46 fresh Covid-19 cases in Mathura, 24 in Agra

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46 fresh Covid-19 cases in Mathura, 24 in Agra

The Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations will be a low-key affair this year here as authorities have banned processions due to the rising Covid-19 infection graph.

In the last 24 hours, Mathura reported 46 fresh cases of Covid-19 while Agra reported 24, Mainpuri 32, Etah 23, Firozabad 33, and Kasganj 13.

The total number of cases in Agra district now stands at 2,445 with 105 deaths. The number of active cases is 271. The number of recoveries stands at 2,069. So far, 92,013 samples have been tested. The overall recovery rate is 84.62 percent. The total number of containment zones now is 152 in the district.

Mathura district administration has clarified that no processions will be allowed and temples will remain closed to pilgrims. On Radhaashtmi (birthday of Radha), generally a big day in Braj Mandal, celebrations will remain confined to the temples. Pilgrims won’t be allowed entry into the Radha Rani temple in Barsana.

Meanwhile, the state government has directed the state health department to carry out an extensive Sero Survey in several UP districts including Agra, to ascertain the actual infection spread at the community level.

Where ‘local’ leads to international for artist Ashim Purkayastha

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Where ‘local’ leads to international for artist Ashim Purkayastha

In the year 2014, Delhi-based artist Ashim Purkayastha started collecting stones from different streets in Delhi. At that time, he had no idea that his work ‘Shelter’ would be a part of the Indian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale.

A physical experience, the making of which involved moving around the city and collecting materials, ‘Shelter’, which is now being exhibited at KNMA’s online exhibition ‘City Tales’ included time and experience of different events. “While picking up stones from Delhi’s roadsides, ‘identity’ was at the center of the thought,” says Purkayastha.

Recalling the overwhelming response his work received in Venice, the artist says, “While ‘Shelter’ was displayed on the floor, the canvas ‘Untitled’ was on the wall. When I decided to paint on the wall, it was the more conceptual part of the work which had to be done at one go. Considering the fact that it could not be repainted, there was a certain conflict in my mind, it was also important that the stones should be scattered all over. During the exhibition’s opening, it was interesting to see the reactions of the viewers — such an incomparable experience.”

Purkayastha, who is known for his work on Gandhi including ‘Gandhi/Man Without Specs’ says that till now he is yet to experience any movement or protest, that does not have his name or image. He adds, “However, in face of this pandemic — when so much is happening — lockdown, migration and protests, it is for the first time we do not have any mention or reference to Gandhi.”

Known for highlighting social and political issues in his work, while laying stress on the local, the artist feels that the post-COVID times for artists and exhibitors would mean far more dependence on the virtual medium. “However, despite such a tough scenario, we may see the Kochi Biennale materializing.”

While he has experienced ‘lockdowns’ frequently considering he is from Assam, Purkayastha says the one in wake of the COVID pandemic is different for him. “There is this realization that the whole world is going through it. I have been using this time to collect material for my future work.”

Talk to him about the pathetic state of young artists in face of no measures announced by the government for the art community when the country was put under lockdown, and he laments, “The government is just highlighting its ‘success’ rate when it comes to a lower mortality rate and not talking about several related key issues. He adds, “Lakhs of people have become jobless, we saw the walking migrants, and now many migrant workers are back in the cities trying to look for work. These issues need to be addressed, no?”

WordPress Founder slams Apple for cutting off updates

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WordPress Founder slams Apple for cutting off updates

Apple has cut off all updates to the WordPress app on its App Store, its Founder Matt Mullenweg tweeted on Saturday, saying Apple will not approve updates until his app includes in-app payment options.

WordPress lets people build and manage websites and blogs for free, and also sells portal domain names.

Mullenweg accused Apple of cutting off the ability to update the app to get its 30 percent fee on the App Store.

“Heads up on why @WordPressiOS updates have been absent… we were locked by App Store,” he tweeted.

“To be able to ship updates and bug fixes again we had to commit to supporting in-app purchases for .com plans. I know why this is problematic, open to suggestions,” he added.

Apple charges App developers a 30 percent fee on purchases on its App Store but ironically, WordPress does not sell anything.

