Apple’s nudity-blurring Messages feature goes global to safeguard kids

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Apple’s nudity-blurring Messages feature goes global to safeguard kids

Apple’s Messages feature that automatically blurs images containing explicit content has now been launched globally, a move that will safeguard children.

After its launch in the US last year, the feature is coming to the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, reports The Verge.

The feature is now coming to the Messages apps on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS for users in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

“Messages now include tools that warn children and provide helpful resources if they receive or attempt to send photos that may contain nudity,” Apple said in an update.

If Messages detects that a child receives or is attempting to send this type of photo, it blurs the photo before it’s viewed on your child’s device and provides guidance and age-appropriate resources to help them make a safe choice, including contacting someone they trust if they choose.

“Messages uses on-device machine learning to analyze image attachments and determine if a photo appears to contain nudity. The feature is designed so that Apple doesn’t get access to the photos,” said the company.

The communication safety feature requires iOS 15.2 or later, iPadOS 15.2 or later, or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, and is available to child accounts signed in with their Apple ID and part of a Family Sharing group.

This feature is off by default.

“Messages offer the child several ways to get help-including leaving the conversation, blocking the contact, leaving a group message, and accessing online safety resources-and reassure the child that it’s okay if they don’t want to view the photo or continue the conversation,” said the company.

If the child chooses to view or send the photo, Messages confirm that they’re sure they want to do so and suggests alternatives, again reassuring the child that it’s okay not to participate and that more help is available.

Ajay Devgn defends association with tobacco brand, calls it ‘personal choice’

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Ajay Devgn defends association with tobacco brand, calls it ‘personal choice’

After Akshay Kumar apologized for featuring in a tobacco brand advertisement, Ajay Devgn, who is awaiting the release of his next film ‘Runway 34’, defended his association with the brand.

Ajay has been associated with the brand for a long time so much that he has become synonymous with its tagline. As per a media report, during the press interactions for ‘Runway 34’, when the actor was asked about the advertisement, he defended himself by calling it a personal choice.

He also said that people often take up something after fully being aware of its repercussions at large. He mentioned that he was only promoting ‘elaichi’ and not a tobacco product. He added that if such products cause an unnecessary stir then more than advertisements, the sale of such products should be put on hold.

Novavax’s vax targeting Covid and flu shows promise

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Novavax’s vax targeting Covid and flu shows promise

Novavax has developed a new vaccine that targets both Covid-19 and the flu and triggers an immune response similar to its stand-alone shots against each virus, the company said.

According to Chief Medical Officer Filip Dubovsky, the company’s early phase clinical trial found that up to 25 micrograms of the Covid formulation, combined with up to 35 micrograms of the flu formulation, triggered a promising level of protective antibodies, CNBC reported.

“What we demonstrated in this study is we were able to get the immune responses really comparable to what the individual vaccines did prior to the combination,” Dubovsky was quoted as saying.

Unlike mRNA vaccines, Novavax’s shots fully synthesize the virus spike outside the human body. The genetic code for the spike is put into a baculovirus that infects insect cells, which then produce copies of the spike that are purified and extracted.

The spike copy, which can’t replicate or cause Covid, is injected into people to induce an immune response against the virus, the report said.

The vaccine also uses an adjuvant, also used in vaccines against malaria and shingles, which contains an extract purified from the bark of a tree in South America, to induce a broader immune response.

Novavax’s stand-alone Covid shots consist of 5 micrograms of the spike copy and 50 micrograms of the adjuvant. The same technology has been used for its stand-alone flu vaccine candidate, which targets four strains of the virus.

In the phase one trial for its new vaccine, participants had a median age of 59 and all of them had previously received Covid vaccines. Novavax presented the data at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

To confirm the findings, Novavax aims to launch a phase two trial this year, and a phase three trial on efficacy during the 2023 flu season at the earliest, Dubovsky said.

Even as public health experts expect Covid to become a seasonal respiratory virus similar to the flu, vaccine makers are racing to develop combination shots targeting both viruses.

“Combination vaccines are an attractive public health intervention,” Dubovsky said. “You are hitting two life-threatening diseases in one medical contact, giving a single vaccination.”

While Novavax does not currently have an authorized Covid vaccine in the US, it had in January asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its Covid vaccine. However, the FDA is still reviewing Novavax’s application, Dubovsky said.

Venkaiah Naidu voices concern over rising nexus between politicians and civil servants

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Venkaiah Naidu voices concern over rising nexus between politicians and civil servants

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday voiced concern over the perceived rising nexus between the political executive and civil servants and its consequences for the people and the country. He urged the civil servants to be frank and honest and stand for what is right and to speak the truth to the political executive.

