portrait

The failed escape: Sheikha Latifa’s doomed flight from Dubai Three years ago, in secluded corners of a sprawling mall in Dubai, Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of the emirate’s ruler, plotted with close friend Tiina Jauhiainen to escape her father’s clutches. Their eventual plan was like a plot from a movie: Latifa disguised her appearance as the pair fled Dubai by car to the coast, took a dinghy and rode jet skis to a waiting boat which was to take the princess and her companion to freedom. But it failed. They were captured off the coast of India after an operation...

‘Growth in 3 phases’: Bhavish Aggarwal on Ola’s plan to go public in India SoftBank-backed ride-hailing firm Ola is planning to go public in the next few years and it is aiming to do it in the India market, confirmed Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. He said the focus of the firm has always been on building sustainable, self-sufficient, profitable and long-term institutions. “Our India business is in a strong position, we are doing the same in other countries also. The next logical step is for us to list in the public markets; we are an Indian domicile, unlike some of our peers,...

‘Girl with a broken neck’ builds a ₹30,000 crore Indian mutual fund house Lots of female chief executive officers have stories about conquering adversity. Radhika Gupta’s begins when she entered the world with a broken neck. The birth complication left Gupta’s neck with a permanent tilt, a feature that at times had an impact on her self esteem but has now become a source of inspiration for doing things differently. At 36, she has already set up India’s first domestic hedge fund and become the country’s only female head of a major asset manager. Source: Livemint

Yes Bank crisis: ED registers money laundering case against Rana Kapoor The Enforcement Directorate on Friday registered a money laundering cases against the founder and former managing director of Yes Bank Ltd, Rana Kapoor. “The ED is currently conducting searches at his Worli (Mumbai) based residence in connection with loans granted to DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Ltd),” said an ED official confirming the developments. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday late evening put the private sector lender under moratorium and suspended the bank’s board for 30 days. The RBI also capped withdrawal limit at ₹50,000 for the...

Maharaja Ranjit Singh named greatest world leader in BBC Poll Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India, has beaten competition from around the world to be named the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine’. Over 5,000 readers voted in the poll. Polling more than 38 per cent of the vote, Singh was praised for creating a new tolerant empire. In second place, with 25 per cent of the vote, is African Independence Fighter Amílcar Cabral, who united more than 1 million Guineans to free themselves from...

‘Namastey over handshake’: Israel PM Netanyahu advice amid coronavirus fears Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday encouraged his citizens to greet each other with a ‘Namastey’ — the common Indian manner of greeting with folded hands — and avoid handshakes, as one of the measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. At a press conference following a review meeting to fight the infection, Netanyahu said several measures will be announced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but some simple steps like replacing handshakes with other forms of greetings, like the Indian ‘Namaste’, can help. He also demonstrated at the...

Obama on coronavirus: Skip the masks, stay calm Former US president Barack Obama called Wednesday for people to take “common sense precautions” over the coronavirus outbreak — advising them to follow hand-washing guidelines but not to wear masks. “Save the masks for health care workers. Let’s stay calm, listen to the experts, and follow the science,” tweeted Obama, who has kept a low public profile since leaving office in 2017. He said people should keep track of updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and stay home if they are sick. Source: Livemint

Coronavirus impact: Global growth to dip below last year’s rate, says IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva The new coronavirus epidemic poses a “serious threat” to people and the world economy, and will slow growth below the 2.9 per cent posted last year, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on March 4. The COVID-19 outbreak “is no longer regional issue, it is a global problem (that) calls for global response,” Georgieva said. The epidemic’s impact on confidence and steps to contain it are impacting economic activity, with the result that “global growth in 2020 will dip below last year’s levels,” she said. The...

Ronaldinho held in Paraguay over fake passport claims Police searched a hotel in the capital, Asuncion, on Wednesday, where the star had been staying with his brother. Paraguay’s interior minister told ESPN Brazil that the pair had not been arrested but are under investigation. Minister Euclides Acevedo also said they deny wrongdoing and are co-operating with the authorities. In July 2019, the player reportedly had his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated over unpaid taxes. “Ronaldinho will be heard at eight in the morning on Thursday at the prosecutor’s office,” minister Euclides Acevedo told AFP, adding that customs authorities would also...

India plagued with slowing economy, lack of finance: Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman India is plagued with a slowing economy and lack of finance currently, Blackstone’s chairman Stephen Schwarzman said, hinting that the global private equity major may be interested in distressed asset play in the country. Speaking to reporters at the IIT-Bombay, he also said the country is lacking the robustness in financial institutions. Blackstone has been present in India since 2006 and has invested $15 billion in the country, including private equity play in enterprises and also bets on realty. Schwarzman, who is also the chief executive and co-founder of...