Telegram lets users adds profile videos, send 2GB files and more

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Telegram lets users adds profile videos, send 2GB files and more

WhatsApp’s closest rival Telegram has rolled out a substantial update, adding Profile Videos along with improved People Nearby features, unlimited file sharing with up to 2GB per file, and more.

With the new update, a user can change their profile picture into a profile video. The video will play when someone opens the user’s profile, and it is possible to choose a specific frame from the video to be displayed in chats, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Telegram is increasing the size limit for files shared on the app, from 1.5GB per file – the limit that had been in place since 2014 – to 2GB for any file type.

The update has also improved the People Nearby feature, which now also indicates the distance between the user and any detected contacts.

If a user getting too many messages from non-contacts, one can try the new switch in privacy and security settings to automatically archive and mute new chats from people not in contact.

Now, owners of large groups with over 500 members can now view detailed graphs about their activity and growth. Group stats also show a list of top members by a number of messages and average message length. In the future, the features will be available for groups with just 100 members.

In addition, Telegram Desktop now supports multiple accounts, similar to the mobile app, which has done so since 2017.

Hiding truth ‘anti-national’, bringing it out ‘patriotic’: Rahul

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Hiding truth ‘anti-national’, bringing it out ‘patriotic’: Rahul

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday sharpened his attack on the Modi government over the Chinese intrusions in Ladakh saying that “hiding the truth” and allowing China to occupy Indian land is “anti-national” and bringing it to people’s attention is “patriotic”.

“The Chinese have occupied Indian land. Hiding the truth and allowing them to take it is anti-national. Bringing it to people’s attention is patriotic,” Gandhi said in a tweet attaching his fourth video in the series.

In the video titled ‘Tough questions on China’, the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad said, “As an Indian, my number one priority is the nation and its people.”

Firing a salvo at the government, Gandhi said, “How do you react to people who say your questions to the Prime Minister on China, weaken India?”

The Congress leader said, “Now, it is pretty clear that the Chinese have entered our territory. This disturbs me. It frankly makes my blood boil. How can some other nation just come into our territory?”

He said, “now if you as a politician want me to keep quiet and lie to my people when I’m absolutely convinced I have seen the satellite photos.”

“I speak to the ex-army people. If you want me to lie that the Chinese have not entered this country I’m not gonna lie. I simply will not do it. I don’t care if my whole career goes to hell. I’m not going to lie,” the Congress leader said attacking the government over the military face-off with China in eastern Ladakh’s Galway valley.

He said, “I think the people who are lying about Chinese entering our country are the people that are not nationalistic.”

“I think the people who are lying and who are saying the Chinese are not in India, they are the people who are not patriotic. So frankly, I don’t care if it costs me politically. I don’t care if I have no political career at all after that,” he said.

He also said, “but, I’m going to say the truth as far as Indian territory is concerned”.

During the all-party meeting, the Prime Minister had said that China has not entered into India’s land. On July 17, Gandhi released his first video and questioned the government’s foreign policy.

He slammed the Modi government over the face-off with China in Ladakh. He said China chose this time to intrude in our land as India’s foreign policy, economy, and relationship with neighboring countries are disrupted.

In his second video released on July 20, the Congress leader said Modi fabricated a “fake” strongman image to come to power and now his biggest strength is “India’s biggest weakness”.

On July 23, in his third video, the Congress leader attacked the Prime Minister over the India-China border face-off saying he is 100 percent focused on building his own image and “one man’s image is not a substitute for a national vision”.

Goat ‘arrested’ for not wearing mask in UP

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Goat ‘arrested’ for not wearing mask in UP

In a bizarre incident, the Kanpur police ‘arrested’ a goat that was roaming in the Beconganj area here ‘without wearing a mask’.

The incident took place over the weekend and the Beconganj police picked up the goat and took it to the police station in a jeep.

When the owner of the goat learned that the police had taken it away, he rushed to the police station.

He pleaded with the cops and the police finally let him take back his goat but warned him not to allow the animal to roam on the road.

Circle officer, Anwarganj police station, Saifuddin Beg, however, said that the police had found a youth without a mask, taking the goat along.

“When he saw the police, he ran away leaving the goat behind so the policemen brought the goat to the police station. Later, we handed over the goat to its owner,” he said.

One of the policemen who had brought the goat admitted that they found a lockdown violation because the goat was without a mask.

