Feel refreshed and ready to play the game: Meg Lanning on return to competitive cricket

TB Team
-
0
Feel refreshed and ready to play the game: Meg Lanning on return to competitive cricket

Meg Lanning is set to make a comeback to competitive cricket after a five-month absence when an announcement on Friday said she would be captaining Australia in the home ODIs against Pakistan in January 2023.

Meg, considered one of the greatest players in the women’s game, had stepped away from competitive cricket after leading Australia to the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August, citing personal reasons. As a result, she missed the WBBL and the five-match T20I series in India.

“I can’t wait to be out on the field again with Australia against Pakistan. Sometimes you just have to hit pause, step back and take a breather. That’s certainly what I needed. The past six months have taught me a lot. I’ve learned so much about myself and who and what is important to me,” she wrote in an Instagram post, announcing her return to cricket.

Meg added that during the break from the game, she has found appreciation for the importance of opening up and seeking help. “I’ve always played my cards pretty close to my chest. This experience has given me a greater appreciation of how opening up and talking to the people that care about you really can make the tough times feel easier.

“It’s ok to ask for help and admit that you don’t have everything under control. Having enjoyed some time and space, I feel refreshed and ready to play the game that I love in teams that I love. It’s such an exciting time for the game and I can’t wait to be part of it!”

Meg made her international debut in Australia in 2010. In 2014, as a 21-year-old, she was named the captain of the side. Since then, she has led Australia in 171 matches across all formats with 135 victories against her name.

Under her leadership, Australia won 2014, 2018, and 2020 T20 World Cups, the 2022 ODI World Cup, the Commonwealth Games gold medal, and many Ashes victories. She has also been a premier batter in women’s cricket, averaging 31.36 in Tests, 53.53 in ODIs, and 36.48 in T20Is.

Kangana has never danced at weddings, denied ‘insane amount of money’

TB Team
-
0
Kangana has never danced at weddings, denied ‘insane amount of money’

Actress Kangana Ranaut has said that she has said no to the “insane amount of money” being offered to her to perform at weddings and private parties.

Kangana took to Instagram, where she shared a video of veteran singer Asha Bhosle talking about how her sister and late legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar never performed at weddings.

In the video, Asha Bhosle is talking about how her elder sister and legendary singer were once offered a million dollars to sing at a wedding, but she refused the offer.

She was heard saying: “Kaha 2 ghante sirf aap darshan dijiye humari shadi meina (just come to our wedding for 2 hours, they had said to her).”

Kangana captioned: “Agree. Even though I never danced at weddings or private parties, even though I have the most popular songs…denied an insane amount of money…glad to come across this video. Lataji is truly so inspiring.”

On the work front, Kangana is filming her directorial, ‘Emergency’, where she will be seen playing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Twitter lays off more employees from public policy team

TB Team
-
0
Twitter lays off more employees from public policy team

Twitter has laid off more employees from its remaining public policy team, after laying off an unknown number of engineers in its infrastructure vertical last week.

A member of the Twitter public policy team tweeted late on Thursday that she has been laid off.

“Yesterday was my last day at Twitter, as half of the remaining Public Policy team was cut from the company. It’s hard to convey how fortunate I feel to have had this exceptional opportunity. This was, indeed, a dream job,” posted Theodora (Theo) Skeadas.

“I am unbelievably proud of the work we did to protect people in global conflicts including Iran, Ukraine, and Libya,” she added.

According to Musk, Twitter now has just over 2,000 employees (it had more than 7,500 employees when he took over in October.

Musk said in the latest live audio conversation platform Twitter Spaces that Twitter was on track to lose about $3 billion next year but should now be “roughly cash flow break-even” after his job cuts.

The company has been hit by at least 100 former employees of various legal violations, including gender discrimination in layoffs and failing to pay promised severance.

Twitter laid off around 3,700 employees in early November in the first cost-cutting measure. Hundreds more resigned later.

The company was also sued in the US for mass layoffs without giving employees advance written notice.

The lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court in the Northern District of California, in violation of worker protection laws, including the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act as well as the California WARN Act, both of which require 60 days of advance notice.

The lawsuit is seeking “a range of relief, including compensatory damages (including wages owed), as well as declaratory relief, pre-and post-judgment interest, plus other attorneys’ fees and costs”.

