Navtez Bal to lead Microsoft’s public sector business in India

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Navtez Bal to lead Microsoft’s public sector business in India

Microsoft has appointed former McKinsey & Company executive Navtez Bal to lead its public sector business in India.

In his new role as Executive Director, Public Sector, Microsoft India, Bal will focus on driving digital transformation and innovation across public sector organizations, empowering them to serve citizens better, the company said on Wednesday.

He takes over from Manish Prakash, who will transition to the role of Government Regional Business Lead, Microsoft Asia.

Prior to Microsoft India, Bal was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led the restructuring and transformation services and operations service line in India.

He brings to the new role over two decades of experience in various industries including oil & gas, power, metals & mining, and the automotive industry, across several geographies.

Microsoft said it is deeply invested in the digital transformation of the government eco-system in India and has been working closely with central and state governments across the country to deliver critical digital skills and technology to accelerate their digital success.

Hussain hails Holding for his powerful message against racism

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Hussain hails Holding for his powerful message against racism

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has paid tribute to former West Indies speedster Michael Holding after the latter delivered a powerful and eloquent message against racism in Southampton.

Holding caught the imagination of viewers across the world who had tuned in to watch the opening day of the first Test of the #raisethebat series between England and West Indies at the Ageas Bowl.

As the toss got delayed due to rain, Holding and former English women’s cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent reflected on the much-prevalent racism in the society.

“Michael Holding did many great things with the ball during his career, but the way he is speaking about racism in cricket and the importance of Black Lives Matter is a reminder that he is a great man in other ways, too,” Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

“The segment we did on Sky Sports on Wednesday morning while we waited for the Southampton weather to behave itself was incredibly powerful and I hope the whole of cricket takes note.

“First, there was the emotion and conviction of Ebony Rainford-Brent, who has been through it all herself and brilliantly conveyed some of the painful experiences she has endured down the years.

“Then there was Holding, who spoke calmly and intelligently about cancer that is racism. He’s such a passionate man and it was a privilege to be standing next to him while we carried on the conversation in front of the cameras at the Ageas Bowl,” he wrote further.

The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has intensified across the world following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police personnel in the US in May.

Cricket became the latest sport to voice their outrage regarding racism. The England players joined their West Indian counterparts in taking a knee before the start of the Southampton Test and both teams also wore a BLM emblem on their respective jerseys to put forward a strong message.

Lava launches entry-level smartphone for Rs 5,774

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Lava launches entry-level smartphone for Rs 5,774

Domestic mobile manufacturer Lava on Thursday launched a new smartphone Z61 Pro as the latest addition in its Z series for Rs 5,774.

The entry-level smartphone is powered by a 1.6 GHz Octa-core processor paired with 2GB RAM and a storage capacity of 16 GB, which can be extended up to 128GB.

“The Lava Z61 Pro is a truly ‘Make in India’ smartphone. It offers not just a seamless performance but also a very attractive look in the entry-level segment. It is the perfect phone to meet your entertainment needs and make you feel Proudly Indian,” Tejinder Singh, Head- Product, Lava International, said in a statement.

The device features a 5.45-inch HD+ full view display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and will be available in two attractive gradient finish variants – midnight blue and amber red.

On the camera front, the phone offers an 8MP rear camera with an LED flash and 5MP front camera.

The smartphone camera is packed with additional features like portrait mode, burst mode, panorama, filters, beauty mode, HDR, and night mode.

The device is also equipped with a superfast face-unlock feature.

On the connectivity front, the smartphone features Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi, GPS, dual-SIM, OTG support as well as a micro USB port and houses a 3100mAh battery.

Naomi Scott: Important to see women working together on screen

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Naomi Scott: Important to see women working together on screen

Actress Naomi Scott says it is important to show women on-screen coming together and working as a team.

“I think it’s important to see women on screen, coming together, as a team, solving problems, and being the ones that make a difference because that is what women do every day,” Scott said.

That’s what made the recent version of “Charlie’s Angels” with a fresh perspective important to her. Scott starred in the Elizabeth Banks directorial along with Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska.

“I think all of us brought a piece of ourselves to our characters, I think that was something that Liz definitely looked for when she was casting these roles. I think that was really important for her,” she added.

“Charlie’s Angels”, based on the TV series, is the third installment in the film franchise following 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels” and 2003’s “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” that had Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu in the starring roles. The reboot, released last year, airs on &pictures.

