Russia to deprive Ukraine from building capacity to present any threat: Lavrov

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Russia to deprive Ukraine from building capacity to present any threat: Lavrov

Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that his country’s aim in Ukraine is to deprive the Kiev regime of building the capacity to present any threat to Moscow.

Earlier in the day, Lavrov, who is on a two-day visit to India, held bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar which touched on issues like the crude offer, rupee-ruble payment, and ongoing arms deals, and the Ukraine crisis.

He will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before flying back to Moscow in the evening.

Addressing reports on the ongoing crisis, Lavrov said: “You called it a war which is not true. It is a special operation, military infrastructure is being targeted. The aim is to deprive the Kiev regime of building the capacity to present any threat to Russia.”

About India’s foreign policies, he said they are “characterized by independence and the concentration on real national legitimate interests. The same policy is based in the Russian Federation and this makes us, as big countries, good friends and loyal partners”.

On the supply of crude and arms, the top Russian diplomat said his country will be ready to supply to India any goods which New Delhi wants to buy from them.

“We are ready to discuss. Russia and India have very good relations,” he added.

During the meeting, Lavrov and Jaishankar assessed the overall state of cooperation and considered the implications of recent developments on trade and economic relations.

The two ministers discussed developments pertaining to Ukraine.

Lavrov briefed the Indian side from Russia’s perspective, including the peace talks bwteen Kiev and Moscow.

Jaishankar emphasized the importance of the cessation of violence and ending hostilities. Differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, the UN Charter, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of states.

The ministers also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, during which Lavrov conveyed his assessment of the recent conference on Kabul in China.

Jaishankar noted that UNSCR 2593 expressed the concerns of the international community and spoke of humanitarian support for the Afghan people. Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal issue also featured in the talks.

India’s GS Lakshmi to be match referee in Women’s World Cup final

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India’s GS Lakshmi to be match referee in Women’s World Cup final

India’s GS Lakshmi on Friday was named as the Match Referee for the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup between defending champions England and Australia at Hagley Oval on April 3, said the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Lakshmi, who was the first woman ever in the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees in May 2019, also oversaw the semi-final between England and South Africa at the same venue on Thursday. The final of the 2022 ODI World Cup serves as a significant milestone for the 53-year-old, who first officiated as a match referee in India’s domestic women’s cricket in 2008/09.

In December 2019, Lakshmi made history by becoming the first female match referee to oversee a men’s ODI with the opening match of the third series of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 between hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United States of America (USA).

Lauren Agenbag of South Africa and Kim Cotton of New Zealand will be the two on-field umpires while West Indies’ Jacqueline Williams, who in 2020 became the first female to officiate as the Third Umpire in a men’s international match, will also take charge as the TV Umpire here.

Langton Rusere of Zimbabwe will be the Fourth Umpire. Cotton was the only woman Match Official in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8.

It will be the first time that a global cricket tournament final will have four women Match Officials on duty. As part of its strategic commitment to a gender-equitable sport, the ICC has focused on increasing the number of international female match officials, with women comprising eight of the 15 match officials at the ODI World Cup 2022.

IPL 2022: Future of KKR is bright under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, says Irfan Pathan

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IPL 2022: Future of KKR is bright under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, says Irfan Pathan

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Friday said that two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders’ future is bright under the leadership of batter Shreyas Iyer.

Iyer was appointed captain of the Kolkata side ahead of IPL 2022 and has left everyone impressed with the way he’s led the side so far despite facing a three-wicket loss in a low-scoring thriller to Royal Challengers Bangalore, especially after making a winning start against defending champions Chennai Super Kings.

“Shreyas Iyer is a brilliant captain. Remember, he picked up (Delhi Capitals) captaincy midway through the season, like Rohit Sharma who was named Mumbai Indians’ captain halfway through the season in IPL 2013. For Delhi Capitals, Shreyas started well under the supervision of coach Ricky Ponting and he kept improving his decision-making skills in his first stint as captain,” said Pathan in an episode of Cricket Live on Star Sports.

Pathan observed that since the time Iyer moved to Kolkata from Delhi, his leadership skills have got more limelight. “But his captaincy moves are coming to the fore prominently in this season and we will talk more about it as the tournament progresses. He’s a players’ captain. He backs the players at every turn and which is a good sign of a leader. The future of Kolkata is bright under his supervision and we’ve seen glimpses of it in the first couple of games.”

Kolkata will be hoping that Iyer’s leadership will get them back to winning ways in IPL 2022 against Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday.

FIH Pro League: Adhere to plans and strategies in matches against England, says Rohidas

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FIH Pro League: Adhere to plans and strategies in matches against England, says Rohidas

India men’s hockey team captain Amit Rohidas has asked his players to adhere to the plans and strategies as they take on a young and highly motivated England side in the FIH Pro League double-header at the Kalinga Stadium on April 2 and 3.

