Nearly one-third Indian workers face increased burnout at work: Microsoft

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Nearly one-third Indian workers face increased burnout at work: Microsoft

As the work-life balance gets blurred globally in the pandemic times, India came out top with over 41 percent of workers citing the lack of separation between work and personal life negatively impacting their wellbeing, resulting in increased stress levels, a Microsoft study revealed on Wednesday.

Close to one-third of workers in India cited increased rates of burnout over the past six months, according to Microsoft’s latest ‘Work Trend Index’ report.

“As businesses adapt to a new way of working, it is important to examine the multifaceted impact that the new working conditions are having on employees. This is helping us provide relevant and timely solutions to all our customers and users,” said Samik Roy, Country Head, Modern Work, Microsoft India.

Surveying over 6,000 information and first-line workers across eight countries globally including Australia, Japan, India, and Singapore, the study found that India had the second-highest percentage of workers facing increased burnout in Asia, at 29 percent.

The findings showed that no commute may be hurting, not helping, remote worker productivity.

A massive 92 percent of those surveyed said meditation can decrease work-related stress.

Microsoft recently announced a series of updates within Teams to support employee wellbeing, including virtual commute experience and a curated set of mindfulness and meditation experiences.

The study found that 29 percent of workers in India are experiencing increased burnout at work, owing to its increase in workday span by one hour.

“While workers in Australia saw the highest increase in workday span in Microsoft Teams at 45 percent, with a medium increase in burnout, India had the longest workday span of surveyed markets”.

The top stressors shared by workers in India were the worry about contracting Covid-19 at work and feeling isolated or disconnected from co-workers, at 42 and 35 percent respectively.

The study also found that 19 percent of workers have not been provided the tech or protective equipment they need to effectively socially distance by their company, contributing to increased stress levels.

“In the last six months, we have seen how Covid-19 has created an era of remote everywhere. It has led to the evolution of a new workplace — from a physical space to one residing in a virtual world,” Roy said.

Online medical education to continue in Andhra

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Online medical education to continue in Andhra

Instruction in Andhra Pradesh medical colleges will continue virtually for some more time amid the COVID pandemic.

The N.T.R. University of Health Sciences officials said on Wednesday that the online classes will continue until clear instructions arrive from the Central government.

Similarly, external examinations which are generally conducted by examiners from other states will also be conducted online.

Meanwhile, NTR Health University Registrar, Shankar, said a high-level committee has been constituted to conduct transparent MBBS admissions as many controversies were erupting around that time.

The committee already discussed multiple issues and submitted a report to the government.

Likewise, the new MBBS fee structure will also be implemented around the time of admissions. The government is expected to decide the fee structure and issue an order.

Shankar said the MBBS and BDS admissions will happen in a transparent manner.

Admissions will start after the passing of government order. Once the fee structure is determined, it will clear the way for several other procedures.

Over 93,500 data science jobs vacant in India: Report

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Over 93,500 data science jobs vacant in India: Report

As India dreams to produce world-class tech solutions and products, over 93,500 data science jobs were vacant in the country at the end of August, a new report revealed on Wednesday.

While the data analytics sector did witness a slight decrease in vacancies (from 109,000 vacancies in February), the demand has continued to be fairly consistent across key industry sectors, according to the study on jobs and hiring trends in analytics and data science domains by the edtech company Great Learning.

Despite Covid-19, India contributed 9.8 percent of the total global analytics job openings in August compared to 7.2 percent in January this year.

“The talent pool in our country has been looking for avenues to learn, upskill, and accelerate their careers, and this rise in demand has been seen at a very opportune moment. To unlearn, learn and reskill is now an imperative for professionals to stay ahead of the curve,” said Hari Krishnan Nair, Co-founder, Great Learning.

The factors contributing to the increased demand include a year-on-year increase in funding in Indian analytics startups, investment in the development of enhanced analytics capabilities in the country, and a greater proportion of jobs outsourced to firms based in India owing to the pandemic.

The study revealed the growing demand for mid- and senior-level professionals with over seven years of experience.

Professionals with more than seven years of experience commanded the highest proportion of jobs with a share of 14.9 percent in August, up from 12.5 percent in January and 6.7 percent last year.

Bengaluru continues to create the maximum number of jobs, contributing around 23 percent of analytics jobs, a marginal increase from last year, followed by Delhi/ NCR at 20 percent and Mumbai at approximately 15 percent.