Three admit paying bribes for Tokyo Olympic Games sponsorship rights

TB Team
-
0
Three admit paying bribes for Tokyo Olympic Games sponsorship rights

A former chairman and two other senior managers of Japanese major business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc. have admitted in court to having bribed a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive to win sponsorship rights for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hironori Aoki, 84, along with two others, has been charged with paying bribes totaling 28 million yen (about 210,000 U.S. dollars) on more than 30 occasions between September 2019 and March this year to a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive, Haruyuki Takahashi, who had influence over the committee’s marketing division charged with sponsorship selection.

The trial of Hironori Aoki, his brother and the firm’s former vice-chairman Takahisa Aoki, 76, and Katsuhisa Ueda, 41, an executive director, is the first to be held in a series of bribery cases related to the Games. The court on Thursday heard them admitting they paid bribes.

According to the indictment, between January 2017 and June 2021, the three officials repeatedly asked for favors from Takahashi for six matters, including the selection of their firm as an Olympics sponsor.

Aoki Holdings supplied uniforms to the Japanese team’s athletes after becoming an official supporter of the Games in 2018. It also sold jackets with the Games’ emblem.

Takahashi is suspected of being involved in other bribery cases and has been indicted four times on charges of receiving nearly 200 million yen (about 1.5 million dollars) in bribes from five firms.

Tollywood veteran actor Kaikala Satyanarayana no more

TB Team
-
0
Tollywood veteran actor Kaikala Satyanarayana no more

Tollywood veteran Kaikala Satyanarayana died in the wee hours on Friday at his home in Filmnagar. He was 87 and suffering from age-related ailments over the past several days.

Born on July 25, 1935, in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, Satyanarayana debuted with the Telugu movie ‘Sipai Koothuru’ in 1959.

Satyanarayana went on to act in around 800 movies in a career spanning six decades. Although he excelled as the quintessential bad man in the movies, he was also feted for his portrayal of mythological characters, especially Lord Yama, the Hindu god of death.

From NT Rama Rao, Nageswara Rao, and Krishna to Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Balakrishna, and Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Satyanarayana acted alongside the entire gamut of Tollywood film stars spanning several generations. He last appeared in the 2019 Mahesh Babu starrer ‘Maharshi’.

Tollywood stars and personalities from all walks of life in the two Telugu states have condoled the death of Satyanarayana who was famed for his acting prowess and kind-heartedness.

He won Lok Sabha polls from Machilipatnam in 1996. Family sources said that the Satyanarayana’s last rites will be performed on Saturday.

Legends are blessed, but one needs the ‘Hand of God’ too

TB Team
-
0
Legends are blessed, but one needs the ‘Hand of God’ too

Sports lovers around the world were in a state of stunned silence in anticipation of the outcome. The reason is that the football World Cup ’22 final between Argentina and France had gone into penalty kicks. The question was whether the superstar and living legend of Argentina, Lionel Messi, after 16 years of participating in it, would finally lift the famous FIFA World Cup. This, as most felt, would be his last attempt to win the cup.

The phrase “Hand of God” made famous by Diego Maradona, in what is termed in a very loose way, somehow always seems to find itself blessing the legends of the sport. Messi, the champion footballer, was the one to receive it when most required at this World Cup. Argentina was one of the favorite sides not only because of the way they play the game of football but also because one wished Messi to win it for his immense contribution to the sport.

They did so in splendid style and richly deserved it.

Argentina’s success was a good example of the uncertainty that sports bring to the table. The football world was shocked when they lost their opening match of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Argentina, thereafter, needed to win both their matches to qualify. However, the loss put a shadow of doubt on their ability. Champions, they say, revel when the chips are down. Messi did so in his team’s progress after the initial defeat. It seemed he took the onus on himself and his magical skills came forth in every game they played thereafter.

Memories of the feats achieved by legends are what keep sports alive. The achievements of Jesse Owens in athletics in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Don Bradman’s unbeatable batting record in cricket, Dhyan Chand’s incredible mastery in hockey, and Pele and Maradona’s breath-taking performances in football are some timeless moments of greatness etched in sports history.

Legends such as Messi, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt, LeBron James, and several others, in their respective sports, evoked the emotion that everyone around them wanted them to do well. The interesting part is that these great individuals break through one’s personal or loyalty barriers. Their performances are marveled at and one wants them to achieve the highest echelon possible.

The words of Albert Einstein come to one’s mind, “a genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work”. This has been, thereafter, used to measure success as well. One still questions this saying, as, most individual world-class sportsmen have the talent and put in the hard work too. But, just a few seem to go beyond it. God definitely has that blessed percentage in hand. ‘Luck’ is what one associates it with, but as one says very commonly that ” one makes one’s own luck”.

