Anushka Sharma: Pandemic taught me we are all co-dependent

TB Team
-
0
Anushka Sharma: Pandemic taught me we are all co-dependent

Actress-producer Anushka Sharma says the Covid-19 pandemic has taught her that all are co-dependent on one another even if it is clearly not seen.

“I think what this pandemic has taught me is that we are all co-dependent on one another even if we don’t see it very clearly. The connection that all of us have — right from a farmer to a person working at the topmost level in a corporate (organisation) — everyone is connected in some way, and the work that one person does affects the life of another. So it’s something like a Butterfly Effect,” Anushka told IANS.

Everyone is connected to one another, stressed Anushka.

“I think this is something that we are sometimes ignorant of, and we think our life is autonomous, but it actually isn’t. We are all connected with one another and this pandemic has taught us to appreciate one another so much more, and to appreciate the work that everybody does. I’m not only talking about the frontline workers — their contribution has been extremely brave and we all feel extremely grateful for it,” she said.

Anushka said that every job that anyone does is equally important, and they are all linked in a way.

“It is the realisation I’ve had through this pandemic and it has really made me feel way more humbled, and it has made me feel way more connected to everybody and every job that people do right now,” she said.

“Because when everything moves along smoothly you don’t realise the work that you are looking out for, something that you want to get done. You don’t realise that so many people have to come together for it to happen. So many people’s contribution and their expertise in that field helps you attain what you want to attain in life. This is the realisation I had during this pandemic,” she told IANS.

Amit Sadh: Don’t give any person the courage to call you an ‘outsider’

TB Team
-
0
Amit Sadh: Don’t give any person the courage to call you an ‘outsider’

Amit Sadh is an actor who has made it in Bollywood with no filmi bloodline or industry connections, but he is not ready to call himself an “outsider”.

“I don’t consider myself as an outsider. I am and insider and I stay inside the secure borders of India. Every person is an insider. Don’t give any person the strength or courage to make you feel like in outsider or call you an outsider,” Amit Sadh told IANS.

“I want to mention one more thing. People who are elder in age or in position, and understands more, it is their responsibility to never make those people who are in a lower position and not powerful enough to feel like outsiders. I just hope as long as I am in this industry, I can stop this outsider-insider debate. Instead, we should devote more time for debating on topics that are important and necessary,” added the actor.

Amit began as a television actor in 2002 and later forayed into Bollywood with the film “Phoonk 2” in 2010. He has worked in films like “Kai Po Che”, “Guddu Rangeela”, “Sultan”, “Running Shaadi”, “Raag Desh”, “Gold”, and “Super 30”.

Asked how he has evolved as an actor in all these years, he replied: “I don’t know how much I have evolved because evolution is something that you should see in somebody’s work and you should talk about it. It will look very silly if I talk about my own evolution. Hope people sees that in my work and my behaviour. All I can say is that I am happy that I survived. I am just happy that I am here. I am grateful to all those who gave me work. I am grateful to all of you for allowing me to stay here,” added the actor.

Right now, Amit is gearing up for the second season of the crime-thriller web series “Breathe”, titled “Breathe: Into The Shadows”. In the Amazon Prime Videos series, Amit is set to reprise his role as Inspector Kabir Sawant from the first season.

What new challenges await Inspector Kabir Sawant this time? “Unfortunately I can’t say much because it is a thriller. But I can definitely say that it is bigger, wider and has a new dimension,” shared Amit, adding: “A lot of great actors have come in this season. The new season has been quite challenging for us. But all of us in every department — be it writing, technical, production, DOP or acting — everybody has given their best. We are very excited and happy the trailer has done phenomenally well.”

“Breathe: Into The Shadows” begins streaming from July 10.

