GST Council did not recommend reducing GST on health insurance: FM

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GST Council did not recommend reducing GST on health insurance: FM

The GST Council has not recommended a reduction of the 18 percent GST rate on health insurance schemes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament on Monday.

At present, GST on health insurance services is levied at a standard rate of 18 percent.

“Health insurance, like the majority of other taxable supplies, is standard rated at 18 percent. In pre-GST regime also, health insurance was standard rated,” Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

“A significant relief in GST has been provided by way of exemption to above stated insurance schemes catering to economically weaker sections of the society and differently-abled. Further, healthcare services are also exempt from GST.”

Health insurance schemes catering to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society and differently-abled, such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, the Universal Health Insurance Scheme, the Jan Argoya Bima Policy, and the Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are fully exempt from GST.

According to Sitharaman, representations to reduce the GST on health insurance were placed before the Council in its 31st meeting held on December 22, 2018, and in its 37th meeting held on September 20, 2019.

“GST Council did not make a recommendation for reduction of GST,” she added

Maxwell to be available for RCB’s game against Mumbai Indians on April 9

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Maxwell to be available for RCB’s game against Mumbai Indians on April 9

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) director of cricket operations, Mike Hesson, put a lid on the rumors surrounding the availability of Australian limited-overs specialist Glenn Maxwell, saying that he will not be available for the crucial game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium later on Tuesday.

Maxwell has missed the first couple of matches for RCB and will also miss the third game against RR on Tuesday as he is contracted to Cricket Australia (CA). The 33-year-old will however be available for selection for RCB’s fourth match in IPL 2022 on April 9 against Mumbai Indians.

“From a Cricket Australia point of view, no contracted players are available before the 6th of April. So, regardless of when they arrive over here, no one can play until the 6th. We’ve been well aware of that as any other side, we’ve planned for that. Maxi will be with us and available from the 9th (of April).”

Australia is playing a limited-overs series against Pakistan in Lahore, and irrespective of whether a Cricket Australia-contracted player is in the squad or not, he cannot play anywhere else unless his team’s engagements for that particular series are over.

RCB will be back on the field after a gap of five days, and looking ahead to the clash against the Royals, Hesson told RCB Bold Diaries on Tuesday that his side will have to adapt quickly to its first game at the Wankhede after having played the last two matches at the DY Patil Stadium.

“Both our games have been at DY (Patil stadium) which is quite a different surface and different surroundings, different boundary dimensions. So our first challenge at Wankhede — we have to adapt to different sizes of the boundaries, whether on a used surface or a new one. We know there’s going to be dew, so that’s not an excuse for anybody. We’re just going to have to deal with that,” Hesson opined.

With three former RCB players — Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Navdeep Saini — now in the RR camp, Hesson felt that it won’t give an advantage to his side.

“It probably helps both parties. They know a lot about us, and we know a lot about them. So, once again it’s probably just down to how well people deal with pressure on the day. All the good players that you mentioned, have done well at times for RCB in the past. We’re looking forward to taking them on, but we’re obviously looking to get one over on them as well,” he said.

NASA telescope uses moonlight to enhance accuracy of satellites

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NASA telescope uses moonlight to enhance accuracy of satellites

NASA has sent a telescope in space that will measure the amount of light reflected off the Moon in order to improve the accuracy and consistency of measurements among Earth-observing satellites.

The airborne Lunar Spectral Irradiance, or air-LUSI, flew aboard NASA’s ER-2 aircraft to accurately measure reflected moonlight.

By using the Moon as a “tuning fork,” scientists can more easily compare data from different satellites to look at global changes over long periods of time, the US space agency said in a statement late on Monday.

“The Moon is extremely stable and not influenced by factors on Earth-like climate to any large degree. It becomes a very good calibration reference, an independent benchmark, by which we can set our instruments and see what’s happening with our planet,” said air-LUSI’s principal investigator, Kevin Turpie from the University of Maryland in the US.

NASA has more than 20 Earth-observing satellites that give researchers a global perspective on the interconnected Earth system.

The air-LUSI is a telescope that measures how much light is reflected off the lunar surface to assess the amount of energy Earth-observing satellites receive from moonlight.

