Odisha reports highest single-day spike of 2,496 corona cases

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Odisha reports highest single-day spike of 2,496 corona cases

Odisha reported its highest single-day spike of 2,496 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s total tally to 57,126, the Health Department said on Saturday.

The Covid-19 death toll climbed to 333 in Odisha with 9 more fatalities.

Four new deaths were reported in Sambalpur district, followed by 2 in Cuttack, and one each in Ganjam, Nayagarh, and Keonjhar districts.

Of the 2,496 new cases, 1,591 were reported from quarantine centres and 905 were local contacts, said the department.

Khorda district reported the highest 378 cases, followed by Ganjam (327), Balasore (165), Sundergarh (156), Rayagada (146), Koraput (133), Cuttack (128), Boudh (115), and Bhadrak (102).

The active cases in Odisha now total 17, 535, since 39,205 patients have recovered.

How jealousy can cement friendships during Covid pandemic

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How jealousy can cement friendships during Covid pandemic

Having friends will keep you healthy in the Covid-19 times and if we believe researchers, feelings of jealousy can even be a useful tool to maintain and strengthen your bonding with friends during the pandemic.

Not having friends has been associated with a greater risk of dying from heart disease and with becoming sick from viruses.

A new study from Arizona State University, Oklahoma State University, and Hamilton College found that feelings of jealousy in these times were related to the value of friendship and also motivated behaviors that maintain friendships.

“Friends aren’t just fun. They are an important resource, especially in our current situation with ongoing Covid-19 outbreaks. Friends give support during the conflict, buffer against loneliness, and can even provide life-sustaining resources when we need them,” said Jaimie Arona Krems from Arizona State University (ASU) who is now an assistant professor of psychology at Oklahoma State University.

“We wanted to understand how we keep friendships, and we found feelings of jealousy can act as a tool for maintaining friendships”.

Not all threats to friendships evoked jealousy.

If a best friend moved away, people felt sadness and anger more than jealousy.

But when friendships were threatened by another person – such as a new romantic partner or new friend at work – jealousy was the dominant feeling.

The intensity of jealous feelings varied by how likely the third-party threat was to replace someone in the friendship.

A best friend gaining a romantic partner elicited less jealous feelings than them gaining a potential new friend, revealed the study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

“The third-party threats to friendship were not just related to a best friend spending time away from us: It mattered whether the person they were spending time with could replace us as a friend,” said Douglas Kenrick, President’s Professor of psychology at ASU.

The authors found people felt less jealous about their best friend spending the same amount of time with a new romantic partner than a new acquaintance, “which means what makes us most jealous of is the possibility that we might be replaced”.

Feelings of jealousy over being replaced were associated with behaviors that could overcome the third-party threats, like trying to monopolize a best friend’s time and manipulate their emotions.

“Together, these behaviors are called ‘friend guarding’, and they occur across cultures and also in non-human animals. Female wild horses are known to bite and kick other female horses,” said Keelah Williams, assistant professor of psychology at Hamilton College.

Jealousy also led people to commit to being a better friend.

“Getting jealous can sometimes be a signal that friendship is threatened, and this signal can help us jump into action to invest in a friendship that we might have been neglecting,” said Athena Aktipis, assistant professor of psychology at ASU and author on the paper.

IOA launches ‘Ek India Team India’ campaign on 74th Independence Day

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IOA launches ‘Ek India Team India’ campaign on 74th Independence Day

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Saturday launched its “Ek India Team India” digital campaign on the occasion of the country’s 74th Independence Day and as part of the country’s National Olympic Council adopting a new identity and logo.

“In 2021 when we take on the world stage, we will sport a new identity,” said IOA President Narinder Batra and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta in a joint statement.

“Our new identity celebrates the essence of our tiranga, a lifetime of determined hard work of our athletes and officials and the values of unity, friendship, and merit, upheld by the Indian Olympic Association.

