Encounter breaks out in South Kashmir’s Shopian

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Encounter breaks out in South Kashmir’s Shopian

An encounter has started between terrorists and security forces in the Melhora area in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday, officials said.

The firefight started after security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about the presence of terrorists.

As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where the terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.

“Encounter has started in Melhora area in Shopian. Police and security forces are on the job,” the police said.

Corona is the new Mahishasura in Delhi’s subdued Durga Puja

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Corona is the new Mahishasura in Delhi’s subdued Durga Puja

In times of the pandemic, evil has attained a new face — coronavirus. Hence, the Safdurjung Matri Mandir, an old puja committee in the national capital, has decided to install ‘Coronasur’ instead of Mahishasura in its toned-down Durga Puja this year.

“Every year we create a Mahishasura which the goddess Durga symbolically kills. But this year, we have replaced it with Coronasur,” Sumit Guha, one of the organizers at the Safdarjung Matri Mandir, told IANS.

The puja committee has decided to do away with the tradition of a tall idol this year. In fact, it has unanimously decided against an idol itself. Guha said that a 20 feet tall poster of the goddess Durga will be installed instead.

However, this trend has a bearing on those who make idols. Following the social distancing norms, the cautious puja committees in CR Park – the hub of Delhi’s Durga puja celebrations – have decided to give it a pass this year, adding to the misery of the idol makers. Manik Pal from West Bengal’s Krishnanagar is one such artist.

“I have been coming to Delhi for the last 20 years. Last year, I made around 50 idols. But this year I am making 8-10 small idols,” Pal said while giving finishing touches to a five feet idol.

“We don’t have any money. No money to eat or educate my children. We don’t have anything. The coronavirus has created a lot of hardships for us,” he said.

Pal, like many other artists, hopes that the government will step in to bring some reprieve to them.

“If it happens, there’s nothing like it. But we don’t know if the government will help us,” he said.

Pal, however, believes that the fear and caution to avoid mass gatherings is the need of the hour. He told IANS that even in Kolkata, the festivities will see significant toning down as compared to the previous years.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Monday directed all Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal to be made no-entry zones for the public. The court has also limited the number of organizers inside the pandals to 25 for big pujas and 15 for the smaller ones.

With a spike of 55,722 coronavirus cases and 579 deaths in the past 24 hours, India’s tally on Monday crossed the 75-lakh mark with a total of 75,50,273 cases.

Sitharaman tells central PSUs to scale up capex in FY21, FY22

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Sitharaman tells central PSUs to scale up capex in FY21, FY22

Stressing the need for capital expenditure (CAPEX) by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that they need to scale up their CAPEX both in the current and the next financial year.

The Minister also said that better performance of CPSEs can help the Indian economy in a big way to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

During a videoconference meeting with Secretaries of the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Coal, along with the CMDs of 14 CPSEs belonging to these ministries, to review the CAPEX in this financial year, Sitharaman told the Secretaries concerned to closely monitor the performance of CPSEs in order to ensure the capital expenditure to the tune of 75 percent of the capital outlay by the end of Q3 of FY 2020-21 and make an appropriate plan for it.

She noted that more coordinated efforts are required at the Secretary-level in the ministries and CMDs in CPSEs to achieve CAPEX targets.

In FY 2019-20, against the capex target of Rs 1,11,672 crore for these 14 CPSEs, the achievement was Rs 1,16,323 crore — 104 per cent.

The capital expenditure target for 2020-21 is Rs 1,15,934 crore.

Mentioning the significant role of CPSEs in giving a push to the growth of the Indian economy, the Finance Minister encouraged the CPSEs to perform better to achieve their targets and to ensure that the capital outlay for FY 2020-21 is spent properly and within time, said an official statement.

Satisfactory conduct gets Delhi riots’ accused regular HC bail

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Satisfactory conduct gets Delhi riots’ accused regular HC bail

The Delhi High Court has granted regular bail, subject to certain conditions, to a 60-year-old man accused in a Delhi riots case after finding his conduct during the interim bail period to be “satisfactory”.

Justice Prathiba M Singh passed the orders after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed the court: ” … according to a report by the Investigating Officer, the conduct of the petitioner during the interim bail period has been satisfactory. He has given his mobile number and his daughter’s mobile number to the IO. He has also continued to report to the IO on a regular basis and has not indulged in any unlawful activity during the said period.”