In order to improve the accuracy of lunar reflectance models, air-LUSI measurements are accurate with less than 1 percent uncertainty.

This airborne approach has the advantage of studying moonlight during different phases of the Moon while being able to bring the instrument back between flights for evaluation, maintenance, and, if necessary, repair, according to NASA.

“Once air-LUSI measurements are used to improve the accuracy of the total amount of light coming from the Moon, we can take extensively more accurate measurements of Earth using current and future space-borne observatories,” said Turpie.

Amazon app won’t let workers use words like ‘slave labour’, ‘restroom’

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Amazon app won’t let workers use words like ‘slave labour’, ‘restroom’

Alarmed at the employee’s open criticism of workplace conditions, Amazon is reportedly adding a content filter to its internal messaging app that will block flag words like “union”, “slave labor”, “grievance”, “living wage”, and even “restroom”.

The content filter would ban words that reflect the company’s working conditions or pertain to organizing a union, according to a report in The Intercept.

In addition to other inappropriate words, the internal app will also reportedly block or flag words like “unfair”, “master”, “slave”, “injustice”, “ethics”, “diversity”, “fairness”, “pay raise”, and phrases like “This is dumb” or “This is concerning”.

“Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge late on Monday. “This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all. If it does launch at some point down the road, there are no plans for many of the words you’re calling out to be screened,” the spokesperson added.

The news about the internal messaging app came as the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) scored a historic victory last week to become the first-ever union to successfully organize Amazon employees. especially to raise issues like warehouse conditions, gender discrimination, and pay disparity with the e-commerce giant.

Amazon is known for its “aversion to unions and its willingness to use union-busting tactics”.

Hackers hit email marketing giant Mailchimp, access crypto wallets’ data

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Hackers hit email marketing giant Mailchimp, access crypto wallets’ data

Hackers have stolen data from more than 100 clients of email marketing giant Mailchimp after they broke into its services, using the data to mount phishing attacks on the users of cryptocurrency platforms.

Trezor hardware cryptocurrency wallet, a user of Mailchimp, tweeted that they have been targeted by sophisticated phishing emails.

“MailChimp has confirmed that their service has been compromised by an insider targeting crypto companies,” said Trezor.

“We have managed to take the phishing domain offline. We are trying to determine how many email addresses have been affected,” it posted, adding they will not be communicating by newsletter until the situation is resolved.

The Mailchimp security team disclosed that a malicious actor accessed an internal tool used by customer-facing teams for customer support and account administration.

The bad actor gained access to this tool as a result of a successful social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees.

“This attack is exceptional in its sophistication and was clearly planned to a high level of detail. The phishing application is a cloned version of Trezor Suite with very realistic functionality, and also included a web version of the app,” said the cryptocurrency wallet.

In a statement to The Verge, Mailchimp CISO Siobhan Smyth said that the company had become aware of the breach on March 26 when it detected unauthorized access to a tool used by the company’s customer support and account administration teams.

“The hackers were still able to view around 300 Mailchimp user accounts and obtain audience data from 102 of them,” Smyth said.

“We sincerely apologize to our users for this incident and realize that it brings inconvenience and raises questions for our users and their customers,” Smyth added.

Opportunity for Finch to end limited-overs series against Pakistan on a high

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Opportunity for Finch to end limited-overs series against Pakistan on a high

His inconsistent form persisting, Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch will look to end the series on a high when the tourists take on Pakistan in the one-off T20 International here later on Tuesday.

Pakistan, after losing the Test series 0-1 to Australia, staged a remarkable fight-back in the ODI series, winning 2-1. And, the Babar Azam-led side would be hoping to avenge the ICC T20 World Cup semifinal loss to the tourists in the UAE last year when they clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in the D/N game.

Australia’s inexperienced and new-look side means that only three of their winning T20 World Cup XI are available for the one-off T20I. The most experienced of them is of course Finch, who has been plagued by patchy form, having registered scores of 23, 0, and 0 in the ODI series.

