TECNO launches SPARK 5 Pro with dot-in display, five cameras

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TECNO launches SPARK 5 Pro with dot-in display, five cameras

TECNO, the global premium smartphone brand of Transsion Holdings, on Monday launched SPARK 5 Pro smartphone with a 6.6-inch display and a total of five cameras at Rs 10,499.

The HD + dot-in display of the phone offers 90.2 percent screen to body ratio and 20:9 aspect ratio designed to add a new spark to movie watching and gaming experience.

The quad rear camera (16MP+2+2+AI lens) on SPARK 5 Pro boasts of a 16MP primary AI camera with F1.8 apertures, 2MP with 120-degree ultra-wide lens and macro lens for capturing wide frames and 4cm extreme close up shot, and a 2MP depth lens.

Additionally, it allows users to enjoy the AR mode on both front and rear cameras to enhance the fun aspect of photography.

For selfie lovers, the front sports an 8MP AI dot-in selfie camera with dual front flash.

Further, the device comes with an AI beauty mode designed to help users click real and clearer selfies.

Night or low light photos are designed to appear brighter with F1.8 large aperture and quad flash in rear camera and dual flash in the selfie camera.

Once fully charged, the large capacity battery 5000mAh battery on TECNO SPARK 5 Pro will run for the whole day and one can watch 17 hours of videos, enjoy 115 hours of music, play games for 13 hours, browse the web for 18 hours, call for 31 hours, standby time 480 hours, the company claimed.

The phone comes with other AI features like AI power saving, a safe charge which automatically cuts the power when the phone is fully charged to avoid overcharging.

The SPARK 5 Pro is available in three color variants – seabed blue, spark orange, and ice jadeite.

Backed by a powerful A25 Octa-Core processor, face unlock, and smart fingerprint scanner, the phone features 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage along with Android 10 version out of the box.

TECNO said the phone is available for purchase across over 35,000 retail stores pan-India.

ATK-MB merger will help Indian football grow globally, feels Osman

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ATK-MB merger will help Indian football grow globally, feels Osman

The coming together of ATK and Mohun Bagan will not only help Indian football stride forward but it will also attract further global attention to the sport in the country, feels former England defender Russell Osman.

Indian Super League (ISL) champions ATK and I-League winners Mohun Bagan had announced in January that they would merge into one entity that would compete in the ISL from 2020-21 season slated to start in the third week of November.

ATK Mohun Bagan Pvt. Ltd. announced, in a press release last Friday, that their board had unanimously decided to retain the iconic green and maroon jersey which has been synonymous with the 131 years legacy of Mohun Bagan. The name of the club will be changed to ATK Mohun Bagan while the logo will have the Mohun Bagan boat with the addition of ‘ATK’ to it.

“From everybody’s point of view, this is a very positive move. For the ISL, it can only be a good thing. The history of the club is magnificent, Mohun Bagan,” Osman told IANS in an interview.

“Mohun Bagan has been synonymous with Kolkata. The green and maroon is a unique kit and a lot of people worldwide will have seen and recognized it. For them to actually come together with ATK and the success they have in ISL with three wins to their name…it can only be a good thing,” said the 61-year old who has played for Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Southampton, Bristol City, and Brighton & Hove Albion among other clubs in English football.

Osman, who is now an ISL pundit, added that with the league slated to take place behind closed doors this year, it would be unfortunate for the scores of fans who would be dying to see ATK-Mohun Bagan in action.

“It’s a shame that this season has been delayed. A lot of people wanted to see ATK-Mohun Bagan…their first home game…also playing in empty stadiums is a shame. Every home game would have been a full house. But when you look at the success they have (both), this new club shows how it has been put together. I can only see it being a very very good thing for Indian football. It will help the Indian game worldwide. It is now setting a way for everybody else.”

Last year, City Football Group (CFG) acquired a majority stake in its eighth club, Mumbai City FC. Osman said the ATK-Mohun Bagan marriage will further spread the brand of Indian football across the globe.