“People are now making their dogs wear a mask so why not a goat?” he asked.

The police apparently changed its version after it became the butt of jokes on social media.

Honor eyes India laptop market with MagicBook 15 under Rs 50K

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Honor eyes India laptop market with MagicBook 15 under Rs 50K

Honor India President Charles Peng said on Monday that the company is geared up to enter the India laptop market on July 31 with MagicBook 15 that will be priced under Rs 50,000 to define productivity as more and more people work from home.

Armed to give some competition to Xiaomi’s recently-launched Mi Notebook 14, the Honor MagicBook 15 offers a password-free login and comes with a two-in-one fingerprint power button, for effortlessly unlocking the device with just a tap.

“We are excited to enter a new category in the Indian market with our most popular laptop MagicBook 15 under the Rs 50,000 category. Currently, we are going to import them from China but in the future, we will manufacture them in India,” Peng told IANS.

The Honor executive said they are entering the laptop segment after “examining the market as well as customers’ feedback”.

Honor sells several notebooks under its MagicBook brand, including MagicBook 14, MagicBook 15, and MacBook Pro.

The company recently launched two variants of Honor MagicBook 15 in China.

Equipped with a Type-C charger, MagicBook 15 supports fast-charging capability and claims a 53 percent charge in just half an hour.

Honor MagicBook 15 offers an upgraded version with multi-screen collaboration capability.

“With Magic-link 2.0, users can transfer images, videos, and documents between Honor laptop and Honor phone instantly. Users can also share Honor phone screens on the laptop, and drag, drop, and edit files using the same keyboard and mouse,” said Peng.

The notebook market in India currently is around six-seven million unit sales per year — 50 percent consumer notebooks and 50 percent commercial notebooks.

Consumer notebook accounts for around 3.3 million to 3.6 million units and one of the most popular segments is thin and lightweight devices and this is where Honor is aiming to make a great impact with MagicBook 15.

Peng said that privacy protection is a cornerstone of the product design at the company.

“The pop-up webcam is discreetly hidden underneath the camera button on the keyboard, serving as a unique privacy safeguard. Users can simply tap on the button to make the webcam pop up when they want to use it. MagicBook 15 runs Microsoft Windows 10 Home, covering all the privacy concerns from a software viewpoint,” Peng told IANS.

The company is also looking forward to launching Honor 9A and Honor 9S smartphones in India for under Rs 10,000 on July 31.

27 new corona cases in Agra, 35 in Mathura

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27 new corona cases in Agra, 35 in Mathura

Twenty-seven more novel coronavirus cases were reported in Agra in the last 24-hour cycle, taking the active cases in the district to 197, health officials said on Monday.

Mathura district reported 35 new cases, Mainpuri 11, Etah nine, Kasganj eight, and Firozabad six cases in the last 24 hours.

Health officials said the death toll in Agra remains 97. Of the total 1,652 cases reported so far in the district, 1,352 have recovered.

The number of containment zones has gone up to 102 compared with 52 in early July.

The facility of rapid antigen tests has been extended to all areas. Of the 4,700 tests done, only 14 were found corona positive on Sunday. As many as 74 health teams surveyed 4,664 households and checked 19,412 persons for their health status.

The district administration has been making efforts to contain the infection, but the number of new cases has not gone down in July. Luckily, the mortality rate has been under check, while the recovery rate continues to remain above 80 percent.

Doctors at the SN Medical College, led by its Principal Dr. Sanjay Kala, who was called from Kanpur, have been doing exceptional work, successfully treating critical patients on ventilators.

“Usually private hospitals refer patients in a serious condition to the college’s hospital, which has highly specialized infrastructure and competent practitioners, who do their best to save precious lives,” a junior doctor at the emergency ward said.

A private medical practitioner, Dr. Harendra Gupta, said health facilities in the city have been streamlined and COVID Warriors are now better placed to handle the situation.

The IMA members too are actively involved in strategizing and providing valuable inputs to the district task force. IMA Secretary Dr. Sanjay Chaturvedi said: “Tele-medicine consultations and use of social media have helped in a big way.”

Senior advocate Vivek Sarabhoy, who runs COVID Agra Help Group, said the organization’s volunteers have been providing not only food, ration, and medicines but helping with blood plasma donations whenever required.

Meanwhile, the first Covid-19 patient who received plasma therapy at the SN Medical College has fully recovered and returned home.