However, Travis Head and Ben McDermott’s recent form lends positivity to the side, with Marcus Stoinis expected to shoulder additional responsibility in the middle order in the absence of limited-overs specialists Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh. Adam Zampa, the sixth-ranked T20I bowler, could be Australia’s trump card against a star-studded Pakistan.

The hosts have been in sublime T20I form of late, having defeated Bangladesh and the West Indies 3-0 each post the T20 World Cup. Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, the top-two ranked batters on the ICC T20I rankings, form the backbone of the line-up that features seasoned power-hitters Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali, and Khushdil Shah.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi leads the bowling unit, to go with Haris Rauf’s incisive pace and the skilled spin-bowling expertise of Shadab Khan, who could return after injury kept him out of the One-dayers.

The last T20I clash between the two teams — the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinal in Dubai — turned out to be a thriller, culminating in Australia securing a place in the final and going on to win their maiden title.

Unbeaten till that point in the competition, Pakistan put up 176/4 after being put in to bat, with Rizwan (67 off 52), Zaman (55 not out from 32), and Babar (39 off 34) being the chief contributors.

Australian opener David Warner and Mitchell Marsh got the chase going after Finch fell for a first-ball duck before Shadab spun a web to reduce Australia to 96/5 in the 13th over, leaving 81 required off 46. Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade brought it down to 20 off 10 with some quality strokes, before the latter was shelved by Hasan Ali at deep midwicket to add to the drama.

Wade struck three sixes in a row to seal the deal for Australia — a blitz reminiscent of Michael Hussey’s in the 2009 edition semifinal in St. Lucia. Three days later, Australia defeated New Zealand at the same venue to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam credited his players for the turnaround in the ODI series after losing the first game.

“You need confidence after losing the first game. The credit goes to the players as they took responsibility and showed good efforts with the ball and the bat. There is pressure but you should back your game. I try to take most of the pressure and back my boys,” said Azam.

Aaron Finch said he saw lots of positives despite the ODI series loss. “I thought there were a lot more positives than negatives (in the ODI series). It was just that we were on the receiving end of a couple of great knocks from Babar and Imam. It’s been amazing to play here in Pakistan in front of some great fans. They’ve been supportive of great cricket regardless of whether it’s Australia playing well or Pakistan. So we’re very thankful for that,” said Finch.

Huge scale of sexual violence endured in Ukraine emerges

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Huge scale of sexual violence endured in Ukraine emerges

Women across Ukraine are grappling with the threat of rape as a weapon of war with growing evidence of sexual violence emerging from areas retaken from retreating Russian forces, The Guardian reported.

The world was horrified on Sunday by a picture taken by Mikhail Palinchak on a highway 20 km outside Kiev, in which the bodies of one man and three women were piled under a blanket. The women were naked and their bodies had been partially burnt, the photographer said.

The harrowing image adds to a mounting body of evidence that summary executions, rape, and torture have been used against civilians in areas under Russian control since the Kremlin launched the invasion of its neighbor on February 24, The Guardian reported.

Particularly difficult for many to comprehend is the scale of sexual violence. As Russian troops have withdrawn from towns and suburbs around the capital in order to refocus the war effort on Ukraine’s east, women and girls have come forward to tell the police, media, and human rights organizations of the atrocities they have suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers.

Gang rapes, assaults taking place at gunpoint, and rapes committed in front of children are among the grim testimonies collected by the investigators, the report said.

And it is not only the Russian soldier’s Ukrainian women may have to protect themselves from. In Vinnytsia, a town in the west of the country, a teacher reported to police that a member of the territorial defense services dragged her into the school library and tried to rape her. The man was arrested.

Modi, Bennett discuss prevailing situation in Ukraine

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Modi, Bennett discuss prevailing situation in Ukraine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett over the phone and discussed the recent geopolitical developments, including the situation in Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine war has entered its 40th day. Explosions were heard on Monday in the cities of Kherson and Odesa, in the south, while air raid sirens sounded across the east.

Modi conveyed his best wishes to Bennett for early recovery after his Covid-19 diagnosis. The Prime Minister also expressed his condolences for the loss of lives in the recent terrorist attacks in Israel.

