PM Modi lauds Amit Shah on his birthday

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PM Modi lauds Amit Shah on his birthday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the “dedication and excellence” of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in India’s progress.

The Prime Minister expressed his views while extending wishes to Shah on his 56th birthday.

“Birthday wishes to Amit Shah ji. Our nation is witnessing the dedication and excellence with which he is contributing towards India’s progress,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

The Prime Minister recalled Shah’s “noteworthy” efforts to make the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronger and wished: “May God bless him with long and healthy life in service of India”.

Shah, who is currently serving as the Union Minister of Home Affairs, served as the President of the BJP from 2014 to 2020. He was elected to the Lower House of Parliament in the 2019 Indian general elections from the Gandhinagar constituency.

Giro D’Italia: Ben O’Connor secures huge win in Stage 17

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Giro D’Italia: Ben O’Connor secures huge win in Stage 17

It was a case of role reversals as NTT Pro Cycling’s Ben O’Connor kept Bahrain-McLaren’s Hermann Pernsteiner at bay to win his first Grand Tour stage after starring in the breakaway for the second day running in the ongoing Giro D’Italia.

Twenty-four hours after missing out to Bahrain-McLaren’s Jan Tratnik in Stage 16, O’Connor bounced back with a superb performance from an initial 19-man breakaway in the mountainous 203km stage.

Channeling his inner Marco Pantani, the 24-year-old Australian darted clear of his fellow escapees with 8.5km remaining on the famous climb to Madonna di Campiglio, where the man known as ‘The Pirate’ took a fateful fourth stage win in 1999 before being booted out of the race while in pink.

Pernsteiner came home 31 seconds down to take second place and rise four places to 11th in the general classification after Joao Almeida and his rivals for the pink jersey canceled each other out en route to finishing just over five minutes down on the man of the moment, O’Connor.

With title sponsors NTT pulling out at the end of the season, leaving the South African team (formerly known as Dimension Data and MTN-Qhubeka) facing the prospect of being forced to fold, a first stage win at a Grand Tour in three years could prove to be exactly the fillip that they need to attract future sponsors – and win O’Connor a new contract.

But with confirmation of the removal of the Colle dell Agnello and Col d’Izoard from Saturday’s penultimate stage of the race being broadcast on Eurosports network, those riders wishing to wrest the maglia rosa from the shoulders of the 22-year-old race leader will have to make the most of the fearsome ascent of the Passo Dello Stelvio in Stage 18 otherwise risk running out of time.

OnePlus 9 may launch earlier than expected in March 2021

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OnePlus 9 may launch earlier than expected in March 2021

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is reportedly planning to launch ‘OnePlus 9’ sometime around mid-March next year.

This apparent launch date would be roughly a month earlier than the OnePlus 8 series, which was launched on April 14 this year, reports Android Central.

The OnePlus 9 will most likely incorporate some of the features from the OnePlus 8T like support for 65W fast charging and a 120Hz refresh rate display.

The smartphone may feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 processor expected to launch in December 2020.

The device is also expected to feature an improved set of cameras and a better battery life with faster-charging speeds compared to the OnePlus 8T.

OnePlus is also likely to launch OnePlus 9 Pro under OnePlus 9 series as a successor to OnePlus 8 Pro.

Currently, the smartphone maker has made no official confirmation about the OnePlus 9 launch.

In addition, the company is tipped to launch the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and N100, with the former set to offer Snapdragon 690 power while the latter is purportedly using the Snapdragon 460 chipset.

Google internships to remain virtual in 2021

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Google internships to remain virtual in 2021

Google has announced to keep its summer internship program virtual in 2021, as the tech giant continues to prioritize health and safety during the ongoing pandemic.

For the first time in Google history, thousands of students from 43 countries started their summer internships virtually this year.

“We hosted more than 200 orientation sessions across the globe and held more than 300 events throughout the summer to help interns connect with their peers, hear from Google leaders, and engage with various teams,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company said that interns like Ishani Srivastava, working on the software engineering side of Google Workspace in Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand, would end each day by crossing off the items on her to-do list and revisiting an old hobby: sketching and painting.