“I am a big believer in the sanctity of licenses. (Open source relies on licenses and copyright.) We agreed to this license when we signed up for (and stayed in) the app store, so going to follow and abide by the rules. Not looking to skirt it, hence doing what they asked us to,” Mullenweg elaborated.

Ben Thompson who is the owner of Stratechery, a subscription-based newsletter/podcast featuring commentary on tech and media news, also slammed Apple.

“I am admittedly puzzled as to why Apple is denying me updates to the open-source app for my open source web site because one user of that app happens to sell domains. Also, I thought Apple wasn’t going to hold bug updates hostage anymore?” he tweeted.

“To be clear, the app doesn’t sell anything, and why would it? It’s an open-source project. Apple is requiring the addition of functionality that has no plausible reason to exist,” he added.

Top media trade body Digital Content Next that includes newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post this week joined the fight against Apple for its unfair and allegedly anti-competitive App Store policies.

News publishers joined the companies and app developers like Fortnite game owner Epic Games that has filed a lawsuit against Apple.

Microsoft Bing data reveals changing human needs during pandemic

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Microsoft Bing data reveals changing human needs during pandemic

Microsoft researchers have revealed how people changed their aspirations during the pandemic when the expression of basic needs increased “exponentially” while higher-level aspirations declined.

Using data from Microsoft search engine Bing, the team developed a framework to characterize the changes in people’s physiological, socioeconomic, and psychological needs during the pandemic, reports VentureBeat.

The researchers discovered the changing patterns of human needs after applying the framework to over 35 billion Bing web searches spanning roughly 36,000 ZIP codes in the US.

The framework tagged searches with categories like self-actualization needs, cognitive needs, social/emotional needs, safety needs, and physiological needs.

About 9.1 percent of the search queries — 3.2 billion searches — matched at least one of the needs categories.

“Indicators of social-economic instabilities like searches for ‘unemployment site visits’ and ‘food assistance’ still haven’t returned to their baseline levels,” according to the researchers, nor have searches reflecting needs to satisfy lockdown-induced isolation.

The researchers found that queries about educational degrees, job searches, job search sites, and housing dipped 34 percent and haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

They noticed heightened physiological and safety needs during the first four weeks of the pandemic.

Toilet paper purchases saw a 127 times uptick and stimulus-related searches (including terms like ‘loan forgiveness’) reached 287 times the baseline, a level that they sustained at least through July.

“As regions prepare recovery efforts from the current pandemic or make plans for future disruptions, the methodology we describe can be harnessed to monitor or anticipate a spectrum of needs at various geo-temporal granularities,” Microsoft researchers said.

The framework could be used to quantify how much social and economic distress a community might be able to endure and examine disparities in the impacts of policies on highly vulnerable populations.

Epic Games puts entire App Store model at risk: Apple

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Epic Games puts entire App Store model at risk: Apple

Apple has hit back at Epic Games for filing a lawsuit against its App Store policies, saying the Fortnite game developer has created its own problems and Epics actions are putting the “entire App Store model at risk”.

In a response filed in the court, Apple said that in the wake of its own voluntary actions, Epic Games now seeks emergency relief.

“But the ‘emergency’ is entire of Epic’s own making. Developers who work to deceive Apple, as Epic has done here, are terminated,” said the Cupertino-based iPhone maker that has become the first US company to reach the $2 trillion mark.

In the declaration to the court, Apple executive Phil Schiller wrote that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney asked for a “special deal with the only Epic that would fundamentally change the way in which Epic offers apps on Apple’s iOS platform”.

Sweeney took to Twitter, saying Apple’s statement is misleading.

“You can read my email in Apple’s filing, which is publicly available. I specifically said in Epic’s request to the Apple execs, ‘We hope that Apple will also make these options equally available to all iOS developers…'” he tweeted.

The Epic CEO said that he hopes Apple will reflect on its platform restrictions and begin to make historic changes “that bring to the world’s billion iOS consumers the rights and freedoms enjoyed on the world’s leading open computing platforms including Windows and macOS”.

Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple last week, alleging that the tech giant is threatening to terminate its developer account by August 28 which would cut the company off from iOS and macOS development tools.