Indian cricket to has had such memorable moments. The last being, India’s World Cup win in 2011. Sachin Tendulkar, after two decades of playing the game and on his 5th attempt to be a part of a World Cup-winning side, finally achieved his dream. The Indian fans were not only elated by the country’s win but also thought it a fitting tribute to a man who had done yeomen service to Indian cricket.

The celebrations that one saw on the Argentina team’s return to Buenos Aires reminded one of three such moments in Indian cricket.

The 1st was on the return of the 1971 side, who under the leadership of Ajit Wadekar, won the 1st Test series win against England in England. This they achieved after winning a series against the West Indies as well. The motorcade welcomes followed by a red carpet and full house at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai was a sight to savour. The win at the Oval in London was achieved on the auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The Gods, as one said, were with India.

The 2nd massive celebration was when India, the rank outsiders, beat the West Indies in 1983 to win the Cricket World Cup at Lords in England. The bunch of cricketers led by Kapil Dev was received, both in Delhi and Mumbai, with such an abundance of splendor that one just cried with joy. The victory was a god-sent special moment for Indian cricket. To dethrone, the unconquerable West Indian side and lift the crown seemed to be like a victory of David over Goliath.

The last and 3rd occasion one celebrated a glorious victory in India was when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit his customary ‘helicopter shot’ for a six to win the 2011 World Cup. India was the favorite to win and to do so one felt was a blessing in disguise.

Since then, India has had individual success in several sports, however, team success has eluded them.

India will be hosting the Cricket World Cup in the latter part of 2023. This one feels will be the farewell to arms for two Indian cricket legends, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both have brought joy to the millions of Indian fans from the day they stepped onto the cricket field to play for their country.

India, winning the Cup would be just the ideal way to bid them adieu. The Hand of God is all they require to do so.

Multi-country roadshows get investment intents worth Rs 7.2 cr for UP

TB Team
-
0
Multi-country roadshows get investment intents worth Rs 7.2 cr for UP

The Uttar Pradesh government has already pulled in investment intents worth Rs 7.12 lakh crore through the multi-country roadshows held between December 9 and December 19.

This is against the target of attracting investment worth Rs 10 lakh crore through the Global Investors Summit 2023, scheduled to be held in February.

According to the government spokesman, nearly half of the total investment proposals worth Rs 4 lakh crore were received from the UK and US alone.

Stating that this was the first time after Independence that teams from Uttar Pradesh went on a global tour with the aim to invite investors from all over the world, the chief minister has expressed satisfaction over the efforts made so far but told the respective teams to “pursue the ‘intents’ into ‘investment’ with follow-up action and perseverance so that ‘Brand UP’ may be fortified further”.

“For the ease of operation, the officials concerned must form country-specific dedicated teams to follow up with the willing investors,” he stated.

Senior UP ministers, who led the GIS roadshows abroad, apprised Yogi Adityanath about their experience of interacting with potential investors. Some ministers have also given their input for strengthening Brand UP.

‘One-man’-ruled Akali Dal faces lowest ebb in Punjab politics

TB Team
-
0
‘One-man’-ruled Akali Dal faces lowest ebb in Punjab politics

With the mass exodus of leaders, even veterans with grey flowing beards, and the sudden rise of its once two-decade-old coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab, the fractured Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which marked its centennial commemoration in 2021, is facing its worst crisis “structurally, organisationally, and even in terms of ideological leadership”.

People have rejected the SAD in the recent state Assembly polls for the second consecutive term. Its legislators in the present Legislative Assembly of 117 were reduced to a mere three, down from 15 seats in 2017-22, the lowest-ever number.

The BJP, which had won three seats in 2017 when it had contested in alliance with the Akali Dal, secured two seats this time.

The saffron party is strengthening its roots in the Sikh-dominated state under the leadership of two-time Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who is seen as a nationalist and widely respected Sikh leader in politics, and prominent Hindu face Sunil Jakhar.

Both Amarinder Singh and Jakhar, former Congress leaders, are prominent rebels.

In this year’s Assembly polls, the Akali Dal, which becomes a “one-man-ruled” party now, five-time Chief Minister and party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, 94, and his only son Sukhbir Singh Badal faced humiliating defeat from their respective seats.

This was the party’s worst-ever performance in the state Assembly elections, results for which were declared on March 10.