The 55-hour weekend lockdown imposed in Agra ended in the early hours on Monday, bringing the hustle and bustle back to the markets.

Google working on smart tattoos that turn skin into living touchpad

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Google working on smart tattoos that turn skin into living touchpad

Google is working on smart tattoos that, when applied to the skin, will transform the human body into a living touchpad via embedded sensors.

Part of Google Research, the wearable project is called “SkinMarks” that uses rub-on tattoos.

The project is an effort to create the next generation of wearable technology devices, the CNET reported citing white papers and demo videos,

Here’s how the technology works.

The sensor-driven tattoos are applied to a part of the body.

The sensors can then be triggered by traditional touch or swipe gestures as we perform on smartphones.

There are a few gestures that are more specific to working on the skin’s surface.

“You could squeeze the area around the tattoo or bend your fingers or limbs to activate the sensors”.

The researchers at Saarland University in Germany wrote in a white paper that the benefit of using skin as an interface “is tapping into the fine motor skills that human beings naturally have”.

The project is partly funded through Google Faculty Research Awards.

Interacting with your own skin and limbs also means you can do it without looking.

The tattoos are made by screen printing conductive ink onto tattoo paper.

Some of the prototype tattoos include cartoon drawings or light-up displays.

“Through a vastly reduced tattoo thickness and increased stretchability, a ‘SkinMark’ is sufficiently thin and flexible to conform to irregular geometry, like flexure lines and protruding bones,” the researchers wrote.

Australian watchdog sues Google over users’ personal data use

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Australian watchdog sues Google over users’ personal data use

Australia’s anti-competition watchdog on Monday launched federal court proceedings against Google, alleging that the subsidiary of Sundar Pichai-run Alphabet misled consumers to obtain their consent to expand the scope of personal data and earn more via targeted advertising.

The conduct is likely to impact millions of Australians with Google accounts as the Search engine giant could collect and combine personal data about consumers’ internet activity, for other use by the company, including for targeted advertising.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged in a statement that Google misled consumers when it failed to properly inform consumers, and did not gain their explicit informed consent in 2016.

The company then started combining personal information in consumers’ Google accounts with information about those individuals’ activities on non-Google sites that used Google technology, formerly DoubleClick technology, to display ads.

It meant that this data about users’ non-Google online activity became linked to their names and other identifying information held by Google.

Previously, this information had been kept separately from users’ Google accounts, meaning the data was not linked to an individual user, according to the ACCC.

Google was yet to address the concerns raised by the ACCC.

Google used newly combined information to improve the commercial performance of its advertising businesses, alleged the competition regulator, adding that Google also misled consumers about a related change to its privacy policy.

“We are taking this action because we consider Google misled Australian consumers about what it planned to do with large amounts of their personal information, including internet activity on websites not connected to Google,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims.

Google significantly increased the scope of information it collected about consumers on a personally identifiable basis.

“This included potentially very sensitive and private information about their activities on third-party websites. It then used this information to serve up highly targeted advertisements without consumers’ express informed consent,” Sims added.

The use of this new combined information allowed Google to significantly increase “the value of its advertising products”, from which it generated much higher profits.

“The ACCC considers that consumers effectively pay for Google’s services with their data, so this change introduced by Google increased the “price” of Google’s services, without consumers’ knowledge

From June 28, 2016, until at least December 2018, Google account holders were prompted to click “I agree” to a pop-up notification from Google that purported to explain how it planned to combine their data, and sought the consumers’ consent for this.

The notification also stated, “More information will be available in your Google Account making it easier for you to review and control”; and “Google will use this information to make ads across the web more relevant for you.”

Before June 2016, Google only collected and used, for advertising purposes, personally identifiable information about Google account users’ activities on Google-owned services and apps like Google Search and YouTube.

The ACCC alleged that the “I agree” notification was misleading, because consumers could not have properly understood the changes Google was making nor how their data would be used, and so did not – and could not – give informed consent.

“We believe that many consumers if given an informed choice, may have refused Google permission to combine and use such a wide array of their personal information for Google’s own financial benefit,” said Sims.

In 2008, Google acquired DoubleClick, a supplier of ad-serving technology services to publishers and advertisers.

Bangladesh’s Kazi Islam handed 2-year-suspension for doping violation

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Bangladesh’s Kazi Islam handed 2-year-suspension for doping violation

Kazi Anik Islam, Bangladesh’s first-class cricketer who featured in the 2018 U-19 World Cup, has been handed a two-year-suspension for failing a dope test during the National Cricket League in November 2018. After failing the test, he was removed from every program of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that he was part of.