Petitioner Sharif Khan was accused of being a member of an unlawful assembly in during riots in the Khureji Khas area of northeast Delhi in February 2020.

The court directed Khan not to leave Delhi and furnish his own and a family member’s mobile phone numbers to the IO and report to him every two days.

In case the investigation officer called him on a particular date, he shall do so and inform accordingly in case of a change in mobile numbers.

The court said he shall continue to live at his permanent address given to the IO, who would be free to verify it at any point in time. Any change in address shall be intimated to the IO who shall verify the address, the court added.

His surrendered passport shall remain in the custody of the trial court. The High Court said that the petitioner shall appear before the trial court as and when directed by the IO and fully cooperate with the investigation.

The petitioner shall not indulge in any illegal activity or contact any witnesses or any other persons who are the subject matter of investigation in the case and not indulge in any conduct that impedes the investigation, the court directed.

Earlier, the High Court had granted interim bail to Khan for 45 days, considering overall facts and circumstances of this case, especially his age and the fact that he is a permanent resident of Delhi and poses no flight risk.

The court had also directed Delhi Police to file a status report after monitoring the petitioner’s conduct during interim bail.

Khan’s advocate Badre Alam sought bail on the ground of his age and submitted that most of the co-accused were released either on regular or interim bail.

6 DCW helpline employees test corona-positive

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6 DCW helpline employees test corona-positive

Six of the 36 counselors who work with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) helpline at Naraina have tested positive for coronavirus. They include two supervisors and four counselors.

All the infected employees have been placed in self-quarantine. The DCW has sanitized its office and the employees in the evening shifts are being allowed to “work from home”. During the day shift, special attention is being paid to sanitization and social-distancing norms.

The DCW has been running its helpline successfully. Through its helpline, women in Delhi are able to get help and support by just a call.

During the corona-induced lockdown, the Commission daily attended to thousands of calls from women in distress. The Commission also helped the callers if they were in need of rations or medical help.

The helpline operates 24×7. In the last five years, this helpline has emerged as a lifeline for the women in Delhi. Because of it, the DCW has initiated prompt action in thousands of cases related to domestic violence, sale of illicit liquor, sex racket, etc.

DCW President Swati Maliwal said, “The calls to our organization’s helpline have multiplied ever since I took charge of the DCW. This is because the women in Delhi have faith in the work done by our organisation and the credibility of our work among the people is extremely high”.

“In the last five years, we have attended to lakhs of calls through our helpline. Even during the corona-induced lockdown, our helpline was operational for 24 hours. Working round the clock, six employees from the 181 helplines have become corona-infected. Special attention is being given to sanitization and social distancing norms in the office and despite all the challenges we are working day and night to serve Delhiites,” Maliwal added.

‘Kumkum Bhagya’ actress Zarina Roshan Khan no more

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‘Kumkum Bhagya’ actress Zarina Roshan Khan no more

Actress Zarina Roshan Khan, who played the popular role of Indu Daasi in the TV show Kumkum Bhagya, died after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Shocked by Zarina’s sudden demise on Sunday, several actors took to social media and paid homage to her.

Zarina’s co-star Shabir Ahluwalia posted a few pictures of him with her and captioned: “ye Chand Sa Roshan Chehera.” He ended his post by adding a broken heart emoji.

Sriti Jha, who plays the lead on the show, also uploaded a picture with Zarina and added a broken heart emoji as a caption on Instagram.

Actress Supriya Shukla reacted to Sriti’s post and wrote: “God bless her soul.”

“RIP,” actor Arjit Taneja wrote on Instagram Story.

“Nooo,” commented Actress Mrunal Thakur on Shabir’s post.

Apart from “Kumkum Bhagya”, Zarina was also known for portraying Gopi Dadi in the series, “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai “

Vishal Bhardwaj to adapt Agatha Christie stories as film franchise

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Vishal Bhardwaj to adapt Agatha Christie stories as film franchise

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is developing a film franchise based on the works of famed author Agatha Christie. The series will feature a new pair as the lead investigators.

Bhardwaj has partnered with Agatha Christie Limited to develop the big screen franchise for the Indian audience. Some of Christie’s iconic characters include Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence, but with his franchise Bhardwaj will create an entirely new pair of investigators, drawing inspiration from Christie’s timeless mysteries.