All the Badals as well as their kin lost to Aam Aadmi Party’s greenhorns.

Despite the drubbing, the elderly Badal, who firmly believes the farmers’ issue relates to the overall national interest, expresses “immense satisfaction and pride” over the strong and principled stand taken by the party “to save the beleaguered peasantry”.

He’s often quoted as saying, “Sometimes parties face ups and downs. It happens in politics. The Akalis have a long history of rejecting the lure of office and standing up for principles.”

Snapping over two-decade-long ties, the Akali Dal pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2020 after sharp differences emerged over the three controversial farm laws.

The Congress, which was out of power in Punjab for a decade (2007-17), got 77 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections after drubbing the Akali Dal-BJP combine.

At that time, the elderly Badal had won the Assembly elections from Lambi by defeating Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh by 22,770 votes.

In one of the recent interviews, senior Badal, a founder member of NDA who wants the guilty of both Gujarat and anti-Sikh riots should be punished, told media that he’s confident that the outstanding and proud legacy of the Akali Dal will be carried forward with aplomb.

The Akali Dal was one of the oldest allies of the BJP. It was among the first to support the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the shortest Prime Minister’s stint in India’s history, in 1996.

To rebuild the beleaguered party Akali Dal and prevent a further exodus of leaders, the younger Badal, who was known as the “Super Chief Minister” when the party was at the helm and has business and agricultural interests, is on toes.

Known as ‘Kaka-ji’, a term used in political circles to refer to the sons, mostly spoilt, of Punjab’s political elite, Sukhbir, 60, was Minister of State for Industries in the Vajpayee government in 1998-99. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2001.

His wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who held the portfolio of the Food Processing Industry in both Modi-led Central governments, is raking up state-specific issues in the Parliament.

The husband-wife duo won the parliamentary polls in 2019.

Despite facing successive electoral defeats under his leadership, in the 2019 parliamentary elections and the 2022 Assembly polls, both with huge margins, and the most recent exodus of veterans like Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) first woman President Bibi Jagir Kaur, party President Sukhbir Badal reconstituted a nine-member advisory board this month to assist him.

Earlier in 2020, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his legislator son Parminder Singh Dhindsa were expelled for publicly questioning SAD’s top leadership.

“Most of the senior leaders want a change in party leadership. They want to revamp the party. The rebel voices are getting louder. It is high time for the party to introspect,” said a senior party functionary.

Interestingly, Akali Dal legislator Manpreet Singh Ayali questioned the party for acting against Bibi Jagir Kaur over her alleged links with the BJP while it supported Droupadi Murmu’s candidature for the post of President even though she was the nominee of the NDA government, that is not concerned about the issues of Sikhs.

In his recent statements, Sukhbir Badal said the Akali Dal would never swerve from its core ‘pro-Punjab’, ‘pro-minority’, ‘pro-farmers’, and ‘pro-poor’ agenda.

He says several issues related to the Sikh community and Punjab remain unresolved and the party is committed to doing its utmost to ensure they reach their logical conclusion.

The issue included securing the release of all Sikh detenues whose sentences have been commuted by the Central government on the occasion of the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, handing over Chandigarh to Punjab as well as other issues like ensuring the status of Panjab University.

Sounding an alarm in the Lok Sabha, Harsimrat Kaur Badal this week said the drug mafia-politician nexus coupled with the rise of narco-terrorism in the AAP government in Punjab has the capacity to destroy not only the state but even the country.

Asserting that Punjab is akin to a burning volcano and on the brink of civil war due to a combination of drug trafficking coupled with the breakdown of law and order and destruction of peace and communal harmony, she added, “Never has such a situation arisen in the state earlier.”

She was making a statement under Rule 193 on the increasing menace of illicit drugs in Parliament.

She said AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had promised to wipe out drugs in 10 days before the 2022 Assembly election, but in the last nine months, the drug menace was destabilizing Punjab and posing a threat to national security.

She added that drugs were being smuggled into Punjab along with weapons and this has witnessed the rise of narco-terrorism with the state now witnessing RPG attacks for the first time.

The Akali Dal-BJP (earlier Jana Sangh) alliance has been described as the oldest and strongest alliance in contemporary politics.

No other coalition has weathered so many political battles since March 27, 1970, when Parkash Singh Badal became the country’s youngest Chief Minister for the first time.

To date, Congress enjoyed seven full-term governments — 1952, 1957, 1962, 1972, 1992, 2002, and 2017 — in the state.

