Odisha’s Covid tally increases to 67,122

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Odisha’s Covid tally increases to 67,122

The Covid-19 positive cases in Odisha increased to 67,122 after 2589 fresh cases were detected in the last 24 hours, informed the health department on Wednesday.

This is the second single-day highest positive cases reported in the state. The biggest single-day surge of 2,924 cases was reported on August 16.

The death toll in Odisha rose to 372 as ten more people have succumbed to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours, said the department.

Four deaths reported from Ganjam district, two from Khordha and Sundargarh districts, and one from Bhadrak and Bargarh districts.

Of the total new cases, 1,574 cases were reported from different quarantine centers while the remaining 1,015 are local contacts.

Khordha registered the highest 466 cases followed by Ganjam (242) and Cuttack (222).

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has formed multidisciplinary technical committees in seven medical colleges of the state for round the clock monitoring and provision of technical assistance to COVID health facilities in different districts.

The committees comprise of senior professors and doctors will visit all the COVID health facilities to give guidance and technical input to the treating doctors to reduce fatalities further said an official.

Google Maps to get more visual appeal with colourful update

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Google Maps to get more visual appeal with colourful update

Google is rolling out new visual improvements which would add more detail and colorful update to Maps service, making it easier to understand what an area looks like.

The update will be available worldwide and will cover a variety of natural and manmade features.

“Whether you are exploring a new place or gearing up to head around town, you can use Google Maps to see a more colorful, easy-to-understand representation of the world starting this week. To see natural features, zoom out on Google Maps,” Sujoy Banerjee, Product Manager, Google Maps said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company is also working on updated street maps that show “the accurate shape and width of a road to scale.”

It will also contain more information about sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and mid-road islands so that more people can safely navigate busy intersections.

The more detailed street images will start rolling out in London, New York, and San Francisco in the coming months.

Google said the more detailed maps will be available in the 220 countries already supported by Google Maps, “from the biggest metropolitan areas to small, rural towns.”

Google Maps is now compatible with Apple CarPlay Dashboard on all supported vehicles globally and the Maps app for Apple Watch will start rolling out globally in the coming weeks.

According to the company, people using iOS devices can safely and easily navigate with Google Maps right from their car or wrist.

Dhoni has always been emotionally detached from results: Laxman

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Dhoni has always been emotionally detached from results: Laxman

Former cricketer VVS Laxman has paid a rich tribute to MS Dhoni, saying the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman is a source of inspiration for millions of Indians and is both loved and respected a lot across the globe.

Dhoni, on August 15, announced his retirement from international cricket, thus bringing an end to an illustrious career spanning 16 years.

Speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Laxman shed light on how Dhoni’s personality ensured he earned respect from the whole world.

“Love comes from cricketing fans for your cricketing achievements, but respect comes by the way you have conducted yourself, by the way, you carried yourself.

“And I always felt that captaining the Indian team is probably the toughest challenge for anyone, you know because there’s so much of expectation from everyone around the world. All the Indians around the world want the Indian team to do well, so there’s a lot of responsibility for the Indian team captain.

“But MS Dhoni has always been emotionally detached from the results. He has inspired millions of Indians, not only the sports fans but millions of Indians on how to conduct, and how to become an ambassador of your country, how to carry yourself in the public domain. And that’s why he’s so respected,” he added.

Dhoni, who made his ODI debut in 2004, changed the face of Indian cricket with his calm demeanor, sharp understanding of the game, and astute leadership qualities. He remains the only captain in the world to have won all three ICC Trophies – ICC World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy.

“When you see the social media posts, it’s not only from the former players or the cricketing fans, it’s from all the Indians, whether you take film stars, socialites, esteemed businessmen, politicians,” said Laxman.

“Around the world, all the former cricketers, the entire cricketing fraternity, have thanked MS Dhoni for his contribution not to Indian cricket, but world cricket,” he added.

The 39-year-old turned up for India in 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20Is, affecting a staggering number of 829 dismissals behind the stumps.

Feel-good factor is back, says Savita as hockey teams resume sports activities

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Feel-good factor is back, says Savita as hockey teams resume sports activities

Having completed their 14-day self-isolation period, the Indian senior men and women hockey core probables on Wednesday resumed sports activities at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility.

Women’s team’s goalkeeper Savita is happy that the training has started and the players have stepped out to resume sports activities. “It is a good moment for all of us because we are finally able to resume sports activities, and do outdoor running as well.”