“City Football Group have taken Mumbai City so Indian football is going global. So Indian football has attracted their attention. Now, this ATK-Mohun Bagan merger will only take this outlook forward,” he added.

Speaking about FC Goa taking part in the AFC Champions League group stages, with ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC playing in the AFC Cup group stages and play-offs respectively, he said: “I think all the stakeholders, eight clubs originally and now the ten clubs, they all deserve to give themselves a pat on the back.

“Nita Ambani, obviously the chairperson of FSDL, Martin Bain, they are all trying to push the business forward as much as they can. And I think they have got more people on their side than against them now. And you just hope that the momentum that the AFC is injecting, the Champions League position for FC Goa, which they thoroughly deserve because they have been a fantastic team over the last couple of years, keeps going.

“ATK Mohun Bagan will also get to play the AFC Cup, which is great. It is a recognition that things are being done right. If they weren’t being done right, they would not get the places.”

Lava extends registration date for ‘Design in India Contest’

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Lava extends registration date for ‘Design in India Contest’

Indian mobile handset brand Lava on Monday extended the deadline of its ‘Design in India’ contest till July 18. The decision has been taken owing to a large number of requests from all over the country for the extension of registrations.

The applicants who missed the opportunity to register earlier can now participate in the contest by Lava which has challenged students and working professionals to design the next #ProudlyIndian smartphone.

“Keeping a large number of requests in mind, we have now extended the deadline to give another chance to people who could not participate earlier. We will reach out to the participants with further updates once all the registrations are over,” Tejinder Singh, Head- Product, Lava said in a statement.

The Design in India contest was rolled out on July 2 with an initial registration deadline of July 9. The contest is open for students of B.Tech, B.E, B.Des and M.Des and engineering professionals from ECE, IT, CS, Mech, and Industrial Design departments.

Students or professionals can choose to participate in the contest in groups of 1-3 and in the end, the top three teams will get a pre-placement interview opportunity at Lava. Additionally, they will receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000, and Rs 15,000 respectively.

Lava in May announced to shift its entire mobile R&D, design and manufacturing for the export market from China to India within the next six months, announcing to invest overall nearly Rs 800 crore in the due course of time.

Lava exports over 33 percent of its phones to markets such as Mexico, Africa, Southeast Asia, and West Asia.

As part of the transition, Lava will invest around Rs 80 crore this year and subsequently around Rs 800 crore over the next five years.

Sharad Pawar should join NDA, says Athawale

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Sharad Pawar should join NDA, says Athawale

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale has urged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar to join the NDA. Athawale said that this is necessary for the development of both the country and Maharashtra.

A grand alliance consisting of the BJP, the NCP, and the RPI (Athawale’s party) can be formed in Maharashtra if Pawar decides to walk over to the NDA camp.

Athawale told IANS, ‘The NCP gains nothing by supporting Shiv Sena. In order for Maharashtra to get more funds from the Centre, Pawar should seriously consider joining the NDA. If this happens then there will be a ‘Mahayuti’ (grand alliance) of BJP, NCP, and RPI in Maharashtra.”

Athawale said, “Sharad Pawar is a senior leader of Maharashtra. He is aware of the problems of farmers, Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs. He has been the agriculture minister of the country. I urge him to join hands with Narendra Modi for the sake of the development of the country. This is my personal wish.”

The BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra had fought the 2019 Assembly elections together. The BJP won 105 seats while the Sena got 56 seats. But the Shiv Sena broke away from the BJP on the issue of the post of the chief minister and formed the government with the support of the Congress and the NCP.

Gabriel has a massive heart, he’s been through a lot: Holder

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Gabriel has a massive heart, he’s been through a lot: Holder

West Indies captain Jason Holder has heaped praise on Shannon Gabriel, saying what the pacer did in the first Test against England was “nothing surprising”.