The Akali Dal made history in 1997 by becoming the first non-Congress party to complete its first full term in office since independence and has repeated this feat in 2007 and 2012.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan to have union relations, sign deals worth $8bn

TB Team
-
0
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan to have union relations, sign deals worth $8bn

Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and visiting President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have signed agreements on union (allied) relations and the demarcation of the Uzbek-Kazakh border, the Uzbek President’s press service said.

“The agreement on the demarcation of the state border testifies to the strength of our ties and serves the cause of peace and security in the region,” Mirziyoyev was quoted as saying on Thursday.

“Our border has always been and remains the border of friendship and good neighborliness.”

The delegations of the two sides also signed 15 intergovernmental and other documents to boost trade, and cooperation in the energy, chemical industry, transport, and logistics sectors, it said.

According to the press service, during the visit trade contracts and investment agreements worth $8 billion were signed, Xinhua news agency reported.

The annual trade volume between the two Central Asian states is expected to reach $5 billion by the end of this year.

IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals look to fill five slots, strengthen squad at Mini-Auction

TB Team
-
0
IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals look to fill five slots, strengthen squad at Mini-Auction

The Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals will look to fill five slots and strengthen their squad during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Mini-auction 2023 in Kochi on Friday.

The Delhi Capitals, who finished fifth place in IPL 2022, retained 19 players earlier this year.

“We did a good job in the last Auction. We have retained 19 players which shows the belief the management has in our current team. However, we do have a few gaps in our squad and we have identified the kind of players we need to acquire during the Auction according to our purse,” said Delhi Capitals’ assistant coach Pravin Amre in a media release ahead of the Mini-Auction.

The Delhi Capitals Head of Talent Search Saba Karim also shared his excitement as ten franchises gear up for the Mini-Auction.

“We are in a happy space as we built a strong side last year. However, we are looking forward to the Auction to fill some spaces in our squad. Ricky Ponting has been sharing his thoughts and his insights have always been handy,” said Saba.

The Indian Premier League will witness the introduction of the Impact Player in its next season in 2023. The teams will be allowed to substitute one player called the Impact Player, who can bat and bowl during a game.

Asked about the same, Amre said, “The introduction of the Impact Player is a good thing for the tournament. And the coaching staff will have to be on their toes during the match as we may need to make a decision of utilizing the Impact Player at any time of the match. The Impact Player could be a game-changer for teams in the IPL.”

Meanwhile, Karim said that the Impact Player will add more value to Indian players in the tournament.

“The introduction of the Impact Player throws up a different kind of challenge altogether. I think this rule will add more value to the Indian players. Many Indian players, who didn’t get an opportunity in the last season, may get a look as Impact Players in the next season. So, let’s see how it goes,” he said.

Swedish govt expects recession to last until 2025

TB Team
-
0
Swedish govt expects recession to last until 2025

Sweden will enter a recession in 2023 that is expected to last until 2025, the government said here on Thursday.

“The Swedish economy and households will be under pressure in the coming years,” Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said when she presented the economic forecast at a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The recession is expected to be more prolonged than forecast in the Budget Bill, and it does not appear that it will hit bottom until 2024,” Svantesson said.

Inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) is expected to reach an average of 8.9 percent in 2023, and combined with the rapidly increasing interest rates and the weakened demand in the rest of the world this is expected to lead to gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 0.7 percent in 2023 — a downward adjustment from the previous forecast.

Unemployment is expected to grow to 7.8 percent in 2023 and 8.2 percent in 2024. Both figures are higher than in the previous forecast.

“In the current situation, it is important that fiscal policy be carefully considered. The worst-case scenario for households and businesses already facing financial difficulty would be a further increase in inflation. The government’s budget for next year has undergone cuts aimed at combating inflation while providing room to act should the economic downturn be worse than expected,” Svantesson said.

Paris 2024: Men now eligible to compete in artistic swimming at Olympics

TB Team
-
0
Paris 2024: Men now eligible to compete in artistic swimming at Olympics

Men have been given the go-ahead to compete in Olympic artistic swimming for the first time in history at the 2024 Paris Games, World Aquatics said on Thursday.

As per World Aquatics, the IOC approved male participation in the artistic swimming team event, with a maximum of two male competitors per team.

While artistic swimming has been on the Olympic program since 1984 until now it has always been a female-only sport. However, all of that is set to change in Paris 2024 where 10 teams are expected to compete for the gold medal at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.