US stocks drop amid coronavirus concerns

TB Team
-
0
US stocks drop amid coronavirus concerns

US stocks fell on Tuesday as market sentiment was dampened by a resurgence in coronavirus infections in the country.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 396.85 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 25,890.18. The S&P 500 fell 34.40 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 3,145.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 89.76 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 10,343.89, Xinhua reported.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished lower, with energy down 2.01 per cent, leading the laggards.

Meanwhile, US-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower, with six of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

Stocks closely tied to economic reopening, such as those of airlines and cruise lines, declined amid the soaring number of coronavirus cases in the country.

More than 2.96 million confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with nearly 131,000 deaths, as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

India records 7.42 lakh coronavirus cases, 20,642 deaths

TB Team
-
0
India records 7.42 lakh coronavirus cases, 20,642 deaths

India recorded over 22,752 new cases and 482 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 7,42,417 with 20,642 deaths, Health Ministry’s data revealed on Wednesday.

According to the data, out of total 7,42,417 cases, 4,56,830 have recovered while 2,64,944 remain active in the country. India is the third worst affected country after the US and Brazil.

During the last 24 hours, 2,62,679 samples have been tested, as the testing lab network continues to expand. As on date, more than 1,115 labs have enabled people to undergo corona tests.

On Tuesday, the central government cited a World Health Organisation (WHO) situation report and claimed the country had one of the lowest coronavirus deaths and cases per million population. The recovery rate has surpassed 61 per cent, it added.

With a spike of more than 5,134 cases in just one day, Maharashtra remains the worst hit state with cases reaching up to 2,11,987 and 9,250 casualties so far, of which 224 occurred in the last 24 hours.

Tamil Nadu remained the second worst hit with a total of 1,18,594 cases, including 1,636 deaths.

With 2,008 new coronavirus cases and 50 deaths in the last 24 hours, the national capital recorded a total tally of 1,02,831 and 3,165 deaths. The recovered patients in the city are almost three times that of the active coronavirus cases.

States with more than 10,000 cases include Gujarat with 37,550 cases and 1,977 deaths, Uttar Pradesh (29,968), Rajasthan (21,404), Madhya Pradesh (15,627), West Bengal (23,837), Haryana (17,999), Karnataka (26,815), Andhra Pradesh (21,197), Telangana (27,612) and Bihar (12,570) cases.

On the global front, the overall number of cases have increased to more than 11.7 million, while the deaths have soared to over 5,43,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Father-son held for duping by posing as IPS officer

TB Team
-
0
Father-son held for duping by posing as IPS officer

 A man, claiming to be a retired senior executive from the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and his son, posing as an IPS officer, have been arrested by the Aligarh Police for allegedly extorting money from people.

The police identified the fake cop as Anuj Chawla, 34, who introduced himself to people as an IPS officer posted in the Home Ministry, Delhi. He is a law graduate from Dehradun.

Anuj’s father, Rajendra Chawla, 66, who retired from the BHEL, was also involved in the scam with him and the duo had been fleecing people for the past five years. They belong to Lucknow.

The police found that their car had several fake vehicle passes purportedly issued by the Union Home Ministry and Uttar Pradesh government, apart from fake investigation reports of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and a two-way walkie-talkie set.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Arvind Kumar said that the vehicle, Innova Cresta, carrying a logo of Deputy Inspector General (DIG), was spotted by the police during checking at the Bhikampur crossing.

Kumar said that the vehicle in which they were travelling in was hired from Lucknow and a DIG star plate was displayed on it.

The two occupants were questioned by the police and finally they confessed that they were impersonating the policeman.

The driver, who drove the car to Aligarh, was told that they were travelling to Aligarh on a secret inspection of COVID-19.

Circle officer Bannadevi area, Pankaj Srivastava, said that they had come to Aligarh two days back and had stayed in a posh hotel. They later shifted to some local resident’s house. The father and son had also duped some people by promising marriage to the ‘IPS officer’.

Srivastava said that whenever someone questioned them about their backgrounds, they usually told them that his name and details would not be available on google as he was working as a secret officer at the Kolkata branch of NIA.