“Our tagline ‘Ek India Team India’ reinforces our values, highlighting the importance of unity and team spirit. It’s truly a historic time for us and the nation. It signals our arrival on the world stage and we’re ready,” they added.

The Tokyo Olympics are set to be held next year from July 23 until August 8. The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government were forced to postpone it from its original start date of July 24 this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

IOA had unveiled the new logo in early July. The previous institutional logo which drew its inspiration from – the “Star of India” which was adopted during the period of British Raj in the Indian subcontinent, has been used since the formation of the association till now.

Chinese mainland reports 22 new Covid-19 cases

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Chinese mainland reports 22 new Covid-19 cases

The Chinese mainland has reported 22 new COVID-cases, taking the overall tally to 84,808, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

According to the commission, the new cases comprised 14 imported cases and eight locally transmitted ones, reports Xinhua news agency.

Among the locally transmitted cases, seven were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and one in Guangdong province.

One new suspected COVID-19 case, which was imported from outside the mainland, was reported in Shanghai, and no deaths related to the disease were reported on Friday, the commission said.

On Friday, 57 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, the commission said.

Of the overall caseload, 655 patients were still being treated, with 36 in severe conditions.

Altogether 79,519 people had been discharged after recovery, and 4,634 had died of the disease on the mainland, the commission said.

There were still three suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland, it added.

According to the commission, 20,441 close contacts were still under medical observation.

Also on Friday, 20 new asymptomatic cases, including 13 from outside the mainland, were reported, and one asymptomatic case was re-categorized as a confirmed one.

The commission said 318 asymptomatic cases, including 175 from outside the mainland, were still under medical observation.

Pink ball could be used in all Tests, suggests Vaughan

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Pink ball could be used in all Tests, suggests Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes pink ball could be used in all Test cricket in order to avoid play being lost due to bad light.

“It’s a terrible look for the game,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by BBC. “The more I watch this, particularly in England, the pink ball could be the solution – just play with it all the time,” he added.

His remarks came as the second day of the ongoing Test between England and Pakistan was hit by numerous delays before winding up early due to poor lights at the Ageas Bowl. Pakistan was 223/9 when the umpire called for early stumps on Friday. So far, only 86 overs have been bowled in the first two days of the match because of rain and bad light.

“It’s been a summer where I’ve seen the light being taken more than any other summer I can remember,” said Vaughan.

“In a summer where the game desperately needs cricket to be on, it just doesn’t make sense.

“Those that are paid the big cheques for the broadcast have got to step up and say to the ICC ‘this isn’t good enough -you’ve got to come up with a solution that allows the game to be played in conditions like these’,” he added.

“Absolutely! I’ve said the same thing for a long time now! Pink ball for Test matches ASAP, please! Agree on followers?,” tweeted former Australian leg spinner Shane Warne while endorsing Vaughan’s idea.

Pink balls are currently used in day-night Tests with teams continuing to play under floodlights.

Veteran fast bowler James Anderson too called for more “leeway” over bad light decisions rather than play having to stop once the light reaches the previous meter reading.

However, his teammate Stuart Broad said bringing pink-ball in all Test matches would be “an unfair balance to the game”.

“I don’t agree with bringing in a pink ball at all,” Broad said.

“That’s probably going a little bit too far and complicating the situation a little bit too much.

“If the players’ safety is in doubt then the officials have to bring us off. If the players feel safe and the officials feel it is safe then you play,” he added.

The decision to leave the field because of bad light lies with the umpires when they deem it is “dangerous or unreasonable” to proceed.

Health mission to new cyber policy — 10 major announcements by PM

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Health mission to new cyber policy — 10 major announcements by PM

Speaking on the occasion of Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made 10 major announcements on Saturday. He announced the launch of the National Digital Health Mission scheme, which gives health cards to every Indian, with immediate effect.

Prime Minister Modi also informed the country of a new Cyber Security Policy. The Prime Minister, while speaking about the much-awaited corona vaccine, said that work on not one but three vaccines is going on. The announcements were made by Modi during his one-and-a-half-hour speech starting at 7 a.m.

