Tamil Nadu to bifurcate Thiruvalluvar University, create new one

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Tamil Nadu to bifurcate Thiruvalluvar University, create new one

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday announced in the Assembly that Vellore-based Thiruvalluvar University will be bifurcated and a new varsity will be created.

He said the new university will be based in Villupuram and added that the bifurcation is for ease of administration and nothing more should be read into the decision.

Palaniswami said the new university will start functioning from this year itself.

According to him, the number of colleges has increased and the university is bifurcated for ease of administration.

Palaniswami said in order to enable students in Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, and Cuddalore to go for higher studies, the Thiruvalluvar University is bifurcated.

Markets maintain gains, auto stocks rise

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Markets maintain gains, auto stocks rise

After opening in the positive territory, the Indian stock market maintained its gains during the mid-afternoon trade session on Wednesday.

Buying activity was witnessed across sectors especially in automobile and realty stocks.

At 2.20 p.m. the BSE Sensex traded at 39,293.58, higher by 249.23 points or 0.64 percent from its previous close.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange traded at 11,585.40, higher by 63.60 points, or 0.55 percent, from the previous close.

“Indian markets opened marginally higher and remained rangebound till about noon. Post this they gradually began to rise,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

“Smallcap and Midcap index seem to have run out of steam after a strong two-day rally. Among sectoral indices, Auto and Realty remain the main gainers while Power was the sole loser. Reliance rose with volumes.”

In addition, Jasani pointed out that while addressing the Ficci National Executive Committee Meeting, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das assured that the Central Bank is closely monitoring the economic situation and is prepared to take further measures to prepare the economy and banking system to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“These reassuring statements helped the Nifty to rise towards the recent highs,” he said.

“The Nifty has moved above the recent resistance of 11,584. Sustaining above this level could mean more upsides in the near term.”

Covid-impacted economy may see gradual recovery: RBI Guv

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Covid-impacted economy may see gradual recovery: RBI Guv

The recovery of the Indian economy reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be gradual, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Meeting, the central bank chief said that the country is still reeling under the impact of Covid-19 and will gradually come back on a normal growth path.

He, however, said that things have considerably improved in the second quarter after the adverse impact the pandemic had on economic activity in the first quarter.

“Nevertheless, high-frequency indicators of agricultural activity, the purchasing managing index (PMI) for manufacturing and private estimates for unemployment point to some stabilization of economic activity in Q2, while contractions in several sectors are also easing,” he said.

“The recovery is, however, not yet fully entrenched and moreover, in some sectors, upticks in June and July appear to be leveling off. By all indications, the recovery is likely to be gradual as efforts towards reopening of the economy are confronted with rising infections.”

According to Das, financial market conditions in India have eased significantly across segments in response to the frontloaded cuts in the policy repo rate and large system-wide as well as a targeted infusion of liquidity by the RBI.

“Despite a substantial increase in the borrowing program of the government, persistently large surplus liquidity conditions have ensured non-disruptive mobilization of resources at the lowest borrowing costs in a decade,” he elaborated.

In August 2020, the yield on the 10-year G-sec benchmark surged by 35 basis points amidst concerns over inflation and a further increase in the supply of government papers.

Following the RBI’s announcement of special open market operations (OMOs) and other measures to restore orderly functioning of the G-sec market, bond yields have softened and traded in a narrow range in September.

“Although bank credit growth remains muted, scheduled commercial banks’ investments in commercial paper, bonds, debentures and shares of corporate bodies in this year so far (up to August 28) increased by Rs 5,615 crore as against a decline of Rs 32,245 crore during the same period of last year,” he said.

“Moreover, the benign financing conditions and the substantial narrowing of spreads have spurred a record issuance of corporate bonds of close to Rs 3.2 lakh crore during 2020-21 up to August.”

Besides, he pointed out that the immediate policy response to COVID in India has been to prioritize the stabilization of the economy and support a quick recovery.

Citing the World Bank assessment, Das said that recovery globally would take a longer route as it is not fully entrenched.

Nearly 96% of Pakistan’s Covid patients have recovered: Report

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Nearly 96% of Pakistan’s Covid patients have recovered: Report

Nearly 96 percent of Pakistan’s coronavirus patients have made a successful recovery, a status report issued on Wednesday by the country’s nerve center monitoring the pandemic read.