“With the stresses of a pandemic going on outside her door, she spent each evening unwinding with her art supplies, which helped her embrace a passion that didn’t involve school or work,” the company mentioned.

“As we continue to prioritize health and safety during the ongoing pandemic, we’re confirming that Google internships will be virtual again in 2021. By making this call now, we hope to give interns ample time to prepare for working in a virtual environment”.

To help make activities more accessible to our global community of both interns and employees, every intern had the option to be paired with a mentor or join a coffee chat with one of the 2,600 Googlers who volunteered to host one of these sessions to answer their questions.

“At its core, what it means to be an intern at Google has not changed, and we were excited to find 97 percent of interns were satisfied with their experience,” Google said.

Team shaping up well for the Olympics, says Kothajit

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Team shaping up well for the Olympics, says Kothajit

Defender Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, who has played over 200 matches for the Indian men’s hockey team, believes that the side is shaping up well for the Tokyo Olympics since resuming sports activities in August amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kothajit said that the Indian team returned to the pitch at the right time and are moving forward with each sports activity session.

“It’s been great to be back on the pitch. We have seen a lot of improvement over the last two months and we are shaping up well for the Olympics. We have returned to the pitch at the right time and therefore we have enough months to get back to our full form and get even better as a side thereafter. We are really thankful to Hockey India and SAI for putting all the safety measures in place in a quick time so that we can focus on the Olympics,” said Kothajit.

The defender, who returned to the national side in the Pro League 2020 after missing out on the Olympic Qualifiers, said he knows the aspects he needs to work on to cement a consistent spot in the Indian team.

“Being out of the side is never easy and therefore I am determined to work as hard as possible to cement my spot in the Indian team. I analyzed my game thoroughly during the lockdown and I know the aspects of my game that I need to work on. The next few months are very crucial for all of us and with the Olympics being postponed, we have a great opportunity to strengthen our individual and team game even more,” said the 28-year-old.

Kothajit added that he feels very fortunate to be playing alongside players such as Harmanpreet Singh.

“I feel very lucky to be playing hockey in the current era. We have a great balance of youth and experienced players in the team, especially in the defense line. I am extremely fortunate to be playing alongside some brilliant players such as Harmanpreet,” he said.

“All of us try to inspire each other to get better and I think that’s a great environment to be in. Hopefully, we will make India proud at the Olympics next year,” added the defender.

3 in 4 Indian firms saw 25% rise in cyber threats during WFH

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3 in 4 Indian firms saw 25% rise in cyber threats during WFH

Over three in four organizations in India experienced more than 25 percent more increase in cyber threats or alerts amid the shift to mass remote working owing to the pandemic, a new Cisco report revealed on Thursday.

As organizations in India witnessed a significant rise in the cybersecurity challenges, 65 percent of those surveyed said they adopted cybersecurity measures to support remote working, according to networking giant Cisco’s ‘Future of Secure Remote Work’ report.

“As remote work continues to garner traction, organizations are turning their attention to building a robust cybersecurity foundation, with cloud security emerging as the top investment for 31 percent of companies in reinventing their workplaces post Covid-19,” said Vishak Raman, Director, Security Business, Cisco India & SAARC.

With users connecting from outside the corporate walls, secure access is the top cybersecurity challenge faced by the largest proportion of Indian organizations (68 percent) when supporting remote workers.

Other concerns raised by organizations in the country include data privacy (66 percent) and protection against malware (62 percent).

“Cybersecurity is the top priority for 84 percent of Indian organizations,” said the report based on a survey of over 3,000 IT decision-makers globally, including India.

“The pandemic has amplified the criticality of cybersecurity and brought new complexities to the fore,” Raman said.

Endpoints are a growing challenge for organizations to protect, as users connect from their home Wi-Fi or use their personal devices to connect to corporate applications.

About two in three respondents stated that office laptops/desktops (66 percent) and personal devices (58 percent) posed a challenge to protect in a remote environment, followed by cloud applications at 42 percent.