“In our rooms, we were only able to do bodyweight exercises and use resistance bands. So it is a positive sign that we are able to get back to some sort of outdoor activities following all the SAI SOPs in a very secure environment here at SAI.

“It was more about staying fit and maintaining your well-being when we were in our rooms, but the feel-good factor is back now,” she added.

Having had the opportunity to be all by themselves for a period of two weeks, Savita said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of them to self-evaluate and take out time for themselves.

“When you are a professional athlete, it gets really hectic sometimes because you are traveling every other day and playing often. As such you don’t really get the chance to introspect at length, but these few months and especially the past 14 days, I’ve had the chance to look back on a lot of things and understand myself better,” said the veteran goalkeeper.

She added, “What I’ve realized is that this is the only time I might get in my life where I can analyze a lot of things – personal and professional – and work towards bettering them.”

“It may be the choices I have made at certain stages or something that I can add to my personality on and off the field to make it better. It might vary for different people, but I totally believe that it has been one of the most important phases in my life as I’ve had to be very strong mentally as well.”

The 30-year-old also shared insights on her team’s new routine post the quarantine period.

“We have to get back to full fitness, so we will be including outdoor running, high-intensity workouts, and a bit of stick-work to our schedule. We started today with an outdoor exercise session maintaining social distancing, and will be resuming sports activities on the hockey pitch to get our rhythm back while also following safety protocols as stated in the SOPs,” said Savita.

India tablet market shipments grow 23% in Q2, Lenovo leads

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India tablet market shipments grow 23% in Q2, Lenovo leads

The strong demand during the lockdowns as work and learning shifted to homes fuelled the shipment of tablets in India by 23 percent in the June quarter, a new report said on Wednesday.

The shipment of tablets with Wi-Fi capabilities grew a whopping 98 percent (QoQ), according to CMR’s ‘Tablet PC Market Report Review for Q2 2020′.

Lenovo continued to lead the tablet market with a 48 percent market share, growing 24 percent (QoQ). Lenovo M10 series contributed up to 14 percent of its market share.

“In addition to the consumer demand, the tablet market grew on the back of agility shown by vendors and channel partners to offer attractive discounts to capitalize on the demand,” said Menka Kumari, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

Samsung garnered 29 percent market share, a whopping 143 percent growth (QoQ).

Samsung Tab A series did really well, with the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 LTE and Wi-Fi (2019) series contributing close to 25 percent of its market share.

“Given their portable and larger screen size and, more importantly, much more affordable pricing, tablets are democratizing access to digital content for all family members,” said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

Apple came third in Q2 with a 12 percent market share, growing 36 percent (QoQ).

Apple iPad 7 Series contributed close to 7 percent of the market share.

“Apple launched a new iPad Pro 2020 version with keypad, which is suitable for e-learning and content creators. It would be interesting to see how the iPad Pro 2020 contributes to Apple’s growth in the coming quarters,” said the report.

“The prospects for the tablet market continue to remain favorable, with the tablet market anticipated to grow 15-20 percent in the second half this year,” the report said.

Big drop in Covid cases in Agra

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Big drop in Covid cases in Agra

After a continued surge for 17 days in August, the number of Covid-19 cases saw a drop in the Taj city.

From the daily average of around 30 the number of cases fell to 14 in the past 24 hours, officials said even as sample testing went up. So far 83,844 samples have been tested in the district.

However, it was too early to come to any conclusion about the trend witnessed on Tuesday, a district hospital doctor said.

The medical infrastructure in the city has been streamlined and adequate supply of medicines and equipment has been ensured. Private hospitals too have opened separate wards for treatment of Covid-19 patients, health officials said.

District Magistrate P. N.Singh said the total number of cases now was 2,367, with 104 deaths. The number of recoveries is 1,949 and active cases 316.

With restaurants and gyms now open, people are venturing out and most are observing the guidelines. “The scare and hesitation are still there, it will take a little time for conditions to normalize,” said Shishir Bhagat running a popular food outlet.

The district authorities have clarified that no decision has been taken regarding the reopening of monuments. The overall conditions would be studied and preventive measures are taken before any such decision is taken, an official said.

Regarding the reopening of schools, the district administration said it would wait for the state government directives.

Telangana’s Covid tally crosses 95,000-mark

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Telangana’s Covid tally crosses 95,000-mark

Telangana’s Covid-19 tally crossed 95,000 on Wednesday with 1,763 more people testing positive for the virus.