According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), “290,760 people recovered so far across Pakistan, making it a significant count” and showing that 95.93 percent of the patients recovered, with 303,089 total cases, of which 5,936 were active ones,” Geo News reported.

The NCOC said almost 29,100 tests were carried out over the past 24 hours and 665 people tested positive for the coronavirus.

Of the four individuals who died of the respiratory illness, three passed away in hospitals and one at home, it added.

Some “735 hospitals with COVID facilities and 995 patients admitted across the country,” the NCOC said.

No reason to entertain: Delhi HC junks plea seeking emergency parole

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No reason to entertain: Delhi HC junks plea seeking emergency parole

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by a convict serving life term, seeking emergency parole.

Noting that there was no error in the earlier order passed by the single judge bench, the division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan turned down the plea and said: “Looking at the facts and circumstances, we see no reason to entertain the petition.”

Life term convict Surender Kumar had prayed for parole on grounds of the medical condition, self-preservation during the pandemic, falsity of punishment imposed, and re-establishing social ties with the cousin brother.

His advocate, Sarthak Maggon, had challenged the earlier order dated August 31.

The plea alleged that the petitioner has been wrongly punished by the jail authorities under the false pretext/to avenge harassment complaints that he was in possession of a mobile phone inside the prison.

“It must be noted that the punishment was granted due to a complaint made at the behest of the Appellant against certain jail officials for physical violence. The Appellant has since the award of the punishment undergone two extensive rounds of litigation,” the plea said.

The plea further alleged that the entire conspiracy for illegally awarding punishment was only undertaken to avenge the conduct of the flatmate of the Appellant namely Shri Nath and also to discriminate against the Appellant through the same occurrence for raising his voice against the high-handedness of the prison authorities.

Challenging the order passed by the single judge bench, the petitioner said, “The Ld. Single Judge committed an error by considering the petition solely on the ground of parity with the case of the flatmate of the Appellant namely Shri Nath who has already been released on parole by an order of a Concurrent Bench.”

It also said that the single judge erred in applying the rules applicable to grant of regular parole in respect of prayer of emergency parole.

Arguing for Surender Kumar, Maggon said, that his client has maintained an impeccable conduct during the last 20 years he has been in jail and had made himself eligible for furlough.

Kumar has been lodged in an open jail but on January 29 this year, a mobile phone charger was allegedly found in his flat where he resided while in the open jail with other convict namely Shri Nath (currently released on emergency parole).

It was Surender Kumar’s case that open jail convicts are permitted to carry mobile phones to their place of work and the said mobile phone was deposited with the semi-open jail guard, as per rule.

He has further stated that the said punishment is a larger conspiracy by jail administration to falsely implicate the Appellant for cancellation of furlough due to complaints regarding prison harassment made at the behest of the Appellant against certain high ranking jail officials.

Passing Bills on farm ordinances may cause Punjab unrest: CM

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Passing Bills on farm ordinances may cause Punjab unrest: CM

Warning that enacting laws on the ordinances issued by the Centre vis-a-vis farmers would lead to unrest in Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday led a Congress delegation to Governor VP Singh Badnore, seeking his intervention for non-pursuance of the three agriculture-related Bills in Parliament.

Flanked by state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and other delegation members, the Chief Minister submitted a memorandum to the Governor and told him that the Congress felt that any move to “tinker with the present procurement system, and that too in the times of a nationwide crisis, may deepen social unrest among Punjab farmers”.

“It may not be conducive for the peace and development of the region, which faces serious challenges to public order due to a live international border,” he stressed.

The Congress had earlier voiced its opposition to the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.

The ordinances seek to provide barrier-free trade of farmers’ produce outside notified ‘mandis’, and empower farmers to enter into sale agreements with private persons for farm produce.

The Chief Minister later told the media outside the Governor’s House here that these proposed “anti-farmer legislation” would lead to a rise in public anger. “Why are we playing into the hands of Pakistan?” he asked.

“These Bills, one of which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, are against national interests, and particularly detrimental to Punjab, where a majority of farmers till less than five acres of land and will be the worst-hit, he argued.

The passage of the remaining two Bills also would ruin Punjab, Amarinder Singh said.

Hoping that the Centre will back out of pursuing the remaining two Bills and not get them passed in Parliament, he said the Centre had “failed” to take the interest of the farmers into account while issuing ordinances in this regard and instead took a stand that favored corporate houses.

The Chief Minister lamented that he had written to the Prime Minister thrice on the issue but did not receive any response.