“Over half (53 percent) of the organizations in India said they expect more than half of their workforce to continue working remotely post-pandemic,” the report stated.

This compares to an average of just 28 percent of organizations with more than half of their workforce working remotely before the pandemic.

The report highlighted that 77 percent of organizations in the region plan to increase their future investment in cybersecurity due to Covid-19.

There are still challenges, though, that need to be addressed.

According to the report, 60 percent of Indian organizations said that having too many tools/solutions to manage was a challenge faced in reinforcing cybersecurity protocols for remote working, followed by a lack of employee education and awareness (55 percent).

“Greater focus must be laid on educating and building employee awareness as these endpoints will become the first line of defense for the organization of the future,” Raman said.

Ritu Phogat: Dream of World C’ship title in MMA not too far

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Ritu Phogat: Dream of World C’ship title in MMA not too far

India’s star athlete and ONE Championship fighter Ritu Phogat is set to win the belt at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX against Nou Srey Pov when she takes on the Cambodian MMA sensation on October 30 in Singapore.

The 25-year-old, who put forth a gutsy showing against experienced opponent Wu Chiao Chen of China, registering her second Championship win last February, recently shared insights on the build-up for her bout against Srey Pov.

Q: How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted your life? How have you managed training and keeping a positive mental attitude?

A: Yes, my training has obviously been impacted, especially because for me, MMA is a new sport. So it has been a challenging transition. I am also living in a new country, Singapore, all by myself. So it has definitely been hard because the game is new and the country is new. Also, I don’t have my sisters around or my father to take advice from.

However, during the lockdown when training was halted because wrestling and grappling are contact sports, the coaches helped me by making training videos. But everything has slowly become better now because the lockdown has eased considerably in Singapore and now I am working out and training at the gym. I have been working on improving my striking technique as I want to show the world that we Indians are ‘all-rounders’. On-field or off-field!

But yes, it is quite unfortunate that the pandemic has caused problems for everyone around the world.

Q: How are you keeping your morale up during such tough times?

A: My motivation has always been my father and his words, he has always said to me – You have to sacrifice to win something. My prime goal is to make my family and my country proud. I am here all by myself and I’ve left my country behind, my sisters behind, hence, my sole focus is on doing the best and that is my motivation.

Q: What will be your participation in wrestling on behalf of India, will you be participating in wrestling matches now?

A: I have moved away from wrestling now and am now training in MMA.

Q: How challenging will it be to fight in an empty arena? How will this experience be? Also, what kind of diet have you been following, and who is your inspiration?

A: My sisters have always been my inspiration. I have always watched them wrestle and I have tried to emulate them, and now I want to make my country proud in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) space.

Yes, no audience in the stadium will definitely feel different as crowds can provide motivation and cheer. But when I step into the ring, my sole focus is my opponent. Besides, an empty stadium means that you can hear nothing but your coach, guiding you through the match.

Q: What do you think India’s position will be in the upcoming Olympics?

A: I strongly believe that Indians are really raising the benchmark with every match/game we play. Today, we are tough competitors to some of the greatest athletes across the world. Our athletes are working hard and I feel that we will surely do well at the Olympics.

Q: What will your strategy be while playing against your opponent Nou Srey Pov?

A: She is an experienced MMA champion and it will be a tough and interesting fight between the both of us. I am ready and have worked extremely hard for this. I am ready to give it my best! And as far as strategies are concerned, I would want each one of you to tune in and watch some of the strategies I deploy against the opponent.

Q: You wanted to be the first Indian to win an MMA world title. How close are you to that dream? Also what sets you apart from other Indian fighters? What are the weaknesses of your opponent that you have studied?

A: I am not far from my dream of bagging the world championship title in MMA because I have been working hard for a long time now. One Championship has also announced a Grand Prix tournament next year which will feature eight champions.

My target is to get selected for that tournament although my first focus is my upcoming match. My opponent is a good fighter and I have studied her strengths and weaknesses, you will see it in my match!