Other popular metros like Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai witnessed marginal growth in the proportion of jobs in August over last year.

Interestingly, the proportion of jobs advertised for Tier-II and Tier-III cities has increased this year to 10.5 percent from 8.4 percent in January.

“This is mainly because the outbreak has led to the adoption of remote working and hiring. This trend is expected to last until the second quarter of 2021,” Great Learning said.

Despite the BFSI sector continuing to be the largest recruiter of analytics and data science talent (outside of IT), creating around 35 percent of all analytics jobs in the country, the contribution of the sector has been going down year on year from 41 percent in 2018 to 38.3 percent in 2019 and 35 percent in August 2020.

“The pharma sector has seen an increase in the proportion of analytics jobs at 16.3 percent, an overall increase of 3.9 percent over the last year. This is due to the focus on developing vaccines and other cures for the Covid-19 virus,” the report mentioned.

The 10 leading organizations with the most number of analytics openings this year are dominated by the IT and KPO players such as Accenture, Mphasis, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Capgemini, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, IBM India, Dell, HCL, and Collabera Technologies.

The study further reveals that the median salary for data science professionals in India stands at Rs 9.5 lakhs per annum in 2020.

For those with more than a decade of experience, packages are in the range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, depending on the role and expertise.

“Over the last year, we have seen immense growth in the demand for professionals proficient with skills in data science and analytics,” Nair said.

Spotify rolls out search by lyrics feature on iOS and Android

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Spotify rolls out search by lyrics feature on iOS and Android

Swedish audio streaming giant Spotify has rolled out a new feature for its iOS and Android app that will allow users to search for songs by typing in the lyrics.

As per the latest lyrics search update, users will be able to type in the lyrics and get to the song title easily in the app. The feature is integrated into the main search function, which now returns playlist, song, album, and matching lyric results.

The development was announced by Spotify search designer Lina on Twitter.

“My team has shipped something on iOS and Android – now you can find songs by lyrics on Spotify,” Lina said in the tweet.

The new update brings Spotify on the same level as Apple Music that has been providing lyrics search since 2018. With iOS 12, Apple had brought the same feature to its Music application.

Like Spotify, users had to go to the search bar in Apple Music, type part of the lyrics they can remember, and press search.

Earlier, Spotify introduced support for video podcasts, which means that users can watch video podcasts directly in the Spotify app on mobile and desktop.

Australia women thrash White Ferns to secure record-equalling ODI win

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Australia women thrash White Ferns to secure record-equalling ODI win

Australia women registered a record-equalling win in the third and final ODI against New Zealand, defeating the visitors by a mammoth margin of 232 runs – their biggest win against the White Ferns — to complete a clean sweep in the Rose Bowl series.

In absence of Meg Lanning nor Ellyse Perry, Australia on Wednesday probably produced their heir most comprehensive performance of the past fortnight at the Allan Border Field.

Batting first, they piled on 325/5 in their allotted 50 riding on brilliant innings from stand-in skipper Rachael Haynes (96) and Alyssa Healy (87). Annabel Sutherland (35 off 56 balls), Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 20), Beth Mooney (29 off 19), and Tahlia McGrath (29* off 11) also made valuable contributions to help the hosts post their highest-ever total against the White Ferns. Amelia Kerr was the only New Zealand bowler who could show some promise with the ball as she returned with figures of 3/50 from her full quota of 10 overs.

Australia then effectively ended the run chase, picking up four wickets inside 15 overs, including star pair Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr for golden ducks. They eventually bowled out New Zealand for 93 in the 27th over and equaled the world record for 21 consecutive ODI victories. In 2003, Ricky Ponting’s Australian men’s team had recorded 21 consecutive ODI wins.

Amy Satterthwaite was the only batswoman who could show some resistance as she top-scored for the visitors with a knock of 41-run for which she consumed 49 balls. Megan Schutt, Jess Jonassen, Gardner, and Sophie Molineux picked two wickets each for the hosts and starred with the ball.

The New Zealand team failed to win even a single win on the tour, having earlier faced 0-3 defeat in the T20I series.

Brief scores: Australia 325/5 (Rachael Haynes 96; Amelia Kerr 3/50) beat New Zealand 93 all out (Amy Satterthwaite 41; Ashleigh Gardner 2/11)

Microsoft awards $374,300 in bug bounties to secure Azure Sphere

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Microsoft awards $374,300 in bug bounties to secure Azure Sphere

Microsoft has awarded $374,300 in bug bounties to security researchers who spotted bugs in Azure Sphere which itself offers high-end security for Cloud-connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

During the three-month Azure Sphere Security Research Challenge (ASSRC), cybersecurity researchers surfaced 20 critical or important severity security vulnerabilities in Azure Sphere.