NASA picks 4 US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech

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NASA picks 4 US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech

NASA has selected four US small businesses to develop a range of technologies for sustainable exploration of the Moon under the Artemis program which aims to land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface in 2024.

By awarding the companies with follow-on funds — an expected combined value of approximately $17 million — NASA’s small business program will accelerate the development of lunar technologies relevant to Artemis, the US space agency said on Wednesday.

“Small businesses are integral to the development of space technology. With this new lunar sequential funding opportunity, they will advance in-situ resource utilization, laser communications, and other high-impact technologies for use on the Moon,” said Jim Reuter, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, DC.

“Each business has a track record of success with NASA, and we believe their technologies will have a direct impact on the Artemis program.”

The selected companies and technologies include Fibertek of Herndon, Virginia, which will advance optical communications technologies for small spacecraft around the Moon and beyond.

The system could establish high bandwidth communications in the vicinity of the Moon to relay vast amounts of data from lunar landers to Earth.

Qualtech Systems of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, will mature autonomous systems capable of continuously monitoring and providing fault and health management for spacecraft such as Gateway, a future outpost around the Moon, whether there are astronauts aboard or not.

Other potential exploration applications include space vehicles, surface systems, habitats, and rovers.

Another company selected by NASA is Pioneer Astronautics of Lakewood, Colorado, which will build and demonstrate hardware to produce oxygen and steel from lunar regolith, or soil.

The technology would support sustainable lunar operations such as manufacturing using resources already on the Moon, also known as in-situ resource utilization.

Protoinnovations of Pittsburgh will advance traction control and improve the driving ability of robotic and crewed rovers in unknown and highly variable terrain on the Moon.

Bollywood wakes up to Covid-19 insurance

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Bollywood wakes up to Covid-19 insurance

The upcoming Taapsee Pannu-starrer “Loop Lapeta” could become one of the first films to be covered for Covid-19 insurance in Bollywood.

The film’s producers Atul Kasbekar and Tanujj Garg are in talks with a legal expert to get COVID-19 insurance for their projects, and “Loop Lapeta” is expected to be among the first of their line-up to be covered by the insurance scheme.

The film, also featuring Tahir Raj Bhasin, is an Indian adaptation of Tom Tykwer’s 1998 German hit, “Run Lola Run”.

“We are still in talks with a legal expert, Anand Desai. What COVID-19 insurance will essentially entail is the same as what an accident insurance covers. Insuring a film so far entailed guarding the film against unforeseen incidents like illness of an actor or occurrence of natural calamities leading to delays in the film schedule. Because COVID-19 is relatively new, we are still working upon the details but essentially works in a similar fashion,” said Kasbekar.

“For instance, a crew member tests positive, the entire movie crew might have to be possibly quarantined. In that case, the producers will be covered from the money they are spending on days lost,” he added.

Kasbekar also said that the insurance will protect their crew just as much. In case any of the key members of the crew test positive, they won’t be replaced unduly.

“There are a lot of permutations and combinations to be worked upon. But one of the key things to keep in mind is that a fair number of people will potentially be exposed to a film set and filmmakers trust a certain set of people on the job. So, in case, the DOP of a film were to test positive mid-film, it is likely to stall the shoot of the movie till he recovers or till a suitable replacement is found in double quick time to retain the visual language of the motion picture. So there are these points being discussed. Tanujj and I are working on a draft of the insurance and hoping that it materializes soon,” he said.

“Loop Lapeta” was to be shot through April and May in Mumbai and Goa. The film that will 70 percent be shot outdoors has had to rework its dates completely in the face of the lockdown, owing to the pandemic.

Kasbekar admitted that the shooting schedule of the film stands tentative at the moment. “Given the fact that it’s largely an outdoorsy film, we cannot risk a shoot in the rains. Though Goa has opened up for tourists, the risk of shooting with a large unit is far too many. We can logically resume shooting the film post-monsoon. So if all goes well, sometimes post-Diwali is what we are eyeing,” he shared.

Dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey has been finally arrested by the police

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Dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey has been finally arrested by the police

Dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey has been finally arrested by the police. This happened on the wee hours of Thursday morning in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. Ever since the Kanpur episode, Vikas was on the run and the Uttar Pradesh police have deployed 25 teams to hunt him.

On Tuesday, Dubey was spotted at a hotel in Faridabad and the police reached the place and searched for him at every spot. Then social media was abuzz since last night that he was hiding at Noida Film City and then police reached here too. But much to their disappointment, police could not find him.