Q: What are you doing to promote MMA in India?

A: My goal is to win and make MMA popular in India firstly. India is not short on talent. I just want to be an inspiration so that others approach MMA more seriously. I want to induce conversations around the sport in the country to give it the recognition it deserves.

Q: Your previous bouts have been similar wins, what will you do differently this time. What are your expectations from this bout?

A: Yes, I have worked on a different strategy to win this time. I want to win this match a little differently. My goal this time will be to knock out my opponent.

Q: How do you want to win this fight, do you want to do something differently.

A: Yes, I definitely want to break out of my wrestling mold and do something different. I want people and my opponents to know that I am not just a wrestler and I know how to strike.

Q: You are called ‘the female Khabib Nurmagomedov’ by Indian fans since you’re both a world-class wrestler and are undefeated. Have you seen him fight?

A: Yes, I have been very motivated by him and I watch a lot of his videos. I like his fighting style a lot and I am inspired by him. I aspire to be like him someday.

Q: Have you drawn any particular lessons from Nurmagomedov?

A: Yes, his control on the ground is immense. I keep watching his videos to learn more.

Q: How has stayed away from your family been and how much support does your family provide?

A: Of course, staying away from my family has been very difficult. At home, I could solely focus on my training, here, since I am on my own, I have to manage my strict diet and training, and everything else at home, I have to be self-reliant.

Q: Apart from your sisters, which other sports personalities are your icons?

A: Virat Kohli is really inspiring, I like watching his training videos. Also, as I said, Khabib is very inspirational to me.

Some glaciers are also advancing: Geology professor

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Some glaciers are also advancing: Geology professor

Prof Dhruvsen Singh, of the geology department at Lucknow University, has said that glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating but some are also advancing which proves that global warming is not the only reason behind the phenomenon.

Singh, who was part of India’s first and second expedition to the Arctic in 2007 and 2008, spoke on ‘Gangotri Glacier and Climate Change: Natural or Anthropogenic’ at an all-India online lecture series in Hindi being organized by the Union ministry of earth sciences to spread awareness about science.

“All glaciers of the Himalayas are retreating at different rates, but at the same time, some are also advancing, which indicates that global warming is not the only reason behind the glacier retreat. However, some extreme climatic events due to global warming have created panic. We need thorough research to find out anthropogenic/natural factors behind the glacier retreat,” he said.

“The Gangotri glacier’s pattern of retreat since 1935 shows that it is decreasing, but at the same time, the rate of retreat is continuously declining. Glaciers will melt/retreat whenever the temperature is more than zero degree Celsius, but the decreasing rate of retreat is contrary to the panic created over the issue by many organizations,” he stated.

Wanted to deliver a magical performance for RCB: Siraj

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Wanted to deliver a magical performance for RCB: Siraj

Right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Siraj, who led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a comfortable win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has stated that he wanted to deliver a “magical performance” for the team.

On Wednesday, Siraj became the first bowler in IPL history to bowl two maidens in a single game. He picked up three wickets before he had given up a single run. He finished with the most economical figures this season – 3/8 as RCB defeated KKR by eight wickets to move to the second spot in the points table.

“Everyone in the RCB supports me a lot, even the fans. So, I wanted to deliver a magical performance for the team and it was a magical performance,” Siraj said during the post-match press conference.

Before the game, Siraj had an economy rate of 9.29 – the worst among 92 bowlers with at least 100 overs to their name.

However, in Abu Dhabi, skipper Virat Kohli gave him the new ball. “I have been practicing a lot with the new ball,” Siraj said at the presentation. “We hadn’t planned that I will open but when we went out, Virat Bhai said Miyan, ready ho jao. (Sir, get ready.).”

“Virat (Kohli) that’s plan was for me to bowl a bouncer,” Siraj said during a chat with teammate Navdeep Saini for iplt20.com later. “But when I was at the start of my run-up, I thought ‘no let me pitch it up’. I pitched it up, and it came out well and I got a wicket,” he added.