An FIR has been registered under various sections including 170 (impersonating a public servant), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of IPC at Bannadevi police station. Further investigations were on.

Big names of global transport evince interest in running private trains

TB Team
-
0
Big names of global transport evince interest in running private trains

Global infra biggies like Hyundai, Hitachi, Mitsui, Bombardier, Mitsui, Alstom, Macquarie and Siemens are among the companies that have expressed interest in running private trains as per the policy formulated by the Railways.

The companies who have evinced interest in the private trains include Japanese names like Hitachi India, Mitsui & Co. and other global names like Hyundai Rotem, Bombardier Transportation, Alstom Transport, Siemens, Macquarie, CAF India, CRRC ZELC, GATX among others.

The Indian companies include Tata Realty, Adani Ports, Bharat Forge, KEC International, Essel Group, PSUs like IRCTC and BEML.

The Group of Secretaries for this projected was constituted in October, 2019 and wide stakeholder consultations were conducted.

The in principle approval of PPPAC has been received and 12 RFQs issued on July 1, one for each cluster. The RFQ applicants to be shortlisted for submitting financial bid which are expected in 6-8 months.

This will cover 5 per cent of existing 2800 Mail/ Express Rakes over Railways. The concession period is 35 years and the concessionaire to pay fixed haulage charges for path, stations, access to railway infrastructure and charges for electricity consumed.

The concessionaire will share revenue with Indian Railways through competitive bidding. The private entity will ensure 95% punctuality, not more than one failure per lakh kilometre of travel and ensure high level of cleanliness.

The majority of trains will be manufactured in India and trains to be operated by driver and guard of Railways. Tests and trials to validate rolling stock operation will be done by RDSO.

The PPP in passenger train operations envisages induction of modern technology and reduced maintenance intervention of 40,000 km, reduced
transit time, enhanced safety, world class travel experience to passengers, reduce demand supply deficit in the passenger transport sector and bring private investment in rail sector of Rs 30,000 crore.

Railways has invited request for qualifications for private participation for passenger train operations on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains.

The private train operations are likely to begin by April 2023 and all coaches will be procured under Make in India policy. The Railway Board said that the train sets have to be brought by private operators and maintained by them. Fares in private trains will be competitive and prices on other modes of transport like airlines, buses have to be kept in mind while fixing the fares.

The private trains will operate in 12 clusters, including Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Prayagraj, Secunderabad, Howrah and Chennai.

Financial bids for private trains by are expected by February or March and finalisation by April 2021 and Request For Quotation (ROQ) bids will be done by September.

Hina Khan: TV actors don’t get a fair chance in Bollywood

TB Team
-
0
Hina Khan: TV actors don’t get a fair chance in Bollywood

From starring in the TV show “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai” for eight years to foray into Bollywood and the digital space, actress Hina Khan has carved a space in the entertainment industry. She feels it is not easy for a TV star to make it big in films.

“What we lack is equality. Nepotism exists everywhere and it does exist in our industry, too. If you are a star and you want to launch your kid, it’s absolutely okay. But, it is not fair when you don’t give an equal chance to outsiders. TV actors hardly make it big in Bollywood, just because we don’t get a fair chance. At least, give us a chance to prove ourselves,” Hina told IANS.

“Sushant Singh Rajput’s journey inspired me a lot. I look up to him for so many things. He made a place for himself in Indian cinema with his hard work. We outsiders do not have godfathers, what we want is a little bit of respect and recognition. So, a proper balance should prevail,” she said.

She also recalled how big Indian designers looked down upon her when she was about to make her debut at the Cannes Film Festival a year ago.

“I don’t know why people in India look down upon TV actors. I remember how international designers helped me instead of Indian designers, during my Cannes debut. In the West, TV actors are treated with dignity, but it is the opposite here. Many people here do not want to work with us. I don’t understand the reason behind it. Are we beneath them or are they insecure of our talent? I hope things change in our industry as soon as possible,” Hina emphasised.