“If the MSP regime ends, which is what the Centre seems to be moving towards, the agricultural sector will be ruined in Punjab and across the country,” he added.

Flaying the Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, including its MP Sukhbir Badal, over what he called “their theatrics and U-turns” on the issue, the Chief Minister pointed out that all except the SAD and the BJP were on board at an all-party meeting he had convened on the farmers’ issue.

“We passed a resolution in the Assembly, we talked to all political parties and farmer unions, and all were on board except the Akalis, who are now pretending to be opposed to these ordinances,” he said.

“Isn’t (Akali leader) Harsimrat Kaur Badal a member of the Union Cabinet? Why didn’t she protest there? Why didn’t she speak outside either on the issue? What did the Akali Dal do in the Assembly?” Amarinder Singh asked, terming the SAD U-turn on the ordinances a “total farce and nothing more than a face-saver”.

Amarinder Singh also accused the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution of making a “misleading and incorrect” statement in Parliament that Punjab was on board the move.

The Chief Minister said that Punjab was in fact excluded from the high-powered committee on agricultural reforms constituted by the Centre and included only after his government in Punjab protested.

“One meeting was attended by state Finance Minister Manpreet Badal while at the second meeting of officers, the states were clearly told that their opinion was not being sought but they were only being apprised of the proposed reforms. No mention was ever made of the ordinances,” the Punjab Chief Minister added.

Termed the passage of one of the Bills in the Lok Sabha a “black day in the history of Parliament”, Jakhar warned that under pressure for the farmer unions, the Akalis may even go to the extent of enacting a drama of resignation from the central government but it would be another farce on part of the opposition party in Punjab.

He categorically denied Union Minister Raosaheb Patil Danve’s claim and said Punjab was never consulted on the ordinances.

Railway tunnel repaired on KR route in Goa, traffic resumes

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Railway tunnel repaired on KR route in Goa, traffic resumes

More than a month after a caved-in wall of a tunnel along the Konkan Railway (KR) track in Goa, caused disruption and diversion of trains traveling the route, KR in a statement said that the restoration work at the tunnel site had been completed.

“The restoration work has been completed and a track fit certificate has been issued,” a statement issued by Konkan Railway on Wednesday said.

Six trains which had been diverted on account of the accident during peak monsoon showers in August, namely 02617 Ernakulam Jn. – H. Nizamuddin Special Express, 02618 H. Nizamuddin – Ernakulam Jn. Special Express, 02284 H. Nizamuddin – Ernakulam Jn. Duranto Special Express,

02283 Ernakulam Jn. – H. Nizamuddin Duranto Special Express, 02432/02431 New Delhi – Thiruvananthapuram Central – New Delhi Rajdhani Special and 06345/06346 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Thiruvananthapuram Central – Lokmanya Tilak (T) Special Express will cease to travel on diverted routes henceforth, the statement also said.

On August 6, a five-meter portion of the tunnel wall in Pernem village in North Goa had collapsed due to heavy rains.

Now, pre-book your vaccination through app

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Now, pre-book your vaccination through app

A Mumbai-based health-tech start-up has launched an application for Indian citizens to book an appointment with the nearest doctor or the vaccination clinic to get themselves vaccinated. This comes at a time when the country is waiting for the coronavirus vaccine with bated breath.

WONDRx is a made-in-India health-tech start-up working on Digital India mandate augmenting the ‘AtmaNirbhar’ concept across the healthcare stakeholders in the country.

Bringing in much-needed convenience and transparency, this platform will ensure vaccination reaches every nook and corner of India. The health-tech firm, WONDRx, has tied up with doctors and qualified healthcare service providers across the country to ensure easy accessibility of the vaccine to the concerned citizens through an app.

WONDRx has already curated and listed 180,000-plus healthcare providers on its WONDRx consumer app, making it the largest healthcare providers’ aggregator in India.

Speaking on the occasion, co-founder and Director of WONDRx, Pankaj Agarwal said, “Our app would list the details of all vaccination clinics that we are curating, along with the fees to be paid for availing the vaccination at a pre-booked time slot.”

He added, “Vaccination booking via pre-booked slots will ensure crowd management as well while maintaining social distancing aspects. People from every nook and corner of this country would be able to make an informed decision based on the details provided.”

Agarwal further said that the application would act as a bridge between the residents of each state and the vaccination clinics. This would help the people to schedule their appointment with the vaccination clinics of choice and do away with waiting in uncertainties and long queues.