Islam had tested positive for Methamphetamine(d-) — a substance included in ICC’s prohibited list of 2018 — during an in-competition test held in Cox Bazaar.

Subsequently in February 2019, the left-arm pacer had admitted the guilt and also accepted the provisional suspension that was meted out as per the Anti-Doping Code of the BCB.

However, given this was his first offense, the BCB in its latest press release said that it was decided that February 8, 2019 (the day Islam was provisionally suspended) be considered as the starting date of the suspension. He would be eligible to resume cricketing activities after February 7, 2021, the release added.

Islam was Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in the 2018 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand, scalping 10 wickets. In senior cricket, he has played four first-class matches, 26 List A games, and nine T20s picking up 15, 41, and 11 wickets respectively.

27-year-old doctor dies of COVID-19 after month-long struggle

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27-year-old doctor dies of COVID-19 after month-long struggle

After a month-long struggle, a 27-year-old doctor has succumbed to the deadly novel coronavirus at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in New Delhi.

Joginder Chaudhary had been battling the infection since June 28 after he was tested positive a day earlier.

He was a junior resident and worked on an ad hoc basis at the Delhi government-run Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar (BSA) Medical Hospital and College since October 2019. He worked in the flu clinic and then in its casualty ward until he developed a fever on June 23.

Chaudhary got himself tested as two of his colleagues had tested positive for COVID-19.

Four days later, he also tested positive and was admitted to the BSA hospital, where he complained about the difficulty in breathing. A day later, he was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital (LNJP).

However, his condition became critical and was later admitted to SGRH, said Rameshwar Sangha, Joginder’s uncle, who is a nursing officer at BSA.

“Joginder was admitted to BSA hospital on June 27, but the doctors there said that his condition was critical. He was shifted to LNJP hospital. On June 30, doctors at LNJP told his father that he had to be put on a ventilator as he has developed a hole in his lung. He was admitted to SGRH on July 7,” said Sangha.

The doctors at SGRH said that Joginder’s condition was already critical but started deteriorating further three days ago.

“He was intubated. His blood pressure was going down. He was also diagnosed with emphysema (a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and complained of extreme difficulty in breathing,” a doctor at the hospital said on the condition of anonymity.

Talking more about Joginder, Sanghwa told IANS that the doctor came from a very humble background.

“He was the only earning member of the family and belonged to a village in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh. Parents and two younger siblings survive him. His father, Rajinder Chaudhary, owns a small portion of land in which he does farming,” he said.

Sangha also said that while Joginder was admitted to SRGH, the family struggled a lot initially to arrange funds for his treatment as SRGH is a private hospital.

However, the contribution from Joginder’s colleagues and a few generous donations helped the family to continue his treatment.

“They raised over Rs 3 lakhs for his treatment. Later, the hospital came forward and waived off the treatment expenditure,” he added.

The hospital administration of SGRH waived off Joginder’s medical bills that amounted to over Rs 4 lakh and also assured him free treatment after they learned about the financial condition of his family.

His last rites were performed in Delhi on Sunday in his uncle and younger brother’s presence.

A role model for the community:

Sangha remembered Joginder as a role model for the entire village.

“Being the eldest one among the siblings, he took upon the responsibility of supporting his younger siblings’ education. Besides, he was the first in the village to become a doctor. The whole village is mourning this loss,” he said.

Apart from Joginder’s family and village, the medical fraternity is also saddened by losing a young doctor to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association India (FORDA) put out a condolence letter for Dr. Joginder.

“FORDA deeply commiserates with the family of Late Dr Joginder. We are pained by this tragic incident and shaken to the core. There are no words to express sorrow to this loss,” the statement read.

Ayushmann Khurrana: I never take my characters back home

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Ayushmann Khurrana: I never take my characters back home

Ayushmann Khurrana is not a method actor and does not like to take his characters back home. The actor says he likes to explore new things without putting undue pressure on himself.

Ayushmann embarked on his Bollywood journey with offbeat roles, going on to become a poster boy of unconventional films and Bollywood’s most unconventional hit machine.

When the actor entered Hindi films with Shoojit Sircar’s “Vicky Donor” in 2012, he instantly won hearts with his charm and witty screen presence. He has been part of stories about flaws and imperfections and has delivered back-to-back hits while showing off his versatility as an actor.