Gabriel, who was originally only named as a traveling reserve as he recovered from ankle surgery, came out with a brilliant performance at the Ageas Bowl as he returned with combined figures of nine wickets for 137 runs and played an instrumental role in West Indies’ thrilling win against the Ben Stokes’ led-side.

“What Shannon has done in this game is nothing surprising,” Holder told reporters after the end of the match on Sunday.

“Shannon is just one of those guys who keep doing it. He has a massive, massive heart and he’s been through a lot.

“He wants success so badly. His body hasn’t held up the way he would like but to see him back out there fit and well and bowling fast for the West Indies is always a pleasing sight.

“He deserves every bit of success he’s had in this game. I’m really, really happy for Shannon, I know what he’s been through,” he added.

Holder, who himself took a Test-best 6-42 in England’s lowly first-innings 204, said Gabriel is quite a handful when is fit and healthy and that’s what he did in Southampton.

“We all know when Shannon is fit and healthy, he is a handful and he proved it in this game.”

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old pacer said that he was never doubtful about his fitness. “I wasn’t doubtful about my fitness. I knew I would play. I knew the work that I put in would take care of itself,” Gabriel, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, said.

“I am still a bit stiff, but there are a few days to recover for the next Test match.

“The guys were confident coming here after the win in the Caribbean last year, and we knew if we prepared well, we would be able to perform,” he added.

England and West Indies will next take on each other in the second Test beginning Thursday at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

Telangana Raj Bhavan staff tested positive for Covid-19

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Telangana Raj Bhavan staff tested positive for Covid-19

Over 38 staff members in Telangana Raj Bhavan along with 10 of their family members tested positive for Covid-19. However, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and her family members tested negative for the Coronavirus and she tweeted about the same. She encouraged people in red zones to undergo tests.

Of the 38 staff members, 28 are security personnel and 10 from other departments in the Governor’s office.

The medical personnel collected swab samples of a total of 39 people, including the Governor and the staff. While 48 tested positive, the remaining 347 tested negative.

The health officials sent 20 of the positive patients to Government Ayurveda Hospital while the remaining were advised to go for home quarantine.

With the number of positive cases increasing by the day in Telangana, Soundararajan, who is a medical doctor herself, monitored the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the state. She visited NIMS and even held discussion with the managements of private healthcare facilities recently.

She also called for Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and principal secretary (health) to meet her to enquire about the existing conditions and the precautions being taken to handle the crisis.

In June, six employees of the AP Raj Bhavan tested positive for the virus and all of them have recovered. However, AP Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan tested negative for Covid-19.

Nelson Mandela’s daughter passes away

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Nelson Mandela’s daughter passes away

Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icons Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, died here on Monday, according to the country’s public broadcaster SABC reported.

She died on Monday morning aged 59, the BBC quoted the SABC as saying citing a family member as saying

Zindzi Mandela was the South African ambassador to Denmark at the time of her death.

The cause of her death was not immediately revealed.

“The 59-year-old daughter of former president Nelson Mandela and struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, passed away at a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of this morning,” said SABC.

She was Nelson Mandela’s sixth child and his second with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

NZ women’s cricket team regroup for first camp post lockdown

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NZ women’s cricket team regroup for first camp post lockdown

The New Zealand women’s cricket team regrouped for their first camp in Lincoln on Monday after coronavirus pandemic put a halt to sport in the country in March.

The social media handle of the White Ferns announced the news on social media and their post read: “We are back! Our 1st post lockdown camp is underway in Lincoln. Players from @cricketwgtn, @CanterburyCrick, and @OtagoVolts are attending the first camp with @aucklandcricket, @ndcricket, and @CDCricket players getting set for a camp next week at @BayOvalOfficial #CricketNation.”

It was also reported that men’s cricket team will also be taking to the field for the first time this week following coronavirus stoppage.

New Zealand has been one of the countries where COVID-19 hasn’t created havoc as compared to some of the other parts of the world.

According to world meter, the country has seen 1544 confirmed cases thus far with 22 people losing their lives to the deadly virus.