Finally Vikas Dubey appeared in Ujjain’s popular Mahankali temple and when he came for darshan, he shouted loudly that he is ‘VIKAS DUBEY.’ The temple security staff have caught hold of Vikas Dubey and informed the same to police. In no time the special task force police reached the temple and took him to their custody.

Vikas Dubey turned a criminal at the age of 13 and so far there are about 60 criminal cases against him.

Odisha records worst single-day spike of 577 corona cases

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Odisha records worst single-day spike of 577 corona cases

Odisha has reported 577 new COVID-19 positive cases, which is the highest single-day spike, taking the total tally to 11,201 in the state, informed the health department on Thursday.

The state also reported four more deaths related to COVID-19 pushing the death count to 52.

Three deaths were reported from Ganjam district and one from Bhadrak district. They died while undergoing treatment at hospitals.

The three from Ganjam district include a 65-year-old woman suffering from diabetes and hypertension, a male of 58 years with Tubercular Meningitis, and a 63-year-old man also suffering from diabetes.

Besides, a 58-year-old male of Bhadrak district, who was also suffering from diabetes and chronic kidney disease, died due to the infection, said the health department.

Out of the total 577 new positive cases, 416 were reported from the quarantine centers while 161 are local contacts. Ganjam district reported the highest with 260 cases.

The total number of active cases in the state now stands at 4,128 while 7,006 patients have recovered in the state so far.

Access all Oracle Cloud services on-premises, starting from $500K a month

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Access all Oracle Cloud services on-premises, starting from $500K a month

Cloud major Oracle has launched a dedicated fully-managed service for enterprise customers running workloads on-premises that starts from $500,000 a month which, according to the company, is a small fraction of what customers pay for a one-off region from other cloud providers.

Called ‘Oracle Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer’, the new service brings second-generation cloud services, including Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud applications, to customer data centers.

With this, Oracle is making all of its cloud services — more than 50 services — available on-premises so enterprises can use Oracle’s cloud services wherever they need them, in the cloud or on-premises via Cloud@Customer.

Enterprises can get the exact same complete set of modern cloud services, APIs, superior price-performance, and highest levels of security available from Oracle’s public cloud regions on-premises, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Enterprise customers have told us that they want the full experience of a public cloud on-premises, including access to all of Oracle’s cloud services, to run their most important workloads,” said Clay Magouyrk, executive vice president of engineering, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

“Our major competitors can’t offer customers a comparable dedicated cloud region running on-premises,” he added.

The service is ideal for highly regulated or security-focused businesses, needing to meet demanding latency and data residency requirements, reduce operational costs, and modernize legacy applications.

“With Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer, Oracle delivers a slice of its public cloud experience into customer data centers, with no changes in pricing or capabilities,” said Deepak Mohan, Research Director at IDC.

Yes Bank’s Rs 15K cr further public offering opens on July 15

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Yes Bank’s Rs 15K cr further public offering opens on July 15

Yes, Bank has filed a red herring prospectus for its further public offering (FPO) to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore.

The FPO issue will open on July 15 and close on July 17. The anchor investor bidding date would be July 14.

In a regulatory filing, the bank on Thursday said that it has reserved a portion of up to Rs 200 crore for its employees.

“In continuation of our letter dated July 7, 2020, we wish to inform you that the bank has filed a red herring prospectus dated July 7, 2020, in connection with the offer, with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra at Mumbai,” it said.

The State Bank of India (SBI), on Wednesday, said that its Executive Committee of the Central Board (ECCB) has approved an investment of up to Rs 1,760 crore in the Yes Bank’s FPO.

The state-run major is already a major shareholder in the restructured bank with a 48.21 percent stake. As of March 31, banks and other financial institutions held a 66.94 percent stake. As part of the rescue plan, Yes Bank had received Rs 10,000 crore of capital infusion from eight banks, led by the SBI.

Rakul Preet: I totally believe in institution of marriage

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Rakul Preet: I totally believe in institution of marriage

Actress Rakul Preet Singh believes in love and the institution of marriage, and says that she doesn’t understand how people think of it as “some sort of pressure”.

Opening up about her personal life, she said: “I have changed as a person. What I was isn’t what I am, and for me, the meaning of love is what I see in my parents. I totally believe in the institution of marriage and love, and I think it is beautiful. I don’t understand how people think of this as some sort of pressure. When you love someone, you love them with all your heart and that’s the kind of person I am.”