The Azure Sphere Security Research Challenge brought together 70 researchers from 21 countries to help secure Azure Sphere customers and expand Microsoft’s partnerships with the global IoT security research community.

“Many of the vulnerabilities found during the research challenge were novel and high impact, and led to major security improvements for Azure Sphere in their 20.07, 20.08 and the latest 20.09 updates,” Microsoft said in a statement on Tuesday.

The updates were automatically pushed to Azure Sphere devices that are connected to the internet to help secure Azure Sphere customers.

Security researchers from McAfee ATR and Cisco Talos reported high-impact bugs in Azure Sphere, “especially a full attack chain developed by McAfee ATR that exposed a weakness in the cloud and multiple weaknesses on the device including a previously unknown Linux kernel vulnerability”.

Microsoft introduced two high-priority research scenarios focused on the core of the Azure Sphere OS with $100,000 awards, and six general scenarios focused on various levels of the Azure Sphere operating system (OS) with up to 20 per cent additional awards on top of the Azure Bounty Programme awards.

“We strongly believe that this challenge and upcoming expansions of the Azure Security Lab will help to continue to protect our cloud and Azure Sphere,” Microsoft said.

In April 2018, Microsoft announced Azure Sphere to better secure the 41.6 billion IoT devices expected to be connected to the Internet by 2025.

This year, Microsoft announced six new bug bounty programmes and two new research grants, receiving 1,226 eligible vulnerability reports from 327 security researchers.

Google Assistant now more accessible for people with disabilities

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Google Assistant now more accessible for people with disabilities

Google has brought new updates to its Assistant that will help people with disabilities gain more independence in controlling smart devices and appliances around their homes.

For International Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Awareness Month, Google has brought Assistant to US company Tobii Dynavox’s applications and services.

“Tobii Dynavox Snap Core First software — available on dedicated tablets and mobile apps — has a preconfigured set of tiles for users to communicate about everyday things and is accessible through touch, eye gaze, and scanning,” said Praveen Chandran, Product Manager at Google.

“By integrating Google Assistant with Tobii Dynavox’s technology, people with cerebral palsy can easily assign a tile to a Google Assistant action, control compatible smart home devices, and appliances, like lights, thermostats, TVs and more, that have been set up in the Google Home app.

Tiles can also be configured to get answers from Google Assistant to questions like “What’s the weather?” or “What’s on the calendar for today?”

This is how it works.

Create a Google account and set up a smart speaker or smart display in the Google Home app on Android or iOS.

After providing access to the Snap Core First app, you can then configure tiles by selecting a button in edit mode, tap on “Add action” and then tapping on “Send Google Assistant command.”

Google rolled out the ‘Action Blocks’ feature last May that makes it easier for people who have a cognitive disability to use Android phones and tablets with the help of Google Assistant by introducing customizable buttons on their home screens that can complete actions like calling a parent, turning on the lights, or watching a favorite show with one tap.

Now, Tobii Dynavox’s library of tens of thousands of Picture Communication Symbols can be used to create Action Blocks buttons, so that people who might be accustomed to assistive technology for communication can use a familiar interface on their Android phones and tablets, Chandran informed.

Facebook to remove all content from far-right US group QAnon

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Facebook to remove all content from far-right US group QAnon

Facebook has announced to remove any Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts representing the far-right conspiracy theory group QAnon, even if they contain no violent content.

This is an update from the initial Facebook action in August that removed Pages, Groups, and Instagram accounts associated with QAnon when they discussed potential violence while imposing a series of restrictions to limit the reach of other Pages, Groups, and Instagram accounts associated with the movement.

“Pages, Groups, and Instagram accounts that represent an identified Militarised Social Movement are already prohibited. And we will continue to disable the profiles of admins who manage Pages and Groups removed for violating this policy, as we began doing in August,” the social network said in a statement late on Tuesday.

QAnon emerged in the US President Donald Trump era and its supporters believe that Trump is waging a hidden battle against a secretive elite known as the “Deep State”.

In August, Facebook removed over 1,500 Pages and Groups for QAnon containing discussions of potential violence and over 6,500 Pages and Groups tied to more than 300 Militarised Social Movements.

