Amazon’s Sukumar Rathnam to take over as Uber’s new CTO

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Amazon’s Sukumar Rathnam to take over as Uber’s new CTO

Ride-hailing major Uber is all set to bring Sukumar Rathnam, currently a Vice President at Amazon, as its new Chief Technology Officer, the media reported.

Uber, which has focused on scaling its food delivery business amid Covid-19 restrictions, made the announcement of Rathnam’s hiring internally on Thursday, The Information first reported.

Rathnam, who has been at Amazon for nearly nine years, most recently as a VP in charge of product selection and catalog systems, is likely to assume his new role at Uber staring later this month.

The position of CTO has been lying vacant Uber for more than three months now as the company’s former CTO Thuan Pham resigned in May.

Pham’s resignation came just before Uber let go of more than 6,000 employees, or 25 percent of its workforce to deal with a slowdown in its rides business due to COVID-related restrictions.

Rajya Sabha passes Homoeopathy Bills

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Rajya Sabha passes Homoeopathy Bills

The Rajya Sabha on Friday passed two Bills — the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Replying during the discussion on the Bills, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, “The Ordinance was necessitated as Parliament was not in session.”

The Minister said that Yoga and Naturopathy will also be promoted in due course, as demanded by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha.

During the discussion, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Prasanna Acharya supported the Bill but questioned the need for the ordinance. He said only in extraordinary situations the ordinance route should be adopted.

Speaking on the Bill, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that new things are always opposed first, but during COVID times homeopathy medicine was prescribed as an immunity booster.

Samajwadi Party (SP) member Ram Gopal Yadav asked the government not to delay the constitution of the commission as homeopathy is a necessity for the poor as allopathy is costly and in COVID times private hospitals are charging more than Rs one lakh per day.

The DMK MP T. Siva said, “The government is taking away the powers of the states”, and alleged that it’s diluting the federalism.

The Bill brought by the Centre amends the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. After becoming an Act, the Central Council of Homoeopathy will regulate homeopathic education and practice.

The Bill replaces the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated on April 24, 2020. The period for the supersession of the Central Council — The 1973 Act — was amended in 2018 to provide for the supersession of the Central Council of Homoeopathy. The Central Council was required to be reconstituted within one year from the date of its supersession.

This period was amended in 2019 to require the reconstitution of the Central Council in two years. The central government constituted a Board of Governors to exercise the powers of the Central Council.

The Bill amends the Act to increase the period for the supersession of the Central Council from two years to three years.

The resolution moved by K. C. Venugopal, E. Kareem, and K. K.Ragesh was defeated. But Rajesh raised a point of order for the right to reply as the mover of the resolution and asked about the role of the state governments in this Bill.

Rise in Kerala Covid cases makes Shailaja face reality

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Rise in Kerala Covid cases makes Shailaja face reality

Gone are the days when Kerala State Health Minister K. K.Shailaja was omnipresent in the TV channels taking all the accolades, when the COVID pandemic was gripping the country and Kerala was fighting it, but today she is hardly visible.

On Thursday, Kerala saw the highest single-day hike of 4,351 new Covid-19 cases taking the tally of the active cases to 34,314, while 87,345 people have been cured. In the past month alone close to 50,000 new positive cases were recorded. A total of 489 deaths have been recorded so far.

On Thursday, she openly admitted that the state was more vulnerable compared to the neighboring states, as things are changing fast.

Shailaja, was at the center stage ever since the first case in the country was registered in Thrissur on January 30. What gave her the confidence was the way she led her team of medical professionals in containing the Nipah virus in the state in 2018.

With the media also highlighting Shailaja in the way COVID was being tackled, even as the developed countries were fighting hard, she at one point of time was one of the most sought after politicians by the media, including the international media.

But the first strike against her came from Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, describing Shailaja as one having a ‘media mania’ and asked her to concentrate on fighting COVID only.

At that time, Chennithala was slammed and he went quiet for some time, but not for a long time. He struck back when the state’s COVID figures started to rise at an increasing rate.

Shailaja’s Thursday statement was an earnest call to the society at large that there should be a heightened vigil to check the spread of Covid-19 and appreciated the manner in which people did quite well during the national lockdown period. She warned that the state has the highest density of population besides a huge elderly population and not to mention that Kerala is the national capital of diabetes.

