Oracle launches JAVA 18 to boost developers’ productivity

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Oracle launches JAVA 18 to boost developers’ productivity

Cloud major Oracle on Wednesday announced the availability of Java 18, the latest version of the programming language and development platform.

Java 18 (Oracle JDK 18) delivers thousands of performance, stability, and security improvements, including nine enhancements to the platform that will further improve developer productivity, the company claims.

“The release of Java 18 demonstrates Oracle’s continued commitment to provide enterprises and developers faster access to enhancements with the six-month feature release cadence,” Georges Saab, Vice President of Development, Java Platform Group, Oracle said in a statement.

“We continue to make technology investments that improve the performance, stability, and security of the Java SE Platform implementations, as well as the Java Development Kit,” it read.

The latest Java Development Kit (JDK) aims to provide updates and improvements with nine JDK Enhancement Proposals (JEPs). These include the capability to add Code Snippets in Java API Documentation (JEP 413), which simplifies the addition of sample source code in the API documentation, and Simple Web Server (JEP 408) for prototyping and testing. Developers can explore two incubating modules: the Vector API (JEP 417) and the Foreign Function and Memory API (JEP 419), as well as a preview feature: Pattern Matching for Switch (JEP 420). Accelerating Java’s Adoption in the Cloud Oracle recently introduced Java Management Service (JMS), a new Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) native service to help manage Java runtimes and applications on-premises or on any cloud. JMS delivers the information needed to manage Java deployments across the enterprise.

Will make efforts for martyr status to Bhagat Singh: Punjab CM

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Will make efforts for martyr status to Bhagat Singh: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the state government would make strenuous efforts for getting martyr status for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Rajguru, and Shaheed Sukhdev.

Interacting with family members of martyr Bhagat Singh, including Teji Sandhu, the wife of his nephew, Abhay Sandhu, the Chief Minister assured them that all efforts would be made to get status of the martyr for the legendary hero of Indian freedom struggle, who laid his life at a tender age.

He bemoaned that it was unfortunate that even after more than 70 years of Independence this status has not been bestowed to him. Mann said the entire nation would ever remain indebted to this great martyr for steering the country out of the clutches of British imperialism.

Seeking fulsome support of people to realize the dreams of Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh, the Chief Minister said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is committed to cherishing the aspirations of Bhagat Singh and carving out a harmonious and egalitarian society.

YouTube taking on OTA TV with nearly 4k free episodes of TV

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YouTube taking on OTA TV with nearly 4k free episodes of TV

Video streaming platform YouTube said that users will now be able to stream nearly 4,000 episodes of TV for free, as long as they are also willing to watch ads during the show.

Shows available include Hell’s Kitchen, Andromeda, and Heartland, and users will be able to watch them in the US on the web, mobile devices, and “most connected TVs via the YouTube TV app,” YouTube said in a blog post.

With the new free TV shows, YouTube is taking on a number of major competitors, The Verge reported.

One is over-the-air (OTA) television — by offering free TV on demand, YouTube is likely hoping that users will see what’s available on its platform instead of channel surfing to see what else might be on.

And there are already many options for streaming ad-supported TV for free, including Tubi, Xumo, Plex, Roku, and offerings from Vizio, and Samsung — just to name a few — so YouTube is late to the game.

That said, YouTube is also already where many people spend a lot of time watching videos, so it is not hard to imagine people checking out TV shows they can stream for free while scrolling through other YouTube content.

YouTube’s free TV shows join the platform’s available lineup of free movies with ads, which currently include Gone in Sixty Seconds and Legally Blonde. The company plans to add up to 100 shows and movies each week.

Women safety: Andhra CM flags off 163 DISHA patrolling vehicles

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Women safety: Andhra CM flags off 163 DISHA patrolling vehicles

In a bid to control crime against women and enhance DISHA surveillance, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday flagged off 163 DISHA patrolling vehicles which will improve and strengthen visible policing, a key component of curbing crime.