“The leaders had a detailed discussion on recent geopolitical developments, including the situation in Ukraine. They also reviewed the ongoing bilateral cooperation initiatives,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Modi also conveyed his eagerness to welcome Bennett to India at an early date.

In the Russia-Ukraine war, India has called for “restraint on all sides” and said that all issues between both countries can only be resolved through “diplomatic dialogue”.

Earlier, Modi had spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in an attempt to resolve the issue through “dialogue”.

Modi had also welcomed the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and expressed hope that they would lead to a cessation of the conflict.

Similarly, Bennett plays a peacemaker’s role in the war and has made numerous calls to both Putin and Zelensky in an attempt to assist the efforts to resolve the conflict,

Sonnalli Seygall says working with Nawaz is like an acting class

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Sonnalli Seygall says working with Nawaz is like an acting class

Actress Sonnalli Seygall, who finished shooting for the upcoming film ‘Noorani Chehra’ along with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nupur Sanon, said the whole experience of working with Nawaz changed her approach towards acting.

Talking about the film, Sonnalli said, “It was amazing working with Nawaz, Jassie, and Nupur. I had a blast actually as it was a super fun cast and crew. I was really looking forward to working with Nawazuddin and when it finally happened, it was almost like going to an acting school for me.

“Just watching him do these scenes and bringing his own flavor to them, wondering how he does it, was just wonderful. Most of my scenes in the film are with Nawaz and as an artist, it was just amazing for me to have that sort of an investment and the give and take in the scene from him.”

The film is directed by Navaniat Singh.

Sonnalli who recently appeared in the Sunny Leone-starrer web series ‘Anamika’ mentioned that her character in the upcoming film is something that she has never attempted before.

“My look is very different as well as I play a well-educated Muslim girl from a small town. I started shooting for it in February in Ghaziabad and other parts of Uttar Pradesh. People will see me in a different avatar altogether,” said the actress, known for playing a pivotal part in ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’.

Amazon, Future Retail agree in SC to appear before Singapore Int’l Arbitration Centre

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Amazon, Future Retail agree in SC to appear before Singapore Int’l Arbitration Centre

Amazon and Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that they wish to appear before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in connection with the pending adjudication of arbitration proceedings before it.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli said: “It is stated and agreed by both the parties that they wish to appear before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and request that the proceedings, pending adjudication before it, be expedited on the issues agreed upon between them. Towards this purpose, both the parties are directed to file a Joint Memo of Consent Terms by April 5. List these matters on April 6.”

The bench asked both parties to inform it at the next hearing about the developments in the Delhi High Court, which is hearing the Amazon and FRL dispute.

The Chief Justice also objected to bulky documents repeatedly filed by parties in the matter. “Please do not burden us by thrusting heaps of papers,” said the bench.

Last week, senior advocate Harish Salve, representing FRL, told the Supreme Court that nobody wants to do business with it today as Section 7 of the IBC may come any day, and the company owes landlords thousands of crores in rentals, as Amazon could not get Future Retail, it destroyed the company.

Salve submitted that Reliance entered into an agreement with the landlords, and Future Retail owes Rs 3,000 crore in rentals. He added that once this goes into Section 7 of IBC, all this will come to an end, and no one wants to do business with it.

Salve said Amazon, for Rs 1,400 crore, destroyed his client’s company. “They could not get Future Retail, they destroyed Future Retail,” he said, adding that Big Bazaar is gone and also all the assets.

“All my accounts are frozen, nobody wants to touch us.Future Retail cash flow further deteriorated, after states imposed lockdown… Hanging by a thread,” he said.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, representing Amazon, said that as far as the resumption of arbitration is concerned, it appears both parties have found common ground, and they are interested in resumption.

However, he vehemently objected to the sudden handover of Future Retail assets. Citing a prayer in Amazon’s application, Subramanium opposed the alienation of Future Retail assets and added “Can’t be a magical switch… Future Retail shops should continue to remain with it; operated by FRL until the matter is resolved by an arbitral tribunal.”

Amazon, in an application, had raised the issue of Future Retail’s shops and assets being taken over by Reliance, besides resumption of arbitration over FRL’s merger deal with Reliance Retail.

Last month, Amazon alleged that 80 percent of FRL shops have been surrendered to Reliance. Future Retail maintained that no asset has been transferred.