Apple earlier said in its response that the App Store is not simply a marketplace.

“We cannot be confident that Epic or any developer would uphold the same rigorous standards of privacy, security, and content as Apple”.

Launched in 2017, Fortnite features a battle royale format where 100 players compete to survive as the last player standing on a remote island.

The popular game has amassed a huge following of 350 million players and is available on multiple platforms.

Soon after Apple removed the popular video game Fortnite from its App Store for allegedly violating in-app payment guidelines, Epic Games has announced a free Fortnite tournament on August 23 where players can compete to win anti-Apple prizes.

Shruti Haasan on the price of sacrifice every profession demands

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Shruti Haasan on the price of sacrifice every profession demands

Actress Shruti Haasan says all professions come with a price, and that mostly involves what you are willing to sacrifice.

“I think that the price of what you are willing to sacrifice is a personal choice that comes with every profession,” Shruti told IANS.

The actress, who is the daughter of veteran stars Kamal Haasan and Sarika, shares it is mostly the personal life one sacrifice.

“Mostly it is time and relationships that you sacrifice. Whether you work in a bank or you work in the movies,” she added.

Shruti has completed 11 years as an actor. She says she is always looking to improve herself. The actress recently starred in the digitally-released film, “Yaara”, which also featured Vidyut Jammwal, Kenny Basumatry, Vijay Varma, and Amit Sadh.

The Tigmanshu Dhulia directorial is a Bollywood remake of the French film “Gang Story”. The story of the film is set in North India and is about the rise and fall of a group of four friends operating along the Indo-Nepal border.

Global Covid-19 cases top 22.8mn: Johns Hopkins

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Global Covid-19 cases top 22.8mn: Johns Hopkins

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 22.8 million, while the deaths have increased to over 797,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Saturday morning, the total number of cases stood at 22,864,873 and the fatalities rose to 797,787, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US accounted for the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 5,621,035 and 175,350, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil came in second place with 3,532,330 infections and 113,358 deaths.

In terms of cases, India ranks third (2,905,825), and is followed by Russia (944,671), South Africa (603,338), Peru (567,059), Mexico (549,734), Colombia (513,719), Chile (393,769), Spain (386,054), Iran (354,764), Argentina (329,043), the UK (325,241), Saudi Arabia (305,186), Pakistan (291,588), Bangladesh (290,360), France (271,960), Italy (257,065), Turkey (255,723), Germany (233,029), Iraq (197,085), Philippines (182,365), Indonesia (149,408), Canada (126,319), Qatar (116,481), Ecuador (106,481), Bolivia (106,065), Kazakhstan (104,071), Ukraine (102,948) and Israel (100,716), the CSSE figures showed.

The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the Mexico (59,610), India (54,849), UK (41,491), Italy (35,427), France (30,508), Spain (28,838), Peru (27,034), Iran (20,376), Russia (16,148), Colombia (16,183), South Africa (12,843) and Chile (10,723).

Quickfix books on Sushant Singh Rajput flood the market

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Quickfix books on Sushant Singh Rajput flood the market

To provide fodder to the growing curiosity among the people about the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, a number of books have mushroomed in the market over the past couple of months since his death.

The 34-year-old actor was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14. The books released soon after his death are available in hard copy as well as e-book format. With Sushant being in the headlines currently, people, in general, are curious to know more about the late actor.

On cue, the books available in the market talk of the kind of person he was, his thoughts, goals and ambitions, his personal life, professional life, struggles, heartbreaks, failures and success, and more.

Most of these books are rush jobs, poor research and not much ground-breaking information since the case is still to be solved. In many cases, the author admits having never met Sushant!

One such book is titled “The Legend Sushant Singh Rajput: The Heist Of National Treasure” written by Delhi-based author Pradeep Sharma, whose pen name is Walking. This is Sharma’s first book, published on July 16. The author claims he did not know Sushant personally but felt intrigued enough to write a book on him after the actor’s death.

“I didn’t know SSR personally, nor did I ever meet him. But, when I heard about the news of his death, I was not able to accept it and faced severe anxiety, and I thought I would write a blog or an article and post it on social media. But later it occurred to me that I can write a book on him, as a tribute,” Sharma told IANS.