The addition of male athletes to the artistic swimming competition represents another step in the IOC’s mission to provide gender parity at the Games, with Paris 2024 featuring as many female athletes as male for the first time in history.

The USA’s Billy May, the first male World Champion in artistic swimming, spoke about how much of a breakthrough moment the inclusion of men in Olympic artistic swimming will be.

“The inclusion of men in Olympic Artistic Swimming was once considered the impossible dream,” May said.

“This proves that we should all dream big. The male athletes have endured. Now, through their perseverance and the help and support of so many, all athletes may stand alongside each other equally, reaching for Olympic glory,” he added.

World Aquatics President Captain Husain Al-Musallam was equally enthusiastic about the new development.

“Aquatics sports are universal and men have proven themselves to be excellent artistic swimmers. I look forward to seeing this new dimension of artistic swimming being shared with the world in Paris. The inclusion of men in artistic swimming is a great credit to all those who have worked for many years to make this happen,” said Al-Musallam.

The artistic swimming competition at Paris 2024 will include 96 athletes, with five events contested between 5 and 10 August 2024. The events include Free duets, Technical duets, Finale duets, Free teams, and Technical teams.

New FIFA world rankings see Morocco climb to 11th spot

TB Team
-
0
New FIFA world rankings see Morocco climb to 11th spot

Morocco has climbed from 22nd to 11th in the latest FIFA world ranking released on Thursday, after their heroics at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Atlas Lions were eliminated by France 2-0 in the semifinals at the World Cup before losing 2-1 to Croatia in the third-place playoff, ending their journey with a memorable fourth place as the first-ever African side to reach the World Cup semifinals.

Morocco is now the highest-ranked team in Africa, ahead of Senegal (19th), Tunisia (30th), Cameroon (33rd), and Nigeria (35th), reports Xinhua news agency.

Brazil maintained its first position since February, followed by Argentina, France, Belgium, and England.

The Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, and Spain complete the top 10.

‘Dhamaka’ is an out-and-out entertainer, declares Ravi Teja

TB Team
-
0
‘Dhamaka’ is an out-and-out entertainer, declares Ravi Teja

The star famous in Tollywood as the ‘Mass Maharaja’, Ravi Teja, and director Trinadha Rao Nakkina are all set to roll out their action entertainer ‘Dhamaka’ on Friday with premieres across India and in the US.

A day before the release of the movie, produced by T.G. Vishwa Prasad, under the banner of People Media Factory, Ravi Teja interacted with the media and his fans. He said that he enjoyed the process of spending time with his fans. “These meetings send out positive energy and this boosts our confidence,” Ravi Teja said.

Unlike his previous films, Ravi Teja is actively promoting ‘Dhamaka’. He, however, clarified: “I don’t like to talk much about my movies, I want my movies to talk more. If a film leads to a positive buzz after the first show, then there’s nobody who can stop it from becoming a hit.”

It’s been a while since Ravi Teja did a completely entertaining movie, but he said ‘Dhamaka’ is the “perfect out-and-out entertainer”, after ‘Raja The Great’.

Ravi Teja is one actor who has no qualms about working with newcomers. “I like working with newcomers,” he said. “There is enthusiasm, excitement, and hunger in them to prove themselves.”

The film’s audio album is already a chartbuster and Ravi Teja is all praise for composer Bheems Ceciroleo. “He is a very good tune maker. Every song in the movie is a super hit.”

Ravi Teja said he loved his stint with director Trinadha Rao Nakkina — “he is a jovial person and really fun to work with,” he noted. “And Prasanna Kumar’s dialogues are the other big assets.”

Talking about his working style, the actor said: “I put in the same effort for every movie. But the result is not in our hands. Some stories connect to the audience, some may not.”

Sreeleela, the movie’s heroine, has already garnered praise for her good looks, dance moves, and lively acting. About his co-star, Ravi Teja said: “Sreeleela is a bundle of talent. She is a good performer and has got a sweet voice. She will have a bright future.”

Moving on to ‘Waltair Veerayya’, Ravi Teja said all he could say now is that he plays a strong character. “It’s a good experience to work with megastar Chiranjeevi again,” he pointed out. “I definitely wanted to work with him again, but I did the movie because I liked the character and the story.”

Ravi Teja said that all kinds of audiences will like his next movie, ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’. “It is a pan-India film. The story will have a wider reach. I did undergo a makeover for the film.” he said, adding that another film where he plays a lead character, ‘Ravanasura’, is through 80 percent of its shoot.