Talking about the collaboration, James Prichard, great-grandson of Agatha Christie, and Chairman and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, said: “I’m truly excited at the prospect of developing a new Agatha Christie film franchise in India, and am delighted to be partnering with Vishal, who is a multitalented and visionary filmmaker with a terrific track record for adapting works to create memorable pieces of cinema. He has also demonstrated a real passion and understanding of my great-grandmother’s characters and stories and I very much look forward to seeing where this project takes us.”

Bhardwaj added: “Agatha Christie had a tremendous skill of defining emotional chaos, dysfunctional relationships, and the turmoil in her characters while engaging us in a riveting mystery. It is an honor to create an Indian franchise of a pair of young investigators looking to take over the world with their intelligence and charm. ACL has been such amazing partners and we are all excited to be on this journey.”

The first film will introduce a young heroine who is thrown into solving a murder, and for the case, she teams up with an unlikely companion to unravel the case. Future films will follow the duo as they continue to investigate multiple murder mysteries.

The script is currently in development, and which of Christie’s books will be adapted is still under wraps.

While the cast of the film is still to be locked, the National award-winning filmmaker is excited to dive into the project.

The first film in the franchise is scheduled to shoot from early 2021, with Basi Akpabio and Leo Dezoysa serving as executive producers for Agatha Christie Limited on the new films. Bhardwaj will also co-produce through his production house.

K’taka Dy CM seeks forgiveness on Twitter

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K’taka Dy CM seeks forgiveness on Twitter

Karnataka BJP’s Dalit face and deputy chief minister, Govind M. Kajol, who has come under severe criticism over not visiting flood-affected areas, has shot off an emotional letter to people of Bagalkote district, stating that the voters must forgive him for not visiting his people as he was “emotionally shattered” over his son, Dr. Gopal Karjol who is critically ill and on a ventilator for the last 24 days in the hospital.

In a letter posted on his Twitter account, titled – My Service Your Pleasure (Seve Nannadu, Sweekara Nimmadu) – emotionally appealed to people not to judge him by his lone action of not coming to them this time.

“I know I could not be on your side at this hour of distress. I had not told anyone to date about my son not being discharged to date, who is on a ventilator due to Covid attack,” he said.

The letter further read that he (Gopal) needs better treatment, therefore, we have decided to move him to a super specialty hospital in Hyderabad.

“He needs me and my family’s presence even more than before. That is why I have not been able to be on your side. He is 43-year old and I am doing what a father should do at this hour,” he said.

He further stated that everyone thinks that as a minister, his family lives in a comfortable bungalow, but at times, this materialism becomes just any other trap.

“I am deeply distressed. Along with my family members who were hit by the Covid virus, I had come out after treatment but not my son, Gopal who is on a ventilator for the last 24 days. He is fighting his biggest battle, so are we as a family. People of Bagalkote must forgive me for not being with them,” he signed off, ending his letter with Seve Nannadu, Sweekara Nimmadu.

It can be recalled that Congress leaders including Leader of the Opposition, Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, D. K. Shivakumar along with several other leaders had trolled Karjol heavily on Social media sites for not criticizing flood-affected areas in the North-Karnataka region instead of taking part in BJP campaign in Sira Assembly by-polls.

After this, several Media channels launched a campaign – Absentee Ministers – and raised several valid questions though but prominently, Kajol appeared on every channel.

Just three days ago, notwithstanding the Dy. CM’s emotional appeal, Shivakumar as well as Siddaramaiah continued to demand Karjol’s resignation for him not able to discharge his duties as a minister.

Continued attacks on him seem to have triggered Karjol to post such an emotional message on his Twitter.

Indian-American teenager scientist Anika Chebrolu wins $25K prize

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Indian-American teenager scientist Anika Chebrolu wins $25K prize

 Indian-American teenager Anika Chebrolu has won a $25,000 prize for her work on a potential Covid-19 treatment.

Along with the prize money, 14-year-old Anika has also been conferred the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” for winning this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a middle school science competition in the US.

Her invention uses in-silico methodology for drug discovery to find a molecule that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in an attempt to find a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anika, who comes from Frisco, Texas, said that she entered the competition as she has “always been amazed by science experiments” since her childhood, according to 3M.

She said she was originally drawn towards finding effective cures for influenza disease after a severe bout of the infection last year.