The new cases during the last 24 hours pushed the tally to 95,700 while the death toll mounted to 719 with eight more deaths.

Of the new cases, 484 were reported from hotspot Greater Hyderabad. This was a big jump from 235 cases reported the previous day. The districts surrounding the state capital also reported over 300 cases. Medchal Malkajgiri reported 169 new cases, while Rangareddy saw 166 new cases. Sangareddy, another district that shares borders with Greater Hyderabad, reported 31 new cases.

According to a media bulletin issued by the office of the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, infections were reported from all 33 districts. Outside Greater Hyderabad and surrounding districts, Warangal Urban remained the worst affected with 88 new cases followed by 65 in Nalgonda, 63 in Kamareddy, and 61 in Jagtiyal.

Officials said the case fatality rate in the state stood at 0.75 percent against the national average of 1.92 percent. Out of the total fatalities, 53.87 percent had co-morbidities.

The day also saw the recovery of 1,789 people, taking the total number of recoveries to 73,991. The state further improved the recovery rate to 77.31 percent against the national average of 73.18 percent.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 20,990 including 14,461 who were in-home or institutional isolation.

The health authorities conducted 24,542 tests, the highest single-day number so far. With this, the state has tested 7,97,470 samples. The samples tested per million population are 21,480 against a daily testing target of 5,600 per day as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark of 140 per million per day. The results of 1,042 samples were awaited.

A total of 16 government and 23 private laboratories are conducting the RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TRUENAT types of tests while there are 1,076 rapid antigen test centers. However, the authorities have not been providing a breakup of the tests.

Age-wise COVID positive details show that 65.9 percent of those tested positive were in the age group of 21-50 years. Terming this as a susceptible age group, authorities have urged them not to go out unless absolutely necessary. They were advised to strictly exercise precautions like wearing face masks and maintain physical distancing.

Among the COVID positive, 24.4 percent are above 51 years of age. About 10 percent were aged below 20 years.

Officials said 65.10 percent of those tested positive were male, while the remaining 34.90 percent were female.

According to the media bulletin, out of 20,396 beds in the government-run hospitals, 17,849 beds were vacant.

The authorities added 10 more private hospitals to the list of private facilities treating COVID patients. A total of 132 private hospitals treating COVID have a total of 7,855 beds and out of the 3,873 beds were vacant.

According to the media bulletin, the state has over 800 containment zones with the highest 125 in Ranga Reddy district, followed by 93 in Mahabubnagar, 81 in Rajanna Sircilla, and 80 in Gadwal. Greater Hyderabad has 64 containment zones.

Several areas waterlogged after heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR

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Several areas waterlogged after heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR

Heavy rain and gusty winds lashed the national capital and neighboring areas on Wednesday morning, leading to waterlogging and traffic disruption in several areas.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), southwesterly winds from the Arabian sea and southeasterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are feeding moisture to the capital region.

The weather bureau has sounded ‘orange’ alert for the national capital for two days. It has alerted that there could be water accumulation in low-lying areas, traffic disruption, and increased chances of vehicle accidents.

Meanwhile, the Traffic Police has also issued warning of waterlogging at various low-lying areas near All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), under Palam, Badarpur and Sarita Vihar flyover, MB road near Batra Hospital, Punjabi Bagh, Pul Prahladpur underpass among other places.

According to data with the Delhi’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, Safdarjung observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a rainfall of 31.8 mm in the last two days.

Rainfall recorded below 15 mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate and above 64.5 mm is heavy.

The station has recorded 147.4 mm in July month. There were 11 rainy days this month. The observatory had recorded the all-time wettest August in 1961 when it recorded the rainfall of 583.3 mm.

The rainy morning also brought down the mercury. The maximum and minimum temperature today will hover over 32 and 27 degrees Celsius.

The air quality of the national capital is in a good category, with the particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 and 10 microns, which are too small to be filtered out of the body, mounting to 23 and 49 micrograms per cubic.

Knight Riders, Tridents register winning starts at CPL 2020

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Knight Riders, Tridents register winning starts at CPL 2020

Brilliant all-round performances dominated the opening day of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 as Sunil Narine for Trinbago Knight Riders, followed by Rashid Khan and Mitchell Santner for Barbados Tridents gave their teams a winning start.

While Knight Riders ended Guyana Amazon Warriors’ 11-match winning streak beating them by four wickets in a match reduced to 17 overs, Tridents edged aside St. Kitts & Nevis Patriot by six runs at the Brian Lara Academy at Tarouba on Tuesday.