She also stated the qualities that she looks out for in a guy.

“Most important is that the guy has to be tall. Even in heels, I should still be able to look up to my man. The second-most important quality is that he should have an intellect, and lastly some purpose in life,” said the actress.

Rakul also shared that she always wanted to dive into the world of acting.

“I have always wanted to be an actress. I started on this path at a very early age with modeling, when I was 18. Eventually, I did my first film to earn some pocket money, and early on I got noticed. I received a call for my first break in the Kannada industry,” she said.

Talking about priorities, she said: “I thought of doing this properly only once I completed my education. I did reject a lot of films. I took up smaller roles in films as I was falling short of attendance and hence had to cover up.”

“I’m a person who can only do or venture into something that I am passionate about. So, the order of importance is filming first, then fitness and food — the 3 F’s of my life,” she said on Zee Cafe show, “Starry Nights Gen Y”.

US steps up COVID-19 vaccines, therapies development

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US steps up COVID-19 vaccines, therapies development

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced the establishment of a new clinical trial network aiming to step up vaccines and monoclonal antibodies testing, as the country’s COVID-19 cases have surpassed 3 million.

The US currently accounts for the world’s highest number of infections and fatalities at 3,053,328 and 132,277, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The new network, called the COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network, will enroll thousands of volunteers in large-scale clinical trials testing a variety of investigational vaccines and monoclonal antibodies intended to protect people from COVID-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Starting this summer, this new network will leverage existing infrastructure and engage communities to secure the thousands of volunteers needed for late-stage clinical trials of promising vaccines,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said on Wednesday.

“Having a safe and effective medical countermeasure to prevent COVID-19 would enable us to not only save lives but also help end the global pandemic,” said NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.

The new network is expected to operate more than 100 clinical trial sites across the US and internationally, according to the NIAID.

It is part of ongoing efforts across the country in speeding up the development of vaccines and therapies against COVID-19.

According to Fauci, the US government will fund and conduct key studies on three experimental coronavirus vaccines in the summer.

Phase 3 trials, which typically involve tens of thousands of people and measure whether a vaccine is safe and effective, will begin with one by Moderna in July, then an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in August and one by Johnson & Johnson in September.

Fauci said that the testing plans still track with the timeline that he has suggested in the past: a vaccine at scale by the end of the year or early next year.

Remdesivir, the only drug that has an emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19, has shown promising results and sets a new standard of care for COVID-19 patients.

In order to expand the potential uses of the drug against the virus, American biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has announced plans to explore the administration of redelivering in an inhaled form.

According to Azar, more than 120,000 courses of remdesivir have been distributed to all 50 states.

Meanwhile, investigators continue to study whether blood-plasma transfusions from recovered COVID-19 patients are safe and improve outcomes for severely ill patients.

More than 28,000 patients have received the transfusions so far, according to a national online registry the Mayo Clinic coordinates.

IIT-Kanpur professor found dead on campus

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IIT-Kanpur professor found dead on campus

Pramod Subramanian, an assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering of IIT-Kanpur, was found dead on campus which has been deserted due to the pandemic induced lockdown.

The 35-year-old professor’s body was found hanging in a room on the campus on Wednesday.

IIT-Kanpur issued a statement by institute Director Prof Abhay Karandikar saying, “I am saddened to inform you about the tragic and untimely demise of Prof. Pramod Subramanian, assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering.

“In him, we have lost a bright and rising star in computer science in the country. We deeply mourn and pray to the Almighty to give strength to his family. May his soul rest in peace.”

Station House Officer (SHO) Kalyanpur, Abhay Seth, said that the cause of death could not be known immediately.

“He was found hanging with a nylon rope around his neck and has not left behind any suicide note. We will wait for the post mortem report and continue investigations,” the police official added.

The institute is almost vacant due to the Covid-19 outbreak with no students present except for the faculty members who reside on the campus.

Trudeau concerned over US tariffs on aluminium, steel

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Trudeau concerned over US tariffs on aluminium, steel

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he was concerned about reports that the US was considering reimposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum and possibly steel.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Trudeau said he looked forward to congratulating US President Donald Trump on US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which came into force on July 1, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), reports Xinhua news agency.

Trudeau did not travel to Washington on Wednesday to attend a meeting with Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador marking the launch of the new trade deal.

He told reporters that it’s really important that at a time of economic strain and stress, Canada continues to “have access to the world’s most important market and this is good for Canadian workers and Canadian jobs right across the country”.