But because of the widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, she changed directions to target SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, she told CNN.

Anika said she would like to learn more from 3M scientists to pursue her drug development and with their help and that she would like to conduct in-vitro and in-vivo testing of her lead drug candidate.

The young scientist who finds the internet to be the most exciting invention of the past 100 years, hopes to become a medical researcher and professor in the next 15 years.

When she is not pursuing her education or science goals, Anika trains for the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam, the CNN report said on Monday.

Brain, not willpower, decides if you will lose weight or not

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Brain, not willpower, decides if you will lose weight or not

Are you trying to lose those extra kilos around your waist by dieting? Listen to your brain first as weight loss is not merely a matter of willpower but is actually connected to much more basic visual and olfactory cues, researchers have found.

The team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) discovered a neural sub-network of connected regions between the brain and gastric basal electric frequency that correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.

The findings, published in the journal NeuroImage, support a prevalent neural theory that people with an increased neural response to seeing and smelling food consistently overeat and gain weight.

“To our surprise, we discovered that while higher executive functions, as measured behaviourally, were dominant factors in weight loss, this was not reflected in patterns of brain connectivity,” said Gidon Levakov who led the study from the BGU Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

The researchers identified a connection between the stomach basal electrical rhythm within the subnetwork and weight loss.

That rhythm governs the gastric waves associated with hunger and satiety.

They also found that the brain’s “pericalcarine sulcus”, the anatomical location of the primary visual cortex, was the most active node in this subnetwork.

The team assessed 92 people during an 18-month lifestyle weight loss intervention.

Before the intervention, the participants underwent a battery of brain imaging scans and behavioral executive function tests.

The participants’ weight loss was measured after six months of dieting.

The team found that the subnetwork of brain regions corresponded more closely to basic sensory and motor regions rather than higher, multi-modal regions.

“It appears that visual information may be an important factor triggering eating,” says principal investigator Professor Galia Avidan. “This is reasonable, given that vision is the primary sense in humans”.

The results may have significant implications for understanding the cause of obesity and the mechanism of response to dieting.

iQOO U1x with Snapdragon 662 chipset to launch on Oct 21

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iQOO U1x with Snapdragon 662 chipset to launch on Oct 21

Vivo is reportedly planning to launch a new smartphone called iQOO U1x in China on October 21.

The upcoming smartphone by iQoo has been listed on Chinese retailer platforms like JD.com and Tmall, reports GSMArena.

In China, the iQOO brand is marketed by Vivo but in India, the two brands are independent of each other.

The new smartphone is expected to have a 6.1-inch display and run the Android 10-based operating system.

It has been listed in storage configurations such as 4GB RAM+64GB, 6GB RAM+64GB, and 6GB RAM+128 GB.

The iQOO U1x will be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset.

According to the Tmall listing, the smartphone will feature a triple rear camera setup, with a 13MP primary sensor, a 2MP wide-angle sensor, and a 2MP sensor. a

Have nutritional beverage with exercise for fit body, sharp mind

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Have nutritional beverage with exercise for fit body, sharp mind

Daily exercise, along with nutrient-enriched beverages, can do wonder with improving both physical and cognitive health, researchers have discovered.

While exercise alone improved strength and endurance, mobility, and stability, those who also consumed the nutritional supplement as part of the study saw all of these improvements and more.

“For example, they were better able to retain new information in their working memory and had quicker responses on tests of fluid intelligence than those taking the placebo,” said Aron Barbey, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers studied the effects of a 12-week exercise regimen on 148 active-duty Air Force airmen, half of whom also received a twice-daily nutrient beverage that included protein, the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, lutein, phospholipids, vitamin D, B vitamins and other micronutrients, along with a muscle-promoting compound known as HMB.

Both groups improved in physical and cognitive function, with added gains among those who regularly consumed the nutritional beverage, the team reported in a paper that appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

Physical power increased in both groups as a result of the physical training, Zwilling said.

“Power is a measure of physical fitness that is based on several factors, such as how fast a participant can pull a heavy sled over a set distance, how far they can toss a weighted ball, and how many pushups, pull-ups or sit-ups they can perform in a set time period,” explained post-doctoral researcher Christopher Zwilling.

The physical training reduced participants’ body fat percentage and increased their oxygen-uptake efficiency or VO2 max.

The participants also performed better than they had initially on several measures of cognitive function.