Naidu said, “Politicians being wise and receptive to good suggestions would not like the risk of being punished for any bad decision and wrongdoing and hence, the officials should present the truth and various scenarios in a convincing manner.”

“When you (civil servants) are instructed to present a particular issue in a particular manner that suits the political executive, all you need is to speak for the right and if required, to do so in writing. If you are overruled, the concerned authority would be taken to task. Political and permanent executives should work in tandem and in the right manner. Political executives should definitely change,” he said.

Naidu has noted with concern that all is not well with the civil services in the country and called for reforms to enable the promotion of meritocracy in the bureaucracy to meet the emerging challenges and complexities in the changing times. The Vice President spoke at length on a range of issues impacting the civil services while addressing Trainee Officers at Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resource Development Institute, Hyderabad on the occasion of Civil Services Day on Thursday.

Tracing India’s developmental journey since Independence, Naidu said there is still work to be done in eliminating poverty, illiteracy, gender, and social discrimination, among other issues. Calling upon the civil servants to strive harder in addressing these issues, he said the Civil Services Day offers an opportunity to introspect and understand the opportunities and challenges for the services.

“The civil services have played an important role in this journey of ours (since Independence) but all is not well with the services and they are in need of revamping, reawakening and reorientation to meet the challenges of the time,” Naidu said.

Referring to the recent reports of the bad state of finances in several states by incurring huge expenditure on ‘freebies’ in the name of welfare, Naidu stressed the need to harmonize the welfare concerns and development needs. He urged the senior civil servants in particular, to shoulder the responsibility of enabling such reconciliation by being frank and honest with the political executive about the consequences of such an approach.

While urging the civil servants to be politically neutral, the Vice President asked them to be driven by the idealism of being with the poor and the needy sections, who need their support the most. He reminded the officials that in every ‘File’, there is a ‘Life’ and the progress and life of the nation depend on effective processing of the files through proper and effective decision making.

NASA selects 6 SATCOM providers to partner on space communications by 2025

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NASA selects 6 SATCOM providers to partner on space communications by 2025

NASA has selected six American satellite communications (SATCOM) providers to begin developing and demonstrating near-Earth space communication services that may support future agency missions.

For more than a year, the US space agency has been evaluating the feasibility of employing commercial SATCOM networks for near-Earth operations as it works to decommission its near-Earth satellite fleet.

The combined value of the agency’s Communications Services Project (CSP) funded agreements is $278.5 million, NASA said in a statement.

The funded companies are Inmarsat Government ($28.6 million), Kuiper Government Solutions ($67 million), SES Government Solutions ($28.96 million), SpaceX ($69.95 million), Telesat US Services ($30.65 million), and Viasat Incorporated ($53.3 million), it added.

Each company will complete technology development and in-space demonstrations by 2025 to prove their proposed solution will deliver robust, reliable, and cost-effective mission-oriented operations, including the ability for new high-rate and high-capacity two-way communications, NASA said.

The agency expects each company to match or exceed agency contributions during the five-year development and demonstration period, totaling more than $1.5 billion of cost-share investment.

“We are following the agency’s proven approach developed through commercial cargo and commercial crew services. By using funded Space Act Agreements, we’re able to stimulate industry to demonstrate end-to-end capability leading to operational service,” said Eli Naffah, CSP project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, in a statement.

“The flight demonstrations are risk reduction activities that will develop multiple capabilities and will provide operational concepts, performance validation, and acquisition models needed to plan the future acquisition of commercial services for each class of NASA missions,” Naffah added.

Each company has proposed a technical approach to lower costs, increase flexibility, and improve performance for a broad range of missions.

The agreements create opportunities to develop innovative solutions that could potentially meet NASA’s future mission requirements.

NASA said it intends to seek multiple long-term contracts to acquire services for near-Earth operations by 2030 while phasing out NASA-owned and operating systems.

‘KGF: Chapter 2’ sets another benchmark in Hindi by crossing Rs 250 cr in 7 days

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‘KGF: Chapter 2’ sets another benchmark in Hindi by crossing Rs 250 cr in 7 days

A week after its release, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ continues to cast its spell on Hindi moviegoers. Being a regional language film, the film is racking up a splendid performance in the Hindi markets.

After registering the highest 3rd-day collection with Rs 143.64 crore, the movie has crossed the magic figure of Rs 250 crore in its first week.

Collecting 254.97 crore net (Rs 300.86 crore gross) over 7 days in the Hindi belt, the film has emerged as the highest 1st-week collector and also the first movie to cross the figure of Rs 250 crore at the Hindi box office.