The app would be compatible with Android phones in the first phase and iOS versions would be launched at later stages. This app would be available as a free download from Google Play Store for every consumer and healthcare provider of the country.

Dwelling on the advantages of this product, the founder and Director of WONDRx, Pankaj Sindhu, stated, “This product will make the vaccination journey highly convenient for every stakeholder — consumers, doctors, vaccine distributors, and manufacturers — while ensuring required transparency and control around vaccination. It would give control and visibility right from the manufacturer to the end consumer at the last mile and ensure a controlled supply chain.”

Sonakshi Sinha: I’m not worried about when work will start

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Sonakshi Sinha: I’m not worried about when work will start

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says she is not fretting about getting back to work, or how the industry will change in the COVID era.

The actress shared that she is loving the lockdown life for now.

“I am just going to admit that I am loving lockdown life. In the last 10 years, I haven’t gotten a break for so long, where I have been able to spend time with myself, understand what I want from life, do the things I like to do and just be one with yourself, sort your head out, contemplate and understand what’s important and what’s not important in life. I’m really loving it,” Sonakshi said.

“I am not worried about when work will start, and how it will be. I know it’s going to be difficult going back to the set, with ‘what you are touching’, ‘don’t touch your face’, and with people in PPE kits. I did one photoshoot and it was so strange being around people who are covered up head to toe and you are the only one open. You are like ‘keep your hands to yourself and don’t touch your face’, sanitize every five minutes. It’s really weird,” she added.

The actress is “keeping that worry aside and doing what makes me happy at the moment”, she said, explaining it refers to “my art and painting, endless conversations with friends and spending time with family”.

“Right now, everybody is in the same boat. It will start when it has to start and we will move on with this and get over it,” she added.

Talking about her binge-watch list, Sonakshi said: “I watched so many things that I am fed up of watching anything now.”

“I watched ‘Talaash’ again because I am doing a show with Reema Katgi and I love that film. I want to read but I don’t have the patience to sit down with a book. When I do my cardio, I need to have something in front of me to watch otherwise I hate doing cardio. I wish we had finished Reema’s web show. It was such an exciting role for me. I can’t wait to get back,” she said in an episode of the show “Zoom Happy Space With Rudrani”.

IPL 13 promises to bring joy to the fans, feels Sehwag

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IPL 13 promises to bring joy to the fans, feels Sehwag

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag feels the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will be played in front of empty stands in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will bring joy to the fans considering the fact that cricket is being played after a long break due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“While I’m sure we’re going to miss the matches being played in front of our home crowd, the tournament promises to bring joy to us all, especially after the long break,” said Sehwag as per a media release.

Sehwag and cricket show host Samir Kochhar will come together to present an interactive cricket show ‘Power Play with Champions’ on the Flipkart app.

“Power Play with Champions on Flipkart Video brings the incentive of winning rewards, which everyone enjoys, combined with a thrilling season of cricket, there couldn’t be anything better,” said Sehwag.

“When this opportunity presented itself, there wasn’t much debate about taking it up. It’s another chance for me to stay connected with something I truly love and enjoy.

“I’m going to be testing people’s cricket knowledge and pre-emptive skills; I hope the audience is ready. It seems like exciting times ahead, with this show as well as the series,” he added.

The show will bring together Sehwag’s expertise and Samir’s repartee, as they discuss India’s favorite cricket series, while providing audiences a chance to use their cricketing knowledge to predict different aspects of the match and win many prizes. As hosts, the duo will engage in fun banter, narrate interesting incidents and share exciting cricket trivia, through the innovative format of the show.

The show, which launches on Friday, will give the users a chance to play the quiz every day. Guided by the expert opinions shared by Sehwag and Samir, the six predictive questions will challenge the users’ knowledge and predictive skills related to the game.

“I’ve had a longstanding association with cricket, and I enjoy the sport as much as any other fan. I couldn’t be more excited about hosting this interactive show with Flipkart Video, this time talking about the one thing I truly enjoy with none other than Viru paaji,” said Kochhar.

“We’ve all eagerly waited for this tournament to begin and what better way to sweeten the deal than to allow people to win prizes while enjoying the game. And while I’m going to miss the action in person, it makes me happy that I still get to keep people entertained,” he added.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Centre to SC: Will welcome any order on speedy trial against sitting & ex-MPs/MLAs

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Centre to SC: Will welcome any order on speedy trial against sitting & ex-MPs/MLAs

The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it would welcome any order for the speedy trial of sitting and former MPs/MLAs facing criminal and corruption charges.