“This book is all about how I feel after his death as a die-hard fan, and how he inspires me. You will find in the book, his achievements, passion, lust to explore new things, his dreams, and how he wanted to help others. In short, this is a tribute to SSR,” the author claimed.

Sharma admitted he has faced widespread criticism that he is “trying to mint money and get fame overnight”.

Is it a good strategy to release books about the late actor right now, even though the case is yet to be solved?

“Sushant’s untimely death has affected people from all walks of life. Right now, everybody is shocked. So naturally, people are curious to know more about him. However, writing books on him at this point in time, I feel, is a temporary trend aimed at grabbing the limelight quickly. This kind of literature is short-lived and doesn’t have a long term impact,” explains Tridib Chatterjee, President of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Kolkata, who has been into the business of book publishing for over 40 years.

A book written in Hindi by Harsh Vardhan Chouhan is titled “Sushant Singh Rajput: Mystery”. That there can be doubt about the credibility of the work is obvious from the spelling and grammatical gaffes in the book description on an online shopping site: “This book is about the mystery of Sushant Singh Rajput and we solve the mystery.” The claims of solving the ‘murder’ mystery seem a tad tall considering the book was published on July 29, just above a month after Sushant died.

Khushal Chawla has penned a book titled “Sushant’s Depression Story: Possible Reasons Behind Sushant’s Depression”. The author describes it as “a short book that tells you stories on Sushant’s depression. I write this book because I feel that his depression story needs to be told to the world. The book has an important message at the end which I feel will change the way people see Indian cinema.” However, Chawla cannot substantiate how he can be so sure the death was caused by suicide.

Ishan Martin has gone with the Mumbai Police theory in deciphering the death while writing “RIP Sushant Singh Rajput: The Life Of Bollywood Actor SSR”.

The description of Martin’s book mentions: “The news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s sudden demise comes as a shock for the entire film industry and his fans. The news comes just a few days after Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Disha Salian passed away. The news has left the actor’s fans heartbroken. Sushant Singh Rajput Bollywood Actor has killed himself in his home. His body was found at his Bandra home. Mumbai police confirmed it…”

Funnily, perhaps because most of these books were in a competition to hit the market first, all the works conveniently go with the initial police deduction that Sushant committed suicide.

Parikshita Garud describes her book, “Remembering: Sushant Singh Rajput”, saying: “This book is related to the legendary Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. I am going to publish some important points of his life in series. This is the first series where I have introduced about Sushant Singh Rajput and depression. Nowadays depression and suicide are the most sensitive topics. I’m just trying to motivate people out there with the help of the remembering Sushant Singh Rajput.”

Currently, the death of the actor is being investigated by the CBI, as per the Supreme Court’s order. While fans wait with bated breath for answers to the yet unsolved mysteries surrounding his death, be sure there will be more books on Sushant coming up. Let’s hope those works are better researched.

S.Korea reports 332 more Covid-19 cases; 17,002 in total

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S.Korea reports 332 more Covid-19 cases; 17,002 in total

South Korea reported 332 more cases of the Covid-19 on Saturday, raising the total number of infections to 17,002, officials said.

The daily caseload soared in triple digits for nine straight days, topping 300 for two days in a row. It was the highest in more than five months since March 8, Xinhua reported.

The number of confirmed cases for the past nine days reached 2,232 due to infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province traceable to church services of Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul and the massive rally held in central Seoul on August 15 by conservative voters and politicians.

Of the new cases, 127 were Seoul residents and 91 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Seventeen were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,716.

No more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 309. The total fatality rate stood at 1.82 percent.

A total of 49 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 14,169. The total recovery rate was 83.33 percent.

Since January 3, the country has tested more than 1.77 million people, among whom 1,716,371 tested negatives for the virus and 42,427 are being checked.

US stocks finish higher amid economic data

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US stocks finish higher amid economic data

US stocks ended higher on Friday as Wall Street digested a slew of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 190.60 points, or 0.69 percent, to 27,930.33. The S&P 500 was up 11.65 points, or 0.34 percent, to 3,397.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 46.85 points, or 0.42 percent, to 11,311.80, Xinhua reported.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced, with technology closing up 1.21 percent, leading the gainers. Energy sank 0.63 percent, the worst-performing group.