In more cheer for the makers, the film is consistently improving its individual day collection also in this market. KGF-Chapter 2 earned Rs 16.35 crore (Net) on the 7th-day.

The film headlined by Yash and starring a talented ensemble cast including Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, and Srinidhi among others released nationwide on April 14, in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam. ‘K.G.F- Chapter 2’ is written and directed by Prashanth Neel.

KGF 2 is being presented in North-Indian markets by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment and AA Films. Excel has given super hits like Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Gully Boy among others.

‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ title song release to kick off promotional campaign

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‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ title song release to kick off promotional campaign

Mahesh Babu’s highly anticipated movie ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is inching towards its release, while the makers will kickstart the promotions soon.

Earlier on Wednesday, the makers of the commercial drama took to social media to announce the release of the title song ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata.’

The much-hyped title track of the Mahesh-starrer will be out on April 23. Music director S Thaman had also teased the superstar fans with a glimpse of the title song, which sparked a lot of excitement among fans.

Following the release of the title song, the producers intend to release the album’s mass number. ‘Ma Ma Maheshu’ will be the title of the next song, as guessed by superstar fans.

Starring Keerthy Suresh in a perky role as the female lead, ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is touted to be a commercial drama with politics involved in the story.

Parasuram Petla is the director for ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’, which is bankrolled under the Mythri Movie Makers banner.

Slated for its release on May 12, the movie is expected to allure the audience from all quarters.

IPL 2022: Win against Punjab much-needed; will lift team’s confidence, says DC’s Lalit Yadav

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IPL 2022: Win against Punjab much-needed; will lift team’s confidence, says DC’s Lalit Yadav

With a nine-wicket thrashing of Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium amidst Covid-19 concerns in the camp, Delhi Capitals’ all-rounder Lalit Yadav believes that Wednesday’s win will lift the confidence of the side for the rest of the IPL 2022 campaign.

Until the match against Punjab, Delhi had an inconsistent time in the tournament, winning two and losing three matches. There was a feeling of ‘yes or no’ for the match to happen when wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday morning.

But with the team returning negative Covid-19 results, the match happened and everything from the toss to hitting the winning run fell in DC’s favor, propelling them to move to sixth place in the points table.

Every bowler, barring Shardul Thakur and Mustafizur Rahman (one scalp), took two wickets each to bowl out Punjab for just 115. With the bat, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw joined forces for a whirlwind 83-run opening partnership to seal the chase in a resilient Delhi’s favor.

“This win (against Punjab) is really important from a momentum point of view. We were looking for momentum since the start, we’ve played good cricket so far but we were not consistent. In this game, we were consistent in all three departments, and that’s what we were looking for. This was a much-needed win, it will lift the team’s confidence going ahead. And, it has created a good atmosphere in the camp,” said Lalit in a release by the franchise on Thursday.

Lalit, who registered impressive bowling figures of 2/11 in two overs on a night where spinners made merry, threw light on how Delhi dealt with feelings of uncertainties in the build-up to the match against Punjab.

“We just discussed enjoying the game and giving our 100%. We were just focusing on the match. We also had one training session the other day, so it’s not that we didn’t have any practice at all. It’s just that we didn’t know whether the match will happen or not, but overall, we were confident about our abilities.”

Delhi’s next match will now be against inaugural IPL winners Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Lalit opined that when the team wins, it creates an environment of optimism apart from a gain in momentum.

“It was a different vibe altogether. You know, when we win, everything seems to look positive, no matter how many mistakes we commit. That’s a really great thing for the team, especially when the next match is in two days. The momentum we’ve gained is really important, and we will go into the next game with confidence.”

Lalit signed off by saying that Delhi will focus on their own game against the Sanju Samson-led side. “They have been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament so far, and have been playing quality cricket. However, we will focus on ourselves, we will go with our plans and try to execute them.”

Price Woes: Fertiliser subsidy bill set to touch Rs 1.65 lk cr

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Price Woes: Fertiliser subsidy bill set to touch Rs 1.65 lk cr

The Centre’s fertilizer subsidy bill is set to touch an all-time high of Rs 1.65 lakh crore this fiscal against Rs 1.05 lakh crore budgeted, due to an unprecedented rise in the cost of raw materials.

As per Crisil Ratings, in the past two fiscals, it has paid an additional Rs 1.2 lakh crore and increased the budgeted subsidy.

However, the credit rating agency said that the steep rise in raw material prices has been negating this, and another intervention may be needed in this fiscal.

Not doing so would take the subsidy arrears to an all-time high of over Rs 75,000 crore by end of this fiscal, it said.