She says it is high time to appreciate talented artistes irrespective of their medium.

“Discrimination on the basis of medium should be stopped. An actor is an actor. It does not matter whether he or she works in a daily soap or a film or a digital show. If he or she is talented, then that particular person should be appreciated and should be given a chance to prove her/his skills,” Hina concluded.

On the work front, Hina was recently seen in the digital film “Unlock”, currently streaming on Zee5.

Andhra govt speeds up mega housing scheme for 30L BPL families

TB Team
-
0
Andhra govt speeds up mega housing scheme for 30L BPL families

Despite the financial pressures brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is speeding up the groundwork to deliver one of his most ambitious poll promises — housing for 30 lakh below the poverty line (BPL) families of the state by 2024.

Scheduled to begin from August 26 this year, the first phase of the massive ‘Pedalandariki Illu’ or ‘housing for all the poor’ scheme is expected to be completed by 2021. The project is part of the Chief Minister’s poll promises made to the people during the course of his 3,000-km long padayatra when he was in the opposition in Andhra Pradesh.

“The government has decided to first provide the house sites to the beneficiaries. Therefore, we have acquired 44,000 acres of land, both from the government and private persons. More than Rs 7,000 crore has already been spent. Unless the basic infrastructure is available, people will not be able to live in those areas.

“Therefore, we are currently in the process of providing infrastructure like land leveling, approach roads, electricity, water, etc. at about 15,000 layouts,” Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary, Housing Department, said on Tuesday.

The AP government has earmarked Rs 90,000 crore for the program which has now been scaled up from the original 25 lakh homes to 30 lakh homes. The government is spending Rs 15,000 crore on acquiring land and creating infrastructure. So far, Rs 7,000 crore has been spent on acquiring 62,000 acres of land for the project.

“This is a beneficiary-led construction and each house would cost us Rs 2.5 lakh. All these houses will be individual houses measuring 288 sq ft to 300 sq ft each. They will be constructed following energy-efficient practices. As a result, the temperature inside the houses will be 3-4 degrees less compared to the outside temperature. We have tied up with BEE and GOI in this regard,” Jain explained.

In the first phase starting August 2020, 15 lakh houses are planned to be constructed, while work on the remaining houses will begin from August 2021.

110 K’taka pharmacies lose licences for withholding data

TB Team
-
0
110 K’taka pharmacies lose licences for withholding data

The Karnataka government has annulled the licenses of 110 pharmacies for failing to report the sales data of medicines used for treating symptoms similar to Covid-19 amid the pandemic, an official said on Tuesday.

“The licenses of 110 pharmacies who failed to share the sales reports of ILI and SARI related drugs with the government have been suspended,” Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said.

The state has instructed all druggists to inform it about people purchasing medicines for fever, cough and cold, and other COVID-like symptoms.

Seventy of the pharmacies whose licenses got revoked are in Kalaburagi, while Bengaluru has three.

Video conferencing app ‘VideoMeet’ announces expansion

TB Team
-
0
Video conferencing app ‘VideoMeet’ announces expansion

VideoMeet, a free video-conferencing platform, on Tuesday, rolled out its expansion plan in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Badu, and Gujarat with an investment of around Rs 2 crore.

Developed by Rajasthan-based IT firm, Data Ingenious Global Ltd, the VideoMeet app has set up resources to cater to more than 2,000 people in various conferences.

The ‘Made in India’ video conferencing app currently stands at a count of 50,000 downloads for Android smartphone users and is increasing every day.

According to the company, the expansion is needed to provide uninterrupted and secured video calling service to its growing user base.

“The application in its upcoming updated version will see vernacular languages integrated for an indigenous touch. VideoMeet currently supports Hindi,” Ajay Data, Founder and CEO, Data Ingenious Global Ltd, said in a statement.