Solicitor General, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Justice N. V. Ramana that the apex court can fix the time frame for the completion of trials in pending cases against Legislators, sitting and former.

Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who is a court-appointed amicus curia, has suggested that trials in these matters should be completed within one year. The apex court will pass an order on the report submitted by the amicus suggesting expeditious disposal of criminal trials pending against Legislators across the country.

After revealing that 4,442 cases are pending against sitting and former MPs and MLAs in different courts, amicus curiae have informed the Supreme Court that there is no uniformity in setting up of Special Courts for MPs/MLAs across the country.

The High Courts may be directed to prepare a blueprint for expeditious disposal of the cases not later than one year for the conclusion of the trial, suggested the amicus.

In the supplementary submission, Hansaria had said the analysis of the pending cases shows that there is no uniformity as to the setting up of Special Courts for MPs/MLAs.

The report said: “In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and West Bengal, there is one Special Court for all cases against MPs/MLAs. In the State of Telangana apart from the Special Court for MPs/MLAs cases are also pending before the Special Court, CBI. In all other states, these cases are pending in respective jurisdictional courts”.

The report was filed on an order passed by the top court on a PIL by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who urged the court to give directions for speedy trial of criminal cases against sitting and former lawmakers.

Loneliness linked to development of type 2 diabetes

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Loneliness linked to development of type 2 diabetes

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the researchers have shown that the absence of quality connections with people and not the lack of contact predicts the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The study, published in the journal Diabetologia, indicates that prolonged loneliness may influence the development of diabetes, suggesting the experience of lockdown could potentially compound people’s vulnerability in this pandemic if the loneliness continues for some time.

“The study shows a strong relationship between loneliness and the later onset of type 2 diabetes,” said study lead author Ruth Hackett from the King’s College London in the UK.

The research team analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study Ageing on 4,112 adults aged 50 years and over which was collected at several times from 2002 to 2017.

At the start of data collection, all participants were free of diabetes and had normal levels of blood glucose.

The study showed that over a period of 12 years 264 people developed type 2 diabetes. and the level of loneliness measured at the start of data collection was a significant predictor of the onset of type 2 diabetes later on in life.

This relationship remained intact when accounting for smoking, alcohol, weight, level of blood glucose, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

The association was also independent of depression, living alone and social isolation.

The study also demonstrated a clear distinction between loneliness and social isolation in that isolation or living alone does not predict type 2 diabetes whereas loneliness, which is defined by a person’s quality of relationships, does.

According to the team, a possible biological reason behind the association between loneliness and type 2 diabetes could be the impact of constant loneliness on the biological system responsible for stress, which, over time affects the body and increases the risk for diabetes.

“If the feeling of loneliness becomes chronic, then every day you’re stimulating the stress system and over time that leads to wear and tear on your body and those negative changes in stress-related biology may be linked to type 2 diabetes development,” Hackett explained.

Karnataka Home Minister Bommai tests Covid positive

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Karnataka Home Minister Bommai tests Covid positive

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai tested positive for Covid-19 and is in home isolation as he is asymptomatic, an official said on Wednesday.

“Bommai tested positive for the virus. As it is asymptomatic, he is under home quarantine in the city,” one of his staff told IANS here.

In a tweet in Kannada earlier, Bommai said the infection was confirmed in the COVID test conducted yesterday (Tuesday) for a working boy in his house.

“In this backdrop, I have also been tested and I have been infected. I am isolated at home though no symptoms and am healthy,” said Bommai in Kannada.

Bommai, 60, is the latest among the state ministers to be infected by the coronavirus though all of them have been asymptomatic and most of them have recovered.

Ahead of the monsoon session of the state legislature from September 21, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj tested COVID positive and was admitted to a private hospital in the city on Tuesday.

Basavaraj, 56, is the ruling BJP’s legislator from the K.R. Puram Assembly segment in the city’s eastern suburb.

State Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan also tested positive for the coronavirus on September 9 at Bidar in the state’s northern region.

Early this month, state Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar tested positive on September 5 and has been in home quarantine for treatment at Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district in the state’s northwest coastal region.