Telugu, Hindi versions of chartbuster ‘Arabic Kuthu’ out now

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Telugu, Hindi versions of chartbuster ‘Arabic Kuthu’ out now

Kollywood star Vijay’s most-anticipated upcoming movie ‘Beast’ is gearing up for a grand release in theaters on April 13.

With the release planned in Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi languages simultaneously, the producers have kickstarted the promotions.

As a part of promotions, the Telugu and Hindi versions of the superhit song ‘Halamithi Habibo’, also known as ‘Arabic Kuthu’, from the movie, were released on Monday.

Sri Sai Kiran and Raqueeb Alam have penned the Telugu and Hindi lyrics of the song, respectively.

‘Arabic Kuthu’ has already taken over the country, with viral videos of the dance imitations floating all over social media.

Now that the song is released in Telugu and Hindi, this is expected to further boost the hype around the release.

Regional Equestrian League: Rayan Kukreja secures top position

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Regional Equestrian League: Rayan Kukreja secures top position

Rayan Kukreja secured top position in the Junior category of show jumping in 57.1 seconds with four penalties while Zrey Dodhy secured second and third places while riding on two different horses and finished his jumps in 60.32 and 62.72 seconds respectively in the Regional Equestrian League at the Amateur Riders’ Club at Mahalaxmi Race Course, here on Monday.

Zrey rode with Winston in the first round and with Visionist in the second.

In the Young Rider category of show jumping, Arjun Kanoi secured both first and second places while riding on two occasions with his horses, Divinity and Quality. Arjun finished his jumping rounds in 57.53 and 63.86 seconds without any penalties.

Freya Deshmane secured third place while riding her horse Conquest and finished her rounds in 56.03 seconds with sixteen penalties.

After securing the top position, Kanoi said, “Winning the I’m super thrilled to have 2 clear rounds and to qualify for the JNEC 2022 showjumping. I truly believe in practicing as I’ve never won, and performing like I’ve never lost. So glad that all my practice has paid off. I got a chance to ride Quintus in this REL and also my trusted horse Divinity.”

IPL 2022: No room for ego when bowling in T20 cricket, says Andrew Tye

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IPL 2022: No room for ego when bowling in T20 cricket, says Andrew Tye

Lucknow Super Giants’ pacer Andrew Tye feels that as a bowler in T20 cricket, one can’t afford to have any sort of ego.

Tye, who won the 2018 IPL purple cap while representing Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab), went unsold in the mega auction but was later drafted by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of IPL 2022 as a replacement for injured England pacer Mark Wood.

“There is no room to have an ego as a bowler in T20 cricket. You can perfectly execute the delivery you were after and somehow it finds a way to go to the boundary. You just gotta take those tough overs on and believe you can do it,” said Tye in a pre-match chat with broadcasters Star Sports.

“Some days it comes off and some days it doesn’t and it’s all part and parcel of the game. Every game, you analyze and try to figure out where you can get better or do stuff differently. Then, add the information in the bank so that when you go out next time, you are more equipped. Just trying to keep growing with the game,” added Tye ahead of Lucknow’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at DY Patil Stadium.

In the last couple of years, Tye has transformed himself as a death overs specialist due to the variety of slower balls and yorkers. But, as per Tye, the transformation wasn’t easy to begin with.

“I started to lose my way a little bit. My pace used to be up around 140kmph and then I started hitting a maximum of about 135kmph and then luckily my bowing coach (Matt Mason) back home, I trusted him to change my action and make some changes for the better. At first, I told him to get lost as it was never going to work trying to change my action as a 33-year old then was probably career suicide.”

Tye, though, stuck around and made certain changes to his action which have benefitted teams in T20 cricket, just like Perth Scorchers were beneficiary of it in their run to Big Bash League (BBL) trophy in 2021/22.

“But luckily I went around and tried it and just sort of extended my arm path from my load up moving it out towards the batsman rather than straight down. You will be able to find that difference in the footage of my old action and my new action. Hopefully, you can see the difference.”