All of these four-wheelers are equipped with a dedicated GPS tracking system for direct monitoring from the District Unit Control Room. These patrol vehicles carry out continuous patrols in crime-prone areas, officials said.

“The vehicles will help improve response times to women and children in emergency situations,” Reddy said.

The vehicles will be able to identify and map all possible crime areas within each police station limit, as well as identify and map details of past crime, time, and place.

The 163 new patrolling vehicles are in addition to the already existing 900 two-wheelers currently used for patrolling in all the police stations limits across the state. Funds have been allocated for the purchase of 163 vehicles of Direction Patrolling four-wheelers at a cost of Rs 13.85 crore. In addition, Rs 5.5 crore has already been allocated for this operation.

In addition to the existing 900 two-wheelers and 163 four-wheeler direction patrol vehicles, more than 3,000 emergency vehicles are now being connected to the control room at the police headquarters along with the DISHA control room set up at 18 police units across the state for quick response to citizens in case of emergencies. This allows police to reach out to victims by special SOS features (any woman in danger can alert the local police by just shaking her phone five times or pressing the SOS button in the app). These specialized vehicles help to reduce the response time from 4-5 minutes in urban areas to 8-10 minutes in the same rural areas.

The DISHA mobile application has already been downloaded by 1.16 crore women on their mobile phones, Reddy noted.

With more women joining the police department, the government also introduced 18 caravans or mobile restrooms for women police personnel on duty in public places.

Instagram rolls out product-tagging to all users in US

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Instagram rolls out product-tagging to all users in US

Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram will now let all users tag products in their posts in the US.

Previously, this was only available to creators or business accounts. “Over the next few months”, the feature will roll out to everyone, reports GSMArena.

Over the last few years, Instagram has gradually shifted towards selling products right from within the app and the latest update may make it more so that users can more easily identify products featured in photos and video posts, as well as stories.

The app plans to eventually add Reels into the mix. To tag a product, users will first need to tag the brand of the item. After creating the post and making necessary adjustments, tag a brand using the “Tag people” option. Then, users should see “tag products”.

From here, users tap on a product in their image and select a product from the brand’s list of items. Others will be able to tap on a product and purchase it through a trackable link or directly from the app.

Instagram is testing an affiliate program with select creators to potentially earn from sales they convert, the report said.

Businesses will be able to see their products are tagged and can choose whether those tags appear on the “tagged tab”. A business may also disable tags from appearing as well.

IIT-Mandi researchers convert plastics to useful products

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IIT-Mandi researchers convert plastics to useful products

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have developed a method that can transform plastic into hydrogen when exposed to light. The generation of hydrogen from plastics is particularly useful because gas is considered the most practical non-polluting fuel of the future.

Plastics, most of which are derived from petroleum, are not biodegradable, i.e., they cannot be easily broken down into harmless products. It is said most of the 4.9 billion tonnes of plastics ever produced would end up in landfills, threatening human health and the environment.

Fuelled by the need to prevent runaway plastic pollution, IIT-Mandi researchers are developing methods that can transform plastic into useful chemicals.

This study was funded by the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) of the Ministry of Education.

The findings from this work have been recently published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. The research was led by Prem Fexil Siril, Professor, School of Basic Sciences, IIT-Mandi, and Aditi Halder, Associate Professor, School of Basic Sciences, IIT-Mandi, and co-authored by their Ph.D. scholars, Rituporn Gogoi, Astha Singh, Vedasree Moutam, Lalita Sharma and Kajal Sharma.

“The ideal path to effective annihilation of plastics is to degrade them into useful chemicals. The generation of hydrogen from plastics is particularly useful because the gas is considered the most practical non-polluting fuel of the future,” Siril said.

The researchers have developed a catalyst that can efficiently convert plastics into hydrogen and other useful chemicals when exposed to light.