Incidentally, all these health characteristics that she highlighted have always been there and there was nothing new.

Chennithala called Shailaja’s statement about the ‘flattening of the curve’ as nothing but an imaginary thing and pointed out that it was like running a marathon and the Left government declared they have won the battle against COVID after running just 100 meters.

With more and more restrictions being eased, it remains to be seen what is in store for Kerala. And with Shailaja cautioning the people, it appears things are not rosy for the state and the question now is — will the bouquets that were received some time ago turn to brickbats.

Majority of Covid-recovered complain of fatigue: Study

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Majority of Covid-recovered complain of fatigue: Study

In a major study, the researchers have shown that persistent fatigue occurs in more than half of patients recovered from Covid-19, regardless of the seriousness of their infection.

“While the presenting features of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been well-characterized, the medium and long-term consequences of infection remain unexplored,” said study author Liam Townsend from St James’s Hospital in Ireland.

For the study, the research team used a commonly-used scale to determine fatigue in recovered patients, called the Chalder Fatigue Score (CFQ-11).

They also looked at the severity of the patient’s initial infection (need for admission, and critical/intensive care), and also their pre-existing conditions, including depression.

They also looked at various markers of immune activation (white cell counts, C-reactive protein, Interleukin-6, and sCD25).

The study included 128 participants (mean age 50 years; 54 percent female) who were recruited consecutively at a median of 10 weeks following clinical recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

More than half reported persistent fatigue (52.3 percent; 67/128) at this point.

The researchers offered an outpatient appointment to anyone who had a Covid-19 positive swab test in their laboratory at St James Hospital.

Of the patients assessed in this study, 71/128 (55.5 percent) were admitted to the hospital and 57/128 (44.5 percent) were not.

“Fatigue was found to occur independent of admission to hospital, affecting both groups equally,” Townsend explained.

There was no association between Covid-19 severity (need for inpatient admission, supplemental oxygen, or critical care) and fatigue following Covid-19.

Additionally, there was no association between routine laboratory markers of inflammation and cell turnover or pro-inflammatory molecules (IL-6 or sCD25) and fatigue post-COVID-19.

The findings showed that female gender and those with a pre-existing diagnosis of depression/anxiety were over-represented in those with fatigue.

“Our findings demonstrated a significant burden of post-viral fatigue in individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection after the acute phase of Covid-19 illness,” the study authors wrote.

This study highlights the importance of assessing those recovering from Covid-19 for symptoms of severe fatigue, irrespective of the severity of initial illness, and may identify a group worthy of further study, and early intervention.

It also supports the use of non-pharmacological interventions for fatigue management.

The study is scheduled to be presented at The ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID), to be held online from 23-25 September.

Kevin Pietersen: I love IPL, India has given me a lot

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Kevin Pietersen: I love IPL, India has given me a lot

Ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), former England captain Kevin Pietersen opened up on how the Twenty-20 cricket extravaganza will be different this year due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.

“It’s going to be different for sure. No fans, nothing. Everybody is in a bubble and the team that copes with its bubble life the best is the team that’s going to win. This is new territory for everyone,” Pietersen told IANS.

KP, as he is fondly known in the cricketing circuit, is currently a part of the commentary panel for IPL 2020, which is set to start on September 19 in the UAE.

During his playing days, Pietersen represented the Delhi Daredevils team (now rechristened Delhi Capitals) in the IPL, besides Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiant. He roots for the Delhi team to lift the trophy this time.

“I can’t predict anything as of now, but my heart really wants Delhi Capitals to win because I love the team. However, I can’t predict right now. It’s totally a new and different season for everybody. So, I have to closely observe the teams for the first two weeks, and only then will I be able to put my professional brain on,” Pietersen said, adding: “I love young players. I love exciting players. I love all sorts of players. I love players who take risks.”

Recalling his IPL journey, he expressed his gratitude to India.

“I love IPL. I love what India has given to me. I love everything about the journey that I have had since 2002 — the first time I came to India. I am so lucky that I got to experience Indian culture, friendships. I have been benefited financially, I have been benefited emotionally in India. I owe a lot to India,” he said, while promoting the National Geographic’s documentary, “Save This Rhino”, which he called his “greatest gift to India”.