“Over 85 percent of the subsidy arrears could be contributed by urea. This is because pooled gas prices – a blend of domestic gas and imported LNG considered for billing to fertilizers plants – had shot up more than 75 percent last fiscal, and is expected to remain elevated for the most part of this fiscal because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” said Nitesh Jain, Director, Crisil Ratings.

“At the same time, retail prices of urea have stayed put, increasing the government’s subsidy burden. This would be despite some respite likely from the commissioning of new domestic capacities that could potentially halve India’s import dependence for urea from nearly 28 percent in fiscal 2021.”

At present, the retail selling price (RSP) of urea is fixed by the government.

Besides, to spur farmers to use fertilizers for better crop yield, the government keeps the RSP significantly lower than the market rate and reimburses the urea makers through subsidy payments.

“While this protects the profitability of urea makers to a large extent, the RSP remaining unchanged despite rising costs will mean the government will have to foot a bigger subsidy bill.”

“Likewise, prices of phosphoric acid and rock phosphate – ingredients for non-urea fertilisers1 – have also gone up by 92 percent and 99 percent, respectively, in the past 12 months through March 2022.”

Furthermore, given that Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine are the major suppliers of non-urea fertilizer ingredients, the ongoing conflict will only exacerbate the situation.

“While non-urea makers have hiked prices, it may not be sufficient to cover the escalation in cost. For non-urea fertilizer makers, the government pays subsidies as per the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) rates, which are yet to be announced for this fiscal. Therefore, a revision in NBS rates bears watching…”

In addition, the credit rating agency predicted a 3 percent on-year growth in demand for fertilizers and moderation of raw material and fertilizer prices in the second half of this fiscal.

“If demand is higher than expected, or input prices do not soften even in the second half, the subsidy bill may inch up to Rs 1.8-1.9 lakh crore.”

Punjab Kings’ all-out approach with bat not paying off after Delhi self-implosion

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Punjab Kings’ all-out approach with bat not paying off after Delhi self-implosion

One look at the Punjab Kings batting order and the average cricket fan will be in envy of it: The left and right opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal, an explosive Liam Livingstone at three, Jonny Bairstow slotted at four, Jitesh Sharma providing finishing touches alongside Odean Smith.

It’s extremely clear that Punjab’s batting approach, as seen by the batters assembled by them ahead of IPL 2022 has been built on one theory: To go all-out by looking to hit boundaries all the time. The approach makes their batting order look thrilling when every batter in the line-up comes to the boundary-hitting party when they chased down 206 against Royal Challengers Bangalore where no batter reached fifty but everyone contributed enough to secure a win in their opening match of the tournament apart from posting totals of 198, 189 and 180.

At the same time, when the ultra-attacking approach doesn’t come off and with the tail starting early, Punjab can look lost with the bat and end up at a score that won’t justify their batting’s attacking worth, which scores of 137, 151, and more recently, 115 all out showed against a Covid-19 affected Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday.

Agarwal was striking well in the first three overs but once Delhi brought on Lalit Yadav and took out Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab’s ultra-attacking approach started to taper off on a pitch where the ball was gripping and stopping a bit.

It was Livingstone’s dismissal, though, which summed up the lack of adaptability of an all-out attacking approach from Punjab.

Against Axar Patel, a ferocious Livingstone tried to take him down by dancing down the pitch for a straight loft down the ground. But Axar had shortened his length and got the ball to turn away sharply, which meant Livingstone was already out of the crease and missed the ball completely while going for the loft to be stumped from behind.

With batters floundering while going for the attack barring a 32 from Jitesh Sharma, Punjab’s batting continued to fall apart till being bowled out for 115.

In his pitch report, broadcaster Simon Doull had predicted a score of 180-190 for the team batting first. But Punjab imploded spectacularly to prove his prediction wrong.

Moreover, with no Odean Smith, to get a genuine pacer in Nathan Ellis, Punjab’s batter had become weaker.

“We did not bat or bowl well, we have to put this behind us. Losing too many wickets too early, but I do not want to dig too deep as the more we do it, the more the negatives that will come. 180 was a decent score but we were well short of that,” was Agarwal’s assessment of his team’s batting performance after the match.

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, while speaking to cricket.com, thinks Punjab can look to bring in Sri Lanka’s blazing batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was left out of the playing eleven to bring in Bairstow after the first three matches to increase the depth of Punjab’s batting order.

The absence of Rajapaksa, with a staggering strike rate of 230.56, has deprived Punjab of a flying start in power-play as a top-order power-hitter.

“I think it’s a bigger story for me. If you have Rabada batting at No.7, that’s a problem. It’s like one or two places high. He’s not the player who’s gonna get 70-80. On paper, they have a great top order. We thought maybe they’ll bring in Nathan Ellis or a specialist bowler, but Rajapaksa has to come into consideration. With Bairstow, I’ll back him for one or two games, but Rajapaksa brings a certain balance to the team.”