National Digital Health Mission: Narendra Modi made the first major announcement regarding the National Digital Health Mission. He said, “Another big campaign is going to start in the country from Saturday which is the National Digital Health Mission. According to the scheme, every Indian will be provided with a health card. Every test, every disease, which medicines were prescribed by which doctor when the medicine was given, what were the reports — all this information will be contained in this one health card. This scheme will revolutionize India’s health sector.”

New Cyber Security Policy: Modi said a new National Cyber Security Strategy has been prepared in the country. India is alert, cautious, and taking decisions to counter security threats and is constantly developing new systems. The new cybersecurity policy will be introduced soon.

Corona vaccine: Modi informed the country that not one, not two, but three vaccines for the coronavirus are currently in the testing phase. He said that as soon as the green signal is received from the scientists, the stage is set for mass production of these vaccines in the country.

Expansion of NCC: The Prime Minister announced the expansion of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). He said the expansion of the NCC will be ensured across 173 border and coastal districts of the country. Nearly 1 lakh new NCC cadets will be given special training under this campaign.

Internet connectivity in Lakshadweep: Modi said that in the next 1,000 days, Lakshadweep will also be connected by submarine optical fiber cable, adding, “There are more than 1,300 islands in our country. Work is underway to introduce new development schemes in selected islands, keeping in view their geographical location and their importance in the development of the country.”

Optical fiber network in every village: The Prime Minister announced that every village in the country will be connected with optical fibers to provide an Internet facility. He said that this goal will be accomplished in the coming 1,000 days.

Before 2014, only 5 dozen panchayats in the country were connected with optical fibers. In the last five years, 1.5 lakh gram panchayats have been connected with optical fibers.

Projects Lion and Dolphin: Prime Minister Modi announced Project Lion and Project Dolphin. He said that India is fully sensitive to the conservation and promotion of its biodiversity. In the recent past, the lion and tiger populations have increased at a rapid pace in the country. Now Project Lion is also going to be launched for Asiatic Lions in the country. Modi also stressed on running projects for the conservation of dolphins.

100 Lakh Crore Expenditure: Modi said that a plan has been prepared to connect the whole country with Multi-model Connectivity Infrastructure. The country is moving towards spending more than Rs 100 lakh crore in this direction. Nearly 7,000 projects in different sectors have been identified. In a way, it will be like a new revolution in infrastructure.

Emphasis on Expansion of Neighbourhood Policy: Prime Minister Modi stressed on strengthening and expanding relations with the neighboring countries. He said, “With our neighboring countries, whether they are connected to us via land or from the sea, we are linking our relations with the partnership of security, development, and trust. Today, the neighbors are not only those who share our geographical boundaries but also those with whom our hearts meet. Where there is peace in relationships, there is harmony.”

Campaign Against Pollution: Modi announced a plan to eradicate pollution from the cities on the occasion of Independence Day. He said that a special campaign with a holistic approach is also being undertaken to reduce pollution in 100 selected cities.

New Zealand confirms 7 new COVID-19 cases

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New Zealand confirms 7 new COVID-19 cases

New Zealand reported seven new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The new confirmed cases, all from community transmission, took the overall caseload total to 1,258, reports Xinhua news agency.

Six were already linked to previous cases in the cluster outbreak, and one remained under investigation, it was said.

The total number of active Covid-19 cases in New Zealand was 56, of which 37 were from the recent community outbreak, and 19 were imported cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, said the ministry.

Of the 37 cases, 35 were linked to an identified cluster, and two remained under investigation, but are believed to be linked to the same cluster, said the ministry.

National tracing service had 1,090 close contacts identified with 934 having been contacted on Saturday morning, and they were all self-isolating, the Ministry said.

“We are in the process of contacting the remaining close contacts. If you are called by our contact tracers please take or return the call.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared the Alert Level 3 lockdown for Auckland region and Alert level 2 restriction for the rest of the country to continue for 12 days until August 26.