Teenager dupes grandpa of Rs 15L

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Teenager dupes grandpa of Rs 15L

A 17-year-old boy allegedly transferred Rs 15 lakh from his grandfather’s bank account to his e-wallet to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

“An 80-year-old retired Air Force officer Raja Ram reported that illegal online transactions of Rs 15 lakh has been done from his account by an unidentified person within five months, from March to August this year. A case was registered under section 420 of IPC at Shahganj police station,” Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Babloo Kumar said.

The victim claimed that he neither received any call nor had given his OTP to anyone regarding any online transaction.

The complaint was transferred to the district cyber-crime cell.

Investigations revealed that the money was transferred from Raja Ram’s account into Paytm and Mobikwik wallets, which were created by using a fake SIM card.

The amount was later transferred to the account of the victim’s daughter-in-law, whose son was involved in it.

According to Cybercrime officer Vijay Tomar, the boy had been regularly withdrawing small amounts of money. He used to delete the SMS alerts from his grandfather’s phone after giving OTP to his friend, Mohit Solanki, 21, who was the mastermind.

Two other persons who were involved in the crime were identified as Krishna, 24, who provided a fake SIM card for creating the Paytm and Mobikwik accounts, and Aakash Kumar, 20, who converted some online transactions into cash for spending on liquor and buying mobile phones.

All the accused have been arrested and the minor has also been apprehended.

It’s in our genes: What is aiding India’s low mortality rate

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It’s in our genes: What is aiding India’s low mortality rate

A study conducted by top genetic experts has revealed that Indians should be thankful to their genes for tiding over the COVID pandemic with a relatively lesser mortality rate as compared to the US and European nations.

A team comprising distinguished genetic experts from six institutions, led by Prof Gyaneshwer Chaubey of the Banaras Hindu University, analyzed complete DNA data of the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene of the X chromosome from various continental populations and found that it is the Indian genes that have protected the population and helped battle the deadly virus.

This explains why the mortality rate of Covid-19 has been much higher in European countries and in the US, as compared to India and Southeast Asian countries.

The results of the team’s analysis have been published in the internationally renowned journal PLOS ONE, released on Thursday.

The scientists have provided a possible molecular genetic explanation for why Iranians, Europeans, and Americans of European ancestry are at more mortality risk to the novel Coronavirus than people in India and East Asia, as reflected in the current global distribution of reported Covid-19 cases per 1,00,000 inhabitants.

The international team analyzed complete DNA data of the ACE2 gene from various continental populations and found that certain mutations in this gene are helping South Asian and East Asian populations in successfully battling the virus and reducing mortality rate in comparison to the US and Europe.

“The ACE2 gene is the gateway point of the Coronavirus and certain genetic mutations of this gene are related to the disease severity,” said Chaubey.

There have been a few initial studies on the ACE2 gene by other research groups, but all of them looked for the presence or absence of various mutations, whereas, this team used more powerful haplotype-based analysis (the method in which experts break the whole length of DNA into several pieces and make comparisons).

“The genetic ancestry of most South Asians can be traced to West Eurasian populations rather than with East Eurasians, whereas for this gene, the result is another way around,” said Prof. George van Driem of University of Bern, Switzerland, one of the experts on the team in the paper.

In this type of analysis, several DNA fragments are compared rather than few mutations as populations that share more DNA chunks are considered to be closer, said Chaubey.

“The match of DNA fragments of South Asians with East Asians suggests that the entry gate of Coronavirus among South Asians will be more similar to that of East Asians rather than that of Europeans or Americans. This also explains the low mortality rate in South Asia,” he explained.

The second important finding is about two major mutations that are responsible for strengthening the entry point of the Coronavirus among South Asians. “Thus, this paper adds important potential implications to understanding the transmission patterns of Coronavirus in various populations across the world,” said Anshika Srivastava, one of the authors of the paper.

Rudra Pandey and Prajwal Singh from BHU, Avinash Rasalkar, Pankaj Srivastava from Sagar Central University, Rakesh Tamang from Calcutta University, and Pramod Kumar from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were also involved in this research.