Siraj has so far taken six wickets in four matches this season and RCB would be hoping he continues to bowl in the same way in the upcoming matches as he did against KKR.

Telangana’s Covid tally crosses 2.27 lakh

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Telangana’s Covid tally crosses 2.27 lakh

Telangana’s Covid-19 tally crossed 2.27 lakh on Thursday as the state reported 1,456 new cases during the last 24 hours.

Health officials said the fresh cases pushed the cumulative number to 2,27,580. Of this only 20,183 cases are active, including 16,977 who are in-home or institutional isolation.

Five more persons succumbed to the virus during the last 24 hours ending 8 p.m. Wednesday, pushing the death toll to 1,292.

The fatality stands at 0.56 percent against the national average of 1.5 percent.

The officials said the percentage of deaths due to Covid-19 was 44.96 while the remaining 55.04 had comorbidities.

The state continued to see more recoveries than new infections. A total of 1,717 people recovered from the infection, taking the cumulative recoveries to 2,06,105.

The state’s recovery rate climbed further to 90.56 percent as against the national average of 89.2 percent.

The declining trend in new infections continued both in the state capital and the districts.

According to the media bulletin issued by the office of the director of public health, Greater Hyderabad reported 254 new cases. After several weeks, none of the districts reported more than 100 cases.

Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy recorded the second-highest number of cases at 98 each followed by Nalgonda (92), Khammam, and Komaram Bheem Asifabad (89 each), Bhadradri Kothagudem (82), and Siddipet (47).

Out of 2,27,580 total positive cases so far, 70 percent (1,59,306) were asymptomatic while the remaining 30 percent (68,274) were symptomatic.

During the last 24 hours, 38,565 tests were conducted. Of this, 35,931 samples were tested in the government-run laboratories and 2,634 in private.

Of the total samples, 16,968 were primary and 4,627 were secondary.

With this, the cumulative number of samples tested has gone up to 39,78,869.

Eighteen government-run laboratories, 46 private laboratories, and 1,076 Rapid Antigen test centers are conducting the tests.

Samples tested per million population ratio rose further to 1,06,901.

Short-form video app Quibi shuts operations after poor run

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Short-form video app Quibi shuts operations after poor run

The short-form video streaming service Quibi that was launched less than six months ago on Thursday announced to wind down the business and sell it’s content and technology assets.

Launched at the beginning of the pandemic with plans to reach 7.4 million subscribers this year, the platform fell far short of that.

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman said in an open letter: “Our failure was not for lack of trying; we’ve considered and exhausted every option available to us”.

“While the result was not what any of us wanted, we did accomplish a number of things and we are very proud of what the talented Quibi team has built with the blood, sweat, and tears that they poured into this business over these past two years”.

The company is now aiming to return funds to investors, including major Hollywood players who put in about $1.75 billion in Quibi.

“We opened the door to the most creative and imaginative minds in Hollywood to innovate from script to screen, and the result was content that exceeded our expectations,” the duo said.

“And yet, Quibi is not succeeding. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing”.

Quibi was launched with a goal to create a new category of short-form entertainment for mobile devices.

The founders said that over the coming months, they will be “working hard to find buyers for these valuable assets who can leverage them to their full potential”.

Wipro, SAP collaborate to help organisations boost productivity

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Wipro, SAP collaborate to help organisations boost productivity

Wipro on Thursday announced it has entered into an agreement with enterprise application software provider SAP to offer advanced customer-specific content and training assets and boost productivity.

The collaboration will deliver ‘SAP Enable Now’ — the custom enablement platform by SAP — to help organizations adapt faster to technological changes and accelerate globalization.

With this agreement, Wipro can offer its clients tailor-made industry and line-of-business-specific learning tutorials and training assets, in addition to existing contextual help and guided tours delivered by SAP.

“Most of our customers adopting SAP S/4HANA and SAP Cloud applications expect more than embedded standard content.