Catalysts are substances that drive otherwise difficult or impossible reactions and when they are activated by light, they are called photocatalysts.

The IIT-Mandi photocatalyst combines iron oxide in the form of nanoparticles (particles a hundred thousand times smaller than the diameter of a single hair strand), with a conducting polymer — polypyrrole.

The researchers found that combining iron oxide nanoparticles with pyrrole resulted in the formation of a semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunction, which in turn results in strong visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity.

Photocatalysts usually need UV light for activation and therefore require special bulbs. The IIT-Mandi catalyst can function simply with sunlight.

Explaining his research, Siril said, “We first ascertained the photocatalytic activity of our catalyst by seeing its action on methyl orange, whose color change from orange to colorless showed the extent to which our catalyst was able to degrade it.”

The researchers found there was 100 percent degradation within four hours when they used a catalyst in which about four percent weight iron oxide was present in the polypyrrole matrix.

They then tested this catalyst on polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic that is extensively used in food packaging, textiles, medical articles, and cosmetics.

The team found hydrogen was evolved during the breakdown of PLA when the catalyst was exposed to visible light.

Women’s World Cup: Wary of Pakistan’s spin attack, says England’s Sophia Dunkley

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Women’s World Cup: Wary of Pakistan’s spin attack, says England’s Sophia Dunkley

England batter Sophia Dunkley on Wednesday said her team is aware of facing a lot of spin bowling from Pakistan ahead of their league match at Hagley Oval. Defending champions England were on the verge of an early exit from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup after losses to Australia, West Indies, and South Africa.

But wins against India and New Zealand have brought their campaign back on track. Now, to get into the semifinals, England will have to win their matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh to enter the last four stages.

“I think Pakistan’s bowling attack was really good. They have got a lot of good spinners in their attack. We know there’s going to be a lot of spin coming our way. So, it’s just playing that well as best as we can with the bat and putting in a good performance against them. But they’ve obviously come off with a great win, so it will be challenging I’m sure,” said Dunkley in the pre-match virtual press conference.

Dunkley feels that playing at Hagley Oval, the venue for the first semifinal as well as the final of the tournament, will add up as motivation to reach the knockout stages.

“We love it here at Christchurch. We played here a year ago in an ODI, and it’s a great ground and pitch looks nice and the nets were really good as well. Being here and looking at the outfield and everything, it’d be great to be here in a week and a half time and I have to visualize that as well. Definitely really good motivation for that.”

Dunkley, who has contributed with a good number of the 30s with the bat, said that the experience of playing every match in the ongoing tournament as a do-or-die affair since the first three losses is helping them.

“The last two games were almost like semi-finals in themselves for us because, had we lost, it would have put us in a terrible position. Having those experiences and those feelings will be great and hopefully, we can get a couple more wins that aren’t as nerve-wracking or aren’t as close, but it is good to have that experience for sure.”

Dunkley signed off by expressing her wish to finish matches and secure a win for England with the bat. “It’d be finishing games off and just getting that win clinically done. At the end of the day, we’ve lost a few wickets later on in the game and it puts a bit of pressure. So, having it better that after that, at the end, we’re definitely dealing with a lot of good. So, definitely finish a few more games going forward.”

Netflix’s new mobile game raises awareness for drinking water scarcity

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Netflix’s new mobile game raises awareness for drinking water scarcity

Video-streaming platform Netflix has launched three games on Android and iOS platforms to raise awareness about the lack of safe drinking water.

The team-up between ‘Frosty Pop and Charity: Water’, is an educational RPG that challenges users to walk miles in sub-Saharan Africa to find water while dealing with poachers, windstorms, and other hazards, reports Engadget.

It is a frank commentary on a dire state of affairs (771 million people do not have access to clean water), although the hand-painted backdrops might keep you coming back after you understand the message.