No new Covid-19 cases in NZ for 1st time in a month

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No new Covid-19 cases in NZ for 1st time in a month

There were no new coronavirus cases in New Zealand on Friday for the first time in early August, according to the Health Ministry.

In a statement, the Ministry said that currently there were 54 people linked to a community cluster which was detected last month in Auckland, the country’s largest city, reports Xinhua news agency.

They remain in an Auckland quarantine facility, which includes 22 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and their household contacts.

There are four people in hospital with Covid-19, including one in ICU, the statement said.

With no new cases to report and seven additional recovered cases, the total number of active cases in New Zealand is 70.

Of those, 33 are imported cases in managed isolation facilities, and 37 are community cases, the statement said.

The country’s total number of confirmed cases as of Friday stood at 1,458, with 25 deaths.

BSP to contest Assembly bypolls for first time in UP

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BSP to contest Assembly bypolls for first time in UP

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to put up candidates in all eight Assembly seats where by-polls are to be held.

The BSP, earlier, had never contested by-elections, leaving the field clear for other remaining parties.

“The decision was taken in view of the 2022 Assembly elections. The party wants to mobilize its cadres through the by-elections and also reach out to its voters. Party leaders are shortlisting candidates for each of the eight Assembly segments and will announce them after getting approval of the party president,” said a party functionary.

The BSP, two days ago, had announced the name of Kuldeep Sankhwar as the party candidate for the Ghatampur (Kanpur) Assembly seat.

“Behenji (Mayawati) is continuously monitoring the situation in each constituency and is taking feedback from party workers. She may be in Delhi but she is clued into what is happening at the ground level,” the functionary said.

Of the eight Assembly seats going to bypoll, six seats — Naugawan, Deoria, Ghatampur, Bulandshahar, Tundla, and Bangaramu — were won by the BJP in the 2017 Assembly polls while two constituencies — Malahani and Suar (Rampur) — were won by the Samajwadi Party.

Anoushka Shankar: Important to call out inappropriate behaviour

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Anoushka Shankar: Important to call out inappropriate behaviour

Grammy-nominated sitarist, composer, and producer Anoushka Shankar feels it is important to call out inappropriate behavior and says there is a need to amplify the voices of women at all levels of the music industry.

Recently, Anoushka used social media to call out abusive and sexually inappropriate comments that she received during a live session.

“In this instance, I suppose I dealt with it by calling it out and refusing to accept it. I think it’s important for us to consistently call out inappropriate behavior, especially when that behavior has been normalized, as it takes so much active work to change the status quo,” Anoushka told IANS, recalling the incident.

Anoushka feels there are a lot of things that fuel hatred that women, and not just female artistes, receive in the virtual world.

“Sexism? Inequality? Misogyny? The question is not about female artistes but about women and inequality overall,” she said when asked about the reasons why women are subjected to online hate and abuse.

Talking about how one can work towards eliminating normalized misogyny in the music industry, the mother of two said: “We need to support and amplify the voices of women at all levels of the music industry. Not just singers, but composers, producers, engineers, record label executives. Corporations have a responsibility to ensure equality and representation at all levels.”

The daughter of the late sitar legend Ravi Shankar is known for channeling inner thoughts and her emotions through her music. “Traces Of You” was about intense joy, pain, and sadness. Her album “Land Of Gold”, released in April 2016, was written in response to the refugee crisis. Her latest album “Love Letters” is a compilation of songs written across 2018 and 2019. It documents a time of profound flux for the artiste: health issues, heartbreak, and domestic upheaval.

Now, she has come out with “Those words”, which features British composer, singer and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and Indian singer Shilpa Rao.

“Musically, the song started with Ayanna and myself, with me writing my sitar line to complement her beautiful cello progressions. As the EP Love Letters evolved into a collection of songs with lyrics, I suggested we also add lyrics to ‘Those words’ and thought of Shilpa, whose voice is beautiful. As far as the influence emotionally, the song came from a desire to express longing, nostalgia, and regret,” she explained.

The video was shot amid lockdown, and Anoushka says “the song itself is so simple and natural, so I wanted the video to have the same simplicity, and that certainly made it easier for us to each shoot from our homes”.