Antifa is another anti-fascist political movement in the US, comprising a diverse array of autonomous groups that aim to achieve their objectives through the use of both non-violent and violent direct action rather than through policy reform.

The company said that its ‘Dangerous Organizations Operations’ team will continue to enforce this policy and proactively detect content for removal instead of relying on user reports.

Facebook said it has seen other QAnon content tied to different forms of real-world harm, including recent claims that the west coast wildfires were started by certain groups, which diverted the attention of local officials from fighting the fires and protecting the public.

The US government has been trying to tackle several anti-government extremists, specifically those who support the far-right “boogaloo” movement and left-wing radicals who identify as Antifa.

KL shouldn’t be bothered with wicketkeeping in Indian squad: Lara

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KL shouldn’t be bothered with wicketkeeping in Indian squad: Lara

Legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara believes KL Rahul is a “great batsman” and that’s why she should concentrate on his batting and not bother about wicketkeeping when it comes to the Indian team.

Rahul, who is currently leading Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, has scored 302 runs — including one hundred and two half-centuries — in five matches so far.
“Well, first of all, I would like to say that KL Rahul should not be bothered with wicketkeeping when it comes to that Indian squad. He’s such a great batsman that I feel that he should concentrate on that and put in a lot of runs on the board,” Lara said while speaking on Star Sports Cricket Connected show.

According to the former West Indies captain, Rishabh Pant is the number one choice to replace MS Dhoni behind the stumps in the Indian team.

Pant has been in good form in the ongoing tournament, scoring 171 runs in the five matches he has played so far for the Delhi Capitals.

“Rishabh Pant a year ago, I would say no, but I feel that he has stepped up in terms of his responsibility as a batsman. Look at how he plays for Delhi Capitals, it looks like he wants that responsibility, he wants that onus on him to score runs, build an innings and get big scores,” said Lara. “If he continues that way, I think that he should the number one,” he added.

Dhoni retired from international cricket in August after representing India in 350 ODIs, 90 Tests, and 98 T20Is while affecting a staggering 829 dismissals behind the stumps across formats.

Pant — who has so far played 13 Tests, 16 ODIs, and 28 T20Is — was touted as Dhoni’s successor but he hasn’t been able to put up consistent performances when playing for the national side. He was replaced behind the stumps, in limited-overs formats, in New Zealand by Rahul when the Men in Blue last played international cricket.

T’gana’s daily Covid count crosses 2K-mark again

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T’gana’s daily Covid count crosses 2K-mark again

The Covid-19 cases in Telangana surged again on Wednesday with the state reporting 2,154 new infections.

After recording less than 2,000 cases for the last few days, the daily count crossed the mark again, taking the tally to 2,04,748.

Eight more people succumbed to the virus during the last 24 hours. The fatality rate stands at 0.58 percent against the national average of 1.5 percent.

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 2,239 people recovered during the last 24 hours,

The Covid-19 recovery rate crossed 86 percent as the state continued to report more recoveries than the daily count of positive cases.

The state on Wednesday reported 2,381 new recoveries, pushing the total number of people recovered to 1,77,008.

With this, the recovery rate rose to 86.45 percent against the national average of 84.9 percent.

The state now has 26,551 active cases, including 21,864 who are in-home/institutional isolation.

Of the fresh cases, 303 were recorded in Greater Hyderabad. Rangareddy district recorded the second-highest number of cases at 205 followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (187), Nalgonda (124), Khammam (121), Karimnagar (96), Bhadradri Kothagudem (92), Suryapet (79), and Siddipet (78).

During the last 24 hours, 54,277 tests were conducted. With this, the cumulative numbers have gone up to 33,46,472.

Seventeen government-run laboratories, 44 private laboratories, and 1,076 Rapid Antigen test centers are conducting the tests.

According to a media bulletin from the office of the director of public health and family welfare, out of 54,277 samples tested during the last 24 hours, 50,239 were tested in government-run laboratories and 4,038 in private. Of the total samples, 23,882 were primary and 6,513 were secondary.

Samples tested per million population ratio improved further to 89,910. The daily testing target for the state is 5,600 per day as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark of 140 per million per day.

Out of 2,04,748 total positive cases so far, 70 percent (1,43,324) were asymptomatic while the remaining 30 percent (61,424) were symptomatic.

