

3,500 pilgrims from South Africa 

94 percent of pilgrims arrived by air this year; to accommodate the number of arrivals, airports in Jeddah and Madinah built dedicated terminals for pilgrims. 

During Hajj, more than 2.64 million meals are distributed daily.

2017 US Open Men's Singles Round Two - Rafael Nadal (Spain)beat Taro Daniel(Japan) Thursday August 31,2017

Rafael Nadal battled back after dropping the first set Thursday August 31,2017 to subdue Japan's 121st-ranked Taro Daniel and reach the third round of the US Open.

The 31-year-old Spaniard won his ATP-best 51st match of the year by 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 over the 24-year-old New York native, who fell to 0-4 against top-10 rivals.

"It's a very important victory," Nadal said. "It's true I didn't play very well tonight but it's true I'm through to the third round."

Nadal, a 15-time Grand Slam champion who captured his 10th French Open crown in June, will face 59th-ranked Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer on Saturday for a berth in the last 16.

2017 US Open Men's Singles Round Two - Roger Federer(Swiss)beat Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)Thursday August 31,2017

Roger Federer recorded his 80th US Open win and 17th in 17th meetings with grizzled Russian Mikhail Youzhny on Thursday August 31,2017 to reach the last 32, where he was joined by Andrey Rublev, the latest teenage upstart in New York.

Roger Federer, 36, needed a second successive five-setter to reach the third round with a 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow veteran Youzhny, just one year his junior.

Five-time champion and third seed Federer had also needed five sets to see off US teenager Frances Tiafoe in the first round.

The 36-year-old next faces another 35-year-old, Feliciano Lopez of Spain, for a place in the last 16. His record against Lopez is just as solid -- 12-0.

"It was quite a lot of fun out there -- I feel quite warmed up by now," said Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Federer, who fired 63 winners and 68 unforced errors.

Youzhny admitted he had cramped, which meant he could move left to right but not forward and back.

"That was hard to watch," said Federer. "But this was probably the best match we have played against each other."

At 331.4 mm, Mumbai Gets Heaviest Rainfall Since 2005 Deluge

The intense rainfall which the metropolis experienced on Tuesday August 29, 2017 was short of a cloudburst but falls into the 'extremely heavy' category, indicating an unusual weather event. 

Here’s a look at how much it rained in Mumbai and how it compares to other similar events in the past.

Linking PAN with Aadhaar - Last date for linking PAN with Aadhaar extended By 4 Months From August 31 To December 31,2017

The NDA Government on Thursday August 31,2017 extended by four months the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar to December 31,2017

 Earlier, the last date for linking PAN to Aadhaar was August 31,2017

The NDA Government had made mandatory the linking of the two databases for filing ITRs.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.

However, those categorised as non-resident Indians as per the Income Tax laws, people who are not citizens of India, those above 80 years of age and residents of the states of Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir had been exempt from the requirement.

The tax department had on July 31 stated that “unless a finding is made that Aadhaar is constitutionally not valid, tax return filers will need to link their PAN with Aadhaar by August 31, 2017.”

Incidentally, December 31 is also the deadline for people to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar. Tax filers, however, were allowed to file their annual income returns by August 5 without linking their Aadhaar with PAN. They were to just quote Aadhaar or the acknowledgement number for having applied for the ID

Benazir Bhutto murder case: A timeline of events following her assassination

August 31, 2017: Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court sentenced two senior police officers to 17 years in jail and declared former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf an absconder. The court also ordered the seizure of Musharraf’s property. Five others were acquitted in the case.

August 21, 2017: The anti-terrorism court decided to conduct daily proceedings. Judge Mohammad Asghar Khan announced daily hearing after the last witness in the case recorded his testimony on August 20.

2013: FIA’s special prosecutor in the case was killed by unknown assailants. Doctors said he had been killed with 10 bullets targeting his chest and shoulder.

2011: Both Saud Aziz and SSP Kurrum Shahezad were initially arrested but were later released

2009: Pervez Musharraf, Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz and SSP Kurrum Shahezad, among the accused, implicated this year, after fresh probe by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The two were accused of negligence in security arrangements.

January 2008: In 2008, the police registered an FIR regarding the incident on behalf of the state and trial of five TTP suspects started in February of 2008. However, the case was handed over to the FIA after PPP won 2008 general election.

December 27, 2007:  Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh during an election campaign rally.

Demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 Notes on Nov 08,2016 - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Reports 99% of demonetised notes returned to banking system Wednesday August 30,2017

All but 1% of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination banknotes (by value) invalidated on November 08 ,2016 had been returned by the end of June, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s annual report released on Wednesday August 30,2017

The disclosure put to rest one of the big mysteries surrounding the exercise, billed as one of the biggest-ever assaults on black money and, according to some analysts, helped the Bharatiya Janata Party win popular support and the crucial Uttar Pradesh polls earlier this year.

 The report said 98.96% of the Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination banknotes that had been invalidated had been returned

Lasith Malinga completes 300 ODI wickets after dismissing Virat Kohli in the 4th ODI @ Colombo Thursday August 31,2017

Lasith Malinga claimed a significant landmark in the fourth One-day International between India and Sri Lanka on Thursday, claiming his 300th wicket in the format.

Lasith Malinga achieved the landmark with the prized wicket of India skipper Virat Kohli, who lofted him to deep extra cover to be dismissed for 131 after a sensational 29th ODI century. Still, it was a proud moment for the slinger, who was stand-in captain for the game at the Premadasa Stadium.

The 34-year-old bowler who stands out with a unique, slingy action and a thick mop of hair, achieved the landmark in his 203rd ODI appearance.

Lasith Malinga is the fourth Sri Lankan bowler to achieve the 300-wicket mark. The list is headed by spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who has taken an ODI record 543 wickets in 343 games.

Left-arm paceman, Chaminda Vaas, now the Sri Lankan team’s pace bowling coach, ended with a career haul of 399 wickets in 321 matches, still the fourth highest in the all-time list

Sanath Jayasuriya, former batting enforcer and current Sri Lanka chief selector, had a haul of 320 wickets in 441 ODIs bowling his fastish left-arm spin.

Lasith Malinga has been under pressure over his fitness, and his woes have been compounded by a series of dropped catches since his ODI comeback in June for the ICC Champions Trophy. He was handed a one year suspended ban for his public remarks in response to criticism of the players’ fitness by Sri Lankan sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara.

However, Malinga in his prime was a force to reckon with before restricting his appearances essentially to Twenty20 cricket for IPL champions, Mumbai Indians.

Lasith Malinga has the unique distinction of taking four wickets in four deliveries, against South Africa in Guyana during the 2007 ICC World Cup. South Africa still won that Super Eights match by one wicket.

Malinga went into the series against India needing two wickets to reach the milestone. He took one wicket in the third ODI in Pallekele, which India won by six wickets to seal this series 3-0 with two matches to go.

2017-18 Premier League - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Joins Liverpool From Arsenal

England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has joined Liverpool from Premier League rivals Arsenal, his new club announced on Thursday August 31,2017

 Liverpool did not disclose the transfer fee, but they are believed to have paid £35 million ($45.1 million, 37.9 million euros) for the midfielder's services. 

Liverpool said the 24-year-old had signed a "long-term contract", which is thought to be a five-year deal. tw"I'm delighted to have signed for Liverpool," Oxlade-Chamberlain told the Liverpool website after undergoing a medical at England's St George's Park training base.

"A big thank-you to everyone here at the FA that has made this possible, using the facilities. It has been a massive help.

"I'm not going to say too much today. I'm here with England and we've got two big games coming up, so I want to focus on them.

"But I can't wait to get to Melwood (Liverpool's training centre) and you'll hear first from me on LFCTV."

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Liverpool FC 

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A message to you from @Alex_OxChambo. 

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Oxlade-Chamberlain is believed to have turned down a new contract offer from Arsenal and an approach from champions Chelsea, both of whom were reported to have offered him higher wages than Liverpool.

The former Southampton youngster, nicknamed "The Ox", has played at wing-back for Arsenal in recent months and was said to have been earmarked for a similar role at Chelsea, but he would prefer to play in midfield.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he had been tracking Oxlade-Chamberlain since he played for Arsenal against Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund in September 2014.

"I am really, really happy we have got Alex signed," said Klopp, whose side beat Arsenal 4-0 on Sunday.

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Looking the part, @Alex_OxChambo. 

4:36 PM - Aug 31, 2017

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"Since the last game I have been waiting and hoping we could make this transfer -- and when I got the news he was ours, it was fantastic."

Oxlade-Chamberlain becomes Liverpool's fifth new signing after Naby Keita, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Dominic Solanke.

Guinea midfielder Keita agreed to move to Liverpool from RB Leipzig in a reported club-record £48 million deal earlier this week, but will not join the club until next year.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been capped 27 times by England, scoring six goals, and is due to be involved in Friday's World Cup qualifier against Malta in Ta'Qali.