Asked if his characters stay with him after work, Ayushmann said he can “switch on and switch off” with ease.

“I am not a method actor. I switch on and switch off very easily. So, I never take my characters back home,” Ayushmann told IANS.

“To evolve more as a person, I need to just move on and explore new things and learn new things. Of course, there are certain films like ‘Article 15’ or ‘AndhaDhun’. For ‘AndhaDhun’, I started taking piano lessons, so that was an evolution for me. For ‘Article 15’, I got aware of the caste system in India. So that was again, a kind of learning for me. In ‘Gulabo Sitabo’, more than the character, it was the learning experience with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Shoojit Sircar,” he added.

He might be touted as Bollywood’s hit machine, but he refrains from taking pressures from the expectations.

“The pressure is always there, but at the same time I enjoy whatever I’m a part of. I really enjoy the process and I don’t put undue pressure on myself. I don’t have to change myself with every film. As I’ve said earlier, I can wait for the right script for that,” said the actor, who started his journey on the small screen.

“The only pressure is churning out great content,” he added.

Ayushmann was recently seen in the Amitabh Bachchan co-starrer “Gulabo Sitabo”. The Shoojit Sircar directorial, which was scheduled to get a theatrical release, premiered on Amazon Prime Video in June as cinema halls remain shut amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“The biggest challenge was to face the legend (Amitabh Bachchan). It was a very internal challenge, apart from that the external challenges was the heat,” said the actor while looking back at the making of the film.

Amit Sadh warns of fake Twitter account pretending to be his digital team

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Amit Sadh warns of fake Twitter account pretending to be his digital team

Actor Amit Sadh has warned of a fake Twitter account that pretends to communicate on his behalf on social media.

The account goes by the name of @Team_AmitSadh. The actor has clarified he is not associated with any such account and directly communicates with fans from his own account.

“Hey u lovely people! There has been an over pouring of love from you all and I’m truly touched. But I request u all to not make accounts like @Team_AmitSadh as it misguides people. I want to clarify it’s not associated with me. I connect with my fans directly and will always!” Amit tweeted on Saturday, from his verified account @TheAmitSadh.

The actor is generally quite active on Twitter and personal replies to messages from fans and followers.

On the work front, the actor will next be seen in a web series based on the Uri surgical strike of September 2016. Titled “Avrodh: The Siege Within”, the series casts Amit in the role of Major Tango, an on-screen version of the real-life hero who spearheaded the mission.

Over 160 healthy babies born to Covid mothers in B’luru hospital

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Over 160 healthy babies born to Covid mothers in B’luru hospital

More than 160 COVID free babies have been successfully delivered from coronavirus infected mothers in a city hospital, an official said on Saturday.

“We have successfully delivered more than 160 babies without coronavirus though they were born to COVID positive women,” a medical official at Vani Vilas Hospital told IANS.

To ensure that the babies are virus-free, the doctors in the hospital immediately isolated the newborns from the infected mothers in most cases.

“This is one of the reasons why children have been virus-free. We have also shifted them to the neonatal care unit,” said the official.

To continue protecting the babies from the virus, doctors are keeping them away from their mothers until they test negative.

“Babies are also being tested for COVID on the fifth and 14th day. If they are negative, the babies are being handed over to their relatives or attendees,” she said.

All these babies are doing well except a few.

A set of nine babies had tested positive but they came from mothers who lived in high COVID risk zones and did not initially test positive.

“These nine COVID positive babies were born to mothers who did not know their status initially and came from high virus risk places, resulting in the virus passing to them unknowingly,” said the hospital’s neonatologist.

As many as 138 babies born in the hospital’s trauma care center are COVID free while nine babies out of the 34 born to the mothers from the isolation center had tested positive.

According to the neonatologist, even the babies born to COVID positive women can be left with the mothers as long as they are asymptomatic and maintain proper breast hygiene.

“Babies born to asymptomatic mothers should be left with the mothers themselves as separation will lead to deprivation of breast milk, depression, and psychological issues,” she said.

She said there should be some attendee with the mother and baby to take care of hand and breast hygiene, including wearing a mask and taking other precautions.

“If all these issues are taken care of and the mother and child are asymptomatic, they can be together,” observed the doctor.

However, in the case of symptomatic mothers, she advised separation.