Sony launches Xperia 5 II smartphone with Snapdragon 865 chip

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Sony launches Xperia 5 II smartphone with Snapdragon 865 chip

Sony has launched Xperia 5 II smartphone with a 120Hz refresh rate, triple rear cameras and Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip.

The smartphone will be available in an unlocked black color variant in the US, with variants compatible for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Cricket, reports GSMArena.

Pre-orders for the device will start at $950 from September 29, with shipping starting from December 4.

There is no word on the India launch yet.

The device features a 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate.

The smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM. The phone arrives with 128GB and 256GB storage options, which can be expanded via microSD card.

On the rear, it has a triple-camera setup that includes a 12MP primary sensor and two more 12MP cameras including an ultra-wide lens. On the front, it has an 8MP snapper placed in the upper bezel.

The phone is backed by a 4,000 mAh battery with support for fast charging. Sony claims that it can be charged up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.

Roger Federer sings Beatles classic for commercial

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Roger Federer sings Beatles classic for commercial

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has been mesmerizing fans with his breathtaking shots on the tennis courts ever since he turned professional in 1998. Now the Swiss legend has left his fans speechless with a rendition of a Beatles’ classic.

Federer sang The Beatles classic “With A Little Help From My Friends” as part of a commercial for Sunrise, a Swiss telecommunications provider based in Zurich.

This is was not the first time the 39-year-old had recorded a song. According to the ATP Tour website, in 2017, he had joined Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas to create the Backhand Boys supergroup during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The trio recorded a version of the 1982 Chicago hit ‘Hard To Say I’m Sorry’ with Haas’ father-in-law, the world-renowned record producer, and musician David Foster, on piano.

After this year’s Australian Open, Federer decided to give the 2020 season a miss following a setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery that he underwent in February. He has said he will return in 2021, thus making 2020 only the second year in his career in which he would not win a title.

WhatsApp on Web may soon get fingerprint authentication feature

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WhatsApp on Web may soon get fingerprint authentication feature

WhatsApp is reportedly working on to adding another layer of security via biometric scanning support that will help users secure new sessions on the platform on the Web.

According to WABetainfo, a website that tracks WhatsApp in Beta, the mobile messaging platform has dedicated a team to work on making the entire browser service more secure.

“One would have to open WhatsApp on their smartphones and scan their fingerprint to initiate the web session of their PC,” the report said on Thursday.

The new way of logging into WhatsApp’s web and desktop apps has some important advantages — it’s much more secure and a lot faster.

It’s not clear though if Face Unlock support will also be added in the future for devices that support 3D Face Unlocks.

The current method of authentication involves using your phone’s camera to scan an on-screen QR code to gain access to your account.

In addition, WhatsApp is reportedly bringing a fix for a bug that caused the removal of recently used emojis after the app is updated. The feature has been spotted in WhatsApp 2.20.200.10 beta for Android updates.

Delhi Police constable commits suicide

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Delhi Police constable commits suicide

A 37-year-old Delhi Police constable committed suicide in South Delhi’s PTS colony, Malviya Nagar, police said on Friday.

The incident happened on Thursday night.

“A PCR call was received at the Malviya Nagar police station at 11.26 p.m. regarding a suicide. He was rushed to the Max hospital where constable Satender, resident of the PTS colony Malviya Nagar was declared brought dead,” a senior police officer said.

Satender was posted in the central district of Delhi. According to police, on Thursday he came home around 10 p.m. and after some time he was found hanging.

The police said the reason for the suicide was being ascertained and the inquest proceedings have been initiated.

No suicide note has been found yet, the police said.

Alexa in Hindi turns 1, now available on smartphones in India

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Alexa in Hindi turns 1, now available on smartphones in India

Amazon India on Friday announced that its smart assistant Alexa that completed one year of its existence is now available on both Android and iOS smartphones in the country.

The customers can now interact with Alexa in Hindi using the Alexa app on their mobile devices.