In the opening match, Narine’s 50 in 28 balls with four sixes and two fours, after taking two for 19 in his four overs were the key for Trinbago, though in the end, they needed Bravo brothers, Darren (30) and Dwayne (six not out), to see them through with two balls to spare against Guyana Amazon Warriors, for whom Shimron Hetmyer’s scored 63 not out off just 44 balls.

Batting first, Warriors managed to register 144/5 which Knight Riders chased down with two balls to spare.

Brief Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 147/6 (Narine 50, Darren Bravo 30; Naveen 2/21) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 144/5 (Hetmyer 63*, Taylor 33; Narine 2/19) by four wickets

In the second match of the day, Santner (20 and 2 for 18) and Rashid (26 and 2 for 27) carried the day for Barbados Tridents and helped them to a winning start over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in their title defense.

Tridents put up 153/9 in their stipulated 20 overs and they then restricted Patriots to 147/5 to win the game.

Brief scores: Barbados Tridents 153/9 (Holder 38, Mayers 37; Emrit 2/16) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 147/5 (Da Silva 41*, Dunk 34; Santner 2/18, Rashid 2/27) by 6 runs.

After Rahul quit, Priyanka was ready to work under non-Gandhi chief

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After Rahul quit, Priyanka was ready to work under non-Gandhi chief

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was ready to work under a non-Gandhi president after Rahul Gandhi’s resignation following the defeat in the General Election in 2019. Rahul Gandhi also had said that the party should elect a president outside the family, but in August last year, Sonia Gandhi was appointed the interim president of the Congress.

The claim has been made in a book — ‘India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders’ written by Pradeep Chibber and Harsh Shah.

Priyanka, in the book, was quoted as saying: “If there were to be another party President, he would be my boss”. “If he tells me tomorrow that he doesn’t want me in Uttar Pradesh but wants me to be in Andaman and Nicobar (Islands), then I would jolly well go to Andaman and Nicobar.”

While the book claimed that Priyanka Gandhi during her interview said that she fully is in consent with Rahul Gandhi when he says a non-Gandhi should be appointed the Congress president. “I think that the party should find its own path also,” Priyanka said.

After Sonia Gandhi completed a year, there is a demand in the party that there should be an election for the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and a permanent party head be appointed.

However, sources in the party said that this interview was given last year just after Rahul Gandhi had resigned but the situation is different now.

Sacked party spokesperson Sanjay Jha had claimed: “It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MPs), distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Sonia Gandhi, the Congress President, asking for a change in political leadership and transparent elections in the CWC.” The party, however, has denied the existence of such a letter or having received it.

The Congress on August 11 had hinted that Rahul Gandhi may not be reluctant to take over as the party president in the near future even as it credited him with resolving the Rajasthan crisis.

Responding to a question during a virtual press conference, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, when reminded that Rahul Gandhi had refused to take the post in the past, replied: “I don’t think either I or you or any of us have recently spoken to him (Rahul Gandhi) on the issue.” He insisted that the reason for Rahul’s resignation last year was on “moral grounds”, taking responsibility for the party’s defeat in the General Election.

“I don’t want to comment on the future, I am certain good things will happen,” added Surjewala, hinting that Rahul is not reluctant to take over as the party president.

The Congress leader said that all the Congress workers want Rahul Gandhi as head of the party not because he is Rahul Gandhi, but for the way he has shown “courage” to take on the Modi government.

The clamour to bring back Rahul Gandhi has become louder after the issue was raised by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs in July when Sonia Gandhi as interim party chief completed one year in office.

The Congress also gave full credit to Rahul Gandhi for the resolution of the Rajasthan turmoil. The party underlined that it was his ability to bring together opposing Congress factions.

Rohit, four others recommended for Khel Ratna (Lead)

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Rohit, four others recommended for Khel Ratna (Lead)

India’s star batsman Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, 2016 Rio Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu, table tennis sensation Manika Batra and Indian women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal have been recommended for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

According to sources, the National Award Committee met in the Capital on Tuesday and named the five athletes for the prestigious award.

Rohit was the star performer for India in the 2019 World Cup, scoring 648 runs in the tournament while Vinesh sealed qualification to the Tokyo Olympics with her bronze medal win at the 2019 wrestling World Championships. Vinesh also remains one of the biggest medal hopes for the country going into the Games which have been postponed to next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Manika won two golds at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and subsequently won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. She, however, is yet to seal qualification to the Tokyo Olympics after losing in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo 2020 Qualifiers in January.