In terms of team-wise run-rate in different phases of batting in IPL 2022, Punjab has the second-best run rate in power-play (9.52). But when it goes to middle overs, it goes down to 7.72 (second worst) and 9.35 in the death overs (worst among all teams). Apart from Livingstone and Sharma, no other batter in Punjab has exhibited desirable form and consistency in the tournament.

So, the story for Punjab’s batting order till now in IPL 2022 has been to go for the kill or implode completely. They must remember that there is a fine line between being carefree and careless; with one change in a letter, the meaning of the word changes.

With a lack of capable options in the backup, Punjab has to pull up their socks ahead of the second half of the tournament in terms of their batting approach, otherwise, the up-and-down extremes will continue to happen either batting first or second, before the clock runs out for them to make the playoffs.

Fully vaccinated Spanish woman infected with Omicron 20 days-post Delta

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Fully vaccinated Spanish woman infected with Omicron 20 days-post Delta

A 31-year-old woman in Spain caught the Omicron infection just 20 days after the Delta variant, in what is claimed to be the shortest known gap between infections, according to researchers.

However, in a similar case, a rare breakthrough infection was reported in a vaccinated 61-year-old Delhi doctor in 2021, who contracted the Alpha and Delta variants within 19 days.

The Spanish woman, who was a healthcare worker, first tested positive for the infection on December 20, 2021, in a PCR test during staff screening at her place of work.

She was fully vaccinated and had received a booster shot 12 days earlier.

The patient, who didn’t develop any symptoms, self-isolated for 10 days before returning to work.

On January 10, 2022, just 20 days after first testing positive, she developed a cough, and fever and felt generally unwell, and had undergone another PCR test which was also positive.

Whole-genome sequencing showed that the patient had been infected by two different strains of SARS-CoV-2 — in December it was the Delta variant, and the second in January was the Omicron variant.

“This case highlights the potential of the Omicron variant to evade the previous immunity acquired either from a natural infection with other variants or from vaccines,” said Gemma Recio, of Institut Catala de Salut, Tarragona, Spain.

In other words, people who have had Covid-19 cannot assume they are protected against reinfection, even if they have been fully vaccinated, Recio added.

However, she said together the previous infection and vaccination partially protect the patient against severe disease and hospitalisation.

“This case also underscores the need to carry out genomic surveillance of viruses in infections in those who are fully vaccinated and in reinfections. Such monitoring will help detect variants with the ability to partially evade the immune response,” Recio noted.

The case report will be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from April 23-26.

A Delhi doctor, Veena Aggarwal was thrice infected with Covid-19 — contracting both the Alpha and Delta variants after vaccination.

Aggarwal first tested positive on August 16, 2020, and was asymptomatic. She received her first dose of the Covishield vaccine on February 1, 2021, followed by the second dose on March 15, 2021.

On April 12, she tested positive for the second time and had symptoms such as acute abdominal pain, fever, myalgia, and fatigue. Within 19 days, on May 3, she tested positive for the third time.

The infection resulted in hypoxia, hospitalization, and illness lasting seven weeks. Whole-genome sequencing showed the second infection was caused by the Alpha variant and the third by the Delta variant.

Her case reported in the peer-reviewed medical journal Frontiers in Medicine identified a rare breakthrough infection in 19 days and also confirmed it as reinfection, presenting the first such documented case of two reinfections and two breakthrough infections.

Coinbase unveils NFT marketplace in limited beta

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Coinbase unveils NFT marketplace in limited beta

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that its non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace is now in beta version and accessible to “a small set of beta testers who will be invited based on their position”.

The company said now anyone can check out the first version of Coinbase NFT and explore the vast collection of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

“Beta testers will be able to create a Coinbase NFT profile to buy and sell NFTs using any self-custody wallet, whether that’s Coinbase Wallet or something else,” said Sanchan Saxena, VP of Product, Ecosystem Products, in a blog post.

“For a limited time, there will be no Coinbase transaction fees. We will eventually add fees, which will be in line with Web3 industry standards, and we will provide notice before anything changes,” Saxena added.

The company said it is starting with a small set of beta testers who will be invited based on their position on the company’s waitlist. It will start at the top of the waitlist and open access to more people over time.

Users can create a profile that represents them by curating it with the NFTs that tell their story. Users can connect any self-custody wallet to select the NFTs they want to highlight or hide on their profile.

In the coming weeks and months, the company said it will add more features that will gradually bring the company’s vision for a web3 social marketplace to life.