The data also shows that 64.13 percent of those tested positive are in the age group of 21-50 years while 22.76 are above 51 years of age. Those under 20 years are 13.13 percent.

Officials said 64.28 percent of those tested positive were male, while the remaining 38.72 percent were female.

The state has 62 government-run COVID hospitals, where 6,893 out of a total of 8,868 beds are vacant.

As many as 228 private hospitals treating COVID patients have 9,143 beds, of which 6,485 are vacant.

‘Ayurveda-based Covid protocol is not replacement to clinical SOP’

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‘Ayurveda-based Covid protocol is not replacement to clinical SOP’

The Ministry of Ayush clarified that the newly launched ‘National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for Management of Covid-19’ cannot replace the standard protocol for the management of the viral disease.

“It is not a replacement to the standard advisory, but an addition to it. If a person stops wearing masks after following the protocols, then the protocols by AYUUSH would not work,” Ayush Ministry Secretary Rajesh Kotecha clarified on Tuesday.

The clarification came in wake of the over-reliability of the public on Ayurvedic medicine which often translates into the ignorance of the mandatory advisories issued by the Centre. “False sense of security should not come to people after following the protocol,” Kotecha stated while addressing a weekly press briefing by the Union Health Ministry.

The ministry also said that the Ayurveda and Yoga based protocols have been found useful in immune modulation and prevention from the COVID-19 disease. The ministry also claimed that the suggested protocols are evidence-based and developed by the expert committee from All India Institute of Ayurveda, Delhi, Institute for Postgraduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy and other national research organizations.

At the end of April, PM Modi had a meeting with Ayush experts. He had called upon the Ayush sector to generate evidence-based immunity promotion guidelines. On the basis of the available evidence, the Ayush Ministry came up with the guidelines. The national protocol issued on Tuesday based on Ayurveda and Yoga is the second chapter in the series of protocols for clinical management of the COVID-19.

The ministry also said that knowledge from Ayurveda literature, clinical experience, empirical evidence, and Biological plausibility, and emerging trends of ongoing clinical studies formed the basis of the protocol.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had released a protocol for the clinical management of Covid-19 that listed dietary measures, Yoga and Ayurvedic herbs and formulations such as Ashwagandha and AYUSH-64 for prevention of coronavirus infection and treatment of mild and asymptomatic cases.

The protocol suggested the use of medicines such as Ashwagandha, Guduchi Ghana Vati, or Chyawanaprasha as prophylactic care for high-risk populations and primary contacts of patients.

It recommended consumption of Guduchi Ghana Vati, Guduchi, and Pippali or AYUSH 64 for asymptomatic Covid-19 positive patients for prevention of disease progression to symptomatic and severe forms and to improve recovery rate. The protocol said that Guduchi and Pippali, and AYUSH 64 tablets can be given to mild coronavirus infected patients, it said.

The protocol mentioned the dose of these medicines that is to be taken. The guidelines stated that in addition to these medicines, general and dietary measures have to be followed. “Individuals with moderate to severe coronavirus infection may make an informed choice of treatment options and all severe cases will be referred,” the protocol guidelines stated.

The document also listed Ashwagandha, Chyawanprasha or Rasayana Churna for post-COVID-19 management in order to prevent lung complications like fibrosis, fatigue, and mental health.

Giro D’Italia: Arnaud Demare pips Peter Sagan to win Stage 4

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Giro D’Italia: Arnaud Demare pips Peter Sagan to win Stage 4

Frances Arnaud Demare picked up his eleventh win of the season in a fiercely contested bunch sprint finale on the Sicialian coast ahead of Slovakia’s Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and the Italian Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck Quick-Step) at the ongoing Giro D’Italia.

In a crazy, messy conclusion to Stage 4 on Tuesday, Sagan opened up the sprint and looked to have netted a maiden stage win on the Giro — and the first victory in over 15 months — only to be denied by the in-form Demare’s superior lunge. After a painstaking wait, Demare’s victory was confirmed as Sagan was forced to settle for second place and the maglia ciclamino, which he took from the shoulders of Italian Diego Ulissi.

It was a difficult day for Ulissi’s UAE-Team Emirates after their sprinter Fernando Gaviria was distanced on the day’s major climb at the mid-point of the 140-kilometer stage, the Colombian failing to rejoin the peloton despite a prolonged chase by his teammates.