Besides state Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, half-a-dozen ministers, including B.R. Sriramulu (Health), C.T. Ravi (Tourism), Shashikala Jolle (Women and Child Development), K.S. Eshwarappa (Rural Development), Anand Singh (Forests & Environment), and S.T. Somashekar (Cooperation) tested for the virus and were discharged after they recovered over the last one month.

Opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah, his party’s state unit president D.K. Shivakumar and scores of lawmakers of the BJP, Congress, and Janata Dal-Secular were affected by the virus and recovered after treatment since July.

With so many ministers and legislators getting infected, Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Kageri Hegde on September 8 directed all the MLAs to undergo RT-PCR test in their respective constituencies on September 18 before the 8-day monsoon session from September 21 at Vidhana Soudha in the city center.

“Only those who test negative will be allowed to attend the session. The legislators should carry a certificate from a state-run hospital showing they tested negative for the virus when they enter the Assembly,” said Kageri.

The state legislature has made elaborate arrangements for the session in compliance with the standard operating procedure of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the COVID-induced guidelines of the Union Health Ministry to prevent the pandemic spread.

Wearing of a mask, washing hands with sanitizers, and maintaining social distancing will be mandatory for all the legislative members.

WhatsApp, Telegram messengers are extremely insecure: Study

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WhatsApp, Telegram messengers are extremely insecure: Study

Popular mobile messengers like WhatsApp expose personal data via discovery services that allow users to find contacts based on phone numbers from their address book, say, researchers.

When installing a mobile messenger like WhatsApp, new users can instantly start texting existing contacts based on the phone numbers stored on their device.

For this to happen, users must grant the app permission to access and regularly upload their address book to company servers in a process called mobile contact discovery.

The study from the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Würzburg in Germany shows that currently deployed contact discovery services severely threaten the privacy of billions of users.

Utilizing very few resources, the researchers were able to perform practical crawling attacks on the popular messengers WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.

The results of the experiments demonstrate that malicious users or hackers can collect sensitive data on a large scale and without noteworthy restrictions by querying contact discovery services for random phone numbers.

For the study, the researchers queried 10 percent of all US mobile phone numbers for WhatsApp and 100 percent for Signal.

Thereby, they were able to gather personal (meta) data commonly stored in the messengers’ user profiles, including profile pictures, nicknames, status texts, and the “last online” time.

The analyzed data also reveals interesting statistics about user behavior. For example, very few users change the default privacy settings, which for most messengers are not privacy-friendly at all.

The researchers found that about 50 percent of WhatsApp users in the US has a public profile picture and 90 percent a public “About” text.

Interestingly, 40 percent of Signal users, which can be assumed to be more privacy concerned in general, are also using WhatsApp, and every other of those Signal users has a public profile picture on WhatsApp.

Tracking such data over time enables attackers to build accurate behavior models.

When the data is matched across social networks and public data sources, third parties can also build detailed profiles, for example, to scam users.

For Telegram, the researchers found that its contact discovery service exposes sensitive information even about owners of phone numbers who are not registered with the service.

“Which information is revealed during contact discovery and can be collected via crawling attacks depends on the service provider and the privacy settings of the user,” the researchers wrote.

Since there are no noteworthy restrictions for signing up with messaging services, any third party can create a large number of accounts to crawl the user database of a messenger for information by requesting data for random phone numbers.

“We strongly advise all users of messenger apps to revisit their privacy settings,” the team said.

The study is scheduled to be released in February 2021 at the 28th Annual Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS), a top conference for IT security.

Apple One to cause ‘irreparable harm’ to developers: Spotify

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Swedish audio streaming giant Spotify on Wednesday said the new Apple all-in-one subscription bundle called One abuses its dominant market position by favoring its own Music service.

Spotify and Apple charge $10 a month for their streaming music service, but the Apple One package bundles it with other services such as television or video games that start at $15 per month.

“Once again, Apple is using its dominant position and unfair practices to disadvantage competitors and deprive consumers by favoring its own services,” Spotify said in a statement.

“We call on competition authorities to act urgently to restrict Apple’s anti-competitive behavior, which if left unchecked, will cause irreparable harm to the developer community and threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create, and connect”.

Apple responded, saying it is introducing Apple One because it is a great value for customers and a simple way to access the full range of Apple’s subscription services.

“We’ll be recommending the Apple One plan that saves you the most money based on the subscriptions you already have. It’s perfect for anyone who loves any of our services and wants to get more for less, and it’s especially great for families. Also, select services included in Apple One are available to enjoy on non-Apple devices, and you can cancel anytime,” it said.