Tye signed off by saying that he’s trying to keep himself updated with the fast-evolving world of bowling in T20 cricket. “Trying my best every time I go out there, the game is always changing and moving at different paces. So, trying to keep up with that or even stay ahead sometimes is what I try to do.”

99% global population breathe air that exceeds quality limits: WHO

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99% global population breathe air that exceeds quality limits: WHO

Almost the entire global population (99 percent) breathes air that exceeds air quality limits and threatens their health, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), ahead of World Health Day.

World Health Day is observed annually on April 7. This year it celebrates the theme: ‘Our planet, Our health’.

A record number of over 6,000 cities in 117 countries monitor air quality. Of these, the air in 17 percent of cities in high-income countries is below the WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines for particulate matter (PM) – PM2.5 or PM10 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In low- and middle-income countries, air quality in less than 1 percent of the cities complies with WHO recommended thresholds, the report said.

About 4,000 cities/human settlements in 74 countries collect NO2 data at ground level. Their measurements show that only 23 percent of people in these places breathe annual average concentrations of NO2 that meet recommended quality levels.

The findings have prompted the WHO to highlight the importance of curbing fossil fuel use and taking other tangible steps to reduce air pollution levels.

“Current energy concerns highlight the importance of speeding up the transition to cleaner, healthier energy systems,” WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a statement.

“High fossil fuel prices, energy security, and the urgency of addressing the twin health challenges of air pollution and climate change underscore the pressing need to move faster towards a world that is much less dependent on fossil fuels,” he added.

Meanwhile, the WHO is also calling for a rapid intensification of actions to monitor air quality and identify sources of air pollution, support the transition to exclusive use of clean household energy for cooking, heating, and lighting, and build safe and affordable public transport systems and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly networks.

The global health body also suggested implementing stricter vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, investing in energy-efficient housing and power generation, improving industry and municipal waste management, and reducing agricultural waste incineration, forest fires, and certain agroforestry activities.

IPL 2022: Coaching staff reassured Hyderabad that time left in tournament, says Markram

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IPL 2022: Coaching staff reassured Hyderabad that time left in tournament, says Markram

Sunrisers Hyderabad middle-order batter Aiden Markram said that the team’s coaching staff has assured the players that there is still a lot of time left in the tournament to bounce back.

After a 61-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their tournament opener at Pune, Hyderabad will be itching to bounce back when they face Lucknow Super Giants at DY Patil Stadium on Monday.

“They (coaching staff) have been really positive, they understand in T20 you can have games as we did in our first game. It’s important in quite a long tournament like this to brush that aside, and give credit to the opposition. They have just reassured us that there’s a lot of time left in this competition and hopefully, tonight is the night where we can execute a lot better and get our first win on the board,” said Markram in a pre-match innings chat with broadcasters Star Sports.

The match against Lucknow is Hyderabad’s second match after a five-day break post the loss to Rajasthan.

“It’s just been one game, reflecting on that past game – it’s given us a few days to take a lot of lessons that we learn from that game,” observed Markram.

Generally, Markram is an opener/top-order bat for South Africa in Tests as well as ODIs. But in the T20s, including internationally, he’s found success as a middle-order batter. But the 27-year-old is okay to bat anywhere to be a beneficial batter for the team, just like his quick knock of 57 against Rajasthan.

“Anywhere sort of top-four – probably the spots I am quite used to. Spent a lot of time at the top of the order and now in the last year or two, it’s been more at four or five. Finally getting used to the middle-order so that it can benefit the team.”

Markram signed off by saying he won’t mind rolling his arm over for sending a few overs of part-time off-spin but insisted that off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar is the top spinner in the team. “It would be nice (to bowl) but it’s whatever the team requires. Washi (Washington Sundar) is our number one off-spinner.”

“He’s probably one of the best in the world at that as well. I am more than happy to take a back seat to him. Working closely with him and Murali (Muralitharan), in the training, they are helping me quite a bit. If needed in the game, I’ll be ready.”

India open account at Shotgun World Cup as men’s trap team clinches bronze

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India open account at Shotgun World Cup as men’s trap team clinches bronze

India opened their medal account at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun, in Lima, Peru, after the men’s trap team comprising Kynan Chennai, Manavaditya Singh Rathore, and Shapath Bharadwaj won bronze, beating Brazil via a shoot-off.