Italians Ballerini, Andrea Vendrama (AG2R La Mondiale) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis) completed the top five as Portugal’s Joao Almeida (Deceuninck Quick-Step) safely finished in the pack to retain the pink jersey.

Earlier, Almeida had zipped clear to take two bonus seconds in the second intermediate sprint after an entertaining little tussle with Stage 3 winner Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling). That saw the youngster open up a bit of daylight between him and the blue jersey of Caicedo, with whom he entered the stage on equal time in the general classification.

The finish was soured by a nasty crash involving two Vini-Zabu riders who were reportedly taken out by barriers that had been blown over by a low-flying race helicopter in the final kilometer. While Dutchman Etienne van Empel was able to complete the stage, Italy’s Luca Wackermann was taken to hospital after the collision.

IPL: Orange Cap stays with KL, Rabada holds onto Purple

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IPL: Orange Cap stays with KL, Rabada holds onto Purple

Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul and Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada continue to hold the Orange and Purple Cap respectively following the conclusion of the 20th IPL 2020 match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals which the Rohit Sharma-led side won by 57 runs.

Rahul has scored 302 runs — including one hundred and two half-centuries — in five matches so far and leads the chart for the leading run-scorers. He is followed by Chennai Super Kings’ Faf du Plessis who has 282 runs to his name from five games. Kings XI opener Mayank Agarwal is third on the list with 272 runs.

In the bowlers’ list, Rabada has 12 wickets from five games and leads the chart. He is followed by Jasprit Bumrah, who now has 11 wickets in six games. Bumrah’s teammate Trent Boult is third on the list with 10 wickets from six matches.

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

In the points table, Mumbai Indians are the number one spot with eight points from six games. They are followed by Delhi Capitals who also have eight points but a lower net run-rate compared to the defending champions. Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have six points from five matches, complete the podium.

Facebook launches ‘Emotional Health’ for your well being

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Facebook launches ‘Emotional Health’ for your well being

To help people cope with growing mental health issues in the pandemic, Facebook has introduced Emotional Health, a centralized resource center on the main app with tips and information from leading experts.

The resource will be available globally, with locally relevant information from mental health officials.

“Over time we will build on the features and topic areas based on the guidance of our global and national partners,” Facebook said in a statement on Tuesday.

Facebook also launched a WHO ‘Digital Stress Management Guide’, which provides easy-to-follow techniques designed to reduce stress and promote mental well-being.

It is available on the WHO Health Alert chatbot on WhatsApp.

The social network also announced a sticker pack on Messenger designed with the WHO, to facilitate conversations around mental health that can lead to support.

“Making information about mental health more accessible is extremely important. At the World Health Organisation, we are pleased to be collaborating with Facebook in support of that goal for this year’s World Mental Health Day,” said Gabriella Stern, WHO Director of Communications.

Facebook said that on Instagram, people can feel pressure to present a perfect image of themselves.

“But we also know that many people have found communities of support and inspiration. We’re conducting research to better understand the tipping point between inspiration and feeling good — and the pressure to live up to a certain standard,” the company said.

Bigg Boss 14 housemate Jasmin Bhasin on opportunities in B’wood for outsiders

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Bigg Boss 14 housemate Jasmin Bhasin on opportunities in B’wood for outsiders

Television actress Jasmin Bhasin, who is currently seen as a housemate in the 14th season of the reality show Bigg Boss, says she never felt the Hindi film industry has been unfair to her.

“I have never felt it (Bollywood) has been unfair because I got calls for good auditions and projects and I got work, too. I think it is an industry where the best who is suited for a role gets chosen. Everybody gets opportunities,” Jasmin told IANS.

Jasmin rose to fame playing Teni Bhanushali in the show “Dil Se Dil Tak”, and her contention contradicts what actress Hina Khan had said earlier. “Nepotism exists everywhere and it does exist in our industry, too. If you are a star and you want to launch your kid, it’s absolutely okay. But, it is not fair when you don’t give an equal chance to outsiders. TV actors hardly make it big in Bollywood, just because we don’t get a fair chance. At least, give us a chance to prove ourselves,” Hina had said.

Yogi to participate in Dusshera events at Gorakhpur temple

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Yogi to participate in Dusshera events at Gorakhpur temple

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will participate in all important rituals of the Vijayadashmi celebrations to be held during ‘Dusshera’ as per tradition at the Gorakhnath temple from October 17 to 25.

The temple office secretary, Dwarika Tiwari, said that on October 25, Yogi Adityanath will offer prayers in the temple followed by programs like Kunwari Kanya Bhoj and Tilakotsav.