“We are not aligned with any telecom network; therefore we have facilitated a system that regulates data usage. Our back-end team keeps working to make VideoMeet a one-stop video conferencing solution for the Indian citizens,” he added.

The highlights of the platform remain its set of features like recording, screen share, music share, flip cameras and chat during the video call.

The application is fully equipped to handle virtual meetings and webinars for work or any other personal and social interests, the company said.

This application regulates the user’s data consumption, with its data compression technology, and is available free of cost on all platforms, Android, Web, and iOS, the company informed.

It also said that IT-resources like high capacity servers need to be deployed in four different states for hosting larger meetings without any technical glitches.

Covid recovery rate tops 70%, 25,449 active cases in Delhi

TB Team
-
0
Covid recovery rate tops 70%, 25,449 active cases in Delhi

With 2,008 new cases and 50 deaths in the last 24 hours, the national capital’s coronavirus tally has risen to 1,02,831 and toll to 3,165.

Till now, 74,217 people have recovered, almost three times the number of active cases that stand at 25,449. Over 3,165 deaths mean that the city’s fatality rate is 3 percent.

While the city crossed the grim milestone of 1,00,000 cases on Monday, the silver lining was the recovery rate that exceeded 70 percent.

According to the Delhi government’s daily bulletin, 2,129 patients recovered in the last 24 hours.

On June 23, the city had witnessed the highest single-day peak of 3,947 cases, but the number has come down steadily since then despite the rise in the number of tests.

The number of tests has gone up with the launch of rapid antigen tests last month. Over 8,795 RT-PCR and 13,653 rapid antigen tests were conducted during the day.

In total, 6,79,831 tests have been conducted in the national capital that has 454 containment zones.

Currently, 5,003 beds are occupied at the COVID hospitals, and other facilities and 16,608 are in home isolation.

Earlier during the day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visited a newly developed 500-bed COVID hospital. It was set up six days by the city government.

Google Meet crosses 10 crore installs in less than 2 months

TB Team
-
0
Google Meet crosses 10 crore installs in less than 2 months

Popular video meets app Google Meet for Android has surpassed over 10 crore downloads globally on Google Play Store.

The platform doubled the install base in less than two-months time as more and more people turned to video conferencing owing to the global pandemic, reports Android Police.

According to app traffic and performance observer AppBrain, Google Meet passed 5 crores (50 million) installs or downloads mark on Google Play on May 17. AppBrain figures indicated that the app crossed 10 crore installs on July 7.

According to Javier Soltero Vice President & GM, G Suite, the tech giant has seen daily usage of the Meet app grow by 30 times, with hosting 3 billion minutes of video meetings daily.

The search engine giant had earlier made Meet video platform free to anyone with a Gmail account, as part of Google’s Meet expansion.

Google Meet is completely free and anyone with an email address can sign up and get started. Users can see Google Meet on the left menu, with two options: Start a meeting and join a meeting.

WI can win against top sides now in Tests, says Holder

TB Team
-
0
WI can win against top sides now in Tests, says Holder

Jason Holder on Tuesday said West Indies have improved a lot as a Test outfit and can now challenge any top team in the world in the five-day format which is considered their weakest link.

The Windies, led by all-rounder Holder, will lock horns against England in a three-Test series starting Wednesday at the Ageas Bowl, and it will mark the resumption of cricket after the sport was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former West Indies captain and batting great Brian Lara has said Holder’s troops will have to try and finish the game inside four days as they won’t be able to attain a positive result if the Test matches against England go into the fifth and final day.

“This West Indies team has had really good results in the last three years. We can win against top sides and we can win series against top sides as well,” Holder said during a video conference on the eve of the first Test.

“England will come at us hard. We expect a tough contest and the onus is on us to dethrone England in their own backyard and it’s not going to be easy,” said the world’s No. 1 ranked Test all-rounder. The matches can be watched live from 3:30 p.m. on SONY SIX channels from Wednesday.