US-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher, with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

On the data front, Flash U.S. Composite Output Index registered 54.7 in August, up from the July reading of 50.3, London-based global information provider IHS Markit reported on Friday.

US total existing-home sales completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, jumped 24.7 percent from June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.86 million in July, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Kerala govt’s bid for T’puram airport was 19.64% lower than Adani’s: Minister

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Kerala govt’s bid for T’puram airport was 19.64% lower than Adani’s: Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday that the Kerala government’s bid for Thiruvananthapuram airport under PPP was 19.64 percent lower than Adani’s winning bid.

The revelation by the minister came after the Kerala government opposed the handing over of Thiruvananthapuram airport under public-private partnership (PPP) to Adani Enterprises.

In a statement, the minister said: “If Kerala government is against privatization, then why did it participate in the bidding process? The state government was given a fair chance and ‘Right of First Refusal’ (RoFR) if their bid was within 10 percent below the range of the highest bid. However, they bid 19.64 percent below.

“Then they approached the Kerala High Court which dismissed the petition in December 2019. The petitioners then filed an SLP in the Supreme Court. The apex court remitted the matter back to the Kerala High Court. There is no stay in the case either by SC or Kerala High Court.”

According to the minister, the Union Cabinet has given its go-ahead for awarding the airport to the private party subject to the outcome of the writ petition and in accordance with the provisions of the undertaking given by the concessionaire.

“If the petitioners succeed and the outcome of litigation leads to annulment/cancellation of the bidding process, then the concessionaire will handover the possession of the airport to AAI. They will be entitled to refund of the amount paid to AAI and additional investments made in the assets.

“The concessionaire will also not demand any damages from AAI. Here it should be borne in mind that these airports will come back to AAI after the lease period of 50 years,” the statement said.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to lease out Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram airports through the PPP mode to Adani Enterprises.

The approval is for their operation, management, and development by Adani Enterprises, which was declared the successful bidder in a ‘global competitive bidding’ conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for a period of 50 years.

Amanda Seyfried on what makes dogs great characters on screen

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Amanda Seyfried on what makes dogs great characters on screen

Actress Amanda Seyfried says dogs make great characters on screen because of their playfulness and curiosity.

“It’s a dog, it’s their smell, their wide-eyed innocence, their playfulness, and their curiosity. They just want to love you and live in the present and we could all learn that. That’s a big giant challenge for us, humans, to live in the present and they just do it naturally and it’s a beautiful thing to watch,” Seyfried said while talking about why dogs make for great characters.

That’s what made Seyfried take up “The Art Of Racing In The Rain”, directed by Simon Curtis.

The film follows Denny Swift, an F1 driver and his dog, Enzo, who believes in the legend that the dog will be reincarnated in his next life as a human.

“It didn’t take me much to sell me on it. I mean if a story is good and I mean I didn’t even really care to read the script at that point because it just seemed like a perfect little package. The script ended up being great too so then it was just one of those gems that don’t come along very often and it’s really true to the book which is special and I think fans of the book are going to love the movie,” she said of the film, slated to air in India on Star Movies.

Brazil reports over 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths

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Brazil reports over 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths

Brazil on Friday recorded 30,355 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 3,532,330, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, 1,054 more people died of the disease, pushing the death toll to 113,358, the ministry said, Xinhua reported.

Brazil has the world’s second-worst outbreak, after the US, in terms of both cases and deaths.

The southeast state of Sao Paulo, the most populous state in the country, is the epicenter of the national coronavirus outbreak, with 28,155 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro with 15,202 deaths.

Was model Jameela Calcuttawala the ‘mystery woman’ outside Sushant’s home on June 14?

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Was model Jameela Calcuttawala the ‘mystery woman’ outside Sushant’s home on June 14?

Fans of Sushant Singh Rajput have been speculating about the mystery woman who was spotted outside his Bandra residence on the day of his demise, June 14.

Reports doing the rounds in the media and social media seem to suggest the girl could be Jameela Calcuttawala, rumored girlfriend of Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Show.