“The amalgamation of our prebuilt industry-specific content, SAP’s standard enablement content and curated content will help deliver information specific to customer’s needs and provide a unique learning experience,” said Srinivas Sai Nidadhavolu, Vice President and Global Practice Head, SAP services, Wipro.

With advanced content creation and training features of ‘SAP Enable Now’, such as single-source editing and in-app learning, customers will be able to significantly improve end-user productivity and learning experience.

‘SAP Enable Now’ can be used for non-SAP applications and integrated with IT service management tools as well.

“SAP Enable Now is the right tool to help organizations rapidly create and deploy unique tutorials and training assets to enhance the performance and efficiency of the workforce,” said Joe Ballard, Global Head, Ecosystem & Education, Services at SAP.

BBL 10: Rashid Khan extends stay with Adelaide Strikers

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BBL 10: Rashid Khan extends stay with Adelaide Strikers

Star Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan will again turn up for Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

“I’m so happy that I am able to play for the Strikers again in a big tenth season of the Big Bash, and I have loved this competition from the very beginning,” Rashid said from Dubai where he is playing for the SunRisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“The Strikers have been like a family to me since I joined them, and I am so thankful to the fans who have been supporting me and made me feel like Adelaide is my home,” he added.

Rashid is the third-highest wicket-taker for the Strikers with 56 from just 40 matches and the best economy of those who have bowled more than 10 innings with 6.36. He first joined the Strikers as a teenager in 2017 and was part of the squad that won its maiden Championship, despite his absence in the final due to commitments with his national team.

Head coach Jason Gillespie is looking forward to welcoming Rashid back to South Australia for the fourth season.

“Rashid has been such a quality player and person for the city of Adelaide and the Strikers from the moment he arrived,” Gillespie said.

“We’re thrilled his world-class bowling and exciting batting will continue to entertain our loyal fans, and we want to again be challenging for a second title when the tournament begins,” he added.

IPL: RCB moves to 2nd spot; KL, Rabada hold on to their Caps

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IPL: RCB moves to 2nd spot; KL, Rabada hold on to their Caps

Royal Challengers Bangalore has moved to the second spot in the points table following their one-sided victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 39th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

On Wednesday evening, RCB first restricted KKR to a mere 84/8 in their allotted 20 overs and then chased down the target with ease, losing just two wickets and more than six overs to spare.

The Virat Kohli-led side now has 14 points from 10 games, same as that of table-toppers Delhi Capitals, but because of the lower net run-rate, RCB is placed second. With 12 points from nine games, Mumbai Indians currently occupy the third spot.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul and Kagiso Rabada of Delhi Capitals have held on to their respective Orange and Purple Caps.

Rahul is leading the batting charts with 540 runs from 10 games. He is followed by Shikhar Dhawan, who after scoring back to back hundreds, has amassed 465 runs in 10 innings. Mayank Agarwal, who has collected 398 runs in 10 innings, is third on the list.

In the bowling list, Rabada continues to remain at the top spot, having scalped 21 wickets in 10 matches so far. He is followed by Mohammad Shami who has 16 wickets to his name in the same number of matches. Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians completes the podium with 15 wickets in nine matches.

These running caps are presented to the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker and keep changing hands throughout the duration of the tournament.

Nvidia chips again smash AI performance records

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Nvidia chips again smash AI performance records

Graphic chip maker Nvidia has once again smashed performance records for its AI computing platform in the latest benchmark test rounds of MLPerf, extending its lead on AI performance of hardware, software, and services.

The company won every test across all six application areas for data center and edge computing systems in the second version of MLPerf Inference.

The benchmark called MLPerf is from the MLPerf organization, an industry consortium that administers the tests.

Organizations across a wide range of industries are already tapping into the Nvidia A100 Tensor Core GPU’s exceptional inference performance to take AI from their research groups into daily operations.

“We’re at a tipping point as every industry seeks better ways to apply AI to offer new services and grow their business,” said Ian Buck, general manager and vice president of Accelerated Computing at Nvidia.

“The work we’ve done to achieve these results on MLPerf gives companies a new level of AI performance to improve our everyday lives.”