Asked about the saliva ban, Holder said it has not been much of a problem in the warm-up game but they will have to wait and watch how it goes in the first Test.

“The only thing we can do is put the body sweat on it (ball). There is nothing else we can do. As to the impact, it can only be told when the series starts. We have tried it in the warm-up games and it hasn’t gone too badly for us. Let’s see what happens on the field. Conditions will have a lot of impacts. It will be a trial and error in this series.”

All eyes will be on all-rounders Ben Stokes and Holder in Southampton as they will lead their respective teams on the pitch at Ageas Bowl to mark the beginning of this historic series. England’s World Cup hero Stokes is second to Holder in allrounders’ rankings in Tests.

Asked about the personal battle, Holder said: “I don’t get caught up with it, my job is to play.”

Holder became the first West Indian since the great Garfield Sobers to be named as the world’s leading all-rounder following his superb display against England in Barbados last year.

“It feels good to be in elite company, I have had tons of conversations with him and he is so positive. He is one of those guys who will put his arm around you and nurture you,” said Holder of Sobers.

Hardik & Krunal Pandya reach Ranchi to celebrate Dhoni’s birthday

TB Team
-
0
Hardik & Krunal Pandya reach Ranchi to celebrate Dhoni’s birthday

Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had special guests at his Ranchi home on Tuesday as India all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya reached Captain Cool’s doors to surprise him on his 39th birthday.

Speaking to IANS, sources in the know of developments said that the duo left Baroda on Tuesday itself and are most likely to return on Wednesday.

“It is no secret that Hardik considers Dhoni as not only his mentor but also his elder brother. He has often spoken about the kind of guidance he has got from Dhoni. Similarly, Krunal also respects him a lot. So, they decided to take a chartered flight to Ranchi today and are likely to return tomorrow after celebrating Dhoni’s birthday. It was a surprise planned for the former India skipper,” the source pointed.

Social media was flooded with birthday wishes with people from all walks wishing the former India captain on his special day. However, among all this, there was a special wish for Dhoni — the one from wife Sakshi.

“Marking the date you were born, another year older, greyed a bit more, become smarter and sweeter. You are a man who will not be moved by all the sweet wishes and gifts,” said Sakshi while posting several pictures of Dhoni on her Instagram handle.

“Let’s celebrate another year of your life by cutting a cake and blowing the candles! Happy Birthday, Husband!!” she added.

The couple got married on July 4, 2010. Dhoni became a proud father on February 6, 2015, to Ziva. At the time of her birth, he was in Australia as the captain of the Indian team with the 2015 Cricket World Cup only a week to kick off. However, Dhoni decided not to travel back to India and was famously quoted saying that “I am on national duty, other things can wait”.

AITA awaits court’s decision before acting on molestation & age-fraud charge

TB Team
-
0
AITA awaits court’s decision before acting on molestation & age-fraud charge

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has asked for an explanation from the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) on the topic of a junior player being allegedly molested by five players and of them being allegedly overage. However, it will have to wait until the court pronounces its judgment on the topic before taking any action on the issue, said AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee.

“We have spoken to (CLTA) and asked them to explain the situation,” Chatterjee told IANS. “Once we hear from them we will discuss it and since the matter is sub judice, we will wait for the court’s final decision.

“Let the court verify all the papers and give a clear verdict based on which we will take action. We have asked an explanation of what happened, let that come in and we will wait for the court’s decision.”

When asked if AITA would be using this as a trigger to crack down on the larger issue of age-fraud that has plagued the sport in the country for decades, Chatterjee said, “We don’t appreciate fudging of age or any indiscipline, we cannot support that. But unless we are totally sure about it we can’t take any action. We will definitely try to do whatever is required.”

Chatterjee said that the system in place has been tried and tested for many years. “We have a large number of registered players and out of that, there are hardly any numbers (of age fraud) we can talk about. But there is a problem. Let’s see, we will discuss it and try and tighten the procedure a little bit,” he said.