“They (England) have a lot of young players in the team, and they have come with a lot of motivation. Each team plays to win matches, so it will certainly be a good challenge for us. Our focus will be to stick to our plans, just like we did against Argentina. We managed a draw in the first game and won the second game at the last minute.

“It was a really good performance from the team, so it will be really important to play according to the plans and strategies that we make against our opponents,” Rohidas said during the pre-match virtual press conference.

Rohidas, who recently took over as India captain, also spoke about his new role. “It’s been a great experience so far. I am getting to learn a lot of things from the senior players — Manpreet (Singh), (PR) Sreejesh, and Harmanpreet (Singh). They have been really supportive; they are keeping the team together. It feels really great to get the support from these players.”

Currently placed second on the Pro League points table, India has thus far registered five wins and three losses in eight matches. They have beaten South Africa (10-2, 10-2) and registered mixed results in the doubleheader against France (5-0, 2-5) held in South Africa in February, while in home games, they shared the honors with Spain (5-4, 3-5) and against Argentina they registered 2-2 (1-3 SO) and 4-3 results in a thrilling two-legged tie.

Reflecting on the team’s campaign, vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh said, “It’s been going really great from the team’s perspective. Mainly our focus has been to get stronger match by match. We are learning from our mistakes, we are getting to know a lot of new things, so just maintaining that we are making the most out of these Pro League Matches to prepare for the major tournaments. Even younger players are getting chances to play, and in each match, we try to give our best, so it’s really helping the team.”

England has registered two wins and two losses in four matches so far. They started their campaign with wins against Spain, but are coming off two losses against Argentina.

England captain Tom Sorsby said, “It’s just important that we sort of keep in mind where we are as a group, we are still coming together and finding our ways to build. We showed what we can do against Spain, and even against Argentina we put together some great parts of that game, which weren’t all bad, so just taking the positives that we have from Argentina, with the wins from Spain and will try to put that against India in these two games.”

England head coach Zak Jones said that matches against Argentina have prepared his team for the double-header against India.

“I think there are a lot of similarities in the way Argentina and India play, so we feel that the games against Argentina have hopefully, prepared us relatively well for the sort of India play,” said Jones.

“We know India is a really good side and they are playing pretty well at the moment, so I think for us it will be to play our game, which is to look after the ball, try and wear them down, play some positive hockey. We’ve got quite a lot of inexperienced players as well, so they have learned a lot from Argentina games and hopefully can bring those learnings in these two games against India,” he concluded.

IPL 2022 crowd occupancy increased to 50 per cent, says ticketing partner

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IPL 2022 crowd occupancy increased to 50 per cent, says ticketing partner

BookMyShow, the official ticketing partner of IPL 2022, on Friday announced that the crowd occupancy in stadiums across Mumbai and Pune has been increased to 50 percent. The announcement by the ticketing partner comes after the state of Maharashtra said it would be lifting all Covid-19 restrictions from April 2.

Currently, the ongoing IPL 2022 is being held in four stadiums across Maharashtra — Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Brabourne Stadium, and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. All these stadiums were hosting a 25 percent crowd at present.

“Ticket sales for the next set of matches are live even as the BCCI has announced an increase in stadium occupancy to 50 percent, which was earlier capped at 25 percent thereby extending the opportunity for many more fans across India and beyond to experience the IPL action live in the stadia,” said an official release from the ticketing partner.

The ticketing site also announced that the sales for Phase 2 of the IPL 2022 matches were going live on their official website. Fans will now be able to book their tickets for matches starting with the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on April 6 at the MCA Stadium in Pune until the clash between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings on April 20 at the same venue.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had said on March 23 that IPL 2022 will welcome the fans back in stadiums starting from the opening match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

“The IPL 2022 resumes with the Chennai Super Kings taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26. This match will be a momentous occasion as the 15th edition of the IPL will welcome the fans back to the stadiums after a brief hiatus owing to the pandemic.”

“Ardent cricket fans are all set to witness nail-biting matches, cheering for their favorite players at the most anticipated cricket tournament of all time. The matches will be played across stadiums in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune with an audience occupancy rate of 25 percent as per COVID-19 protocols.”

Russia to extend space station participation till 2030: NASA

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Russia to extend space station participation till 2030: NASA

Despite the souring relationship between Russia and the US over the war in Ukraine, Moscow is still considering extending its participation in the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030, according to NASA.

The US space agency and Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos have been the two largest partners on the ISS for the last three decades. The two organizations have agreed to work together on the ISS through 2024, but on December 31, 2021, the Joe Biden administration committed to extending the ISS operations through 2030. Russia has not formally agreed to the extension yet, the Verge reported.