Tara Sutaria misses Mussoorie

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Tara Sutaria misses Mussoorie

Bollywood actress Tara Sutaria says she misses the hill station Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.

Tara took to Instagram and shared a picture where she can be seen posing on a stationary motorcycle. The actress wears a white jacket with jeans and sunglasses.

“I miss pretending to ride a bike but most of all, I miss Mussoorie!” she captioned the image, which currently has 511K likes on the photo-sharing website.

Tara started her career as a child actor in 2010 with the TV show “Big Bada Boom”. She was also seen in shows like “The Suite Life Of Karan and Kabir” and “Oye Jassie”.

The actress, who is also a singer, had her breakthrough in Bollywood with a starring role in “Student Of The Year 2” and was also seen in the action film “Marjaavaan”.

She now has two films coming up — “Tadap” and “Ek Villain 2”.

“Tadap” is Milan Luthria’s remake of the Telugu hit “RX 100”. She is paired opposite Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan, who makes his Bollywood debut in the film.

Mohit Suri’s “Ek Villain 2”, co-stars John Abraham, Disha Patani, and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Priyanka Gandhi temporarily shifts to Gurugram

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Priyanka Gandhi temporarily shifts to Gurugram

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to shift to a penthouse in Gurugram’s Aralia residential complex. She visited the penthouse and spent the night there.

Sources said that she may shift here after vacating the government bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi.

Priyanka stayed here in her penthouse located at sector 43 on Golf Course Road on Friday night. The property is owned by her husband and businessman Robert Vadra.

Following her movement, Gurugram police escorted her convoy from the Delhi-Gurugram border to this complex. Her convoy reached the housing complex at 8.55 p.m. on Friday. She went back to Delhi on Saturday morning.

Gurugram police deployed a police team to strengthen the security around this complex.

She has vacated the official bungalow located at Lodhi Road. Now, she has chosen a house in the same area but as repair work is currently underway she may have to live with the family here in Gurugram for some time.

Sources have said that repair work may take two to three months. Hence, she may stay here for that period. Priyanka Gandhi currently has Z+ security. Her security in charge inspected in and around the complex before she arrived.

Bihar floods: NDRF teams rescue over 3,500 people

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Bihar floods: NDRF teams rescue over 3,500 people

As many as 21 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed across 12 flood-affected districts in Bihar, rescuing more than 3,500 people. Following the breach in the embankments in east Champaran and Gopalganj districts, NDRF teams reached there to carry out relief and rescue operations.

The river embankment, near Bhawanipur village in east Champaran, was breached on July 23-24 night due to the surging floodwaters of the Gandak river. As soon as the embankment gave way, Bhawanipur village was inundated, affecting hundreds of people.

The NDRF personnel along with the district administration officials tackled the situation promptly. According to NDRF commandant Vijay Sinha, two 9th Battalion teams deployed in east Champaran reached the flood-affected areas and carried out rescue operations at night.

During the operation, special care was taken of children, women, and senior citizens.

Sinha said that NDRF teams carried out rescue operations on Friday in Sangrampur block of east Champaran district as well as Manjha and Sadar blocks of Gopalganj district and Panapur Diara area of Saran district.

In the Gopalganj district, the deluge followed the breach at the Saran embankment of the Gandak river. A team of NDRF led by Inspector Suresh Billung carried out rescue operations in the flood-affected villages of Gambharia Diara and Kiratpura in Baikunthpur block of Gopalganj district on Friday night and evacuated 102 stranded people.

An NDRF official said NDRF teams have rescued more than 3,500 people in Bihar’s flood-affected East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Supaul, and Saran districts. During the operation, NDRF personnel also helped the civil medical teams to reach the flood-affected areas by boats so that the affected people could be provided medical help.

Farhan Akhtar: Getting back to work a relief and joy

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Farhan Akhtar: Getting back to work a relief and joy

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar finds getting back to work relief and joy but he also understands the importance of being socially responsible right now.

“Getting back to work is a relief and a joy but given the times we’re in, it’s important to be socially responsible and keep the environment hygienic for the crew and cast. They work to create. We work to keep them safe. #MasksDistanceAction,” Farhan tweeted.

Amid the relaxation in lockdown, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan’s production house Excel Entertainment resumed shooting for their next two projects “Hello Charlie” and “Dongri To Dubai” taking all necessary precautions.

The makers shot the films adhering to government guidelines and taking additional precautions as well as ensuring the safety of cast and crew.