“At the same time, we are concerned about the threat of extra tariffs on aluminum and possibly steel.

“This is something that again is a little difficult to understand because the US relies heavily on imports of Canadian aluminum, in particular, for their domestic manufacturing capacity,” he said.

Trudeau said the US doesn’t produce nearly enough aluminum to be able to cover its needs.

Canadian officials are continuing to push very hard on encouraging the US not to move forward on tariffs that don’t have any justification and will have a negative impact, the Prime Minister added.

Trudeau’s remarks came after last month’s reports that the US was planning to re-impose a tariff of 10 percent on Canadian aluminum unless the Ottawa government agrees to limit aluminum exports.

Canada’s CTV said that the announcement on tariffs was possible in the coming weeks.

If the US decides to re-impose tariffs on Canada, it will re-open a trade fight between the two countries that has been healing since similar tariffs were lifted just over a year ago.

With 17 fresh cases, Agra risks another partial lockdown

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With 17 fresh cases, Agra risks another partial lockdown

Concerned over fresh Covid-19 spurt in cases after the Unlock-1, Agra district authorities have warned people to observe the ICMR guidelines and avoid crowding in markets, if they wish to avoid another lockdown.

Already the number of containment zones has risen to 76, with 1,341 total cases of Covid-19, so far. District Magistrate P.N. Singh has appealed to people to wear masks, observe social distancing, and stay home.

There were 17 fresh cases and one death reported in the past 24 hours, authorities said on Thursday. The total number of deaths now stands at 91. The number of discharged is 1,091. The total number of active cases 159.

Markets in the interior parts of the city, particularly Mantola, Kotwali area, Subhash Bazar, Rawat Pada, Fountain area, were seen crowded with people without masks. Regular cases were now being reported from these areas, Singh tweeted.

He warned if people in these areas did not follow the ICMR guidelines, the administration could declare them buffer zones and restrict mobility.

Most markets in the city have been crowded for the past one week and people have not followed any Covid-19 guidelines. This callous laxity could prove disastrous, an official said, adding that as it is the authorities were forced to delay the reopening of the Taj Mahal, which was a source of income for many.

The overall situation in the Agra division comprising Mathura, Mainpuri, Firozabad districts, was said to be under control, as the medical infrastructure available was being constantly upgraded, according to officials.

Mathura reported 20 fresh cases, including a deputy sub-inspector of police; Firozabad three, Kasganj 10, Etah 1, while Mainpuri reported one new case and one death.

The testing facilities have also improved. But the increased mobility, without people observing the mandatory guidelines, remains an area of major concern. Also, more cases were now being reported from the rural hinterland.

8 security guards of slain Kashmiri BJP leader arrested

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8 security guards of slain Kashmiri BJP leader arrested

All eight security guards deployed in the protection of BJP leader, Sheikh Wasim Bari, who was killed by terrorists along with his father and brother on Wednesday, have been arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

Police said today all the eight personal security guards (PSOs) deployed for the protection of former BJP district president, Sheikh Wasim Bari has been arrested for questioning.

“Yes, all the PSOs detailed in the security of the slain BJP leader, Wasim Bari, have been arrested during the investigations started into the murder of Bari, his father and brother by militants yesterday in Bandipora district”, police said.

The young BJP leader and his father and brother were shot and critically injured by terrorists who fired at them at their shop in Muslimabad locality of Bandipora town.

They were immediately shifted to the district hospital where they succumbed to critical injuries.

Reports said none of Bari’s security guards was present when the terrorists attacked him.

Reports also said the security guards were present in the house when the terrorists attacked the BJP leader inside his shop located close to his house.

The murder of the BJP leader and his family has been widely condemned.

Google to provide quick facts about images you search

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Google to provide quick facts about images you search

Google on Wednesday announced a new feature that will make it easy to find quick facts about what people see on Google images in the form of a Knowledge Graph.

Starting first in the US, the feature would include people, places, or things related to the image from the Knowledge Graph’s database of billions of facts, helping users explore the topic more.

“To generate these links to relevant Knowledge Graph entities, we take what we understand about the image through deep learning, which evaluates an image’s visual and text signals, and combine it with Google’s understanding of the text on the image’s web page,” the company said in a statement.

This information helps Google determine the most likely people, places, or things relevant to a specific image.

The company then matches this with existing topics in the Knowledge Graph, and then surface them in Google Images.

This feature will start to appear on some images of people, places and things in Google Images and will expand to more images, languages and surfaces over time.