New Zealand went to a month-long national Alert Level 4 lockdown in late March and declared an early success of the Covid-19 battle in June.

New cases resurfaced in the country earlier this week after a gap of 102 days.

Huawei patents foldable smartphone with stylus, sub-display

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Huawei patents foldable smartphone with stylus, sub-display

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has patented a new foldable smartphone with a stylus and a sub-display.

Huawei filed the design patent back in 2019 with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration) which has now got approval and published, reports GizmoChina.

According to the patent images, the foldable smartphone will come with a stylus and a sub-display right next to the primary screen, which follows an inward folding design.

“This sub-display is narrow and long, covering the entire length on the left side, and features two cutouts for a dual front-facing camera system”.

Huawei recently filed a patent for smartphones with all-screen fingerprint unlock technology.

In addition, the firm disclosed that the new full-screen fingerprint technology will allow the users to respond to text messages without the need to unlock the phone.

The users will still have the option to “activate sensors in a chosen area on the screen while deactivating the rest on the screen space.”

Study reveals why walking to work better for health

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Study reveals why walking to work better for health

Researchers have found that walking with a purpose — especially walking to get to work — makes people walk faster and leads to health benefits.

The study, published in the Journal of Transport and Health, found that walking for different reasons yielded different levels of self-rated health.

People who walked primarily to places like work and the grocery store from their homes, for example, reported better health than people who walked mostly for leisure.

“We found that walking for utilitarian purposes significantly improves your health and that those types of walking trips are easier to bring into your daily routine,” said study researcher Gulsah Akar from the Ohio State University in the US.

For the findings, the research team analyzed self-reported health assessments from 125,885 adults between the ages of 18 and 64.

Those adults reported the number of minutes they spent walking for different purposes – from home to work, from home to shopping, from home to recreation activities, and walking trips that did not start at their homes.

And, the survey respondents ranked how healthy they were on a scale of one to five. The dataset the researchers analyzed included more than 500,000 trips.

The researchers found that walking for any duration, for any purpose, increased how healthy a person felt.

But they also found that an additional 10 minutes of walking per trip from home for work-based trips – say, from a person’s house to the bus stop 10 minutes away – increased that person’s odds of having a higher health score by six percent compared with people who walk for other reasons.

People who walked from home for reasons not connected to work, shopping or recreation were three percent more likely to have a higher health score.

The researchers also found that walking trips that begin at home are generally longer than walking trips that begin somewhere else.

The team found that 64 percent of home-based walking trips last at least 10 minutes, while 50 percent of trips that begin elsewhere are at least that long.

The findings suggest that building activity into parts of a day that are otherwise sedentary – commuting by foot instead of by car, for example – can make a person feel healthier.

“That means going to a gym or a recreation center aren’t the only ways to exercise,” the study authors wrote.

Renewed Digital India push: PM assures OFC to each village in 3 years

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Renewed Digital India push: PM assures OFC to each village in 3 years

Giving a new fillip to the Digital India vision Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that every village in the country will be connected by the optical fiber cable (OFC) in the next 1,000 days, nearly 3 years.

Addressing the nation on Independence Day, Modi said that the Union Territory of Lakshadweep on the Arabian Sea will be connected with submarine optical fiber cable. The announcement comes days after a similar submarine optical fiber cable connectivity was announced to the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Noting that around 1.5 lakh villages have been connected by optical fiber in the last six years, he said: “In the next 1,000 days every village of the country will be connected by optical fiber.”

Comparing the progress under previous governments, he said that till 2014 only 60,000 villages were connected, which multiplied in the next 6 years.

Under the ambitious BharatNet, optical fiber cable under which 1,54,999 Gram Panchayats have been connected as of August 8, 2020, according to government data. The second phase of the project is underway. India has over 6 lakh villages and with the latest announcement by the PM around 4.5 lakh villages will have to be connected in the stipulated time of 1,000 days

However, the progress has been slow in comparison to the target set by the government, with concerns of low funds also raised by several states.