Apple One is the easiest way to get all of the company’s subscription services in one simple plan, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud.

With a single subscription, customers in over 100 countries and regions can enjoy their favorite Apple services across devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac.

Apple One includes a 30-day free trial for any services that customers do not already have. With this customers will receive only one invoice each month, and they can easily change or cancel their Apple One plan at any time.

SSR case: Shruti Modi not quizzed as SIT member tests corona positive

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SSR case: Shruti Modi not quizzed as SIT member tests corona positive

Hours after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Shruti Modi appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for questioning on Wednesday, she was sent back as one of the officers tested positive for Covid-19.

NCB Deputy Director K.P.S. Malhotra in a statement said, “A team member of the NCB SIT tested positive for Covid-19, the antigen test report was just received by NCB.”

Malhotra said, in view of that other SIT members, etc., will be also tested as a precaution, and all due protocols laid down will be followed.

“Accordingly, NCB has sent back Shruti Modi, who had joined investigation today morning,” he said.

Shruti Modi was summoned on Tuesday by the NCB to join the probe. Besides Shruti Modi, Sushant’s talent manager Jaya Saha was also summoned by the agency.

The questioning of Shruti Modi is part of the NCB investigation in the wake of a case registered at the request of the Enforcement Directorate.

The NCB has till date arrested over one and half dozen people in connection with the Sushant death case.

Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda and several others have been arrested by the NCB.

The NCB has registered a case on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the alleged drug chats of Showik, Miranda and several others came to the fore.

Sushant was found hanging in his Bandra’s Mont Blanc apartment on June 14.

Besides the CBI and the ED, NCB is the third agency to probe into the death case of Sushant.

Meanwhile, in a significant development, the names of Bollywood celebrities like Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh, and Simone Khambatta have apparently emerged in the NCB probe into the drugs angle surrounding the mysterious death of Sushant, official sources said.

IPL 13: Kings XI Punjab eager to see new dawn in KL-Kumble era

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IPL 13: Kings XI Punjab eager to see new dawn in KL-Kumble era

Perennial underachievers Kings XI Punjab will hope the new pair of skipper K.L. Rahul and head coach Anil Kumble can conjure up some magic as they head into the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), having reached the playoff stages of the cash-rich tournament on just two occasions.

Rahul, who has been in red-hot form for India in white-ball cricket in the recent past, was appointed as skipper ahead of the season with former India captain and legendary off-spinner Kumble penciled in as head coach.

“I have always enjoyed that leadership role and I have always enjoyed having responsibility on my shoulders. I am going into this (IPL) with an open mind and to learn on the go from each game and each day,” Rahul had told IANS in a recent interaction from Dubai.

The camaraderie between Kumble and Rahul, with both coming from Bengaluru, should also help the team.

“Knowing KL and other players from the past obviously helps understand each other really well. I have seen KL from a very young age as a player. This will be his first major (captaincy stint) – he’s captained at a junior level, but not in a high profile game. So far he has been brilliant,” Kumble had said.

Kings XI look strong on paper this time, but that has always been the case for the side in red who previously too had players like Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle and David Miller of more than decent T20 repute.

With Gayle and Maxwell still with them, there should not be a shortage of firepower. Kumble has said he would like the ‘Universe Boss’ to be more active as part of the leadership group.

At the top of the order, Mayank Agarwal should give the team solidity with the likes of Mandeep Singh and Karun Nair there to back up. Rahul has been in terrific form of late for India and Kings XI will hope he continues in the same vein, with the added motivation of leading the team to a title in the 13th attempt.

In the bowling department, India pacer Mohammed Shami will lead the pace battery with the likes of England seamer Chris Jordan, West Indies’ Sheldon Cottrell, and New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham for support. The Indian battery of promising Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, and Arshdeep Singh will also lend support.

Afghanistan leg-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman will provide top-quality spin options in UAE conditions which could have turned. Kings XI also has Murugan Ashwin, Krishanappa Gowtham, and Ravi Bishnoi in the spin department.

The side reached the playoff stages in 2008 and 2014. Kings XI have an enviable record in the UAE, having not lost a single game out of five matches during the 2014 edition when the first 20 matches of the tournament were staged in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah because of the general elections in India.

Strengths:

The team’s fortunes will depend heavily on Rahul and Kumble’s partnership and how they lead the team who will always feel the pressure of being one side in the competition with the tag of ‘laggards’. Rahul’s exceptional form and a cool head should help him as a leader and batsman, and in turn, benefit the team.