According to NASA’s budget estimates, the ISS, launched in 1998, will be “de-orbited” in January 2031.

In January, before the Ukraine war began, the CEO of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said that Roscosmos and NASA are in talks about extending the operation of the ISS until 2030.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, beginning on February 24, affected space cooperation between the two countries, and Roscosmos’s participation in the extension started to seem unlikely.

In response to the war, the US sanctioned Russia’s major industries, which triggered outrage from the Roscosmos chief.

On Twitter, Rogozin made wild threats about the future of the ISS, insinuating that the station could come crashing down on the US if Russia withdrew prematurely from the program. He has also hinted at revisiting the partnership with the US in light of the sanctions.

Yet, Roscosmos has apparently not given a hard “no” on the extension and may even continue it, the report said.

“All of our international partners, including Roscosmos, are making progress on moving towards station extension through 2030,” Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of space operations at NASA, said during a press conference.

She added that every partner on the ISS must go through a budget process and receive final government approval before the extension is set.

“But we all understand the importance of this continued partnership, even in really, really, really tough times,” Lueders said.

Joel Montalbano, NASA’s ISS program manager, discussed the possible extension in Russia with Roscosmos officials as NASA prepared for the return of astronaut Mark Vande Hei on a Russian Soyuz rocket this week, the report said.

“At the program level, we continue discussions and continue working towards 2030,” Dana Weigel, deputy manager of NASA’s International Space Station program, was quoted as saying.

“They touched on the subject of when Joel Montalbano was in Russia and made no changes at all to the plan,” Weigel noted that NASA expects to get its next big update on extension plans in late April or early May.

The ISS, about the size of an American football field, orbits the Earth about once every 90 minutes and has been continuously occupied by astronauts since November 2000.

The space station was originally intended to operate for just 15 years, but NASA said in a report that “there is high confidence that ISS life can be further extended through 2030”, though some analyses of its viability are still being conducted.

Once out of orbit, in January 2031, the space station will make a dramatic descent before splash-landing in Point Nemo, which is about 2,700 km from any land and has become known as the space cemetery — a final resting place for decommissioned space stations, old satellites and other human space debris.

Instagram rolls out new messaging features and more

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Instagram rolls out new messaging features and more

Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram has announced that it is connecting the Messenger and Instagram experience to bring some of the best Messenger features to the photo-sharing platform.

The company said it is rolling out new features on Instagram and Messenger in a few countries around the world, and it will expand globally soon.

“We are announcing an update to Instagram DMs by introducing a new Messenger experience on the app. Messaging has come a long way since we first brought it to Instagram. We have been exploring how messaging should evolve as we grow,” the company said in a blogpost.

“On Facebook’s family of apps alone, people send more than 100 billion messages to their friends and family each day. These days, we rely on video calls to hang out with friends, send memes and GIFs to communicate what we really think (but can’t always say), and share funny photos and voice notes to stay in touch,” added.

Instagram said in their research, four out of five people who use messaging apps in the US say that spending more time connecting with friends and family on these apps is important to them, yet one out of three people sometimes find it difficult to remember where to find a certain conversation thread.

“With this update, it will be even easier to stay connected without thinking about which app to use to reach your friends and family,” the company said.

“We are also adding more than 10 new features so you can stay close to your friends. Selfie stickers are a unique hybrid of Boomerang, emojis, and selfies – and a new way to react to conversations. Watch Together lets you watch trending videos with friends on IGTV during a video call. We are also introducing vanish mode, where you can set messages to automatically disappear after they are seen,” it added.

The company said it is also adding more than 10 new features so you can stay close to your friends.

Instagram is also bringing familiar features from Messenger like replying to a specific message, forwarding a message, and customizable chat colors and themes.

‘Amazon wanted to destroy us, they destroyed us’, Future Retail to SC

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‘Amazon wanted to destroy us, they destroyed us’, Future Retail to SC

Future Retail Limited (FRL) counsel on Friday 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.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Future Retail, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana 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, as section 7 may come in any day.

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,” said Salve.

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

Citing Future Retail’s accounts, he submitted that in their own annual return they say that they have enough money to pay all rentals and they told the bank they’re in a situation to pay their rentals. “It is just a smokescreen,” said Subramanium, on Future’s claim that they have no money to pay rentals of the shops.

Senior advocate Aspi Chinoy, another counsel for Amazon, said the transfer of shops is a collusive act and the counter filed by FRL establishes that transfer of shops to MDA group was a collusive and consensual act. “800 of these leases are then handed over to MDA group and as lessees they allow the same FRL to be the licensee… Is this remotely possible without connivance… I haven’t heard of such cooperative lessees in India,” said Chinoy.

The bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said ‘if the landlords are not before us how can the court pass an order injuncting them from taking possession.

Salve said his client’s bank accounts are frozen and everyone’s hoping if the scheme gets through, Reliance comes in, everyone will get the money and it is the hard reality that’s where Amazon has got us.

The Chief Justice queried Salve, “What you want to say is 835 stores people asked you to vacate and you vacated, and these shops were leased to Reliance by owners themselves?” Salve replied yes. The bench further queried, “What happens to your stocks and rights, etc.?”

Salve added that in February this year, his client could not find a solution to NPA, and bank accounts were frozen. “Nobody today is willing to give us anything today. 374 stores somehow, we are running today, we’re managing. Most employees have left,” he said.

The bench asked Salve, “if the order is in Amazon’s favor what happens to you?”

Salve said, “They’ll have to get in the queue of unsecured creditors…Amazon wanted to destroy us and they have destroyed us”.

The top court will continue to hear the matter on Monday.

The top court was hearing an application filed by Amazon raising 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 per cent of FRL shops have been surrendered to Reliance. Future Retail said no asset has been transferred.

Meta plans to expand reach of WhatsApp chatbot in India

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Meta plans to expand reach of WhatsApp chatbot in India

Meta, which launched the Meta Business Coach tool on WhatsApp as an innovative and easily-accessible way for owners of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across India, on Friday announced that it plans to expand the reach of the chatbot in India in the coming months.

The company said that in less than four months alone, almost 150,000 small business owners in India have accessed the Meta Business Coach, an automated chatbot devoted to providing digital skills and tools to SMBs.

“Across metros and smaller towns, India lives and connects on WhatsApp. When we thought about expanding our existing business skilling efforts, we couldn’t think of a more powerful solution than one on WhatsApp,” Archana Vohra, Director, Small and Medium Business, India at Meta, said in a statement.

“As more small businesses rapidly move online in India, we understand how critical timely and easily accessible business skills become for them to unlock growth. We hope the Meta Business Coach will be their partner along this journey, providing training that they need through their mobile phones,” Vohra added.

The tool is already available in English and Hindi, and there are plans to launch it in additional languages in the coming months.

As a free curriculum tool, it features step-by-step courses and tutorials as well as helpful infographics, videos, and audio clips. The learning material is recommended based on the user’s needs and queries, with an option to navigate the curriculum via the menu.

Bowling simulation: RCB’s Mike Hesson’s new game plan to deal with match pressure

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Bowling simulation: RCB’s Mike Hesson’s new game plan to deal with match pressure

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) director of cricket operations, Mike Hesson has credited his team’s win against Kolkata Knight Riders (RCB) in the IPL on March 30 to something he calls ‘bowling simulation’.

RCB had defeated KKR by three wickets, chasing down the 128-run target with four balls to spare at the DY Patil Stadium.

The team had undergone an exercise called ‘bowling simulation’ to help plan and execute with clarity under pressure. New RCB skipper Faf du Plessis explained it by saying that, the purpose of the exercise was to “work on two basic things. One is the field setting, and one is the different options you will bowl with that field setting”.

RCB made a turnaround with the ball after the disappointment of the first game against Punjab Kings. One of the key aspects the team management identified as an area of improvement was the ability to execute plans under pressure. They managed to restrict KKR to a below-par score and then successfully chased down the target.

“When the game is on the line, whether we are batting or bowling, it’s about how we deal with the game under pressure — the last 5 overs. So, a lot of what we did (was) all of the bowlers sitting with the captain, going through the fieldsets in terms of different options.

“Obviously, no matter what option you have, what field you have, you have to have at least three options in terms of deliveries you can bowl. And then when you’re under pressure, how are you going to get out of that — whether you’re gonna split the over up, maybe change the field?” Hesson said on RCB Bold Diaries.

One of the positives for RCB against KKR was the emergence of Akash Deep as a wicket-taking option.

Speaking about the exercise, the Bengal and RCB pacer said, “The best thing is we got to bowl in open nets, and it was fun. We were given a plan to bowl. It was made clear that we have to bowl to that plan, irrespective of whether we concede runs or not. It was fun because I had to bowl to a plan and a field that was given. I could execute a few balls well, and some not so much. But I was told not to think about whether or not runs are being conceded, but our job is to bowl to a plan and if we are conceding runs, it’s not an issue.”

Akash added the exercise gave the players a lot of confidence.

“We get plenty of confidence… whether or not it goes well, it gives you confidence. It felt quite good,” said Akash, who picked up three wickets against KKR.