Prime Minister’s renewed emphasis and the target would, however, give a major push to the project of making rural India truly digital.”

Applauding the role of Digital India’ mission amid the pandemic, he said that in the last month, transactions of nearly Rs 3 lakh crore took place just through BHIM UPI last month.

Among other major announcements, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi announced the government is working on a multi-modal connectivity infrastructure with the Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline in place.

Pak batsmen employing defensive approach, scared of playing shots: Inzamam

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Pak batsmen employing defensive approach, scared of playing shots: Inzamam

Former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has lashed out at Pakistan batsmen for their defensive approach in the ongoing second Test against England being played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Pakistan has so far scored 223 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their first innings in the 86 overs played across the two days of the Test match, with rain and bad light playing spoilsport on both the days. Only Abid Ali (60) and Mohammad Rizwan (60*) have been able to tackle the England bowlers so far in the match.

“Pakistan batsmen were scared of playing their shots. If you look at most of their dismissals, their bat was behind their leg,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.

“When you meet the ball, your bat should be ahead of your leg. You are getting caught at slips because you are employing a defensive approach.”

The 50-year-old said that Pakistan should play an aggressive brand of cricket as only then they can defeat England in their own backyard.

“I request the batsmen and team management to play aggressive cricket, in order to beat England. Otherwise, we will be depending on rain to save us in this Test,” he said.

Pakistan is 0-1 down in the ongoing series after losing the opening Test by three wickets at Old Trafford. They need to win or draw the ongoing Test to keep the three-match series alive.

Why India needs a strong cybersecurity policy soon

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Why India needs a strong cybersecurity policy soon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated that the government will soon unveil a new cybersecurity policy.

During his speech from the Red Fort on the 74th Independence Day, Modi said that India is alert, cautious and is taking decisions to counter cyber threats and is constantly developing new systems.

The draft of National Cyber Security Strategy 2020, which envisages creating secure cyberspace in India, is ready and is likely to be finalized this year.

“The threats from cyberspace can endanger all these aspects of Indian life. The government is alert to this threat and is taking all the necessary action,” Modi said.

The government recently banned several Chinese apps to protect the personal data of Indian users.

As nation-state bad actors from countries like China, Russia, and Pakistan amid the demand to keep the data of Indians to remain within the boundaries of the country, the government has envisioned the “National Cyber Security Strategy 2020”.

“Cyber intrusions and attacks have increased in scope and sophistication targeting sensitive personal and business data, and critical information infrastructure, with an impact on national economy and security. The present cyber threat landscape poses significant challenges due to rapid technological developments such as Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G, etc,” according to the draft.

“New challenges include data protection/privacy, law enforcement in evolving cyberspace, access to data stored overseas, misuse of social media platforms, international cooperation on cybercrime & cyber terrorism, and so on”.

Digitization in India will dramatically rise in a post-COVID-19 scenario which in turn will increase demand for greater cybersecurity and privacy, according to experts.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, as businesses are still coping up, cybersecurity is being seen as a core technology to keep companies secure as they go online and virtual, and as emerging deep tech such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain evolves, investment in cybersecurity will be a key differentiator for companies offering such services.

“We have joined hands with DSCI (the Data Security Council of India) in establishing a National Centre of Excellence to accelerate innovation and make India an attractive cybersecurity market,” Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said recently.

Ransomware-related cyber attacks on the Indian enterprises saw a significant rise in the first three months of the year, and the increase has been enabled by operators offering ransomware as a service (RaaS) to cyber attackers.

The report from Global cybersecurity major K7 Computing also found that Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad recorded the highest rate of infections amongst Tier-I cities.

Guwahati, Jaipur, and Jammu had the highest infection rate of 38 percent each, followed by Patna at 35 percent among Tier-II cities.

One in two Indian companies have experienced a data breach involving the loss or theft of more than 1,000 records containing sensitive or confidential customer or business information in the past two years and the Covid-19 has only accelerated the cyberattacks, according to Sandip Patel, General Manager, IBM India/South Asia.