Weaknesses:

Kings XI have always had a side to win the IPL but never really clicked as a unit. The pressure of having their backs to the wall and having to deliver at any cost might lean a bit too heavily on the players and can play a part in the team’s performance.

Squad:

KL Rahul (captain and wicketkeeper) Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sheldon Cottrell, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, M Ashwin, J Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Glenn Maxwell, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper).

Support staff:

Anil Kumble (head coach), Andy Flower (assistant coach), Wasim Jaffer (batting coach), Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach), Charl Langeveldt (bowling coach), Andrew Leipus (physiotherapist), Adrian Le Roux (strength and conditioning coach)

OnePlus Q1 TV series now available on Flipkart

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OnePlus Q1 TV series now available on Flipkart

Chinese brand OnePlus on Wednesday announced the expansion of its portfolio on Flipkart with the launch of the Q1 TV series.

The Q1 series comes in two variants featuring 55-inch 4K-resolution QLED panels, largely with the same specifications.

The only difference between the OnePlus TV Q1 and Q1 Pro is the presence of a built-in motorized soundbar on the more expensive unit.

“Consumers can purchase the premium OnePlus TV Q1 series on the Flipkart website and app,” the company said in a statement.

The TVs also support Dolby Vision and sound formats up to Dolby Atmos, along with support for the HDR10 high dynamic range format.

The OnePlus Q1 series runs Android TV 9.0 that comes with OxygenPlay, a curated content service built into the TV.

OxygenPlay features movies and TV shows from Hungama Play, Eros Now, and Zee5, the company said.

Facebook Live enables AI automated captions for the disabled

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Facebook Live enables AI automated captions for the disabled

To help people with disabilities, researchers at Facebook AI have made live video content more accessible by enabling automatic closed captions for Facebook Live and Workplace Live.

At the moment, Facebook Live automatic captions support six languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and French.

While Facebook provides automatic closed captioning for on-demand videos in 16 languages, and just announced similar capabilities for Instagram IGTV, access to live, real-time news and information was still a dream for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

According to the World Health Organization, over 5% of the world’s population – or 466 million people – have disabling hearing loss, and that is projected to increase to over 900 million by 2050.

“Facebook Live automatic captions are helping governments disseminate crucial public health information, and ensuring that millions of viewers across the world – whether they have hearing loss, or are just watching where audio is not available – get the message,” Facebook said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The voice and video calling have surged in recent months during the Covid-19 pandemic as people around the world check in with family, friends, and colleagues.

“Video captioning is critical for people like me in the deaf community during a public health emergency,” said Brenden Gilbert, a production operations engineer at Facebook.

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a spike in both the supply and demand of public health information.

Several governments discovered that video captioning was not just a nice-to-have, but imperative, especially in the absence of available sign language interpreters.

“Many of them needed captions to comply with their own disability access rules for public broadcasts,” explained Daniel McKinnon, a Product Manager at Facebook.

Julian Chan, a Facebook AI software engineer said that the AI system is also capable of adapting to new words such as “COVID,” which is essential for captioning public health information-based broadcasts during the pandemic.

Facebook said that the broadcasters can count on automatic closed captions to support their efforts to get the message out, whether a state official is sharing authoritative health guidance, or someone is simply taking their viewers behind the scenes of a day in their life — during Covid-19 and beyond.

IPL 2020: Raina’s absence a major concern for CSK, says Jones

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IPL 2020: Raina’s absence a major concern for CSK, says Jones

Suresh Raina’s absence will be a major concern for the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which starts Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), believes former Australian cricketer Dean Jones.

Raina, who has played 193 games for CSK — accumulating more than 5,000 runs — last month opted out of IPL 2020 due to “personal reasons”. He had traveled with the team to the UAE but has since returned to India in a controversial manner.

“Raina’s absence is a major concern this time and he is in the top five run-getters in IPL,” said Jones while speaking on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.

“He is a left-hander and plays spin very well and the weakness for CSK could be that majority of their players are a right-handed batsman.

“They need some left-handers or they could get stuck, particularly if they are playing to leg-spinners and the ball is going away,” he added.

According to the cricketer-turned commentator, a lot will now depend on skipper MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming in order to “gel the team” together in the absence of Raina and Harbhajan Singh when they start their tournament campaign against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi.

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