The most notable of these was an increase in the accuracy of their responses to problems designed to measure fluid intelligence.

Participants who consumed the nutritional beverage also saw greater improvements in their ability to retain and process information.

Their reaction time on tests of fluid intelligence improved more than their peers who took the placebo, the researchers found.

Punjab Assembly special session begins, farm Bill likely on Oct 20

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Punjab Assembly special session begins, farm Bill likely on Oct 20

The two-day special Punjab Assembly session began on Monday amid protests by opposition parties, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) outside the complex against the Centre’s three contentious agricultural laws.

The Congress-ruled state is likely to bring a bill to nullify the Centre’s legislation on Tuesday.

On the first day, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh led the House in paying homage to all farmers who lost lives during the ongoing agitation in protest against the agricultural laws.

The House also paid respects to freedom fighters, political and other eminent personalities, as well as soldiers.

All members observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the departed souls during the obituary references.

On the request of Finance Minister Manpreet Singh, Speaker Rana KP Singh also consented to include the name of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu — who was shot dead by two assailants at his hometown Bhikhiwind on Friday — among the obituary references.

As the house adjourned, AAP members staged a sit-in in the House, saying the members were not provided copies in advance of the Bill to be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.

Before the House assembled, SAD legislators marched on tractors on roads leading to the Assembly to register their protest against the farm laws.

Wearing ‘black robes’ to lodge their protest against the farm laws, Aam Aadmi Party members burnt copies of the farm laws outside the Assembly complex.

High drama was witnessed outside Punjab Bhavan, near the Assembly, as Akali legislators led by Bikram Singh Majithia tried to enter to brief the media after the House adjourned.

They raised slogans against the government. Some legislators scaled the walls and forced their way inside the Punjab Bhavan.

Warner shatters Kohli’s record to score fastest 5K runs in IPL

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Warner shatters Kohli’s record to score fastest 5K runs in IPL

Australian opener David Warner has shattered ace Indian batsman Virat Kohli’s record of scoring the fastest 5,000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Warner achieved the feat during SunRisers Hyderabad’s game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday which his side lost in the Super Over at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Warner, who is only the fourth player in the history of IPL to score 5,000 runs in the tournament, reached the milestone in his 135th innings while Kohli had done it in 157 innings. Third in the list is Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings, who got to 5,000 IPL runs in 173 innings, followed by Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma (187 innings)

The left-handed Australian opener has so far scored 5,037 runs, including four hundred and 46 half-centuries, in 135 IPL winnings.

His side SRH is currently placed at the fifth spot in the ongoing tournament, having won three games out of the nine they have played so far. They are next slated to take on Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.

Global Covid-19 cases surpass 40mn: Johns Hopkins

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Global Covid-19 cases surpass 40mn: Johns Hopkins

In a grim milestone, the overall number of global coronavirus cases on Monday crossed the 40 million mark, while the death toll increased to 1,113,750, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) said the overall global caseload presently stood at 40,063,546.

The US is the worst-hit country with 8,154,936 cases and 219,674 deaths, the two highest tallies in the world.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 7,550,273, while the country’s death toll soared to 114,610.

The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (5,224,362), Russia (1,406,504), Argentina (989,680), Colombia (959,572), France (938,606), Spain (936,560), Peru (868,675), Mexico (851,227), the UK (725,292), South Africa (703,793), Iran (530,380), Chile (491,760), Iraq (426,634), Italy (414,241) and Bangladesh (388,569), the CSSE figures showed.

Brazil currently accounts for the second-highest number of fatalities at 153,675.

The countries with a death toll above 10,000 are Mexico (86,167), the UK (43,736), Italy (36,543), Spain (33,775), Peru (33,759), France (33,499), Iran (30,375), Colombia (28,970), Argentina (26,267), Russia (24,212), South Africa (18,471), Chile (13,635), Indonesia (12,511), Ecuador (12,387), Belgium (10,413) and Iraq (10,254).

Just couldn’t do ordinary stuff to be picked when MS was around, says Karthik

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Just couldn’t do ordinary stuff to be picked when MS was around, says Karthik

While MS Dhoni was the regular wicketkeeper-batsman for the Indian team for many years, there was another wicketkeeper-batsman who was making the right strides with his impactful performances – Dinesh Karthik.