Nvidia extended the lead on the MLPerf benchmark with its A100 chip delivering up to 237 times faster AI inference than CPUs, thus enabling businesses to move AI from research to production.

For the first time, NVIDIA GPUs now offer more AI inference capacity in the public cloud than CPUs.

Total cloud AI inference computes capacity on NVIDIA GPUs has been growing roughly 10x every two years.

The benchmarks also showed that NVIDIA T4 Tensor Core GPU continues to be a solid inference platform for mainstream enterprise, edge servers, and cost-effective cloud instances.

“Financial institutions are using conversational AI to answer customer questions faster; retailers are using AI to keep shelves stocked, and healthcare providers are using AI to analyze millions of medical images to more accurately identify the disease and help save lives,” the company said.

BWF cancels World Junior Championships 2020 due to Covid-19

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BWF cancels World Junior Championships 2020 due to Covid-19

World Junior Badminton Championships 2020, slated to be held in New Zealand, has been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Thursday.

The ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and uncertainty left BWF, Badminton New Zealand, and tournament organizers no choice but to cancel the event, a BWF statement read. With a host for the next edition already in place for later in 2021, and the uncertainty of the Covid-19 situation expected to stretch into next year, the postponement was not an option, it added.

“We are of course disappointed not to be able to stage the 2020 version of the BWF World Junior Championships, but the entry restrictions in place and complexities related to the Covid-19 situation makes it impossible for the event to be planned and therefore hosted in New Zealand in January 2021 as currently scheduled,” said BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund.

The world badminton body further said that Badminton New Zealand is still committed to hosting the World Junior Championships and the BWF has accepted a proposal for them to stage the 2024 edition as a replacement for the edition lost.

Badminton New Zealand Chief Executive Joe Hitchcock said: “Although we are tremendously disappointed with this news, it is the right decision to make due to the current situation.”

“We know that the world was looking forward to visiting New Zealand and enjoying a truly inspiring event with the best young badminton players on the planet and we feel for all those impacted by this cancellation,” he added.

Victor Mpitsang appointed CSA convenor of selectors

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Victor Mpitsang appointed CSA convenor of selectors

Cricket South Africa have appointed former Proteas cricketer Victor Mpitsang as the new national convenor of selectors.

The position is a full-time appointment which will commence on November 2, stated CSA in a media release.

Mpitsang’s cricket career features two ODI appearances for the Proteas before injury curtailed his international ambitions. He bounced back and ended his career with 103 First-Class, 100 List A, and 23 T20 matches under his belt when he announced his retirement in 2012.

The 40-year-old, who hails from Kimberley, has an impressive record of roles that that span various areas of the cricket landscape over the last eight years.

CSA Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith said: “The role for the national convenor of selectors is an incredibly important one, which is why the process of appointing the eventual candidate has taken so long. We needed to be certain that we have left the role in the safest hands possible and Victor’s credentials speak for themselves.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the role and the stamp that he will put on our national teams and I know he is excited to get down to business as soon as he possibly can,” he added.

Delighted with his appointment, Mpitsang expressed his eagerness in getting started at the beginning of next month.

“I’m really looking forward to this next chapter and all that it brings. The Proteas teams are a vital part of the cricket eco-system and there are areas that need our immediate attention, which I’m itching to get started on,” Mpitsang said.

Proteas to host England for limited-overs series from next month

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Proteas to host England for limited-overs series from next month

South Africa will be hosting England for three T20Is and as many ODIs behind closed doors from next month.

The T20Is will be played on November 27, 29, and December 1 while the ODIs are scheduled for December 4, 6, and 9.

The tour will be limited to the Western Cape with two ODI matches and two T20I matches to be played at Newlands Stadium, and one ODI and one T20I match at Eurolux Boland Park, Paarl.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has approved the plans after receiving the go-ahead from the government which granted exemptions for inbound travel for the England players and management.