“He will then take part in the Vijaydashmi Shobhayatra in a rath and will later perform puja of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, and Laxman at Ramlila maidan, after offering prayers at Mansarovar temple,” said Tiwari.

“I appeal to devotees to take all precautions during the celebrations in view of the COVID pandemic. All the programs will be broadcast online also for devotees,” he said adding that social distancing and COVID protocols will be followed.

Media in-charge Vinay Gautam told that a limited number of people will be allowed to take part in the programs while for devotees, programs will be available on social media platforms.

French Open: Nadal overcomes Sinner test, Svitolina shocked by Podoroska

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French Open: Nadal overcomes Sinner test, Svitolina shocked by Podoroska

Twelve-time champion Rafael Nadal overcame a stern test against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner to enter the semi-finals of the ongoing French Open.

On Tuesday evening, Nadal — playing his 100th match at the Roland Garros — defeated 19-year-old Sinner 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1 in a match that lasted two hours and 49 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“He’s a very, very young talent with great shots. For two sets it was very tough. At the end of the first set, I was very lucky. It was very difficult for me to pull him out of position,” said Nadal after he booked his 13th last-four place in Paris.

“In the third set I improved, I was much better being much more aggressive. That’s the only way. I’m very, very happy to be back in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros again. It’s no doubt the most important place for me, the most beautiful place to play,” he added.

His record now stands at 98 wins and just two defeats, 237 hours and eight minutes on the court, just 27 sets lost, 427 of 602 break points saved, according to the tournament’s website.

The Spaniard will next face Diego Schwartzman, who beat Dominic Thiem on Wednesday in a five-set quarter-final that lasted more than five hours.

Meanwhile, in women’s singles, Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska produced the greatest shock of the ongoing tournament as she defeated No.3 seed Elina Svitolina, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. She has become the first qualifier ever to reach the last four of Roland Garros – and the first in 21 years to reach such a point in any major.

“It’s difficult for me to speak after the match, but thanks everyone for your support. I’m very, very happy!” Ponderosa said after the match “It’s difficult for me to speak after the match, but thanks everyone for your support. I’m very, very happy!” she added.

She will next face Polish teenager Iga Swiatek, who ousted Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Google ‘overwhelmingly’ dominates search market: US panel

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Google ‘overwhelmingly’ dominates search market: US panel

The US House Judiciary subcommittee that examined the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google and their business practices, has stated that Google ‘overwhelmingly holds market dominance in search and advertising.

“The overwhelmingly dominant provider of general online search is Google, which captures around 81 percent of all general search queries in the US on desktop and 94 percent on mobile,” the nearly 450-page report said on Tuesday.

It said that Google, as well as Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, enjoyed monopoly power.

“Google maintained its monopoly over general search through a series of anticompetitive tactics. These include an aggressive campaign to undermine vertical search providers, which Google viewed as a significant threat,” the report mentioned.

The subcommittee said that documents show that Google used its search monopoly to misappropriate content from third parties and to boost Google’s own inferior vertical offerings while imposing search penalties to demote third-party vertical providers.

“Google has steadily proliferated its search results page with ads and with Google’s own content, while also blurring the distinction between paid ads and organic results.

“As a result of these tactics, Google appears to be siphoning off traffic from the rest of the web, while entities seeking to reach users must pay Google steadily increasing sums for ads,” the report added.

In a statement on the report, Google said free products like Search, Maps, and Gmail help millions of Americans and they have invested billions of dollars in research and development to build and improve them.

“We compete fairly in a fast-moving and highly competitive industry. We disagree with today’s reports, which feature outdated and inaccurate allegations from commercial rivals about Search and other services,” the company said.

The report came as the US Senate Commerce Committee has asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify on October 28 over the Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The hearing will also cover the topics of privacy and media domination.

Over the course of its investigation, the US House Judiciary subcommittee collected extensive evidence from these companies as well as from third parties — totaling nearly 1.3 million documents.

“Facebook has also maintained its monopoly through a series of anticompetitive business practices. The company used its data advantage to create superior market intelligence to identify nascent competitive threats and then acquire, copy, or kill these firms,” the panel report stated.

Once dominant, Facebook selectively enforced its platform policies based on whether it perceived other companies as competitive threats. In doing so, it advantaged its own services while weakening other firms.