Odisha extends free rice scheme for 6 more months

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Odisha extends free rice scheme for 6 more months

On the occasion of Utkal Dibasa, the Odisha government has extended the distribution of free rice to the beneficiaries covered under its own State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) for six more months.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed concerned officials to extend the distribution of an additional 5 kg of rice per month free of cost to beneficiaries of the SFSS from April 2022, Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement on Friday.

Earlier, the benefit of 5 kg of free rice was extended for the beneficiaries of the SFSS from December 2021 to March 2022.

About 8.09 lakh beneficiaries covered under the scheme will be benefited from this move.

For this purpose, the state government will distribute 24,270 tonnes of rice from the State pool with an expenditure of Rs 91.70 crore from its own fund, it said.

This will facilitate beneficiaries enrolled in the SFSS to remain at par with beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA), the CMO said.

Notably, the Union government has recently extended the free foodgrains distribution scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for six more months from March 2022.

Under the PMGKAY, the Centre gives an additional five kg of rice or wheat per month to beneficiaries of the (NFSA) over and above their usual monthly quota for free.

Facebook bug exposed entire News Feed to ‘integrity risks’

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Facebook bug exposed entire News Feed to ‘integrity risks’

In a startling revelation, a group of Meta engineers has reportedly identified a “massive ranking failure” that exposed nearly half of all Facebook News Feed views to potential “integrity risks”.

According to a report in The Verge citing an internal Meta report on the incident, the software bug exposed the Facebook News Feed via its downranking feature to potential “integrity risks” over the past six months.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the incident, saying the social network “detected inconsistencies in downranking on five separate occasions, which correlated with small, temporary increases to internal metrics”.

Downranking is a method to enhance the quality of News Feed and has been used in response to wars and controversial political stories, sparking concerns of shadow banning and calls for legislation, the report said late on Thursday.

According to The Verge, Meta engineers first detected the vulnerability in October 2021 when a spurt in misinformation began flowing through the News Feed.

Instead of curbing posts from repeat misinformation offenders that were flagged by third-party fact-checkers, News Feed allowed posts to be distributed, spiking views by as much as 30 percent globally.

In addition to posts flagged by fact-checkers, the internal probe found that owing to the bug, Facebook’s systems “failed to properly demote probable nudity, violence and even Russian state media the social network recently pledged to stop recommending in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine”.

“We traced the root cause to a software bug and applied needed fixes,” said the Meta spokesperson.

In October last year, Facebook began to demote all Group content from people who have violated its policies elsewhere on the platform.

In a blog post, the tech giant said it added a new ‘Flagged By Facebook’ feature that shows group administrators’ content, which has been flagged for removal.

Women’s World Cup: Mooney raises the tempo, says Australia enjoy beating England

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Women’s World Cup: Mooney raises the tempo, says Australia enjoy beating England

Australian cricketer Beth Mooney has raised the stakes of the ICC Women’s World Cup final against England at the Hagley Park here on April 3, saying her side enjoys “beating them” as there is a “huge rivalry”.

Australia crushed the West Indies by 157 runs in the semifinal, while defending champions England were equally ruthless in their 137-run win over South Africa in the other last-four clash.

The Meg Lanning-led Australia are on a seven-match ODI winning streak against England and are relishing the opportunity to play the old rivals in the World Cup final on April 3.

Mooney issued a warning on Friday, saying, “We do enjoy beating them, to be honest. There is a huge rivalry there.

“We played them obviously in the first-round game and I think everyone was happy to have a bit of a break from them,” the prolific run-getter told cricket.com.au on Friday. Australia had beaten England by 12 runs in their opening league match of the Women’s World Cup here last month.

“They (England) fought their way to the final and kudos to them. But not much of what’s happening this tournament matters now because you’ve got to show up at the right time on Sunday,” added Mooney.

Another Australian cricketer, Jess Jonassen agreed with Mooney, saying, “It’s always nice to beat England. And fortunately, we’ve been on the winning side a little bit recently.”

“There’s such an incredible rivalry between us and England that I don’t think anybody likes coming out on the losing end. It’s always high stakes. And a World Cup final, it doesn’t get any bigger.”

Mooney added, “We’ve got a few better plans to some of their bowlers now. We understand she’s (England skipper Heather Knight) a bit of a threat. But we’re also pretty comfortable with our batting and how we’re going to take her on.”

India logs 1,335 new Covid cases, 52 deaths

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India logs 1,335 new Covid cases, 52 deaths

India reported 1,335 fresh Covid cases, a marginal rise from the previous day’s count of 1,225 in the last 24 hours, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.

A total of 52 deaths were also registered in the span of 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 5,21,181.

Following a continuous downward trend, India’s active caseload has further declined to 13,672, constituting 0.03 percent of the country’s total positive cases.