The speculations stem from a pair of slippers! Jameela is a model, and her unverified private Instagram account has the late Sushant Singh Rajput, his girlfriend Rhea, and her brother Show among followers.

A group photograph posted on Instagram by Sushant in May last year (which is now deleted from the late actor’s account), and which was reposted by Rhea on her verified Instagram account on May 4 last year, reportedly features Jameela alongside Sushant, Rhea, and other friends. Not only this, several other posts on Rhea’s Instagram credit Jameela as the photographer, hinting at the model’s association with Rhea and her family.

Back to June 14, 2020, videos and photographs of a woman clicked outside Sushant’s residence on the day of his death, have led to conjectures over who she might be. The woman was wearing a COVID mask, along with a sleeveless blue top with white stripes, paired with khaki lowers. She slips into the building premise and disappears inside.

It is her slippers that have been drawing attention. Many are certain that the woman in blue top wears the same slippers that she is seen wearing in the group photograph shared by Sushant and reposted by Rhea on May 4, 2019.

For the past few days, fans of the late actor have been sharing both photographs together on social media speculating Jameela could be the mystery woman spotted outside Sushant’s residence on June 14.

The plot thickens.

US Covid-19 cases surpass 5.6 million

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US Covid-19 cases surpass 5.6 million

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the US surpassed 5.6 million on Friday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The national case count rose to 5,607,993, with the death toll in the country reaching 174,924, according to the CSSE, Xinhua reported.

The hardest-hit US state of California reported 655,374 cases, followed by Florida with 593,286 cases, Texas with 580,448 cases, and New York with 428,512 cases, the tally showed.

Other states with over 180,000 cases include Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, and New Jersey, according to the CSSE.

By far, the US remains the worst-hit nation, with the highest caseload and death toll around the world.

Israel’s tally of Covid-19 cases exceed 100,000

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Israel’s tally of Covid-19 cases exceed 100,000

Israel’s confirmed Covid-19 cases surpassed the mark of 100,000 on Friday, the Israeli Health Ministry said.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 100,716, with 1,117 new cases registered since Thursday night, Xinhua reported.

The death toll rose to 809, with 14 new death cases, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 389 to 390, out of 764 patients currently hospitalized.

The total recoveries reached 77,785 after 3,206 new ones were added, while the number of active cases dropped to 22,122.

The ministry also said that 1.1 billion shekels (about $323 million) will be allocated for the country’s health system to prepare for the coming winter.

The money will help Israeli hospitals and state-mandated health service organizations deal with the challenges of the pandemic, as the number of patients in serious condition is predicted to increase significantly in the winter.

Union Bank’s Q1FY21 net profit at Rs 333 cr

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Union Bank’s Q1FY21 net profit at Rs 333 cr

State-run lender Union Bank on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 333 crore for the first quarter of 2020-21.

The lender had reported a net loss of Rs 7,157 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

“Amalgamation of the Andhra Bank and the Corporation Bank came into effect on April 1, 2020; accordingly the combined financials as on March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2019 has been arrived at by aggregating audited or reviewed numbers of three banks,” the lender said in a statement.

The bank’s net interest income for April-June quarter of FY21 grew by 17.1 percent to Rs 6,403 crore as against Rs 5,468 crore in the same period last year.

Gross NPA ratio improved to 14.95 percent as on June 30, 2020, compared to 15.59 percent as of June 30, 2019.

“Net NPA ratio improved to 4.97 percent as on June 30, 2020, compared to 6.47 percent as on June 30, 2019,” the statement said.

“Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) improved to 79.87 percent as on June 30, 2020, compared to 73.38 percent as on June 30, 2019.”

Railways cancels tender for manufacturing 44 Vande Bharat Express rakes (Ld)

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Railways cancels tender for manufacturing 44 Vande Bharat Express rakes (Ld)

Indian Railways on Friday canceled the tender for the manufacturing of 44 rakes of Train 18, which has been re-christened as Vande Bharat Express, and said a fresh tender will be floated within a week’s time, focusing on Make in India as a Chinese Joint Venture also applied as a foreign bidder.

The Ministry of Railways in a statement said: “Tender for manufacturing of 44 sets of semi high-speed train set (Vande Bharat) has been canceled.”