“We are planning to add drops, minting, token-gated communities, and the option to buy NFTs with your Coinbase account or a credit card,” the company added.

“We will also add support for NFTs on multiple chains. And over time, we intend to decentralize more features by moving them from Coinbase tech to decentralized solutions,” it said.

India-first Google Search air quality feature now available in US

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India-first Google Search air quality feature now available in US

Google has expanded its feature to give detailed information about air quality to help people avoid pollution in the US.

First rolled out in India last November, the feature allows users to search “air pollution near me” and related queries.

According to TechCrunch, users can now search for queries like “air quality in Brooklyn” or “air quality in Boston” to get information about a location that is different from their current location.

“We’re always working on new ways to connect people with helpful information when they come to Google,” a spokesperson from the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We continue to explore ways to make authoritative information on a range of sustainability and environmental topics readily accessible and look forward to sharing more in this space soon,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The new feature joins a series of updates to Search that Google has launched over the past few months, as mentioned in a report.

Last year, Google allowed users to find real-time information about the air quality in their area in India, with the help of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Earlier this month, Google had announced to add a new “highly cited” label to search results to help users find the original source of a trending story.

Ayushmann to play undercover cop in political action thriller ‘Anek’

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Ayushmann to play undercover cop in political action thriller ‘Anek’

Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana will be seen in the avatar of an undercover cop in the upcoming political action thriller ‘Anek’, directed by Anubhav Sinha.

Although, he has earlier played a cop in ‘Article 15’, which too was incidentally directed by Anubhav, this will be the first time when he will be essaying such a character.

While talking about his character in the film, Ayushmann said “This is the first time the audience will see me in this avatar. I have played a cop before but this is the first time they will see me going undercover. Joshua in Anek is street smart and intelligent.”

He further mentioned, “He knows his way around people and can fight bad guys not only in a physical capacity but also with his great intellect. I was very pumped to try my hands at portraying Joshua as it gave me an opportunity to explore something I hadn’t done before. I owe it to my audience to offer them new experiences with each film”

Sharing his approach to this character, he said, ” As an undercover cop, Joshua has the perfect traits of a spy and I had to work on my physical and mental skills to portray that. Right from his observation skills to his ability to combat the enemy, the character’s journey keeps one intrigued and gripped throughout. Also, the action sequences had to look real and raw to fit into the world of Anek and to portray what Anubhav had envisioned, I was inscribed with the right amount of guidance and training.”

Talking about the film, director Anubhav Sinha said, “I am excited about ‘Anek’s’ release as it has a lot in store for the audience. Ayushmann has put everything into portraying Joshua, there is no one else who could have done it better than him. Not only is he a great actor but he was pretty dauntless when it came to performing an action as an undercover cop in the film.”

Jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series and Anubhav Sinha’s Benaras Mediaworks, ‘Anek’ poses a question about what it truly takes to be an Indian above all its divide and how one man is on a mission to unite the nation!

The film, shot in the northeast, is set to arrive in cinemas on May 27, 2022, after its release date was moved from May 13 to accommodate the release of the Ranveer Singh-starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar’.

Sun fires strongest solar flare in nearly 5 years

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Sun fires strongest solar flare in nearly 5 years

The Sun has emitted its strongest solar flare seen since 2017.

According to the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), an X2.2 flare occurred at 11.57 p.m EDT on April 19. The flare erupted from a region just beyond the southwest limb of the Sun – likely former Region 2992.

The strong flare was associated with multiple bursts on specific radio frequencies but did not result in coronal mass ejection (CME).

“Forecasters are waiting for available coronagraph imagery from the NASA/SOHO LASCO instrument to confirm if a CME took place, and if so, analyze accordingly,” SWPC said.

“However, as the source region of the flare was beyond the southwest limb, initial analysis suggests any CME is unlikely to have an Earth-directed component,” it added.

“Today’s X2.2 solar flare is the strongest solar flare of the current Solar Cycle thus far. It peaked at 03:57 UTC and came from sunspot region 2992 which is rounding the western limb. The eruption was fairly impulsive and the resulting CME is not earth-directed,” the agency said on Twitter.

Again on April 20, the Region 2993 produced an M9.6 flare comparatively moderate at 9.59 p.m. EDT, the SWPC said.

Region 2993 is one of two moderately complex sunspot groups currently present on the northeast quadrant of the Sun – the other being Region 2994.

The moderate level flare was associated with multiple bursts on specific radio frequencies. The imagery from the NASA/SOHO LASCO instrument confirms a CME took place. But scientists are yet to determine if it will have an effect on the earth.