For 46 percent of Indian firms, data breaches led to significant disruption to their IT and business processes, according to a recent global survey conducted by Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM Security.

Tesla developing training computer ‘Dojo’ to process video data

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Tesla developing training computer ‘Dojo’ to process video data

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the EV maker is working on a neural network (NN) training computer called Dojo to process vast amounts of video data.

“Tesla is developing a NN training computer called Dojo to process truly vast amounts of video data. It’s a beast! Please consider joining our AI or computer/chip teams if this sounds interesting,” Musk said in a tweet on Friday.

A neural network is a type of machine learning which models itself after the human brain, creating an artificial neural network that via an algorithm allows the computer to learn by incorporating new data.

Musk said ‘Dojo’ would be available in a “limited public release in 6 to 10 weeks.”

“Project Dojo” was revealed during the recent Tesla Autonomy Investor Day held recently, Musk mentioned “Dojo” as the key to labeling visual data, which is currently a very difficult task.

“Project Dojo” is Tesla’s attempt to create a computer that can engage videos of driving to become more proficient at the skill.

“Dojo” is made in order to train a host of multiple AI that will enable Tesla electric cars to drive on their own.

According to Musk, the goal is to take in huge amounts of image and video data and perform unsupervised learning.

“Project Dojo” is likely to be unveiled during next year’s road to autonomy Tesla event.

Patriotism comes from love, jingoism from hatred: Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon

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Patriotism comes from love, jingoism from hatred: Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon

Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon is gearing up for his next film, the war action drama titled Pippa, and he says there is a marked line separating patriotism, nationalism, and jingoism as portrayed on screen.

“I think defining patriotism is important, and there is a fine line between patriotism and jingoism. Patriotism comes from a love for your motherland, for the place that you come from, and it holds a sense of belonging. It does not come by hating a community or people or land. It has to be about love and not about hate. For me, my love for my country is not about my hate towards others,” Menon told IANS.

Considering the fact that we are living in effervescent socio-political times when nationalism is a sensitive topic, how do films play a role in influencing people?

Menon, who made a mark with his 2016 release “Airlift”, said: “I do not think it is about socio-political times, I think it is about the choices we make. Living in an age of information and technology that we use excessively, our mind is filled with the knowledge that is good, bad, and ugly.”

He recalled an incident from his “Airlift” days: “I remember when I went to a theatre to check reaction after the release of ‘Airlift’, the entire audience stood up in the last few minutes as if what happened on screen was their achievement! I think with films, we can penetrate some kind of collective consciousness.”

His take on patriotism is clear: “Patriotism is about a sense of achievement on real issues — of good roads, clean drinking water, employment, social harmony, saving the lives of people. War is dark, the business of war is darker. For me, therefore, patriotism is about feeling proud of my nation. That pride comes from our achievement, not from hatred towards others,” the filmmaker signed off.

Menon’s upcoming film “Pippa” stars Ishaan Khatter in the central role, and is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur.

Sri Lanka Cricket willing to host India-England Tests next year: report

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Sri Lanka Cricket willing to host India-England Tests next year: report

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has reportedly indicated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) their willingness to host India’s Test series against England scheduled to be played early next year if need arises amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report in ‘The Island’, England’s five-match Test series in India could be in doubts with the host nation struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic and SLC is willing to host the contest between the two cricketing nations.

The report further said that England is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in early January next year to conclude their series which was postponed in March this year. And thus there is a possibility of the Three Lions to stay back after their two Tests in Sri Lanka to play the series against India.

“The possibility of England staying back after their two Tests in Sri Lanka to complete the series against India has been given some thought after SLC came up with the suggestion,” said the report.

Last week, the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that England’s white-ball tour of India, originally scheduled for late September to early October this year, has been postponed until early 2021.

England was scheduled to tour India in September as part of the FTP to play three T20Is and as many ODIs and then return again in January 2021 to play five Test matches.

Over 25 lakh coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far while more than 49,000 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Whereas in Sri Lanka, the situation is much better as around only 3,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported till now.