“I think throughout my career there’s one thing that’s for sure — it was the fact that there was a lot of pressure whenever I played games. Just the fact that I had to be a part of the side I had to be something, it had to be something special. I just couldn’t do ordinary stuff and be a part of the side because there was an enigma named MS Dhoni around,” said Karthik while speaking with Saurav Ghosal on ‘Finish Line’.

“So when you have a player like that around, you have to seize the moments with something special. At times I seized it and at times I did not hence life is not always going to be a bed of roses, at times as an individual you do have to run the tough race as well,” he added.

One such brilliant performance from Karthik came at the final of Nidahas Trophy 2018 against Bangladesh, where he hit a six off the final ball to take his team over the finish line.

When Karthik walked into bat at 133/5 with India needing 34 runs from the last two overs, the pressure was certainly on the Men in Blue. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman worked his magic and struck a six over extra cover on the final ball of the match to take India home in what turned out to be one of the most iconic moments for the team in T20I cricket.

Karthik also revealed about the emotions that were running in his head when the team needed 12 runs off the last over.

“There was nervousness when I had to think this is what I need to do. There were a lot of emotions going on inside me. But I think what did help me was the fact that I was prepared. So, I knew one thing, all I needed to do was do what I have done until now which is to get into a good position. Make sure I get a good base and then react to the ball, but there was one belief that I believed that I wasn’t going to hit a 4 (in the last ball when India needed five runs to win).

“I was going to go for a six, I was going to go for all or nothing. So, I was going for a six no matter what at that stage. I didn’t want a draw (tie). So, I think the preparation in terms of getting deep in the crease, setting myself up for a ball that could probably be a yorker again. But what helped me was I had practiced before to get into a good position and to make sure I went through with the ball. It was one of the toughest shots I played that evening over the covers,” he added.

Karthik, 35, has so far played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 32 T20Is for Team India.

Microsoft most imitated brand by hackers in Q3 2020: Report

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Microsoft most imitated brand by hackers in Q3 2020: Report

Hackers imitated Microsoft the most to lure people into giving up their personal data or payment credentials in the third quarter of this year, a new report by researchers at cybersecurity firm Check Point said on Monday.

As cybercriminals sought to capitalize on large numbers of employees still working remotely, Microsoft appeared in 19 percent of all brand phishing attempts globally, said the Brand Phishing Report for Q3 2020 by Check Point Research.

In a brand phishing attack, criminals try to imitate the official website of a well-known brand by using a similar domain name or URL and web-page design to the genuine site.

The link to the fake website can be sent to targeted individuals by email or text message, a user can be redirected during web browsing, or it may be triggered from a fraudulent mobile application.

The fake website often contains a form intended to steal users’ credentials, payment details or other personal information.

Microsoft rose from fifth place in Q2 to the top place in Q3 for brand phishing attacks.

In the brand phishing report for Q3, Microsoft was followed by DHL, Google, PayPal, Netflix, Facebook, Apple, WhatsApp, Amazon, and Instagram.

For the first time in 2020, DHL entered the top 10 rankings, taking the second spot with 9 percent of all phishing attempts related to the company.

“Remote workers are a focal point for hackers. Companies globally have their employees working remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic, possibly for the first time ever.

“There are currently billions of people now working remotely, many of them doing so for the first time in their lives. The sudden change has left many companies and remote workers unprepared to handle the latest cyber attacks,” Omer Dembinsky, Manager of Data Threat Intelligence at Check Point said in a statement.

“Hackers, sensing a big opportunity, are imitating the brand most known for work: Microsoft. I expect Microsoft imitations to continue as we turn the new year,” Dembinsky said, adding that remote workers should be extra cautious when receiving an email about their “Microsoft” account.

During Q3, email phishing was the most prominent type of brand phishing platform, accounting for 44 percent of attacks, closely followed by web phishing (43 percent), which was the second most attacked platform compared to Q2, where it ranked first.

The top phishing brands exploited by email phishing attacks were Microsoft, DHL, and Apple, respectively, said the report.

Dassault Systemes’ hackathon to boost drone innovation in India

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Dassault Systemes’ hackathon to boost drone innovation in India

French 3Dexperience major Dassault Systemes on Monday announced a virtual hackathon in India to inspire students, startups, budding entrepreneurs, and industrial companies to drive UAV and drone innovations.