Mariyappan sealed qualification for next year’s Paralympics after claiming a bronze medal at the World Para-Athletics Championships. Rani meanwhile spearheaded the Indian team’s qualification campaign for Tokyo 2020 late last year.

Apart from the Khel Ratna, the committee will also decide upon recommendations for the Dronacharya Awards, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Award and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the year 2020.

Your smartphone can soon tell if you’re drunk or not

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Your smartphone can soon tell if you’re drunk or not

Using a built-in sensor, your smartphone can soon tell when you’ve had too much to drink by detecting changes in the way you walk, reveal researchers.

They envisioned that in the next couple of years, people would go out with friends and drink at risky levels, get an alert at the first sign of impairment, and are sent strategies via their devices “to help them stop drinking and protect them from high-risk events”.

According to the study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, having real-time information about alcohol intoxication could be important for helping people reduce alcohol consumption, preventing drinking and driving.

“We have powerful sensors we carry around with us wherever we go. We need to learn how to use them to best serve public health,” said Brian Suffoletto from Stanford University, who conducted the research while at the University of Pittsburgh in the US.

For the results, the research team recruited 22 adults aged 21-43.

Volunteers came to a lab and received a mixed drink with enough vodka to produce a breath alcohol concentration of 0.20 percent. They had one hour to finish the alcohol.

The participants had their breath alcohol concentration analyzed and performed a walking task.

For this task, researchers placed a smartphone on each participant’s lower back, secured with an elastic belt. Participants walked a straight line for 10 steps, turned around, and walked back 10 steps.

About 90 percent of the time, the researchers were able to use changes in gait to identify when participants’ breath alcohol concentration exceeded 0.08 percent, the legal limit for driving in the US.

“This lab study shows that our phones can be useful to identify ‘signatures’ of functional impairments related to alcohol,” Suffoletto said.

Although placing the smartphone on the lower back does not reflect how people carry their cell phones in real life, the research group plans to conduct additional research while people carry phones in their hands and in their pockets.

The researchers also wrote that this is a “proof-of-concept study” that provides a foundation for future research on using smartphones to remotely detect alcohol-related impairments.

Rhea Chakraborty denies ever meeting Aaditya Thackeray

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Rhea Chakraborty denies ever meeting Aaditya Thackeray

Actress Rhea Chakraborty has denied ever meeting Aaditya Thackeray, in a statement issued on Monday through her lawyer Satish Mandhinde.

“The comments made at the last hearing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the 11th of August 2020, make it evident that this has become more about politics than the truth. Unwanted and irrelevant submissions are being made. A number of politicians (are) taking advantage of this case on the eve of elections in Bihar. Rhea does not know and has never met Aaditya Thackeray till today. Neither has she ever spoken to him telephonically or otherwise, though she has heard of him as a leader of the Shiv Sena,” Manshinde said on behalf of his client, Rhea.

Shiv Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray is Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment in the Government of Maharashtra, and an MLA of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Mumbai. His name has been come up in unsubstantiated allegations pertaining to the death of Rhea’s boyfriend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Manshinde also added that Rhea knows and has met actor Dino Morea socially as he is her senior in the film industry, and nothing more. Dino’s name has come up in the case because it was alleged that the actor hosted the June 13 party in which Sushant was present, a day before the latter’s death. Dino has earlier denied hosting any such party.

Yes Bank closely monitoring stress on credit portfolio due to legacy issues

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Yes Bank closely monitoring stress on credit portfolio due to legacy issues

Yes, Bank Chairman Sunil Mehta has said that the bank is closely monitoring the stress on its credit portfolio due to legacy issues along with the current macro-economic conditions and the Covid-19 situation.

The Chairman’s message to the shareholders in the bank’s annual report said that the board continues to work closely with the management to identify and deal with impending issues “vigorously and appropriately”.

“We are closely monitoring the stress on our credit portfolio on account of legacy issues, current macro-economic and Covid-19 situation,” he said.

He noted that the bank is mindful of its fiduciary responsibilities to its customers, shareholders, employees, and the regulator.

Mehta noted that this is also the time for the bank to increase its focus on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) front, and continue to factor in new-age risks that are becoming increasingly mainstream.

He said that in order to ensure effective risk management practices that benefit all stakeholders, in recent months, the board has ensured efficient risk frameworks are put in place so that risks are identified, evaluated, and addressed appropriately.