A total of 1,918 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,90,922. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.76 percent.

Also in the same period, a total of 6,06,036 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.97 crore cumulative tests.

There has been a sustained fall in the weekly and daily positivity rates too. The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.23 percent and the daily positivity rate is also reported to be 0.22 percent.

On the vaccination front, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 184.31 crores as per the provisional reports till 7 a.m. on Friday morning. This has been achieved through 2,20,52,965 sessions.

Over 1.72 crore adolescents have been administered with the first dose of Covid vaccine since the beginning of the inoculation drive for the 12 to 14 age group, said the ministry on Friday morning.

More than 15.62 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered, according to the health ministry as of Friday morning.

Close on the heels of ‘Pushpa’, ‘RRR’ reaffirms Tollywood’s pan-India appeal

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Close on the heels of ‘Pushpa’, ‘RRR’ reaffirms Tollywood’s pan-India appeal

The resounding theatrical success of ‘RRR’, from the two Telugu-speaking states to the United Kingdom, where it roared past Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Ambulance’ and Tom Holland’s ‘Uncharted’, has established Tollywood as India’s new cinema powerhouse.

With its worldwide earnings touching Rs 652 crore on its sixth day, far surpassing even the collections of ‘The Kashmir Files’, ‘RRR’ has proved that S.S. Rajamouli’s competition is himself — after edging out his own ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ from the No. 2 all-time blockbuster spot, he has only ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ to dislodge to establish ‘RRR’ as Indian cinema’s highest-ever grosser.

Coming close on the heels of the success of the Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa: The Rise’, which was 2021’s highest-grossing film pan-India, ‘RRR’ has made it amply clear that Telugu commercial cinema is the new entertainment leader in post-Covid India, especially when compared with much-hyped commercial duds such as ’83’, ‘Gangubai Kathiyawadi’ and ‘Bachchan Pandey’.

‘The Kashmir Files’ has been the only exception, but it owes much of its success to the manner in which it was adopted by the BJP and supported by its state governments with tax exemptions, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed it wholeheartedly.

Not only films, Telugu movie stars, such as Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Jr NTR, and Ram Charan, have become well-known names across the country.

It’s certainly a far cry from the days when Bollywood ruled the box office, and if South Indian films got noticed, it was only if they won national awards or were remade into Hindi films, and their superstars rang a bell north of the Vindhyas only if they made waves in politics. Of course, there have been exceptions such as Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, but Tollywood stars were barely known outside the then undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Observers point to several factors for the growing national acceptance of movies from Tollywood and other South Indian film production hubs.

Telugu film critic and industry analyst Prabhu told in an interview: “Television channels dedicated to the screening of South Indian movies dubbed to Hindi, and then the arrival of OTT platforms began opening up a wider audience for them.” Suddenly, all of India started watching and appreciating films made in the south.

The spread of multiplexes across an increasingly urbanized India, with their enormous appetite for software, has also helped South Indian producers to exhibit their films in traditional Hindi markets. But the multiplication of platforms and venues for the exhibition of movies alone cannot explain the growing pan-India footprint of South Indian cinema.

Bollywood’s fading star power is an oft-quoted reason. Much of Bollywood’s heft is thinning as stars such as the Khans, Akshay Kumar, and Ajay Devgn are in their 50s and past their prime. Increasingly, they don’t seem to be drawing audiences to cinemas. The developing vacuum has created a level playing field that South Indian movie stars are exploiting, says Bengaluru-based film scholar and critic M.K. Raghavendra.

The South is also scoring because of the grand visions of its movie-makers, which was amply evident in ‘RRR’.

Prabhu pointed to the larger-than-life portrayals of characters that South Indian filmmakers boldly etch on the big screen. “Can you imagine a filmmaker daring to think of a subject such as ‘Bahubali’ and spending so much time and attention as Rajamouli on building up its elements?” Prabhu asked.

Raghavendra added that South Indian filmmakers excel in adding ‘masala’ — action and emotion — in dollops. Something that Bollywood seems to be unable to effectively deliver anymore. “The stuff is pungent. That’s the taste people want,” he said.

“Hindi films are bland, so nobody wants them. They want masala and Hindi films no longer have masala as they did in the past. Telugu and Tamil films, moreover, are punchy. They hit you straight,” Raghavendra explained.

The soon-to-be-released ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, starring Kannada movie star Yash, is another South India potential blockbuster that has raised expectations, especially among the fans of ‘KGF: Chapter 1’, which raked in Rs 250 crore, a record for a Kannada film. It just changed the way the rest of India perceived Kannada cinema, which previously made news only because of its arthouse productions.

Google Search to help people get to original source of trending story

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Google Search to help people get to original source of trending story

Google has announced to add a new “highly cited” label to search results to help users find the original source of a trending story.