The other games are less poignant, but may still be worth a try. Pik Pok has unveiled both ‘Into the Dead 2: Unleashed’, a sequel to its endless runner/shooter hybrid, as well as ‘Shatter Remastered’, modernization of its brick-breaker/shoot-em-up crossover for the PS3.

All three games are now available on Android and iOS. As with other Netflix games, the latest selection is ‘free’ once you have signed in with your account.

This month, Netflix has announced to acquire Finland-based Next Games, developer of hugely popular Stranger Things and Walking Dead games, for $72 million as the streaming giant aims to build out gaming content for its users.

Next Games’ strategy is to develop games based on popular entertainment IP, such as Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales, a story-driven puzzle role-playing game (RPG) inspired by one of Netflix’s most-watched series.

Jadeja tops Test all-rounders’ chart; Azam makes huge gain with heroic 196

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Jadeja tops Test all-rounders’ chart; Azam makes huge gain with heroic 196

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, riding on one of the best innings of his cricketing career against Australia in the second Test at Karachi, has made massive gains in the latest ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings for batters released on Wednesday, moving up three spots to No.5 on the chart.

Three Indian cricketers — Rohit Sharma (7th), Virat Kohli (9th), and Rishabh Pant (10th) — have maintained their positions in the rankings for batters, which is led by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and followed by England skipper Joe Root.

The Pakistan skipper was at his glorious best against Australia during the second Test as he batted for almost two days to score a marathon knock of 196 in 425 deliveries as the hosts pulled off a sensational draw.

Other star performers with the bat from the same match — Mohammad Rizwan and Australia’s Usman Khawaja — have also taken massive a massive leap. Rizwan has moved up six spots, to be joint No.11 alongside Australia’s David Warner after his unbeaten knock of 104 in the second innings. Khawaja, who scored 160 and 44 not out in Karachi, moves up 11 spots to No.13.

West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite is another big mover, gaining 16 spots up to No.27 after scoring 160 and 56 not out in the second Test against England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

In the bowling charts, Shaheen Afridi has moved down one spot to No.6 after struggling in the Karachi Test, picking up only two wickets in the match. Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who picked up three scalps in the first innings, moves up one place to No.15.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah continue to hold on to their second and fourth spots respectively on the bowlers’ list, which is led by Australia’s Pat Cummins.

In the all-rounders’ chart, India’s Ravindra Jadeja is back at the No.1 spot, while West Indies’ Jason Holder has dropped to No.2 after struggling during the second Test in Barbados. Holder picked up only one wicket and aggregated 12 runs in the match. R. Ashwin continues to hold on to the No. 3 spot among all-rounders behind Holder.

Australian skipper Cummins has moved up one spot to No.8 after aggregating three wickets and scoring 34 not out in the first innings of the Karachi Test.

In the ODI charts, South African players are the big gainers after their seven-wicket win against Bangladesh in the second match in Johannesburg. Quinton de Kock, who scored a blistering 41-ball 62 moves up one place to No.3 in the batting charts.

Kagiso Rabada, who picked up his second ODI five-wicket haul, moves up five places to No.8 in the bowling rankings, breaking into the top 10.

There is some good news for Bangladesh though, as Mehidy Hasan gains four places in the all-rounders’ rankings after a knock of 38 and picking up one wicket in the second ODI.

Zoom unveils animal avatars similar to Animoji for meetings

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Zoom unveils animal avatars similar to Animoji for meetings

Video conferencing platform Zoom has introduced avatars that replace a user’s head with a 3D character that mimics facial expressions for virtual offices and classrooms.

Only animals like cats, dogs, and foxes are available for now, but Zoom is teasing more avatars in the future.

“Available for Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinar, Avatars replace your appearance with a virtual animal that mirrors your head movements and facial expressions,” the company said in a blogpost.

“Avatars are an easy and entertaining way to engage with attendees and create a bit of fun. They also provide a good middle ground for users who do not want to appear on camera, but still want to express body language and facial expressions,” they added.