“In an effort to make Alexa in Hindi more useful for customers, we have added over 60 new features in the past year. These include improvements such as asking Alexa to whisper, adjust how fast or slow she speaks, and new experiences such as asking Alexa for health-related information, Hindi definitions of words in English, Audible Suno, and so on,” Puneesh Kumar, Country Leader for Alexa, Amazon India, told IANS.

Many users are also purchasing Amazon Echo devices for their parents as they are more comfortable to speak to the devices in Hindi.

“We will continue to make Alexa interactions in Hindi even more seamless and conversational. It is still Day 1,” Kumar added.

Amazon has also added six new Alexa original songs and poems, along with 20 new stories in Hindi.

Alexa now has a special message for all users in India. Just ask “Alexa, Hamari Dosti par poem sunao”.

Alexa can now understand 50 different ways to play a particular song in Hindi.

The Alexa Speech Science team has used the latest advances in deep neural networks, multi-dialect training, and semi-supervised learning to reduce Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) errors by more than 40 percent since the launch of Hindi last year.

The company said that Alexa is now equipped with hundreds of new words from the Hindi vocabulary, and is also able to understand different ways in which customers can ask for the same information.

“Users of the Alexa in Hindi have a unique taste in music. In addition to asking for Bollywood music, they are most likely to ask for devotional and spiritual songs. We also noticed increased requests for songs related to festive occasions such as Raksha Bandhan songs or Chhath Puja,” Kumar told IANS.

At the launch last year, Amazon had over 500 Hindi skills. Today, it has over 1,000 Hindi Skills, including Audible Suno, Ramayan Katha, Devotional Stories by Hungama, Shilpa Shetty Yoga, Jungle Safari, Kabir’s Dohe, Rekhta, Hindi Jokes, and so on.

Alexa in Hindi can be experienced on the entire Amazon Echo range of smart speakers, Alexa built-in devices by other brands, the company said.

The Indian cricket pantomime ready to explode

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The Indian cricket pantomime ready to explode

The entertainment that every Indian cricket lover is so anxiously waiting — the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 — is about to start. The first match between the two top teams of the tournament will take place on Saturday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI), led by Rohit Sharma, will lock horns with last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK), captained by the man who recently announced retirement from international cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The aura and mystery that Dhoni emanates is like a halo around his head. He has been away from cricket for a year but just his presence is enough to create an element of worry in the opponents’ minds.

The CSK may be referred to as ‘Dad’s Army’, but it is a very experienced unit and can never be taken lightly. A recent fun competition between their two hard-hitting batsmen — Shane Watson and Dhoni – in the nets as to who can hit the ball farthest in the UAE just shows what power play is in store for all of us.

Both these international legends have nothing to prove or fear. And along with Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ambati Rayudu, to mention a few, they will be a force to reckon with for all the teams in the competition.

The IPL has become the heart and soul of Indian cricket. The T20 format may not be the epitome of what conventional cricket is all about but it replicates the characteristics, values, attitude of the people, and the vibrant surroundings of the modern world that we live in.

The ‘work from home’ (WFH) syndrome has led to what could be called ‘watch from home’ — cricket and other sports as well. Cricket, one feels, will be played in stadiums without spectators for quite a while and the sooner cricketers accept this reality, the better it will be for them. A sportsman’s adrenaline does make his heart beat faster in an atmosphere filled with loud cheering and crowds egging them on. However, cricketers will now need to find their own path, mentally, and ways to excel in the silence that they will face.

The heat and humidity in the UAE will play a major role in the performances of individuals and teams. This is where fitness trainers, more than coaches, will play an important part. Modern technology has given them the tools to monitor each individual thoroughly. The wear and tear of the muscles, the fatigue factor, the loss of body fluids, and many other such important details are being thoroughly checked. Getting players ready and fit and mentally fresh to play in intense heat will be a task of immense importance and the fortune of the teams will depend on it.

Cricketers being athletes should be able to handle the initial period of the tournament, but the second half will be crucial. This is when boredom sets in and the eagerness and enthusiasm will be on gradual ebb.

T20 cricket is very much a batsman’s game and hence the IPL 2020 will have plenty of runs with a plethora of fours and sixes. The wickets will be ideal for batting, as the ball will come slow and low because of the hot weather. The fast bowlers will only get movement initially when the ball is new but later on, they will need to outsmart the batsmen through variations in length, speed, and other such deception.