“Much of the work undertaken is not only to meet regulatory requirements but to make the bank stronger, agile and efficient,” the Chairman said.

He noted that post the restructuring with other major banks investing in the bank and the latest capital raise of Rs 15,000 crore through a further public offering (FPO), Moody’s Investors Service had upgraded the bank’s rating to B3 with outlook stable.

Further, following this capital increase, the bank’s Common Equity Tier-1 (CET) ratio has doubled to 13.4 percent from 6.6 percent at the end of June 2020, bringing its capitalization largely in line with the private sector peers, he said.

“The significantly improved solvency ratio strengthens the bank’s resilience to potential asset quality risks resulting from the impact of the economic slowdown and COVID-19-related disruptions on India’s economy,” said the Yes Bank Chairman.

Yogi govt sets up 2 tribunals to recover damages from rioters

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Yogi govt sets up 2 tribunals to recover damages from rioters

The Yogi Adityanath government has set up two tribunals at Lucknow and Meerut to dispose of the claims of private individuals and government authorities for compensation for the destruction of property during protests and riots.

The state government had notified ‘Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public and Private Property Ordinance 2020’ in March this year.

The two tribunals, which will cover the entire state, are coming up at a time when the Karnataka government has also adopted the Uttar Pradesh model of attaching the property of rioters involved in the recent communal clashes in the state.

A senior official said, “The tribunal in Lucknow will cover the eastern region while the one in Meerut will cover the western region. A search committee headed by the chief secretary will identify people who will be part of the tribunals, which will be headed by a retired district-level judge.”

The Lucknow tribunal will handle cases from Jhansi, Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Devi Patan, Prayagraj, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Basti, and Vindhyanchal divisions.

Claims from Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Moradabad, Bareilly, and Agra divisions will be taken up by the Meerut tribunal.

The ordinance was promulgated after the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests rocked the state in December 2019.

The state government booked hundreds of people for allegedly damaging property in over 20 districts of the state. The home department then put up hoardings with photographs of those identified as having participated in the protests with the amount each of them owed to the government for the destruction of property.

The matter was challenged in the High Court, but the government brought an ordinance to empower itself to recover the damages.

As per the ordinance, the government or owner of private property can file claims for compensation within three months of incidents like protests or riots in which the property has been damaged or destroyed.

The order of the tribunal will be considered final and cannot be challenged before another court. The tribunal will also be empowered to attach the property of the accused. The notification about the ordinance stated that liability for the destroyed and damaged property will be fixed on the accused and those who are accused of instigating or exhorting them.

“The tribunal also has the power to decide a matter ex parte, if those given notices do not respond,” the notification said.

Sushant’s sister molested Rhea after getting drunk, which lead to rift between siblings: Lawyer

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Sushant’s sister molested Rhea after getting drunk, which lead to rift between siblings: Lawyer

The legal team of Rhea Chakraborty has detailed the entire incident pertaining to the previous allegation made by the actress that it was Priyanka, sister of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who had molested her after getting too drunk, and the incident had, in turn, created a rift between the siblings.

Rhea’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde detailed the whole incident in the fresh statement.

“In the initial months of their relationship, when Rhea had visited Sushant’s house, his sister Priyanka and her husband Siddharth were living with him. One night, in and around April 2019, Rhea and Priyanka had gone out to a party. Priyanka consumed copious amounts of alcohol and was behaving inappropriately with men as well as women at that party. So, Rhea insisted that they return to Sushant’s home. Upon returning, Sushant and his sister continued drinking alcohol while Rhea retired for the night as she had a shoot the next morning. Rhea was asleep in Sushant’s room when she suddenly awoke to find Priyanka had got into bed with her and was groping her. Rhea was extremely shocked and demanded that she leave the room immediately. Subsequently, Rhea herself left the house. Thereafter, Rhea informed Sushant as to what had transpired, and Sushant got into an argument with his sister regarding the same. That due to the aforesaid incident, the relationship between Sushant’s family and Rhea had been strained since inception. Even after his death when a list of 20 people was made to attend the funeral, Rhea’s name was not included in the list and hence excluded from attending the funeral,” said Manshinde.