However, he reiterated that any decision in this matter will come only after CLTA provides an explanation, and after the court’s decision.

“Once we get the explanation, we will discuss how we should go forward. In this particular matter, we will wait for the court order,” said Chatterjee.

Top Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson joins AR firm Magic Leap as CEO

TB Team
-
0
Top Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson joins AR firm Magic Leap as CEO

Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft, is joining struggling augmented reality (AR) start-up Magic Leap as its CEO, the company announced on Tuesday.

Johnson, who will begin her new role on August 1, comes to Magic Leap after a 30-year career at the highest levels of technology and business at Microsoft and chip giant Qualcomm.

“As CEO, I look forward to strategically building enduring relationships that connect Magic Leap’s game-changing technology and pipeline to the wide-ranging digital needs of enterprises of all sizes and industries,” said Johnson.

“It is with great pride and sincere appreciation to the Magic Leap Board, Rony Abovitz (Magic Leap founder), and the entire team, as well as to Satya Nadella at Microsoft, that I assume the role of leading this visionary business into the future,” she added.

Since its founding in 2011, Magic Leap has pioneered the field of spatial computing. Magic Leap’s spatial computing wearable, Magic Leap 1, is the most advanced XR device on the market.

Magic Leap competes directly with Microsoft’s own HoloLens augmented-reality technology.

However, in April, the troubled company laid off nearly 600 of its 1,900-strong workforce.

Johnson brings to Magic Leap a proven track record of leading and growing businesses, building strategic partnerships, and executing successful transactions.

In her recent role at Microsoft, she oversaw the development, collaboration, and growth of Microsoft’s relationships with external partners and enterprises of all sizes around the world.

She also led Microsoft’s corporate venture fund, M12, where she identified compelling strategic investment opportunities and worked closely with companies to unlock value and drive growth.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2014, Johnson spent 24 years at Qualcomm, where she held various leadership positions and served as a member of Qualcomm’s Executive Committee.

“As Magic Leap drives towards commercializing spatial computing for enterprise, I can’t think of a better and more capable leader than Peggy Johnson to carry our mission forward,” said Abovitz, Founder and Magic Leap’s first CEO.

Economic mismanagement a tragedy, will destroy millions: Rahul

TB Team
-
0
Economic mismanagement a tragedy, will destroy millions: Rahul

Reacting to a research report that Indians are worst-hit on the economic front and that 8 out of 10 rural households had lost income during the coronavirus pandemic, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the economic mismanagement was a tragedy that was out to destroy millions.

“India’s economic mismanagement is a tragedy that is going to destroy millions of families,” he tweeted.

He said that it would no longer be accepted silently.

The Congress leader has been raising the issue of economic problems Indians are facing due to the lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic.

Rahul Gandhi was quoting research by the University of Chicago and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which said that 80 percent of rural and 75 percent urban households have suffered a loss in income.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal in a statement on Tuesday said that the country lost nearly 13 crore jobs, with many states reaching unemployment figures of 40 percent.

Federer missing Wimbledon after the grass-court Grand Slam was cancelled

Team TeluguBullet
-
0
Federer missing Wimbledon after the grass-court Grand Slam was cancelled

Roger Federer on Monday said he is “missing” Wimbledon after the grass-court Grand Slam was cancelled, but hopes to play the tournament in 2021. The 38-year-old, who has undergone two knee surgeries this year, had already announced he will not play again until next year.

This week was scheduled to be the second week of Wimbledon, where Federer has won a record eight men’s singles titles, but the tournament was cancelled for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Personally, it has been very pleasant to stay in the same place for a long time, I hadn’t experienced that for more than 25 years,” Federer said at the launch of the “Roger Center Court” running shoes created by Swiss brand On.

“But of course I miss Wimbledon, of course I would like to be there currently playing on Centre Court for a place in the second week.