Aditi Rao Hydari: Dropping ‘fair’ from a beauty product takes us closer to inclusivity

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Aditi Rao Hydari: Dropping ‘fair’ from a beauty product takes us closer to inclusivity

A cosmetic brand recently dropped the word ‘fair’ from the name of their skin-whitening product that, till a while back, endorsed the idea of fair complexion as the parameter of beauty. Many celebrities have applauded the decision. Among them is actress Aditi Rao Hydari, who feels such a step take us a step closer to beauty inclusivity.

“I think our generation of celebrities is always standing for a world that is more inclusive. At the beginning of my career, I got an offer to be a part of a fairness cream ad campaign that could have given me a great deal of visibility, followed by entries into the movie business. Coming from a non-film family that was an opportunity for me to grab, but I didn’t,” claimed Aditi, while speaking to IANS.

She added: “I come from a family where I was taught to look at an individual beyond caste, region, color, religion, or even appearance. I cannot stand by and endorse an idea of beauty that is discriminatory. So, as the word ‘fair’ is removed from such a product, it takes us a step closer to inclusivity in the beauty and cosmetic world.”

“Having said that, we have to understand it is a slow process. We are putting the idea of inclusive beauty in the minds of those people who have been practicing the definition of ‘fair is lovely’ for ages now. Not just here, this is the worldwide scenario. It has to trickle down in the right direction. Our society is dealing with so many other basic issues of human rights that �beauty inclusivity’ is a topic that is not catering to their immediate interest,” Aditi noted.

Rafael Nadal will take part in the Madrid Open

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Rafael Nadal will take part in the Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal said on Tuesday that he will take part in the Madrid Open, raising doubts about whether he intends to defend his title at the US Open. The US Open, whose fate still hangs in the balance, is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 13 on the hard courts of New York while the main draw at the Madrid event on clay starts on September 14. Madrid will serve as a warmup for the rescheduled French Open, the claycourt Grand Slam that begins on September 20.

The Madrid tournament director Feliciano Lopez tweeted: “I have spoken to my friend Rafael Nadal who confirmed his participation in Madrid in September. As always, we await you with open arms in the Caja Magica!”

Nadal answered: “That’s right Feli. See you in September in Madrid. Meanwhile everything is going well!”

The United States has seen a sharp resurgence of new coronavirus cases, leading to fresh doubts about whether the US Open will take place.

Leading players, including world number three Dominic Thiem, have said they expect a decision from US Open organisers this week.

Frank Lampard called for a “big reflection” on VAR

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Frank Lampard called for a “big reflection” on VAR

Frank Lampard called for a “big reflection” on VAR at the end of the season after another controversial incident involving the technology in the midweek Premier League fixtures. Tottenham were controversially denied an equaliser against Sheffield United on Thursday when Harry Kane’s goal was chalked off for a dubious handball against Lucas Moura.

In a Premier League season marred by debatable calls, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, whose side lost 3-1, said he feared for the future of football if the system were not addressed.

Chelsea boss Lampard, who played under Mourinho as a player at Stamford Bridge, said the goal should have stood.

“It was certainly one where common sense could have been involved but if the rule book states something, then the handball is given,” he told reporters on Friday.

“We need a big reflection at the end of the season.”VAR has improved us in ways but there are ways to improve it and I think a collective sit-down at the end of the season with everybody — referees, managers, players, anybody involved in football that loves the game can have an input to try and get it closer to where we want to get it to.”

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti also called for a review of the rules.”It was a really, really complicated and difficult decision,” he said.

“I think the decision they have made comes from the rules that there are in place in this moment and so maybe at the end of this season we can think if it’s possible to change this type of rule but in this moment it’s like this and we have to respect the rules.”

Chelsea’s defeat at West Ham ended a run of three successive Premier League wins and means victory against struggling Watford at Stamford Bridge is vital in the race for Champions League spots.

Chelsea, in fourth spot, are just two points ahead of Manchester United and Wolves.

Lampard challenged his players to restore the mentality that underpinned the good run that preceded Wednesday’s lacklustre 3-2 loss.

“Every game now is going to be tough,” said Lampard.”If we go into it with the right attitude that we approached games like Aston Villa and Manchester City, and Everton and Liverpool before the break, then I have real belief in us.

“It’s about getting our mentality right, keeping freshness in the players between games and having a real desire to achieve want we want.”Frank Lampard called for a “big reflection” on VAR

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