The company said it is introducing a way to help people identify stories that have been frequently cited by other news organizations.

“This label will appear on Top Stories. You will be able to find it on anything from an investigative article, to an interview, an announcement, a press release or a local news story, as long as other publishers indicate its relevance by linking to it,” said Nidhi Hebbar, Product Manager at Google.

The company said it is particularly interested in the potential to elevate original reporting, making it even easier for people to discover and engage with the publishers and journalists whose work brings unique value to a story.

The highly cited label is launching soon on mobile in English for the US and will roll out globally in the coming weeks, the company said in a blog post late on Thursday.

Along with the ‘highly cited’ label, Google is expanding its attempts to help search users critically evaluate the results they’re being shown.

“Starting today, on searches in English in the US, notices will also include tips to help you evaluate information online – reminding you that you can check whether a source is trusted on a topic, or come back later when there’s more information available,” informed Hebbar.

You can also check out our new resource page with pointers to help you navigate the information you’re finding online, based on research from information literacy experts.

Earlier this week, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Google is investing $10 million to help fight misinformation about the realities and facts of the war in Ukraine.

This includes new partnerships with think tanks and civil society organizations to conduct region-specific research into misinformation and disinformation and cash grants to support fact-checking networks and non-profits.

Yami Gautam talks about her role, challenges and working with Abhishek, Nimrat in ‘Dasvi’

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Yami Gautam talks about her role, challenges and working with Abhishek, Nimrat in ‘Dasvi’

Nothing could beat Yami Gautam’s simple look and sweet smile as she walks along with Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur inside Central Jail, Agra to promote her film ‘Dasvi’.

While she manages to walk through the rough patches with a little bit of difficulty because of her heels, there is nothing that can shadow her zeal and enthusiasm. The actress at every moment seems excited to talk about her role as a strict police officer who is daring and bold and how the movie succeeds in giving a strong message.

‘Dasvi’ is a film that revolves around Chief Minister Ganga Ram Chaudhary, essayed by Abhishek Bachchan, who decides to give his 10th class exams inside the jail. Yami, who received a lot of positive responses for her role as a school teacher, Naina Jaiswal in ‘A Thursday’, finds ‘Dasvi’ a perfect film to work in.

As she says: “I really like ‘Dasvi’s script. It’s always the story first, as Abhishek said, very rightly, and then of course, what is your character how pivotal it is for the story, and how wholesome it is. There is an arc to every character from the beginning to the end.

“Every character has its journey in the film and how it sync with the storyline, all these things are very important, and is thus giving me an opportunity to do something which I haven’t done before? Yes, it is, and that too in a very beautiful way.”

Yami visited Central Jail, Agra on March 29 for the promotion of her movie ‘Dasvi’. She came along with Abhishek Bachchan, Nimrat Kaur, director Tushar Jalota and producer Sandeep Leyzell.

Yami shares that this movie connects with the audience through its message. It focuses on the importance of education. When a Chief Minister who is a school dropout, played by Abhishek Bachchan decides to clear the 10th exams, it shows that there is no age to be educated and it is a must irrespective of your position in society.

“It was fun shooting for this movie. We all knew how much education is important but there is an impressive way to tell it. So, that maximum number of people understand your message. And this is what makes ‘Dasvi’ different as through its backdrop as jail and character, it gives a strong message.”

While commenting on the challenges while playing a bold and strict Haryanvi police officer Jyoti Deswal, Yami says: “The main challenge was to get the Hayryanvi diction right. It was not easy. From taking classes, I did everything to speak the dialogues in the right way. It should not look like you are overdoing something. The character should be realistic and connect with the audience not in just one part but with everyone. And I tried for the same. But Abhishek helped me a lot at every point.”

Yami shares that this is one of her most exciting projects and one of the foremost reasons is shooting happening in the jail.

“The most memorable thing for us was to shoot for the first time in the jail. When I was told about the shooting location there was so much apprehension and there were a number of questions that were coming to mind. In fact, we were not sure that shooting will for sure happen in the jail. We were thinking maybe the shoot will be done on the sets.”

Yami goes on to reveal the dilemma before the filming started in the jail, saying: “As an actor, you always look for a set or shooting site where we can work in a calm atmosphere and there is no distraction while you are working. Even if we are shooting on a busy street we want to give our best and that comes with focus and concentration. So, there was a fear that whether we will get the same inside the jail. But we did.”

Yami is in awe of the acting skills and hard work done by Abhishek Bachchan for his role.

“Abhishek is so kind that he has all the good words to say about me and Nimrat. But he worked so hard on his character that I have no words and I cannot imagine I was surprised himself when I saw his first look we all know a first look creates a first impression and it was brilliant. And the way he carried off the character of Gangaram, I just cannot imagine anybody pulling it off the way he did. He just had fun with the character.”