“Clearly, one of my big goals, and that’s why I do recovery work every day and work so hard, and why I’m preparing for a 20-week physical preparation block this year, is because I hope to play at Wimbledon next year.”

Federer said the coronavirus lockdown gave him the chance to recuperate following surgery, but said he will have to be “patient” as he waits to return to the court.

“Combined with my operations, it was an important moment for me, (to know) if I wanted to continue,” he said.

“It’s very easy to say but it’s a long way to come back, you have to be patient, it also was a time for reflection.

“We were in the mountains, isolated, we didn’t see anyone, I didn’t see my parents for almost three months, we were very serious and strict.”

The ATP and WTA Tours are set to resume in August despite a raft of professional players having contracted COVID-19.

Federer could have lost his record of most men’s Grand Slam singles titles by the time he returns, with his old rival Rafael Nadal just one behind on the all-time list.

The US Open will be the first Grand Slam following the restart, getting underway behind closed doors in New York on August 31, before the French Open starts, with fans allowed to attend Roland Garros, on September 24.

The Swiss star will also be hoping to claim Olympic singles gold for the first time next year at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in Japan, with the final to be played a week before his 40th birthday.

The fight against COVID-19 is more difficult than the war of Mahabharata

Team TeluguBullet
-
0
The fight against COVID-19 is more difficult than the war of Mahabharata

The Shiv Sena today said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed confidence that the battle against COVID-19 would be won in 21 days, but it has been over 100 days and the crisis still persists.

The fight against COVID-19 is more difficult than the war of Mahabharata, an editorial in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, adding that the battle against the pandemic will continue till 2021 as the disease vaccine won’t be available before that.

It expressed concern over India reporting the third-highest COVID-19 cases in the world.It is unfortunate and serious for the country, which is dreaming to become a financial superpower, to report over 25,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the Shiv Sena said.

We left Russia behind in terms of the number of cases. We will attain the number one slot in this unfortunate area if the number of cases continues to go up,” it said.

The war of Mahabharata lasted for 18 days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had exuded confidence (in March) that we will win this battle against COVID-19 in 21 days. But it has been over 100 days and the coronavirus still persists and those fighting it have become tired, the Shiv Sena claimed.

Patients are recovering on a big scale in Maharashtra, but the situation in some areas of the state turns one restless, it said citing the example of Thane district, which has been a major COVID-19 hotspot.

The Shiv Sena said several politicians, public representatives, policemen, health workers, and other administrators are getting infected by the disease, and this does not suit the country and states.

“The coronavirus will be there and (we) need to live with it…the vaccine for coronavirus will not be available before 2021…that means (we) will have to live with coronavirus at least till then, it said.

Without naming anyone or any party, the Shiv Sena said questions are being raised as to for how many days the lockdown will continue.

But when you open the door , the “messengers (threat) of coronavirus” is right out there, the Marathi publication said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has relaxed lockdown restrictions to some extent, but the threat is still not over, the Sena said.

It said the COVID-19 must be fought even though the industries, economy, and lifestyle have been hit hard by the disease.

Governor Tamilisai has called for a review meeting

Team TeluguBullet
-
0
Governor Tamilisai has called for a review meeting

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is said to be unhappy with the TRS government in the way it is handling the Covid-19 crisis in the state. Accordingly, Governor Tamilisai has called for a review meeting on Monday and informed the Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and Health Secretary to make it to the meeting.

However, both the CS Somesh and Health Secretary skipped this meeting citing that they were pre-occupied with already committed appointments. So Governor Tamilisai held the review with the officials who were present as per the allotted time.

With Monday’s review did not go as per the plan, Governor Tamilisai has reportedly rescheduled it to tomorrow. Also the Governor will be interacting with private hospitals tomorrow at 11 AM regarding Covid-19 management and public grievances.

The private hospitals have been charging a bomb from the Covid-19 patients and the Governor will discuss this with the hospitals.

1...1,6061,6071,608...2,190Page 1,607 of 2,190