While X-class solar flares are the strongest types of storms on the sun, the weakest are A-class; B- and C-class storms are also relatively moderate.

More powerful M-class storms and above can supercharge the Earth’s northern lights displays while the strongest X-class storms can pose a risk to satellites and astronauts in orbit when aimed directly at Earth.

X2.2. X-class flares are the strongest category measured by scientists, and higher numbers following the X represent an increase in the power of the eruption, CNet reported.

NASA has recorded a few X1 flares in the past year, but this is the strongest seen since the sun-blasted off a pair of monster X-class flares, including an X9, in the second week of September 2017.

The strongest flare ever observed was in excess of X28, in 2003.

The big blast is the latest indication our current solar cycle is heating up. The sun is currently in an increasingly active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle and the current cycle is known as Solar Cycle 25 which began in 2019. We are currently building toward a peak of activity that will come around the middle of the 2020s, the report said.

Zoom announces new features including Gesture Recognition, Whiteboard

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Zoom announces new features including Gesture Recognition, Whiteboard

Video-conferencing platform Zoom has announced that it is rolling out new features including gesture Recognition, Zoom IQ for Sales, Zoom Whiteboard, etc.

The company said that users can now easily share how they are feeling with others and encourage seamless engagement with Gesture Recognition, which allows for visual gestures, such as a raised hand, to automatically display a corresponding meeting reaction.

This feature currently supports Raise Hand and Thumbs Up reactions and requires client version 5.10.3 or higher, and can be enabled at the account, group, or user level. This setting is disabled at the client level by default.

“In this update, we have provided a range of features to help you and your teams enhance, protect, and streamline your collaboration, including Gesture Recognition, Zoom IQ for Sales, Zoom Whiteboard, Backstage for Zoom Events, and more,” the company said in a blogpost.

Zoom said that it has completely rebuilt the whiteboard experience to bring the all-new Whiteboard, a cross-platform, persistent, online, visual collaboration solution that’s built right into the Zoom desktop client, Zoom Meetings, and Zoom Rooms for Touch devices.

“Take your collaboration to the next level with features like; shapes, connectors, sticky notes, adding images, and more. Check out our blog or Zoom Whiteboard website for more information on Zoom Whiteboard!” the company said.

Zoom said that companies can now help their sales teams reach their full potential with Zoom IQ for Sales, a conversation AI solution that analyzes customer interactions to surface key insights, actions, and content from sales meetings.

After a devastating 96, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis says century round the corner

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After a devastating 96, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis says century round the corner

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s charismatic South African skipper Faf du Plessis is hoping to cash in on the momentum of scoring a fine 64-ball 96 — which bulldozed Lucknow Super Giants — to score a century in IPL 2022 soon.

It was an emphatic win for RCB as they sealed their fifth win of the season, surpassing LSG in an emphatic all-round display that needed some effort. While du Plessis played a captain’s knock, it was Shahbaz Ahmed who played the perfect anchor at the other end, steadying the innings. The duo stitched together a crucial stand of 70 runs.

Du Plessis indicated that had it been a smaller ground, he would have crossed the century mark with ease, but with DY Patil’s expansive boundaries, it became a bit of an effort.

“Because of the nature of the (DY Patil) ground, it’s quite big so you run a lot of twos. Towards the end, it can get a little bit tiring but it’s a good way to keep your fitness up. My elusive IPL hundred… I feel it is around the corner,” said the 37-year-old South African.

On being awarded the player of the match in the 18-run win, he said, “Amazingly, we were in trouble, as we were in the last three or four games, but we have a knack of someone getting through it, stabilising the innings, having composure and then towards the end we’re a very dangerous team. I’m grateful that I could do it. I was hungry for some runs. I wanted to make a big impact because the last few games had been quiet for me.”

He shed light on how he approached the game.

“I went through my own processes and blueprint for scoring runs so I had a clear mental image going into this match and glad that it paid off. (I was tiring) but I was still in a mode where I felt I could still hit the ball. If you bowled slow into the wicket to the big boundary, the ball stopped quite a bit so you never felt like you had enough power to clear the boundary,” du Plessis told RCB Bold diaries.

“I think it was evident from everyone that big boundaries if you bowled well it was difficult to score boundaries. There was quite a bit happening in those first three or four overs. They got us in trouble and somehow, we found a way and just stuck right through the innings. But the bowlers are really on the top of their game.”

Australian pace bowler Josh Hazelwood too was awestruck with the rampant performance of his skipper, saying that du Plessis was waiting to explode.

“Faf’s been brewing. He’s had a few lean games coming off but tonight he took his time and kept the score going along and finished with a bang so credit to him. (On the ball not called a wide before Stoinis wicket) I tried to turn around and get back to my mark as quickly as I could. I got pretty lucky on that one so I might have to get him a beer after that,” said Hazlewood.