When you turn on the Avatars feature during a meeting, Zoom’s technology uses your device’s camera to detect where a face is on the screen and apply the selected avatar effect.

“Images of your face do not leave your device when using this feature, and they are not stored or sent to Zoom,” the company said.

This feature does not use facial recognition, which means that it does not identify who you are. So while the Avatars feature can tell what is or is not a face, it does not recognize or distinguish between individual faces.

The Avatars feature is available on Windows and macOS desktop devices, as well as iOS mobile devices.

To enable Avatars, you will need to make sure your Zoom desktop client or mobile app is running on version 5.10.0 or higher. You will also need the feature to be enabled by an account owner or admin.

Arjun Kapoor to head north to start shooting ‘The Ladykiller’

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Arjun Kapoor to head north to start shooting ‘The Ladykiller’

Actor Arjun Kapoor has just wrapped ‘Ek Villain 2’ and has dived headlong into the prep for his next, Ajay Bahl’s ‘The Ladykiller’ that he starts in the first week of April.

Sources share that Arjun will head north for about a month to shoot this gritty suspense drama.

A source says, “Arjun is not taking any breaks after wrapping Mohit Suri’s ‘Ek Villain 2’. He has started prepping for Ajay Bahl’s ‘The Ladykiller’ that will start in the first week of April. The team is definitely heading North to shoot this film as the setting to plays a prominent element in heightening the plot point.”

“Arjun will be single-mindedly focused on prepping right now. He has wowed everyone with his performance in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar and he wants to take it up a few notches in ‘The Ladykiller’. That’s why he has not taken any break and has started an intense 3-4 hours of prep per day for this film,” the source added.

‘The Lady Killer’ chronicles the story of a small town playboy who falls in love with a ‘self-destructive beauty’ as they embark on a whirlwind romance.

Ajay Bahl, who previously helmed movies like ‘BA Pass’ and ‘Section 375’, is directing this film that is being produced by Bhushan Kumar and Shaailesh R Singh.

PM Modi lauds goods export worth $400 bn ahead of schedule

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PM Modi lauds goods export worth $400 bn ahead of schedule

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters as India has achieved the ambitious target of $400 billion of goods exports nine days ahead of schedule.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi said, “India set an ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports & achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success. This is a key milestone in our Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey. #LocalGoesGlobal.”

Prime Minister Modi also shared infographics that stated that every month goods worth $33 billion are exported and goods worth $46 million are exported every hour. “In 2020-21, India exported goods worth $292 billion and reported 37 per cent growth in 2021-22,” it said.

Quoting Prime Minister Modi’s tweet, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “The nation’s forward march towards #AtmanirbharBharat continues as India achieves the target of $400 billion of goods exports. It is a landmark achievement for the country. Under the astute leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, the Nation has scripted history.”

Lauding the achievement, union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, “New India under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji is known for scripting history. Extremely proud that India has achieved its highest ever goods exports target of $400Bn. This reflects the boost in the Indian economy post-Covid due to PM Modi’s resolve of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted, “Under the dynamic leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji, we have achieved the target of a record $400 billion merchandise exports in one fiscal year.”

‘Not too long to go now’: Virat Kohli starts countdown for IPL 2022

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‘Not too long to go now’: Virat Kohli starts countdown for IPL 2022

Ahead of the start of the much-awaited season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli on Wednesday shared a throwback picture relishing his stylish knock in the cash-rich league.

IPL 2022 will begin with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

And RCB will lock horns with Punjab Kings in their first match of the tournament on Sunday. Kohli shared a picture on KOO expressing his excitement ahead of the opening match.

“Not too long to go now”, Kohli captioned the post on the micro-blogging app KOO.

Meanwhile, RCB has named former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis as the new skipper of the franchise. Kohli is happy and excited to pass on the baton to du Plessis.