Pankaj Tripathi: Films can’t alter reality but can steer conversation

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Pankaj Tripathi: Films can’t alter reality but can steer conversation

Actor Pankaj Tripathi says films cannot entirely alter reality but can steer a conversation that will subsequently change mindsets, systematically and over time.

In his latest release “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl”, Pankaj plays a father who is also a feminist of sorts. The film, directed by Sharan Sharma, stars Janhvi Kapoor in the title role.

The actor always wanted to focus on a film like “Gunjan Saxena” — a tale of empowerment that aims to inspire young girls to strive harder to fulfil their dreams.

“There was this beautiful line in the film that said — Plane ladka udaaye ya ladki… dono ko pilot hi kehte hain’. In a beautiful simple line, the film and its story simply smashed years of set gender roles. Being a father to a daughter myself, the story shifted something within me. I want more fathers to be like Anuj Saxena (his character) and more daughters to be like Gunjan,” he said.

The father of a 14-year-old daughter, Pankaj says the film reminded him of several stories of his female colleagues, acquaintances, even people in his family.

“I drew a lot from my own experiences for this film and kept recounting every instance of sacrifice I have seen women make to fit into gender normative roles assigned by the patriarchal society. Yes, probably films can’t entirely alter reality but they can steer a conversation that will subsequently change mindsets, systematically and over a prolonged period of time,” he concluded.

Covid-19 patients with heart problems more likely to die: Study

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Covid-19 patients with heart problems more likely to die: Study

In a major study, researchers have found that Covid-19 patients with cardiovascular comorbidities or risk factors are more likely to develop heart complications while hospitalized, and more likely to die from the virus.

According to the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, it is crucial for clinicians working with cardiovascular patients to understand the clinical presentation and risk factors for Covid-19 infection in this group.

“For most people, the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) causes mild illness, however, it can generate severe pneumonia and lead to death in others,” said study authors from the Magna Graecia University in Italy.

In the new study, the research team analyzed data from 21 published observational studies on a total of 77,317 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Asia, Europe, and the US.

At the time they were admitted to the hospital, 12.89 per cent of the patients had cardiovascular comorbidities, 36.08 per cent had hypertension and 19.45 per cent had diabetes.

The findings showed that cardiovascular complications were documented during the hospital stay of 14.09 per cent of Covid-19 patients.

According to the researchers, the most common of these complications were arrhythmias or palpitations; significant numbers of patients also had myocardial injury.

Myocardial injury is considered acute if there is a rise and fall of cardiac troponin concentrations exceeding biological and analytical variation.

When the researchers analyzed the data, they found that pre-existing cardiovascular comorbidities or risk factors were significant predictors of cardiovascular complications, but age and gender were not.

The study showed that both age and pre-existing cardiovascular comorbidities or risk factors were significant predictors of death.

“Cardiovascular complications are frequent among Covid-19 patients and might contribute to adverse clinical events and mortality,” the study author concluded.

Gonzalo Higuain not planning to leave Juventus

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Gonzalo Higuain not planning to leave Juventus

The father of Gonzalo Higuain has denied speculation that the Argentinian striker could leave Juventus this summer.

The 32-year-old has a year left on his contract but media reports have linked him with a move to his former club River Plate following a disappointing 2019-20 season in which he scored just 11 goals in 44 matches.

“He is not going to give up his contract to go to any team,” Jorge Higuain told Buenos Aires radio station Planeta 947 on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

“I think he will fulfill his current contract and only then will he think about going to River or any other club. Right now it’s almost impossible for Gonzalo to go to River.”

According to media reports, Higuain’s future has been clouded by the Juventus board’s decision to replace manager Maurizio Sarri with Andrea Pirlo.

Sarri was Higuain’s head coach at Napoli and Chelsea and was responsible for the center-forward’s move to Turin in July 2019.

Higuain began his professional career at River Plate in 2004 and scored 15 goals in 41 matches for the Buenos Aires outfit before his January 2007 transfer to Real Madrid.