In the bronze-medal encounter, both teams were tied at 5-5 after five series of five shots each, before India clinched third place in the first shoot-off shot which Brazil missed.

The trio had earlier finished fourth out of 11 teams in qualification, with a combined score of 205 out of 225. The effort set up the Brazil match-up, which had in fact finished third in the qualification with a score of 207.

India eventually turned the tables on them in the medal match. The USA beat Spain, also via a shoot-off to clinch gold.

Veteran Shagun Chowdhary in the women’s trap, also had a good outing as she narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the end. Shagun shot 111 in the qualifiers to make it to the second semi-final in sixth place. She then made it to the gold medal match, topping the second semi-final with a stunning 24 hits out of 25.

In the medal match where the top two of the two semi-finals fought it out, Shagun caught only nine ‘birds’ out of the first 15-hits to be eliminated first in fourth place. Italy won gold and bronze in the event while the USA won silver.

In the trap mixed team event, Kynan Chennai and Rajeshwari Kumari also made it past the qualification stage of 10-teams, finishing fifth with a score of 132 out of 150. They made it to the bronze medal match, eventually going down to Spain by a margin of 2-6, to miss out on a medal.

On Monday, day six of competitions, Indian interests lie in the men’s skeet event, where Parampal Singh Guron is currently lying third after three qualifying rounds with a score of 73.

IPL 2022: Sunrisers Hyderabad win toss, elect to field against Lucknow Super Giants

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IPL 2022: Sunrisers Hyderabad win toss, elect to field against Lucknow Super Giants

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to field first against Lucknow Super Giants in match 12 of IPL 2022 at the D.Y Patil Stadium on Monday.

After winning the toss, Williamson confirmed that his playing eleven is unchanged from their 61-run loss to Rajasthan Royals at Pune. He expects his batting line-up to capitalize on conditions, especially with dew, during the chase on a pitch with some sprinkling of grass.

“We’ve seen some similarities in a number of early matches and we’ll try to get something out of the surface early on, and potentially some dew later on. It’s good (elbow injury) and nice to be out here playing, looking forward to the game today.”

Lucknow Super Giants skipper K.L Rahul too wanted to bowl considering the bat-second-win-match trend in the tournament. He added that West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder replaces Sri Lanka all-rounder Dushmantha Chameera in the playing eleven.

“With the new ball you always try and hit that good area really assess what the pace is on that particular wicket and we obviously do a bit of homework before the game and it all comes down to the execution.”

“We picked Jason at the auction because he’s a top allrounder, and he can swing the new ball, and can bat as well. One of the biggest takeaways for us has been how Ayush Badoni has performed under pressure.”

HC stays trial court summons to Subramanian Swamy in defamation case

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HC stays trial court summons to Subramanian Swamy in defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the summons and other proceedings issued by a lower court against Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy in a defamation case filed by his fellow party man and BJP spokesperson for Delhi Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga.

Issuing notice in the plea, Justice Jasmeet Singh slated it for further hearing on September 6.

As per Bagga, Swamy had allegedly posted a defamatory tweet against him.

Earlier while issuing the summoning order, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh had noted that “This court is of the considered view that in the present case there are sufficient grounds for proceedings against the respondent.”

Challenging the order, Swamy had then moved to the High Court.

There was a Twitter war going on between BJP leaders Swamy and Bagga with allegations and counter-allegations flying thick and fast against each other.

Supporters of both the leaders are also eliciting support for their respective leaders and making all kinds of comments on social media.

Subramanian Swamy had tweeted targeting Tajinder Bagga, saying, “Journalists from Delhi told me that before joining BJP, Tajinder Bagga was jailed several times by Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi for petty offenses.” He also asked a question to the BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda in the same tweet, saying that if this is true, then Nadda should know this.

Infuriated by Swamy’s direct attack, Bagga hit back at Swamy saying, “Heard you are James Bond’s uncle. Instead of tweeting, call Mandir Marg SHO and expose me to details. I’ll give you 48 hours after that it’s my turn. Your time starts now.”