“First and foremost the most important news is that Faf is going to be the captain of RCB and I couldn’t be happier to pass on the baton to a good friend. Someone that I have known well over the years. We have been in touch for many years now and he is one of the few guys I have known apart from cricket and we get along really well. So, absolutely excited for him to lead RCB. To lead this amazing franchise and to play under him,” said Kohli on Twitter earlier this month.

Coming to IPL matches, the games will be played across stadiums in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune with an audience occupancy rate of 25 percent as per COVID-19 protocols.

In all, 20 matches each will be held at Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium, 15 matches each at Brabourne and MCA International Stadium, Pune.

Buttler flattered to be retained by Royals; says these are exciting times for IPL

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Buttler flattered to be retained by Royals; says these are exciting times for IPL

England cricketer and star Rajasthan Royals batter Jos Buttler said he is “quite flattered” at being retained by the franchise ahead of this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), adding that it showed that the team “had placed their trust in me”.

Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, retained Sanju Samson, Buttler, and young left-hand batter Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of IPL 2022 Mega Auction.

“There were only a certain number of players that could stay with the franchise so it was quite flattering to have been offered to be retained. I’ve always enjoyed playing for this franchise and have had some really enjoyable memories,” said the England wicketkeeper-batter.

“Obviously I knew the franchise had placed their trust in me, along with Sanju and Yash (Yashasvi Jaiswal). There were a lot of conversations that happened before the auction, and we were just focused on trying to create a strong team, covering all bases that you need to win the tournament,” added Buttler.

Having missed the second phase of IPL 2021 in the UAE, Buttler said that there was always a “sense of excitement” whenever he returned to India for the tournament.

“Anytime you turn up in India for the IPL, there’s this sense of excitement and a real buzz around the tournament, so it’s great to be back in the country. It has become my second home. I’ve spent a lot of time here, and the friendliness of the people and the passion for cricket always tends to blow my mind away,” added the 50-over World Cup winner.

The cricketer said that these are exciting times in the lucrative league as one will have to start from scratch to build a new team for the new cycle.

“It’s a really exciting time for the team you know, to start a new cycle and build a new team. The aim here is to win the IPL, and I can’t wait to contribute to that. We are delighted to have so many great players in the squad. Obviously, (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Yuzvendra) Chahal are two of the best spinners in the world, and with a great pace attack, I think it’s really exciting. Then we’ve got ourselves a strong batting line-up, along with great all-round options, so I think it’s going to be a really exciting IPL for us,” added the 31-year-old.

The England player said he was disappointed with the Ashes campaign. England, under Joe Root, lost the Ashes in Australia 0-4 recently.

“I think I’ve played a lot of cricket in the last few years, and have spent a lot of time in bubbles. It was a disappointing campaign in the Ashes, which finished with a broken finger for me. Post that, I haven’t touched cricket at all — I’ve got a young family, so I had the time to relax and enjoy myself with them.

“I actually found it really important to do something different from cricket. It sort of brings that extra motivation and excitement when you haven’t played for a bit. Of course, I enjoy my fitness, but I think it was important to put my cricket kit away for a bit. Now coming into an important year, both in the IPL and then the T20 World Cup, I feel really fresh and full of confidence.

“I’m also looking forward to connecting with a lot of people, especially Chahal. I’ve played against him a few times, and he seems to be that fun character in the team. So, I’m looking forward to having him on my team. There’s also (Devdutt) Padikkal, who scored a hundred against us (Rajasthan Royals) last year. I think he looks like a fantastic young player so I’m excited to have him here.”

Playing for Royal Challenger’s Bangalore in April last year, Padikkal had smashed a 52-balls 101 against Rajasthan Royals, beating Buttler’s side by 10 wickets.

Having played 65 matches in his six IPL seasons, and scored 1968 runs at a strike rate of 150, Buttler is now a senior pro in the team and is looking forward to passing on the learnings to his teammates.