The conditions seem to be apt in the country to resume the sport which has been suspended for a long time. Also, they can refer to the example set by England, which successfully hosted the first Test of #raisethebat series in Southampton.

Earlier, New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine had batted for innovations that, according to her, would help in getting more eyeballs to the women’s game.

She feels the traditional size of the cricket field shouldn’t be tinkered with, however, she did suggest changes with respect to the size of the ball.

“I think if we are stuck with traditional formats, we’d be missing out on a lot of new players, new kids, new athletes to the game,” Devine, who was New Zealand’s highest run-getter at this year’s T20 World Cup, was quoted as saying by ICC last month.

“So, I think it’s really an exciting idea to say that we might be able to encourage people along that make it tailored towards the female side of things.

“It’s always good to have a little trial and error and see what works. I’m probably a big fan of looking at a smaller ball, but keeping the pitch the same size, where I think pacers are going to be able to bowl quicker, spinners are going be able to turn the ball more,” she added.

“Hopefully, the ball should fly a bit further as well whereas still keeping the traditional length of the pitch.”

UP Assembly’s monsoon session from August 20

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UP Assembly’s monsoon session from August 20

The monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will be held from August 20, official sources said on Monday.

The session is expected to have around four sittings in which the first supplementary budget of the current fiscal 2020-21 and around a dozen bills, for which ordinances have been promulgated when the Houses were not in session, will be passed.

The session will be held by observing social distancing and other health protocols.

Assembly officials said that the new norms and guidelines to be followed will be approved at an all-party meeting.

Legislators will be seated at a sufficient distance, and some may even be shifted to the visitors’ gallery.

Passes for the press galleries will also be curtailed for this session.

The state government is under a constitutional obligation to hold the monsoon session since there cannot be a gap of six months or more between two sessions of the Assembly.

The Assembly’s Budget Session was adjourned sine die on February 28 and hence the next session will have to be called before August 28.

Last month, Speaker Hriday Narain Dikshit had indicated that the monsoon session could be held through videoconference. He had, however, ruled out the possibility of holding a ‘hybrid session’ on the lines of the British Parliament.

In such a session, half of the members attend the House while the rest join the proceedings through videoconference.

“Due to technical reasons, such a session will not be possible. We will have a normal session, but with restrictions,” said an official.

When Sushant grooved to SRK’s song from ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’

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When Sushant grooved to SRK’s song from ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’

Sushant Singh Rajput’s throwback videos have been doing the rounds on the Internet ever since he passed away. Actress Swastika Mukherjee, the late actor’s co-star in “Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!”, recently took to her Instagram account and shared an old video of him.

In the video, Sushant dances along with Swastika on a song from Shah Rukh Khan’s film “Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman”.

Swastika, who also shares screen space with Sushant in the upcoming film “Dil Bechara”, wrote: “He danced with #kizie and then he danced with me. I’d like to remember Sushant like this. Always. Simple. Fun-loving. Jovial. Keep dancing with the stars, boy. Love.”

Kizie is the screen name of Sanjana Sanghi, Sushant’s love interest in “Dil Bechara”.

Directed by Mukesh Chhabra, “Dil Bechara” is the official remake of the 2014 Hollywood romantic drama “The Fault in our Stars”, based on John Green’s popular novel of the same name.

Swastika also thanked Mukesh for capturing the video for her.

“Thank you, Mukesh @castingchhabra for capturing this beautiful moment. I will cherish this forever,” she added.

Sushant’s dancing video has left netizens emotional.

A user commented: “This made me cry. We miss you Sushant.”

Sushant was found hanging at his Bandra residence on June 14. Post mortem reports stated that the actor had committed suicide.

Glenmark cuts Fabiflu price by 27%

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Glenmark cuts Fabiflu price by 27%

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has commenced a Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) study on FabiFlu to closely monitor the efficacy and safety of the drug in 1000 COVID patients that are prescribed with the oral antiviral.

Further, Glenmark has announced a price reduction of 27 percent for FabiFlu. The new MRP is Rs 75 per tab from the earlier Rs 103 per tab.