Eoin Morgan’s squad will depart from London on a chartered flight on November 16. The touring party will be based in Cape Town. Ahead of the T20Is, the squad will train at Western Province Cricket Club. They will play three intra-squad practice matches – two T20s and one 50-over game – before the series starts.

“This is a wonderful boost for cricket,” commented CSA Acting Chief Executive Kugandrie Govender.

“The fact that England is the current World Cup champions will add tremendously to the two series and will give our own players every motivation to perform at their very best and challenge the acknowledged champions,” he added.

Tom Harrison, ECB’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We owe it to the sport that we do everything we can to keep international competition progressing during this pandemic.”

“Series against the Proteas are always exciting and intense. We saw that earlier this year in South Africa and we can expect the same this time around,” he added.

Facebook Dating app expands to Europe with ‘Virtual Dates’

TB Team
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Facebook Dating app expands to Europe with ‘Virtual Dates’

Facebook has expanded its dating app to Europe with a new feature called Virtual Dates and according to the social network, over 1.5 billion matches have been created in the 20 countries since the launch of Facebook Dating in September last year.

Facebook Dating is a dedicated, opt-in space within the main app, and people can create a profile in just a few taps.

The Secret Crush feature lets you explore potential relationships with people you already know on Facebook and/or Instagram.

“Facebook Dating won’t suggest your Facebook friends as potential matches, but if you choose to use Secret Crush, you can select up to nine of your Facebook friends or Instagram followers who you’re interested in,” Kate Orseth, Product Manager, Facebook Dating, said in a statement on Wednesday.

If your crush adds you to their Secret Crush list too, it’s a match.

If your crush isn’t on Dating, doesn’t create a Secret Crush list or doesn’t put you on their list, then your crush will not know that you’ve entered their name.

“Stories in Dating enable you to share moments from your everyday life so you can find a meaningful connection with someone who is interested in what you’re into,” Orseth said.

Facebook said that it rolling out a feature called Virtual Dates where people can start a video chat with their match by tapping on the video icon in the chat.

“Starting the call will send an invitation, and once they accept, they will join your video call and you can get to know each other better. Your first name and Dating profile photo will be displayed when starting the call,” Facebook informed.

Dating is an opt-in experience, Facebook said.

You choose whether you want to create a Facebook Dating profile, and you can delete your Dating profile at any time without deleting your Facebook account.

“We don’t display your last name on your Dating profile. You can choose whether to share information such as your hometown, religion, occupation and more, on your Dating profile,” Facebook said.

“We won’t suggest current Facebook friends as potential matches or notify them that you’ve joined Dating,” it added.

For example, your Dating profile, Dating messages, and who you like or match within Dating won’t appear in your Facebook News Feed.

Anyone you’ve blocked on Facebook or in Dating will not be suggested as a match for you.

Twitter tells users to add their own thoughts than just retweet

TB Team
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Twitter tells users to add their own thoughts than just retweet

Ahead of the US presidential election, Twitter on Wednesday rolled out updates that encourage more thoughtful amplification of Tweets which add more context to content.

The micro-blogging platform is encouraging users to add their own thoughts through “quote tweeting” rather than simply amplifying others’ posts by retweeting.

“One of these updates is temporarily prompting Quote Tweets instead of Retweets. We heard your overall feedback and understand that some of you, like artists who share their work on Twitter, value Retweets. You can still Retweet by not adding anything into the Quote Tweets composer,” Twitter said.

Retweeting previously was a two-click process where users chose the option to simply retweet or add a quote.

Now, the quote window opens automatically to encourage new thoughts.

“As we continue to protect the integrity of #Election2020 conversation on Twitter, we’re announcing new, significant updates today that will bring more context and encourage thoughtful consideration before Tweeting,” the company said.

Earlier this month, Twitter updated its Civic Integrity Policy.

“You may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes. This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process,” it read.

“In addition, we may label and reduce the visibility of Tweets containing false or misleading information about civic processes in order to provide additional context”.

Now, when people attempt to Retweet a Tweet with a misleading information label, they see a prompt directing them to credible information about the topic before they can amplify it.

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