She recalls some sweet moments with Abhishek and Nimrat on the sets: “There was a sequence when I remember Abhishek was doing everything possible in his mind to have my eyeline clear. You know Nimrat and me just share one scene but it was also all fun and we were just enjoying and laughing. So, these small moments make the entire shooting experience memorable and special.”

‘Dasvi’ is scheduled to premiere on Netflix and JioCinema on April 7.

Goa CM plans to take tourism away from beaches towards villages

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Goa CM plans to take tourism away from beaches towards villages

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in his budget speech on Wednesday tried to reposition the tourism sector away from the state’s popular beaches to the hinterland, especially in the lower reaches of the forested Western Ghats and rural areas of Goa, in order to ensure percolation of the spoils of tourism in the interior regions of the coastal state.

The state budget for the year 2022-23 which was tabled in the state assembly also proposes an eco-tourism policy for the state to engage the participation of the local population and generate employment.

“One of the priority and focus areas of my government is to make efforts to boost eco-tourism in the hinterland, especially in and around incredibly rich forests and wildlife areas of the state,” the Chief Minister said in his budget speech.

“For this purpose, we will come up with an ‘Eco-tourism Policy’ which will lay emphasis on the active participation of local people to provide them gainful employment opportunities. Adequate publicity of eco-tourism sites and facilities will also be made through various platforms, including social media,” Sawant also said.

The budget speech also proposed to develop hinterlands in the Western ghats under the aegis of eco-tourism.

“I propose to develop Goan Hinterlands through the development of eco-tourism & nature education park for the Western Ghats at Selaulim and trekking corridors and camping areas at Dudhsagar along with supporting infrastructure,” Sawant said.

Sawant also said that the Goa government would develop model villages to tap their potential as far as tourism is concerned.

“Under the ‘Development of Model Villages’ scheme, we will assist various villages based on their potential such as demographics, natural attractions, and tourism development. For this purpose, a provision of Rs 4 crore has been made,” Sawant said.

The budget proposes to allocate Rs 247.16 crore for the tourism sector, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic, which led to only 26 lakh tourists visiting the state in 2020.

Sawant also announced the allocation of Rs 51.74 crore under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive of the Union Ministry of Tourism for the development of infrastructure and amenities at Basilica of Bom Jesus along with various other churches in Old Goa.

Amruta Khanvilkar: Couldn’t be happier to reunite with Ajay-Atul for ‘Chandramukhi’

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Amruta Khanvilkar: Couldn’t be happier to reunite with Ajay-Atul for ‘Chandramukhi’

Actress Amruta Khanvilkar who is receiving praise for her performance in ‘Chandra’, the first song of her upcoming film ‘Chandramukhi’, says reuniting with the music director duo Ajay-Atul for the song was quite special.

The song is composed by Ajay-Atul and sung by Shreya Ghoshal.

“I am a big fan of the music composed by Ajay-Atul sir. I feel a strong emotional connection with them as I have worked with them earlier. They have always been around to bless me on every important milestone of my life and I could not be happier to reunite with them for ‘Chandramukhi’,” Amruta said.

The actress will be seen playing the character of Lavni dancer whose life takes a different turn due to some unexpected events.

Based on Vishwas Patil’s book, the film is directed by Prasad Oak and released theatrically on April 29.

IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss, elect to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders

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IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss, elect to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders in the sixth match of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Sports Stadium, here on Wednesday.

It was a toss where both teams wanted to bowl first but Bangalore had the luck on their side.

After winning the toss, du Plessis confirmed that Bangalore is sticking with the playing eleven from the five-wicket loss in their opening match to Punjab Kings.

“The pitch looks similar but it feels a little bit tacky. A lot of positives, the first 3-4 overs were challenging, the way we battled through. From a bowling perspective, you are expected not to get everything perfect. Nice to start the tournament like that (on 88 off 57 balls in the first match), hopefully, I can do that again.”

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer said New Zealand pacer Tim Southee comes in for Shivam Mavi for the only change in the playing eleven from the six-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings.

“Dew plays a massive role. The bowlers did an amazing job, made it easy for the batsmen. Now it’s going to be a test for us to come in and bat and see to it that we get a good total. It’s just a work of execution. We need to carry forward this momentum into the next games.”

Asked about the Southee-Mavi swap, Iyer remarked, “Tim carries a lot of experience, Mavi is a youngster and has done well for the franchise. It was a management decision, we sat together and decided that let’s go with experience.”

Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Faf du Plessis (captain), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Sherfane Rutherford, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wicket-keeper), Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
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