“My role as a senior player is to try to give the other guys confidence. It’s to transmit a very free-spirited mindset and act as a sounding board for young players. It’s important for them to be fearless, and to just embrace the opportunity.

“I remember when I was a young player, just having that five minutes of conversation with someone would go a long way, and I would love to help the younger guys in the same way,” he added.

Tennis world, Sania Mirza send wishes to Ash Barty on her retirement

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Tennis world, Sania Mirza send wishes to Ash Barty on her retirement

The tennis world on Wednesday sent its wishes to world No.1 women’s player Ashleigh Barty, who announced her retirement, barely a month away from her 26th birthday.

Barty won the French Open in 2019, the Wimbledon in 2021, and the Australian Open earlier this year, and her current reign of 114 consecutive weeks at No.1 is the fourth-longest streak in the history of the WTA Tour.

Barty said she didn’t have the physical drive to keep competing anymore.

“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want, and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level anymore. I am spent. I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself. I’ve said it to my team multiple times — ‘I just don’t have that in me anymore.’ Physically, I have nothing more to give. I’ve given absolutely everything I have to this beautiful sport of tennis, and I’m really happy with that. For me, that is my success,” said Barty.

Indian tennis stalwart and winner of multiple Grand Slam doubles titles, Sania Mirza, said, “What a legend @ashbarty… tennis will miss you… an unbelievable role model on and off the court… good luck mate for this next phase #inspiration.”

Former world No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania tweeted, “Ash, what can I say, you know I have tears, right? My friend, I will miss you on tour. You were different and special, and we shared some amazing moments. What’s next for you? Grand Slam champion in golf?! Be happy and enjoy your life to the max xo Simo.”

Former world No.1 men’s tennis player Andy Murray said the tennis world would be gutted by Barty’s retirement.

“Happy for @ashbarty… gutted for tennis. what a player,” tweeted Murray.

American world No.26 player Madison Keys wrote on social media, “An incredible tennis player but more importantly one of the nicest people on tour. Congratulations @ashbarty on an amazing career and good luck with what’s next!”

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova with whom Barty had a notable and friendly rivalry, tweeted, “Ash, I have no words… actually you are showing your true class leaving tennis in this beautiful way. I am so happy I could share the court with you… tennis will never be the same without you! I admire you as a player and a person… wishing you only the best!”

The two Grand Slam champions played each other 10 times, with six of those matches going three sets. Their head-to-head ended in a 5-5 deadlock.

Another Czech player, Karolina Pliskova tweeted, “Congrats on an incredible career Ash. It was a privilege to share a court with you. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter, @ashbarty. You will be missed.”

In her final event earlier this year, Barty became the first Australian to win the women’s singles title at the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

The Australian Open said it was proud of her achievements, tweeting, “You did it your way, Ash. So proud of your accomplishments and how you have represented Australia on the world stage @ashbarty.”

India reports 1,778 new Covid cases, 62 deaths

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India reports 1,778 new Covid cases, 62 deaths

India reported 1,778 fresh Covid cases, marginally higher than the previous days’ count of 1,581 in a span of 24 hours. In the same period, 62 deaths were recorded taking the total number to 5,16,605, said the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday morning.

Following a continuous downward trend, India’s active caseload further declined to 23,087 on Wednesday, constituting 0.05 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.

A total of 2,542 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,73,057. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.75 percent.

Also in the same period, a total of 6,77,218 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.42 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 0.36 percent and the daily positivity rate is also reported to be 0.26 percent.

On the vaccination front, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 181.89 crores as per the provisional reports till 7 a.m. Wednesday. This has been achieved through 2,14,87,809 sessions. Over 52 lakh 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.

More than 16.97 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 Wednesday morning.

World No.1 women’s tennis player Ashleigh Barty announces shock retirement

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World No.1 women’s tennis player Ashleigh Barty announces shock retirement

World No. 1 women’s tennis player, Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, has announced her retirement, according to wtatennis.com.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, Barty’s current reign of 114 consecutive weeks at No.1 is the fourth-longest streak in the history of the WTA Tour.