Spin will play an important part as the wickets should assist some turn but the sweaty fingers will make it difficult for spinners to get a firm grip on the ball. It will be interesting to see how bowlers who sweat profusely manage to keep their fingers dry.

The beauty of the T20 format is such that one cannot predict a winner. The shorter version tends to make teams more equally balanced, as one does not have enough overs to make it a one-sided affair. The element of luck also plays a major part in a team’s fortune as the game has so many uncertainties that on a given day, the ‘hand of God, could play an important part.

All eight teams have some extraordinary international and Indian players and young Indian cricketers as well. The teams comprise support staff and coaches of international standards and analysts who can produce data for every given situation. Professionalism brought in by franchise-owned teams has been the most progressive aspect so far Indian cricket is concerned. This has been the foremost advantage that young Indian cricketers have experienced and the processes and systems learned by them have gradually filtered into every corner of Indian cricket. The IPL has been a boon not only in bringing financial benefits to the BCCI. It has also been the Indian cricket pantomime to not just millions of Indian cricket followers but also for thousands of young cricketers playing the game in India.

Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, and Royal Challengers Bangalore are still to win the trophy. Each one of them has players who can make this year a memorable one for themselves. For me, however, Rajasthan Royals have that ‘Royal Rajput’ touch to them. A team comprising the best all-rounder in the world in Ben Stokes and one of the most lethal fast bowlers in Jofra Archer, along with one of the world’s leading batsmen, Steven Smith, and the most destructive wicket-keeper-batsman in Jos Buttler seems an ideal combination to get RR the trophy they have been striving for since they won the inaugural tournament in 2008.

Apple says happy Diwali with 1st India online store on Sep 23

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Apple says happy Diwali with 1st India online store on Sep 23

Ending months of speculation, Apple is launching its first exclusive branded online store in India on September 23 just ahead of the festive season, offering a full range of products, support, and premium experience to consumers and the large aspirational fan base across the country.

For logistics support, Apple has partnered with Blue Dart to be its on-ground fulfillment partner. Given the current pandemic situation, customers can expect safe, contactless deliveries in 24-72 hours from the date of purchase of all premium and new products, including the ones (Apple Watch Series 6 and new iPad Air) launched earlier this week.

“We are super excited to bring Apple Store Online to India. We love the passion Indians have for our products and supporting them has been our passion too. The Online Store will ensure seamless, safe, and contactless delivery of our products in these COVID times as safety of staff and customers is our topmost priority.” Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail + People, told IANS.

The Apple India store, the 38th online store worldwide, would have specialists to lend expert advice and support to the Indian customers.

From learning more about product features to set up new devices, customers can receive guidance directly from Apple, including online support in English and phone support in Hindi and English.

Those who buy Apple products will be eligible for a 30-minute, one-on-one online session with a trained executive to explore more about the device, set it up, and or solve any other query.

The online store also provides the ability to custom-configure any Mac with just a few clicks.

With financing options and available trade-in programme, the Apple Store Online offers a range of affordability options.

Students can shop for a Mac or iPad with special pricing, and receive discounts on accessories and Apple Care+ that extends warranty with up to two years of technical support and accidental damage cover.

Apple currently has third-party reseller outlets and online channels to sell its devices in the country and its own branded online store will certainly help the company in giving a controlled experience of its devices and services.

Welcoming the Narendra Modi cabinet’s decision to ease the 30 percent local sourcing norm in single-brand retail (SBRT) in August last year, Apple said it looks forward to welcoming customers at its first retail store in India soon.

“We love our customers in India and we’re eager to serve them online and in-store with the same experience and care that Apple customers around the world enjoy,” Apple said.

Apple, which has already started manufacturing certain iPhone models in India, has reportedly selected locations for its exclusive retail stores in the country as well.

Apple currently has over 500 physical retail stores worldwide, with the world’s first floating retail store at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

On its online India store, customers can expect free online ‘Today at Apple’ sessions led by local creative professionals, focused on photography and music in October.

Just in time for the festive season, signature gift wrap and personalized engraving will be available for select products.

Engraving of emojis or text in English, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu will be available for AirPods, and English engraving will be available for iPad and Apple Pencil.