The 10-days challenge titled ‘Drone-a-thon: Propelling Sustainability’ will seek ideas from young minds from October 19-31 who can become the future innovators and entrepreneurs in the Indian UAV sector.

The top 10 selected teams will be eligible for the challenge, from November 9-20, and experts from Dassault Systemes will work with them on their designs using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

“This will be followed by a selection of the top three teams who will get an opportunity to present their design in Dassault Systemes’ ‘3DEXPERIENCE Conference 2020 India’ on November 25,” the company said in a statement.

The challenge is to create UAV prototypes that are suitable for sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, defense, and logistics sectors.

Dassault Systemes has two competency centers in Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru and is working towards bringing more such centers in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

The company, which employs over 2,000 people in India, has R&D centers in Pune and Bengaluru.

The French 3D software major Dassault Systemes is not only bullish on investing big in India but is also expanding “high-value” research and development and innovation facilities in the country to create the workforce of the future.

Hired ambulance with fake patient used to smuggle drugs, 4 held

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Hired ambulance with fake patient used to smuggle drugs, 4 held

In a novel modus operandi, a gang used a hired ambulances with a fake patient to dodge the police on the route from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to New Delhi. The Delhi police have now arrested four persons and recovered 181 kgs of cannabis, worth around Rs 1.8 crore in the international market.

The Delhi north district police initiated the investigation after it received an anonymous complaint against a bad character active in the Gulabi Bagh area. It was mentioned in the complaint that BC Rajiv was a notorious drug peddler, carried illegal firearms, and is wanted but absconding in an armed robbery case in Prasad Nagar.

Based on the information, the Delhi police raided the house of the accused where they faced heavy resistance with some policemen getting injured. Later, the Delhi police in a series of raids caught many persons with contraband.

After the raids and following a sustained investigation, the police received further information on October 17 that drug peddlers Gudepu Nageshwar and Poleju Babu Rao, who are residents of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and Shole Raj, a resident of Mori Gate, were coming to Mori Gate to supply drugs to the local distributors. A trap was laid and four men — Poleju Babu Rao, Gudepu Nageshwara Rao, Shole Raj, and Ramesh — were arrested.

“Poleju Babu Rao and Gudepu Nageshwara Rao came to Delhi with the cannabis by road in a hired ambulance with a fake patient, whereas Shole Raj came to Delhi by air. Shole Raj admitted that he was involved in drug peddling for the last 10 years,” DCP North Anto Alphonse said.

1 in 3 call centres in India to switch permanently to WFH

TB Team
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1 in 3 call centres in India to switch permanently to WFH

Signaling the future of work in the pandemic times, nearly one in three call centers (27 percent) in India will switch permanently to work from home as a viable long-term strategy, a new report said on Monday.

Amid the WFH strategy, 53 percent of businesses also reported a drop in productivity of call centre agents.

Some of the challenges listed were internet connectivity, telecom issues, practical constraints such as lack of privacy, space, noise cancellation, lack of desktops and laptops, according to the study by on-demand cloud communication and telephony solutions provider Ozonetel.

“The pandemic has made contact centers look at the services that they provide and how they provide it,” said Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Chief Innovation Officer, Ozonetel.

“At the start of the lockdown in March, we promptly assisted many of our clients to move their agents to a work from home mode to help with business continuity plan very quickly,” he added.

Nearly 71 percent of call centre agents mentioned internet connectivity as the biggest barrier to agent productivity, followed by telecom issues by 42 percent.

The study found that while 61 percent of call center agents were happy with work from structure initially, gradually their motivation levels dropped.

In spite of all challenges, most companies continue to realize the risk that commutes and working from?ce pose. 55% of call centers are letting agents opt for work from home, while 16% are not opening of?ces, and keeping work from home mandatory.

Many call centers have seen the value in creating a robust work from the home process even if they do not switch to work from home permanently, or if they are still undecided.

Nearly 38 percent of call centers said they will create a robust work-from-home process.

“We have analyzed various metrics to determine and understand trends in customer experience, as well as agent efficiency as call centers, switch to work from home,” Chaitanya said.

The study was done on 50 organizations to uncover the state of the call center agents during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Many of the productivity challenges that call center agents face can be solved when provided with better hardware such as better handsets and headsets, laptops or desktops, direct telecom DID numbers, and reimbursement of Wi-Fi charges, the findings showed.

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