‘God bless our great nation’: Kohli leads wishes on 74th Independence Day

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‘God bless our great nation’: Kohli leads wishes on 74th Independence Day

Team India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday took to social media as he led the wishes from cricket fraternity on the occasion of the country’s 74th Independence Day.

“Wishing everyone a Happy Independence Day! God bless our great nation and its countrymen especially the ones who are away from their families, fighting on the front lines to keep us safe. Jai Hind,” Kohli said in a tweet.

Rohit Sharma tweeted, “Wishing every Indian a happy #IndependenceDay. Nothing like stepping out for your country.”

“Going out and playing for my nation is a matter of pride! Happy #IndependenceDay, India,” said Shikhar Dhawan.

“The Jallianwala bagh massacre made my heart cringe, the swadeshi movement made my heart swell in pride. We marched on to liberate ourselves in 1947 and we will march on to get over this pandemic soon enough. Happy Independence today to the billion Indians. #IndependenceDay2020,” said Ravichandran Ashwin.

Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, meanwhile, posted a video on the microblogging website where he reminisced the Independence Day celebrations in his school days and urged fellow countrymen to stay safe amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

“Happy Independence Day. Let’s celebrate the freedom & salute our freedom fighters who are still fighting to protect us. Can’t thank you enough for your patriotism & all the sacrifices you make. Prosperity, happiness, and health to all!” wrote Suresh Raina.

“Pride. Passion. Euphoria. Nothing can even come close to the feeling of donning my country’s jersey. Happy #IndependenceDay!” said Mayank Agarwal.

“As we celebrate 74th #IndependenceDay, let’s pay our respect to freedom fighters & jawans for their countless sacrifices to build an independent #India. Our strength is in what India can do on its own, and not on what it can import/buy #VocalForLocal #MakeInIndia Jai Hind,” tweeted head coach Ravi Shastri.

“On this day, let’s pay tribute to all the freedom fighters who made our freedom possible. May the tricolor always keep flying high. Warm wishes to everyone on the occasion of Independence Day,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

Want to emulate the way Harmanpreet Singh plays, says Sanjay

TB Team
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Want to emulate the way Harmanpreet Singh plays, says Sanjay

Indian junior men’s hockey team defender Sanjay has taken a lot of cues from the way Harmanpreet Singh has performed as the defender and the vice-captain for the senior team in the last few years.

Sanjay, who was the vice-captain during India’s Silver medal-winning campaign at the Sultan of Johor Cup last year, has expressed that he is always amazed to see how Harmanpreet covers a lot of ground during matches and how he is always there at the right place at the right time.

“It’s always amazing to see the way Harmanpreet plays his game. He has made an immense contribution to many of India’s victories in the recent past. He shows a lot of energy during matches by covering a lot of ground and being a great bridge between the midfielders and the defenders,” said the 19-year-old.

“He has scored a lot of goals as well, which goes to show that he is not focussing only on the defense side of things,” he added.

Sanjay, who has played 31 matches for the junior team since October 2017, also said that he couldn’t have asked for a better start to his junior international career.

“All of us judge our performances on the basis of how we play in big tournaments and I have been very fortunate to contribute to the Indian junior team’s success in the last few years. The Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 was the first junior international tournament that I played and we won a bronze medal there. And then we went on to clinch silver at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games 2018. So, it’s been a great start to my junior international career and I hope I get to play many more matches in the future,” said the defender.

While speaking about his biggest dreams, Sanjay firmly mentioned that his only goal at the moment is to find a place in the Indian senior team.

“I have been pretty happy with the way things have gone for me at the junior level, but I certainly want to take my game to the next level and hopefully one day I will make the transition to the Indian senior team. It’s the ultimate goal for any aspiring hockey player and I am no different.

“I have learned how to play in pressure situations and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the leadership group during the Sultan of Johor Cup last year. I am certainly going to hone my skills further and be absolutely ready when the big opportunity of playing for my country comes my way,” said Sanjay.

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