For the health and well-being of Apple’s teams, customers, and communities, all orders from the Apple Store Online will ship with contactless delivery.

Orders that do not require a signature will be left at the customer’s door, and those that do will need only a verbal confirmation from a safe distance instead of a written signature.

Apple has been operating in India for more than 20 years, and the company’s ongoing investment and innovation support almost 900,000 jobs across the country.

Ranveer Singh’s efforts to make Indian Sign Language an official language is on

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Ranveer Singh’s efforts to make Indian Sign Language an official language is on

India’s deaf community has lauded the efforts of actor Ranveer Singh to make Indian Sign Language an official language.

Ranveer has been urging authorities to consider and declare Indian Sign Language (ISL) as the 23rd official language of India. He recently signed a petition aimed at furthering awareness of the cause.

His independent record label, IncInk, which he has formed with Navzar Eranee, also released sign language music videos. Twenty-five members from the deaf community in India appreciated him by putting out a thank-you video for him.

“We were very happy to hear the good news about Ranveer Singh, who is a famous Bollywood actor, to support ISL to be recognized as the 23rd official language of India. We are so glad that he supports this,” the members stated.

“Indian sign language is a beautiful language. We want to thank Ranveer for showing support to the deaf community,” they added.

An overwhelmed Ranveer said that his independent music label was created to encourage inclusivity.

Ranveer said: “IncInk was created as a platform to encourage inclusivity through art and we are deeply committed to making Indian Sign Language (ISL) become the 23rd official language of India.”

He added: “This progressive step will create a ripple effect in providing equal access across all areas, from education to employment to entertainment to more than 10 million deaf people in India.”

President accepts Harsimrat Kaur’s resignation

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President accepts Harsimrat Kaur’s resignation

President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation as Minister of Food Processing Industries and Narendra Singh Tomar has been assigned the additional charge of her ministry, according to a press release.

“The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution,” said a communique issued on Friday.

Badal tendered her resignation from the Union Cabinet on Thursday in protest of new legislation that sought to liberalize the agricultural markets.

“I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” she had tweeted.

The presidential communique also said: “Further, as advised by the Prime Minister, The President has directed that Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in addition to his existing portfolios.”

The Lok Sabha passed the Agri Bills on Thursday.

Google adds Search trends symptoms data to Covid-19 repository

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Google adds Search trends symptoms data to Covid-19 repository

In an effort to help researchers find useful health data to fight new coronavirus, Google has added its Search Trends symptoms dataset, which aggregates anonymized search trends for over 400 symptoms, to its Covid-19 Open Data repository.

This will help researchers better understand the spread of Covid-19 and its potential secondary health impacts.

Lack of access to use high-quality data has posed a significant challenge, and much of the publicly available data is scattered, incomplete, or compiled in many different formats.

“To help researchers spend more of their time understanding the disease instead of wrangling data, we’ve developed a set of tools and processes to make it simpler for researchers to discover and work with normalized high-quality public datasets,” Katherine Chou, Director of Product Management, Google Health said on Thursday.

The Covid-19 Open Data repository is a comprehensive, open-source resource of epidemiological data and related variables like economic indicators or population statistics from over 50 countries.

Each data source contains information on its origin, and how it’s processed so that researchers can confirm its validity and reliability.

The Covid-19 models need to account for uncertainty in order for their predictions to be reliable and useful.

“To help address this challenge, we’re providing researchers examples of how to implement bespoke epidemiological models using TensorFlow Probability (TFP), a library for building probabilistic models that can measure confidence in their own predictions,” Google informed.

With TFP, researchers can use a range of data sources with different granularities, properties, or confidence levels, and factor that uncertainty into the overall prediction models.

This could be particularly useful in fine-tuning the increasingly complex models that epidemiologists are using to understand the spread of Covid-19, particularly in gaining city or county-level insights when an only state or national-level datasets exist.

Google researchers have also developed an open-source agent-based simulator that utilizes real-world data to simulate populations to help public health organizations fine-tune their exposure notification parameters.

The Covid-19 Open Data repository also includes two Google datasets developed to help researchers study the impact of the disease in a privacy-preserving manner.

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