“A fresh tender will be floated within a week as per revised public procurement (Preference to Make in India) order,” it added.

The decision came after the Chinese joint venture company CRRC Pioneer Electric (India) Private Limited emerged as the only foreign bidder for the global tender floated for manufacturing 44 rakes of Vande Bharat trains.

The Chennai-based ICF has invited bids for procurement of electric traction kits for Train 18, the country’s first self-propelled train without locomotives.

Train 18 was manufactured by ICF, which is owned by the Indian Railways, with over 80 percent indigenous materials and was rolled out in October 2018 amidst much fanfare.

The train was later re-christened as Vande Bharat express and was introduced between New Delhi and Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, in February last year. In October last year, the second Vande Bharat Express train was introduced between New Delhi and Katra.

In November 2019, the railway board gave a go-ahead to ICF to resume manufacturing of the semi high-speed trains. Subsequently, the ICF had called for bids for procuring electric traction kits for 44 train sets. Each set of trains has got 16 coaches.

In December last year, Indian Railways had planned to complete the production of 44 more new rakes on India’s 75th Independence day. All the coaches of Vande Bharat Express have a stainless steel car body equipped with automatic doors with sliding footsteps, on-board computers for train control, and remote monitoring. The coaches also have a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot WiFi and comfortable seating arrangements.

Sushant’s family to hold global prayer meet on Saturday

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Sushant’s family to hold global prayer meet on Saturday

Shweta Singh Kirti, sister of Sushant Singh Rajput, on Friday invited fans of the late actor to participate in a global prayer meet on Saturday to purge all negativity.

“Feel free to register: https://prayforsushant.com #GayatriMantra4SSR Gayatri Mantra helps in purification. Let’s all pray that the negativity is destroyed and God bestows us with the courage to fight for the right! #Warriors4SSR #JusticeForSSR #FaithInCBI #GlobalPrayers4SSR,” Shweta tweeted.

On Thursday, the CBI took over the case after a Supreme Court nod on Wednesday. A team of the central probe agency is already in Mumbai investigating into the death of the actor, who was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

The CBI has registered a case against Sushant’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her father Indrajit, mother Sandhya, brother Show, Sushant’s ex-manager Shruti Modi and flatmate Samuel Miranda and unknown persons on the basis of his father KK Singh’s complaint, which was filed with the Bihar Police on July 25.

Shweta feels a CBI probe will bring out the truth. “#CBIInMumbai The whole world has relentlessly fought for CBI Enquiry and now it is the responsibility of CBI to uphold our trust in them, we have full faith that CBI will most definitely bring the truth out and justice will be served. #CBIForSSR,” tweeted Shweta.

Kerala seeks CBI probe into death of man found in well

TB Team
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Kerala seeks CBI probe into death of man found in well

After 24 days of protests by friends and family of a man, who was found dead inside a well while he was in the custody of the Kerala Forest Department, the Pinarayi Vijayan government on Friday sought a CBI probe into the matter.

The move by the Vijayan government into the Pathanamthitta incident came on the day when the Kerala High Court was all set to hear the plea of Sheba, the deceased’s wife, seeking the CBI probe.

State Forest Minister K.Raju said the decision has been made and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would make the official request seeking the central agency’s probe.

Forty-year-old Mathai, was the sole breadwinner of his extended family. He was taken into custody by the forest officials on July 28 from his house for allegedly damaging the Forest Department’s CCTV camera kept for surveillance in the forest area.

After a few hours, Mathai was found dead in the well of his farmhouse, located 10km from his home.

Sheba, his wife, and her friends and family have been protesting ever since demanding justice for Mathai. They vowed not to conduct the funeral till the wrongdoers of the Forest Department were arrested. The body has since been kept in a mortuary.

Hearing the news of the CBI probe, Sheba said even though the Crime Branch has been probing the case, they still await justice.

“Till this moment no arrests have been made. Our position is very clear, the funeral will not be conducted, till arrests are made. The Forest officials are being protected and it’s now been so many days and yet no arrests have been made. Let the CBI conduct the probe and let them make the arrest,” said Sheba.

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