“In the absence of competition, Facebook’s quality has deteriorated over time, resulting in worse privacy protections for its users and a dramatic rise in misinformation on its platform,” it lamented.

On Amazon, the panel report said that the platform has monopoly power over many small- and medium-sized businesses that do not have a viable alternative to Amazon for reaching online consumers.

“Amazon has engaged in extensive anticompetitive conduct in its treatment of third-party sellers. Publicly, Amazon describes third-party sellers as “partners.” But internal documents show that, behind closed doors, the company refers to them as internal competitors.”

Finally, the report said, Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides critical infrastructure for many businesses with which Amazon competes.

“This creates the potential for a conflict of interest where cloud customers are forced to consider patronizing a competitor, as opposed to selecting the best technology for their business”.

When it comes to Apple, the report stated that the company leverages its control of iOS and the App Store to create and enforce barriers to competition and discriminate against and exclude rivals while preferencing its own offerings.

“Apple also uses its power to exploit app developers through misappropriation of competitively sensitive information and to charge app developers supra-competitive prices within the App Store”.

Apple has maintained its dominance due to the presence of network effects, high barriers to entry, and high switching costs in the mobile operating system market.

Apple is primarily a hardware company that derives most of its revenue from sales of devices and accessories.

However, as the market for products like the iPhone has matured, Apple has pivoted to rely increasingly on sales of its applications and services, as well as collecting commissions and fees in the App Store.

“In the absence of competition, Apple’s monopoly power over software distribution to iOS devices has resulted in harm to competitors and competition, reducing quality and innovation among app developers, and increasing prices and reducing choices for consumers,” the report mentioned.

Govt sanctions Rs5L each for boxer, archer siblings from UP

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Govt sanctions Rs5L each for boxer, archer siblings from UP

The Sports Ministry has announced financial support to UP boxer Sunil Chauhan and his brother archer Neeraj Chauhan who was facing a financial crunch after their father — who is the only earning member of the family — lost his job due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the family was forced to sell vegetables to make ends meet.

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju sanctioned an ex-gratia financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the athletes under the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons.

“I’m happy to announce that Sports Ministry has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each for UP archer Neeraj Chauhan and boxer Sunil Chauhan under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Fund. The athletes had an acute financial crisis because their father lost his livelihood during the pandemic,” Rijiju tweeted.

“The financial help will go a long way to help me and my family and we are really thankful to the minister for helping us at the time of our need,” said Sunil as per a sports ministry release.

While archer Neeraj won a silver medal in 50m in Senior Archery Championship 2018 and also a medal at the 65th National School Games 2020, his boxer brother Sunil won the gold medal at Khelo India University Games, 2020.

52 fresh corona cases in Agra takes tally to 6,054

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52 fresh corona cases in Agra takes tally to 6,054

With one more succumbing to Covid-19, the total number of deaths in Agra now stands at 129. In the past 24 hours, 52 fresh cases were reported taking the total tally to 6,054, said the health officials.

The number of active cases is 561 and 5,364 have recovered.

The number of samples for testing has gone up to 2,04,350.

After the meeting of the state additional principal secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad with senior district officials at the Circuit House on Tuesday, a series of measures were being initiated to fight Covid-19. Prasad said it was important to trace the contacts and provide prompt medical support to critically ill patients. Each life mattered and was precious for the government, he added.

An analysis of data relating to deaths at the COVID hospital in the S.N. Medical College clearly indicated a fatal combination of diabetes and COVID. Patients with uncontrolled sugar levels and high blood pressure succumbed to the deadly virus. Of the 610 patients admitted to the COVID hospital, 490 recovered, while 98 could not be saved as diabetes and high blood pressure complicated their conditions, doctors said.

Meanwhile, Agra is limping back to normalcy, after the heavy dent from lockdown and COVID fears. More people are now seen with masks. The police vigil and sustained efforts of the health department to sensitize people through camps and publicity blitz are now yielding results. The municipal corporation has geared up for a major cleanliness drive after three days of the strike by the safai karamcharis who were agitating to protest the Hathras tragedy.

Reports suggest the tourism sector is showing signs of bouncing back. The number of tourists continues to rise at the Taj Mahal and other monuments. “Compared to last week, there has been an almost 25 percent increase in footfalls. Now that the weather was turning pleasant and mobility was being restored, we expect a steady rise in the number of visitors to Agra,” hopes hotelier Surendra Sharma, founder president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association.

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