The actor affirmed that he enjoyed shooting for his movies and for him, being on sets every day is like a celbration. “There is no word like ‘boring’ in my dictionary. I have no complaints or regrets in my life,” he added.

India’s first 5G-driven, AI-guided colonoscopy trial carried out

TB Team
-
0
India’s first 5G-driven, AI-guided colonoscopy trial carried out

Bharti Airtel with Apollo Hospitals on Thursday announced that they have carried out India’s first 5G-driven, Artificial Intelligence (AI) guided colonoscopy trial.

In this trial, Airtel’s 5G technology was used to detect colon cancer faster and more accurately by applying AI. This technology has ultra-low latency and high processing capabilities.

HealthNet Global, AWS, and Avesha are the other three companies that collaborated in this trial.

“Healthcare is one of the most promising use cases for 5G, and we are delighted to collaborate with Apollo Hospitals, AWS, HealthNet Global, and Avesha. This is just the beginning, and I am certain we will bring many more innovative use cases that will help redefine healthcare in the country,” Ajay Chitkara, CEO and Director, of Airtel Business, said in a statement.

The company mentioned that AI-assisted colonoscopy polyp detection trials will help doctors to improve the quality of patient care, and improve the accuracy of detection rates by capturing information correctly and reducing errors.

“By augmenting doctor’s ability to detect, AI has been proven to improve physician’s accuracy. Early detection and removal of polyps can easily avoid them from becoming cancerous. Apollo has always been a forerunner in the adoption of technology. Our patient-centric approach keeps us on an outlook for technologies which can make outcomes better,” Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said in a statement.

Through the use of 5G, Edge computing, and Artificial Intelligence, proper and timely diagnoses can be assisted, which can lead to improved patient outcomes.

Twitter’s ‘view counts for tweets’ feature starts showing up

TB Team
-
0
Twitter’s ‘view counts for tweets’ feature starts showing up

As promised by Twitter Boss Elon Musk, the “view counts for tweets” feature would be coming for all tweets, just like the view count shown for all videos has now started to show up for some Twitter users.

Some Twitter users have reported getting the feature, but it doesn’t seem to be available to everyone yet, reports The Verge.

On December 9, Musk tweeted about an update for the feature to arrive soon.

“Tweets will show view count in a few weeks, just like videos do. Twitter is much more alive than people think,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Twitter also rolled out a new feature that will let users search for listed company stocks and cryptocurrency prices.

In order to do this, users will have to type in the dollar symbol followed by the relevant ticker symbol, e.g. “$GOOG” or “$ETH” without the quotes, in the search bar on Twitter, according to TechCrunch.

This works without the $ symbol in some cases, but it’s less consistent and doesn’t always return the requested stock or cryptocurrency prices.

However, when it is operational, users will see a static image displaying stock price and a chart with no X or Y axis information, said the report.

Nikhat, Manju Rani ease into quarters at 6th Elite Women’s National Boxing

TB Team
-
0
Nikhat, Manju Rani ease into quarters at 6th Elite Women’s National Boxing

World Championships medallists Nikhat Zareen and Manju Rani registered thumping 5-0 victories to enter the quarter-finals of the 6th Elite Womens National Boxing Championships here on Thursday.

The reigning world champion Nikhat, representing Telangana, thrashed Meghalaya’s Eva Waynie Marbaniang in the 50kg pre-quarterfinals bout, whereas Railways Sports Promotion Board’s (RSPB) Manju Rani also produced an equally dominating performance to defeat Uttarakhand’s Kavita comprehensively in the 48kg Last-16 contest. Manju Rani won the silver medal in the 2019 World Championships.

Meanwhile, another RSPB boxer Jyoti Gulia, the 2017 youth world champion, also progressed into the 52kg Last-8 after beating Jharkhand’s Neha Tantubai by a unanimous decision.

Chandigarh’s Simran (48kg) and M Dhivya of Tamil Nadu (54kg) were among the other pugilists to emerge victorious and advance to quarter-finals on the third day of the competition, wherein 302 boxers have been competing across 12 weight categories.

While Simran outpunched A Ritu Rao of Odisha by the Referee Stopped the Contest verdict, Dhivya got the better of Arunachal Pradesh’s Muni Leya by 5-0.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) of Assam will be among others to play their Last-16 matches on Friday while the quarter-finals will take place on Saturday.