About how Rhea and Sushant came to know each other and the actress’s subsequent departing from the late actor’s home, the lawyer added: “Rhea and Sushant were known to each other over the past several years as they were both working in the Indian film industry. Rhea and Sushant had maintained a cordial friendship and would occasionally communicate with each other. In April 2019, Rhea and Sushant had attended a party hosted by the film fraternity and shortly thereafter they began dating each other. Even though they spent a lot of time at each other’s homes, they officially moved in together in December 2019 and live at Mont Blanc, Bandra, till Rhea left on the 8th of June 2020.”

Talking about the allegations against Rhea, he said: “It is total nonsense and an afterthought to make allegations after a period of 40 days, the manner in which it has been made before Bihar Police. No allegations whatsoever were made till 27th July 2020 by anybody in the family before Mumbai Police or to any authority. Their statements were recorded by police in Mumbai. They are educated and have an IPS officer OP Singh in the family. The allegations are totally concocted and fabricated for ulterior purposes.”

Manshinde continued: “Rhea denies all allegations of abetment of suicide, misappropriation of funds and others or otherwise. The Mumbai Police and the Enforcement Directorate have been handed over all of Rhea’s financial documents, which clearly show the falsity of such allegations. She has not received a single transfer from Sushant’s accounts. All her Income Tax Returns have been examined by police as well as Enforcement Directorate (ED). Neither of them has found anything incriminating against,” he added.

Sushant was found dead in his home in Mumbai on June 14. Before his death, Maneshinde claims that the actor kept on trying to reach his family.

“Sushant had been calling his family, informing them of his decision to move out of Mumbai and requesting them to come and meet him. After several days of Sushant calling and crying over the phone, his sister Mitu agreed to come live with him on the 8th of June 2020. Due to this development, Sushant requested Rhea to live with her parents for the time being. Rhea had been suffering from her own anxiety issues and often endured panic attacks. Sushant’s conduct also aggravated these conditions. Even though Rhea was desirous of seeing her family, she was not at all comfortable with leaving Sushant. On the very same day,8th June 2020, Rhea had arranged to have a therapy session of her own with Dr. Susan Walker and requested Sushant if she could leave after the session. However, Sushant told her to leave immediately before his sister Mitu arrived. Thus Rhea reluctantly left and informed Sushant to let her or her brother know about anything he required or in case he needed to talk,” Manshinde claimed.

It was shared that Mumbai Police and ED have investigated Rhea’s relationship with Sushant and her financial status at great length, and “till today nothing incriminating has been found against her”.

Manshinde also said that “Rhea does not know and has never met Aaditya Thackeray till today. Neither has she ever spoken to him telephonically or otherwise, though she has heard of him as a leader of the Shiv Sena”.

About Rhea’s alleged interaction with actor Dino Morea, the lawyer clarified that the actress knows and has met Dino socially as he is her senior in the film industry.

Continuing on the media overdrive about the case, Manshinde said: “The media is requested not to speculate its own theories and make unsubstantiated claims. She has remained silent to such allegations. Her silence should not be mistaken for weakness. The truth will remain the same,” said her lawyer.

Rhea, as put by her lawyer, would like the truth of the matter to be revealed by “virtue of a fair and impartial investigation”.

“She has admitted in her petition to the SC that she sent a message to Amit Shah to order a CBI investigation. She has also informed the Supreme Court that if the court transfers the case to CBI she had no objection. What she has challenged is the illegal registration and investigation of Bihar Police without jurisdiction, and transfer to CBI of an illegal investigation. Unless the Maharashtra Government consents to a CBI investigation, the case cannot be transferred to CBI. Instead, the Bihar Government ought to have transferred the investigation to Mumbai Police as per the notification issued by the Union Government,” the lawyer said.

He also stated that Rhea will not submit to an “illegal investigation”.

“My client has not shied away from cooperating with any investigating agency to date, but she is entitled to a fair and impartial investigation by an agency that has jurisdiction to investigate the case. The manner in which the proceedings were instituted and being conducted in Bihar made it appear unlikely that she would receive fair treatment,” said Maneshinde.

Witnesses being threatened: SSR’s cousin

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In the case of the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput, his family is now apprehensive about evidence being destroyed and witnesses being threatened.

Sushant’s cousin Neeraj Kumar Bablu, a BJP MLA, said here that the evidence, in this case, was being erased and the witnesses could be eliminated. He said the witnesses were facing threats and demanded that they should be provided protection.

Neeraj Kumar told IANS on Tuesday: “We all hope that the Supreme Court will soon direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter and the investigation will go in the right direction and everything will come to the fore.”

He said: “This is not only our desire but that of the entire country.”