They shot with a unit of about 150 members and executed the schedule in accordance with the guidelines for risk protection against the contagion of Covid-19 during filming.

Ritesh posted: “We are back to doing what we love the most – making movies, with the people we love the most- our cast and crew! #MasksDistanceAction.”

The days were divided between both the films and the shoot has been completed.

Too much hand sanitiser can lead to severe hand dermatitis

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Too much hand sanitiser can lead to severe hand dermatitis

Hand sanitizers have irrefutably become the most important thing in our lives to protect ourselves during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic; the other things include masks and social distancing. It has been a long time since hand sanitizers became mandatory; while they are effective in dealing with germs and bacteria, excessive usage can result in killing good bacteria as well.

Citing medical reports, alcohol-based sanitizers are considered effective in eliminating the spread of disease. However, there have been claims that excessive usage of the same has led to severe skin problems like hand dermatitis. People have also encountered skin issues like severe dryness, burning, and redness of the skin along with cracked or bleeding skin. However, both alcohol-free and alcohol-based sanitizers are known to provide good results as long as one adds-on these habits to save your skin from any negative effects.

Dr. B.L. Jangid, Dermatologists & Hair Transplant Surgeon, SkinQure Clinic, New Delhi, shares some pointers to be kept in mind while using hand sanitizers:

Limited usage is always the best option

Excess of everything and anything can be disastrous, so is the case of hand sanitizers. If used in a limited amount, it can be really fruitful in dealing with germs and bacteria. But if not, it can easily damage your skin, leading to the occurrence of hand dermatitis.

Unwanted chemical contamination in hand sanitizers

The presence of unwanted chemical contamination available in hand sanitizers can play a dreadful role if used excessively. The texture of skin depends from person to person, which is why the chemical ingredients present in hand sanitizers can accordingly be useful or even dreadful at times. This is why you need to take precautionary steps, avoiding to use excessive hand sanitizers.

Moisturizing creams & healing ointment: Saviours from hand dermatitis

If in case you have used hand sanitizers for a long time now, your hands may start to show symptoms of hand dermatitis. Sometimes it’s best to quit using a sanitizer until it’s absolutely necessary. As a few home remedies, including using good moisturizers along with healing ointments. This could lead to blessing your skin with the right health and texture again. You can also opt for healing moisturizers containing aquaporin at night, wearing gloves overnight to heal the cracks on your skin.

In case you’re suffering from eczema or dry skin, the use of a moisturizer is an essential post-hand sanitization to avoid any sort of major skin-based problems like hand dermatitis. Additionally, the usage of moisturizers eliminates the chance of dry skin that if present can lead to issues like eczema, dermatitis, and even psoriasis.

Soap & Water: An evergreen combination

Reportedly, washing your hands with soap and water preferred to the use of hand sanitizers. This switch can also prove fruitful in preventing allergic reactions depending upon your skin types. Thus, try using hand sanitizers only when there are no other options. Otherwise, antiseptic soap can do the trick along with wet wipes in situations where there’s no running water and soap. Simpler options are known to provide the best result for all ages.

FB, Insta will trap humans: Sci-fi pioneers knew in 1950s

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FB, Insta will trap humans: Sci-fi pioneers knew in 1950s

Science fiction writers predicted in the 1950s that social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will trap millions of people one day, in such a way that they will struggle to break-free, thus becoming perfect examples of modern-day robotic presumption.

Products, where producers and consumers are blurred, are called the “prosumer” so consumers also play a part in a product’s creation, as with social media and Augmented Reality (AR) games.

Science fiction authors like pioneer Frederik Pohl foresaw AR video games, the rise of social media, and trends of hyper-consumption in the 1950s.

“Pohl’s work highlights the ability of science fiction to provide a better understanding of possible futures and the lasting impacts of modern and emerging technologies, allowing people to see what the world may become in a way easily understood by a mass audience,” said Dr. Mike Ryder from Lancaster University Management School.

Social media users are perhaps the best example of modern-day robotic presumption, “mindlessly producing and consuming content, while social media firms sell their data and target them with ads that feedback into the cycle. Users struggle to be break-free through a fear of missing out (FOMO)”.

New research, published in the Journal of Consumer Culture highlights many parallels between the futures created by sci-fi pioneer Pohl in the 1950s and the modern world.