NASA’s humanoid robot will help do laundry at home, explore space

TB Team
-
0
NASA’s humanoid robot will help do laundry at home, explore space

NASA is reportedly working on a project to develop a humanoid robot that will help humans travel to new celestial bodies and may even help with laundry at home.

Apptronik, a US-based robotics company, is collaborating with NASA to develop “Apollo”, a 5-foot 8-inch, 160-pound (about 72 kg) general-purpose humanoid robot designed to assist with tasks in space, the commercial sector, and, most interestingly, the home, reports ZDNET.

“You know, I’m ready for it. I’m tired of doing my dishes and laundry,” Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik was quoted as saying.

Apollo will be equipped to perform a variety of tasks in various environments, with the mission of carrying burdens that humans do not need or want to carry, said the report.

“The initial things that these robots are going to do our very sort of simple things, like move objects,” said Cardenas.

“Things that we’re exerting a lot of energy on, and I think what this will do is free humans up to do things that are much more worthy of our time, and our talent,” he added.

Apollo will make its first debut at South by Southwest in March 2023, according to the report.

South by Southwest is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in the US.

Apptronik will then spend the rest of the year working closely with select customers to deploy the robot and observe use cases, however, the wider rollout will not begin until 2024.

NASA and Apptronik first collaborated in 2013, when they built NASA’s Valkyrie Robot for the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC).

Valkyrie was a multi-purpose humanoid robot that could have walked straight out of a sci-fi movie, the report added.

2nd Test, Day 1: Ashwin, Unadkat strike in morning session as Bangladesh reach 82/2

TB Team
-
0
2nd Test, Day 1: Ashwin, Unadkat strike in morning session as Bangladesh reach 82/2

On his return to Test cricket after an absence of 12 years, Jaydev Unadkat claimed the wicket of Zakir Hasan while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Najmul Hossain Shanto as Bangladesh reached 82/2 against India at lunch in the second Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

After the fall of the openers, captain Shakib Al Hasan (16 not out) and Mominul Haque (23 not out) steadied the ship with an unbroken 43-run partnership in a session where India asked many questions, beat the edges constantly, and got extra bounce too.

Pushed into bowling first, India gave Hasan a reprieve when Mohammed Siraj dropped a diving catch at fine-leg off Umesh Yadav. On a pitch that has some grass, Siraj and Umesh were getting a bit of lateral movement and were beating the edge of Zakir and Shanto constantly, even squaring them up on a few occasions.

Due to Siraj and Umesh making the ball talk, Zakir and Shanto got some streaky boundaries, flying off the outside edge through the region between slip and gully.

Unadkat, replacing Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven in a surprise call, got the ball to bounce a bit more, hit the batters on their gloves a couple of times, and got the ball to come in from outside off stump.

Ashwin got a turn and bounce in his very first over, but the watchful duo of Zakir and Shanto managed to survive the first hour, with some gorgeous drives in between. India’s perseverance finally paid off when Unadkat’s short-of-length ball, seaming in, had the extra bounce and took the glove edge off Zakir to the fourth slip, giving the left-arm pacer his first Test wicket.

One brought two for India as Shanto offered no shot to a full delivery from Ashwin that came back in to trap the opener lbw. Mominul, back in the eleven for Bangladesh, brought out the drive and flick against overpitched deliveries.

Shakib used his feet well to loft Ashwin over extra cover for four and then smacked a six-over deep mid-wicket. He went on to survive a stumping chance off Ashwin before the session came to an end.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 82/2 in 28 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 24, Mominul Haque 23 not out; Jaydev Unadkat 1-20, Ravichandran Ashwin 1-30) against India

Canada’s CPI rises 6.8% in Nov

TB Team
-
0
Canada’s CPI rises 6.8% in Nov

Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8 percent year over year in November, following a 6.9 percent increase in October, the national statistical agency said.

Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.4 percent on a yearly basis in November, following a gain of 5.3 percent in October, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to Statistics Canada, on a monthly basis, petrol prices fell 3.6 percent in November following a 9.2 percent increase in October, largely driven by price declines in Western Canada.

The reopening of refineries in the western US contributed to lower prices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Mortgage interest cost continued to rise at a faster rate year over year, up 14.5 percent in November compared with 11.4 percent in October, amid the higher interest rate environment.

The increase in November was the largest since February 1983. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 percent in November following a 0.7 percent gain in October.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.4 percent, Statistics Canada said.

1...551552553...2,190Page 552 of 2,190