RCB’s athletic fielding complementing their batting prowess

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RCB’s athletic fielding complementing their batting prowess

While Royal Challengers Bangalore have relied on their hotshot skipper Faf du Plessis, and middle-order batters Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik to deliver with the bat, it’s their athletic fielding — and the way Anuj Rawat and Suyash Prabhudessai have been gliding and making tjose diving saves — that has caught the attention of one and all.

RCB players produced some electric fielding efforts on the pitch which saw them defeat Delhi Capitals by 16 runs on April 16. In a match that saw Dinesh Karthik smash the DC bowling all around the park for his unbeaten 66, former skipper Virat Kohli plucked out a ripper from mid-air while Rawat, Prabhudessai, and du Plessis provided the edge on the field, preventing several DC strikes from reaching the boundary ropes.

In the contest against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 19, which RCB won by 18 runs to climb to No.2 on the points table, Prabhudessai pulled off a fine catch while Kohli, du Plessis, and Rawat were simply amazing on the field. They didn’t hesitate to throw their bodies on the field and the discipline was impeccable.

Du Plessis was exceptionally happy to see his team put in their best efforts on the ground. “We have got good athletes in our squad. We want to make sure that we are bringing this intensity every time to the ground,” he said.

He also spoke about his team’s bowling saying, “Our bowlers are doing their job, but it is also a help to put up such electric fielding. We just want to make sure that out of all the teams that there are, we should have the best athletes on the field.”

Du Plessis himself put in a rollicking effort that saw him saving two crucial runs that had fears of him injuring himself but in the end, it was all in a day’s work and he came out unscathed.

In fact, RCB’s dependable middle-order batter Maxwell had praised Rawat and Prabhudessai following the team’s win against DC at the Wankhede on April 16, saying, “I am really proud of two guys here, Anuj Rawat and Suyash Prabhdudessai. Despite not getting too many runs around, they have still created a very positive impact on the game. I think that is really a key thing when you come to the side,” Maxwell had said on RCB Bold Diaries.

“I think even if you are not scoring runs or taking wickets, I still think you are having a positive effect. Those guys are continuing to do that.”

Instagram to tweak ranking system to boost original content

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Instagram to tweak ranking system to boost original content

Meta-owned Instagram is going to tweak its algorithm to improve its ranking system and better highlight original content from creators, its head Adam Mosseri has announced.

The social media platform will tweak its ranking algorithm to highlight original content more on its platform.

“We’ve added new ways to tag and improved ranking: Product Tags, Enhanced Tags, Ranking for originality,” Mosseri said in a tweet late on Wednesday.

“Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve,” he added.

In response to a tweet from social media consultant Matt Navarra, Mosseri noted that Instagram already works to highlight original content, but that it’s leaning more in this direction and will continue to do so.

“As we learn more into recommendations it’s becoming increasingly important that we don’t overvalue aggregators, as that would be bad for creators, and therefore bad for the Instagram long term,” Mosseri said in a tweet.

Instagram said that it is important that the credit and monetization go straight to the original creator.

“If you create something from scratch, you should get more credit than if you are resharing something that you found from someone else. We’re going to do more to try and value original content more, particularly compared to reposted content,” said the Instagram head.

Tesla posts $3bn in profit, aims 1.5mn cars this year

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Tesla posts $3bn in profit, aims 1.5mn cars this year

Despite ongoing supply chain challenges and factory shutdown in China, Elon Musk-run Tesla earned $3.3 billion profit in the first quarter this year, registering $18.7 billion in revenue.

In the first quarter, Tesla produced more than 305,000 vehicles and delivered more than 310,000 vehicles.

The company said it delivered 295,324 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, while 14,724 were for the Model S and X.

On an earnings call with analysts late on Tuesday, Musk predicted that the electric car-maker would be able to ramp up production and produce 1.5 million cars this year.

“It seems likely that we’ll be able to produce one and a half million cars this year,” he said.

The company has opened two new facilities — one in Berlin and the second in Austin, Texas, this year.

Tesla started production in Berlin in March 2022 and began delivering Model Y from Texas this April.

On Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta program, Musk said, “with respect to full-self driving, of any technology development I’ve ever been involved in, I’ve never really seen more kinds of false dawns where it seems like we’re going to break through but we don’t.”

Automotive revenue reached $16.86 billion, up 87 percent from the same period in 2021, said the company.

Musk, who has made a Twitter takeover offer of $43 billion, said Tesla will hold a robotaxi event in 2023 and is aiming for volume production in 2024.

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