The outgoing Australian is one month shy of her 26th birthday.

“It’s the first time I’ve actually said it out loud and, yeah, it’s hard to say,” an emotional Barty told former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in an interview. “But I’m so happy, and I’m so ready.

“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want, and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level anymore. I am spent,” said Barty.

TN reports 48 fresh Covid cases, no new deaths

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TN reports 48 fresh Covid cases, no new deaths

Tamil Nadu has reported 48 fresh Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, the state Directorate of Public health and Preventive medicine said in a statement.

The new cases were reported on Tuesday. However, no deaths were reported due to Covid during the same period, the statement said.

The statement also said that of the 38 districts in the state, 22 reported no fresh Covid cases.

The health department said that Ariyalur, Kallakurichi, Kanniyakumari, Karur, Perambalur, Ramanathapuram, Tiruvarur, and Tirunelveli reported either nil Covid cases or cases in single digits for the past one week.

Chennai district reported 18 fresh cases on Tuesday while 15 districts have less than 10 cases of which eight reported only a single case each.

The state has so far reported 34,52,490 Covid cases while the number of deaths due to Covid was 38,025.

The number of active cases has come down to 535 of which 189 cases are reported in Chennai district, the statement said.

The state has inoculated 1,96,759 persons, including 1,42,917 children aged 12-14 and 22,918 children aged between 15-18 on Tuesday. The state has to date vaccinated 7,72,025 children in the age group of 12-14 with the Corvebax vaccine, the statement said.

Neymar ready to shine for Brazil: Paqueta

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Neymar ready to shine for Brazil: Paqueta

Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta has backed out-of-sorts teammate Neymar to recapture his best form in FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia.

Neymar has endured a frustrating season for Paris Saint-Germain, managing just five goals in 21 games across all competitions in between a series of injuries.

Criticism of the 30-year-old escalated after PSG’s elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid earlier this month, Xinhua reports. “You will always hear from my mouth that Neymar, above all, is a great person, a great professional, who has incredible talent and is without a doubt the best player in the Brazilian team,” Paqueta told a news conference on Tuesday evening.

“Having him with us is a privilege. When I have Neymar by my side, I feel much stronger, as do my teammates. And he also feels the same when he is in the national team, we are more motivated and we feel stronger.”

“Pressure exists, regardless of where you are playing. PSG has been eliminated and the press and fans are asking questions. He’s been recovering from an injury but he’s getting stronger and is doing his best to help us in the national team. I’m sure he’ll do very well,” added Paqueta, who is enjoying an impressive season with French Ligue 1 club Lyon.

Brazil will play Chile at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium on Thursday (March 24) and Bolivia in La Paz five days later.

The five-time world champions lead the South American zone standings and have already qualified for football’s showpiece tournament, to be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.

Twitter users can now record GIF from iOS app’s camera

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Twitter users can now record GIF from iOS app’s camera

Micro-blogging site Twitter has announced a new feature that makes it easier for people to create and share their own GIFs right from the in-app camera on iOS.

“Ok GIFs aren’t new but what *is new* is the option to capture your own using the in-app camera on iOS,” the firm said in a statement.

To record a GIF in the iOS app, hit the new tweet button, tap the photo icon, then the camera icon, make sure to be on the GIF mode, and press and hold the record button.

GIFs can’t be edited in the Twitter app but they are saved to your phone’s camera roll.

Twitter has also announced that it has started testing a new clipping tool for Spaces.

Select hosts on iOS are now able to clip 30 seconds of audio from recorded Spaces to share them with others on Twitter.

All iOS users can now see and listen to the clips on their timelines, while Android and web users will get access soon.

The company said it also plans to roll out the clipping functionality to all users in the future, not just hosts.

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