In the worlds imagined in Pohl’s works, advertising firms are in charge, exploiting customers for-profit and priding themselves on their ability to shape human desire, where social status and consumption are intrinsically entwined, and where characters become hyper-consumers, threatening the stability of the local area.

“Science fiction is an important tool for testing ‘what-if’ scenarios, speculating on what the future might bring. Pohl’s worlds of hyper-consumption, robot workers, and ecological disaster are even more relevant today than they were in the 1950s,” said Ryder.

In The Space Merchants (1952, with CM Kornbluth), protagonist Mitchell Courtenay is forced to spend his low wages on goods to help make his work bearable, which creates an ongoing cycle of debt.

His behavior becomes more like that of a machine, a producing-consuming robotic prosumer, unaware he is trapped in a cycle.

This pre-empted the real-world criticism of Vance Packard, who depicted a dystopia where marketers use psychological techniques to influence behavior to the point consumers do not realize they are being influenced.

“Humans become more and more like machines, such that consumption itself becomes a mechanical process, creating a dystopian world where the only freedom is the freedom not to consume, one limited to the very rich,” explained Ryder.

Take Airbnb for example, that acts as a broker for users who are both the producers and consumers of goods, paying to rent rooms, while making money through renting out their own.

Uber drivers and passengers are able to rate each other, making the consumers a sort of product, and AR video games such as Pokemon GO see players become part of the product, appearing in each other’s games and competing for the same objectives.

According to researchers, social theorists and policymakers need to take science fiction far more seriously to help prepare for the world of tomorrow.

“The challenges that arise from new technologies should be considered before they happen”.

Malayalam film industry has illegal money trail: Top film personality

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Malayalam film industry has illegal money trail: Top film personality

There is close scrutiny after Siyad Koker, a leading film industry personality went on record to say that the Malayalam film industry’s links with the illegal sources of funding do exist.

Kokka, who is the president of the Kerala Film Distributors Association and also doubles up as a producer, on Saturday said that he is not aware of the illegal source of money is through gold smuggling or other means.

“One thing is certain, the film industry here has source to number 2 (a colloquial usage of unaccounted or illegal source of money) funding. This is more so especially when big-budgeted films are produced. This is also known to technicians and actors, who also benefit,” said Koker.

The Malayalam film industry has been shocked after news of possible links were expressed by the probe agency.

The gold smuggling case has had large scale ramifications after it first surfaced when P.S. Sarith, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was arrested by the Customs on July 5 for trying to facilitate the smuggling of 30 kg gold in diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai.

Of the four arraigned as accused, three have already been arrested, while the fourth accused is Faizal Fareed is based in the UAE. The Centre has canceled his passport and he is likely to be brought here shortly.

According to the Customs and the NIA, who is probing the case Fareed is the kingpin and coordinates the smuggling activities from his base in the UAE and he has even acted in a film here.

“Their modus operandi is to befriend people in the film industry and then they move forward,” added Koker.

Ever since the gold smuggling gang was busted, reports have surfaced that four recent big-budget films have alleged links with the illegal sources of funding.

Hackers break into CarryMinati’s YouTube channel, ask for Bitcoins

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Hackers break into CarryMinati’s YouTube channel, ask for Bitcoins

Ajey Nagar, who is popularly known as CarryMinati on YouTube, took to his official social media handle on Saturday to inform that his official handle was hacked and he immediately needed assistance to resolve this matter from YouTube India.

“YouTubeIndia My channel Carryislive has been hacked, need immediate assistance,” Nagar said in a tweet.

Nagar usually uses his second channel, CharryisLive with over 6 million subscribers, to post gaming videos.

Two videos were streamed on his channel, asking for Bitcoin donations, in a similar way Twitter was hacked last week involving 130 high-profile users.

According to a Twitter user, the hackers streamed videos asking for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The first video was titled “Ethereum Earning Call” and the second video was titled “CHARITY STREAM: HELP ASSAM & BIHAR”.

“These days hackers are hacking famous people’s social media and out of all the damage they could do .. they are selling/asking or talking about Cryptocurrency. These hackers are probably thinking about long term investments,” a user posted.

Nagar fans held YouTube’s security responsible for the breach.

“YouTube can be hacked so easily, I m not surprised, it’s time to say bye to YouTube,” another user commented.

Recently, high-profile Twitter accounts including those of former President Barack Obama, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk among others were hacked and the attackers posted tweets soliciting donations via Bitcoin.

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