Carrom nationals: Abdul Rahman wins men’s crown, Kajal Kumari takes women’s title

TB Team
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Carrom nationals: Abdul Rahman wins men’s crown, Kajal Kumari takes women’s title

Unassuming sixth seed Abdul Rahman of Uttar Pradesh cornered all the glory recording an authoritative straight sets victory against international and fourth seed Zaheer Pasha of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the men’s singles final of the 49th Senior National Carrom Championship on Monday.

The less fancied 27-year-old Rahman dished out a cool calculated performance to outshine the experienced Pasha and smoothly cruise to a deserving 25-0, 21-16 without much ado and clinch his maiden crown in the national championship organized by the All-India Carrom Federation (AICF) and hosted by the Maharashtra Carrom Association (MCA).

In the women’s competition, international and fifth seed Kajal Kumari of PSPB (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board) overcame the spirited challenge from fourth seed Nilam Ghodke of JISL (Jain Irrigation System Limited) snatching victory in two closely-contested sets, 15-12, 17-10 to emerge champion.

Pasha, who had knocked out teammate and top seed Prashant More in the semi-finals, was erratic and surprisingly missed some easy shots which proved to be his downfall.

In contrast, Rahman played steadily and confidently executed his shots and gradually gained the momentum which he hung on to throughout the contest, which turned out to be a one-sided affair.

In the first set, Rahman settled down quickly and won the first six boards to pocket the set 25-0 and open up a 1-0 lead. Pasha showed signs of fighting back as he won the opening two boards to take an 8-0 lead in the second, but Rahman bounced back and steadily won the next three and with the eight points won on the fifth board he jumped to a 20-8 points lead.

Pasha managed to win four points in the sixth to narrow the lead to 12-20, but he lost a close seventh board as Rahman led 21-12 going into the 8th and final board. Pasha was left with an uphill task of getting 10 points from the final board and he tried his best but lacked consistency and with that, his hopes of staying alive faded away. Rahman capitalized on every chance to sink his black coins and ensure his success.

Meanwhile, Manisha Iqbal of AAI (Airports Authority of India) defeated Debagani Tamuly of DASCB (Defence Accounts Sports Promotion Board) 8-25, 19-15, and 22-11 in the women’s third-fourth place match.

In the men’s third-fourth place match, Maharashtra’s Sandeep Dive defeated World champion and top seed Prashant More of RBI 25-19, 18-1.

Results:

Women’s singles (final):

Kajal Kumari (PSPB) beat Nilam Ghodke (JISL) 15-12, 17-10. Third-fourth place: Mantasha Iqbal (AAI) Debagani Tamuly 8-25, 19-15, 22-11.

Men’s singles (final):

Abdul Rahman (UP) beat Zaheer Pasaha (RBI) 25-0, 21-16. Third-fourth place: Sandeep Dive (Mah) beat Prashant More (RBI) 25-19, 18-1.

Meta takes down 23.6 mn pieces of bad content in India on FB, Instagram

TB Team
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Meta takes down 23.6 mn pieces of bad content in India on FB, Instagram

Meta (formerly Facebook) took down 21.2 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 2.4 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram in the month of February in accordance with the IT Rules 2021.

Between February 1-and 28, Meta received 478 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism and responded to 100 percent of these reports.

Of these reports, the social network provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 402 cases. These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues, etc.

“The report describes our efforts to remove harmful content from Facebook and Instagram and demonstrate our continued commitment to making Facebook and Instagram safe and inclusive,” said the company.

“We use a combination of Artificial Intelligence, reports from our community, and review by our teams to identify and review content against our policies,” it added.

Meta actioned a huge 15.4 million spam content, 2.4 million violent and graphic content, and 1.4 million content related to adult nudity and sexual activity, among others.

“We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos, or comments) and take action for going against our standards,” it said.

In January, Meta took down over 11.6 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 3.2 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram.

WhatsApp banned 1,426,000 bad accounts in India in the month of February in compliance with the new IT Rules, 2021. The company received 335 grievance reports in the same month from the country and took action on 21 of those.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms — with more than 5 million users — have to publish monthly compliance reports.

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