When asked about the destruction of evidence, in this case, he said: “Attempts are being made to erase the evidence. This apprehension is also being expressed by the media.”

“Maharashtra Police should take care of it.”

He felt that something untoward could happen to the witnesses and said that efforts were being made to intimidate them. The Mumbai Police were not cooperating in this matter. This is now known to everybody and we demand that protection be given to the witnesses, he added.

Even two months after Sushant’s alleged suicide, no significant progress has been made in the investigation of the case. On July 15, Sushant’s father K. K.Singh had a case registered at the Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna. Later, the Bihar government decided to recommend handing over the investigation to the CBI.

Rhea Chakraborty, the main accused in the case registered in Patna, has approached the Supreme Court to transfer the case to Mumbai.

TikTok inks first music distribution deal with UnitedMasters

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TikTok inks first music distribution deal with UnitedMasters

Amid uncertainties surrounding its business in the US, TikTok has signed a deal that makes UnitedMasters, the first music distribution company to be integrated into the short video-sharing platform.

The new integration enables TikTok users to distribute music directly from the app to other music streaming platforms, the company said on Monday, adding that the new partnership will provide a turn-key platform for aspiring stars to fast-track their careers.

TikTok said it will also partner with UnitedMasters in promoting key artists on the platform.

“If you are a musical artist, TikTok is the best place for your music to go viral and UnitedMasters is the best place to sustain it while retaining full ownership of your work,” Steve Stoute, CEO, and Founder of UnitedMasters said in a statement.

“By combining the two, we create the platform for tomorrow’s stars who will be famous, fiercely independent, and wealthy.”

Known as a music discovery springboard for viral hits from unknown artists, TikTok is also a growing destination for artists looking to showcase their craft and engage new fans.

Music by several UnitedMasters artists has flourished TikTok including songs by NLE Choppa, BMW Kenny, and Tobe Nwigwe.

“Creators are the beating heart of the TikTok community, often inspired by the artists who bring their music to the platform, and providing a haven for them to thrive is key to our mission,” said Kevin Mayer, CEO of TikTok.

“The new partnership with United Masters makes it even easier for musicians and creators to reach new fans and earn a living doing what they love, directly from the platform.”

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week that gives China-based ByteDance an option to divest its TikTok business in the US within 90 days.

Microsoft and Oracle have reportedly entered the fray to purchase TikTok’s operations in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Parliamentary Standing Committee to discuss Covid-19 situation

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Parliamentary Standing Committee to discuss Covid-19 situation

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Covid-19 situation and its management in the country.

The committee will meet Health Ministry officials and AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria to discuss the issue. The Rajya Sabha website said the committee will be meeting on August 19 to discuss “management of the Covid-19 pandemic and related issues”.

The committee is headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma and is likely to discuss the initiatives taken by the central government for the management of the pandemic, said sources.

In the last meeting held in July, the committee members asked the officials about the high prices of medicines used to treat coronavirus and the members had also raised the issue of black marketing of medicines.

The meeting gains significance with both the Houses preparing for the monsoon session of Parliament while adhering to social distancing norms.

India’s coronavirus tally crossed the 27-lakh mark on Tuesday with 55,079 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 51,797 with 876 more fatalities, said the Health Ministry.

Out of the total 27,02,742 cases, recoveries have surged to 19,77,779 with 57,937 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to nearly 73.17 percent. The actual caseload of the country is the active cases, which currently stands at 6,73,166.

The country had touched the 20-lakh mark on August 7 and added more than seven lakh cases in 11 days.

1 dead in Philippines’ 6.6-magnitude quake (Ld)

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1 dead in Philippines’ 6.6-magnitude quake (Ld)

One person was killed on Tuesday in a 6.6-magnitude earthquake that struck Masbate province in the central Philippines, police said.

In an updated bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) said the magnitude of 6.6 quakes, which struck at 8,03 a.m., hit at a depth of 21 km, about 7 km southeast of Cataingan town of Masbate province.

Police Colonel Joriz Cantoria of the Masbate provincial police said in an initial report that a retired police officer died after being hit by a collapsed wall in his home, reports Xinhua news agency.

Cantoria also reported that the quake damaged several houses, roads, and buildings, including the port of the seaside town and the public market.

The Phivolcs revised the magnitude of the Masbate earthquake to 6.6 from the earlier magnitude 6.5 on Tuesday morning.

The institute said it has recorded more than a dozen aftershocks since the initial quake struck.

The Philippines has frequent seismic activities due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

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