The price reduction has been made possible through benefits gained from higher yields and better scale, as both the API and formulations are made at Glenmark’s facilities in India, the benefits of which are being passed on to patients in the country.

Glenmark has successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu through its own in-house R&D team within the country, ensuring self-reliance with regard to long term production and manufacturing.

Commenting on these developments, Alok Malik, Senior Vice President & Head – India business, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said, “We expect this post-marketing surveillance study to shed more light on the drug’s clinical effectiveness and safety in a large cohort of patients prescribed FabiFlu. Our priority from the start of this pandemic has been to offer patients in India an effective treatment for COVID-19, while also ensuring access to the masses.

“Our internal research shows us that we launched FabiFlu in India at the lowest market cost as compared to the cost of Favipiravir in other countries where it is approved. And now we hope that this further price reduction will make it even more accessible for patients across the country.”

Despite investing significantly in R&D, clinical trials, and the manufacturing of FabiFlu (API and formulations), Glenmark has managed to keep the pricing of FabiFlu lower as compared to its price in other countries.

FabiFlu in India was originally launched at Rs 103 per tablet, while, its price in Indian Rupees is higher in the remaining countries like Rs 600 in Russia, Rs 378 in Japan, Rs 350 in Bangladesh and Rs 215 in China.

On June 20, Glenmark announced that it received manufacturing and marketing approval from India’s drug regulator for FabiFlu, making it the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.

The manufacturing and marketing approval was granted as part of the accelerated approval process, considering the emergency situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in India. The approval’s restricted use entails responsible medication use where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation.

With rising diesel prices more trouble for transport sector

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With rising diesel prices more trouble for transport sector

An unexpected rise in diesel prices despite slower demand has put the transport sector at a big disadvantage as rising fuel cost has further shrunk its margins.

With 11 paise hike in diesel price in New Delhi on Monday, while petrol prices remained steady, the gap between the two auto fuels has further widened in the national capital. Last month, diesel prices overtook that of petrol in the national capital in an unprecedented development.

Diesel was priced at Rs 81.05 per liter on Monday in the capital, higher than the previous level of Rs 80.94 a liter. Petrol prices, however, remained unchanged at Rs 80.43 a liter, the same level as of June 29 when it’s pump price rose marginally by five paise over previous days price.

Along with the Capital, diesel prices marginally increased in other metro cities as well, but there the price of transportation fuel is still between Rs 6-8 per liter lower than petrol.

Oil companies began the daily revision of the two auto fuels from June 7 after keeping the price unchanged for the last 82 days during the Covid-19 related lockdown. Since then petrol and diesel prices have increased by Rs 9.5 – Rs 11.5 per liter respectively. Last week petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for four days before diesel prices increasing on Sunday and again on Monday.

Six more corona deaths, 616 new cases in Odisha

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Six more corona deaths, 616 new cases in Odisha

Six more persons died of COVID-19 in Odisha took its death toll due to the virus to 70, even as 616 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours in the state, the Health Department said on Monday.

The state’s total coronavirus cases increased to 13,737, including 4,896 active cases.

Of the six deaths, four were reported from Ganjam district, and two from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Of the new cases, 415 were from different quarantine centers and 201 local contacts, the department said.

Priyanka slams UP government on increasing corona cases

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Priyanka slams UP government on increasing corona cases

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over the ‘rising’ numbers of coronavirus cases in the state.

She reeled out statistics to say that the number of cases was 1,347 on July 10, 1,403 on July 11 and 1,388 on July 12.

“To hide its failure, the government is playing while the disease is growing,” said the Congress leader.

Uttar Pradesh on Sunday had 35,092 coronavirus cases, including 11,490 active cases. As many as 22,689 patients have recovered while 913 deaths have been reported due to coronavirus.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to introduce a ‘mini-lockdown’ in the state on weekends to check the spread of coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh.

A government release said that all offices, markets and commercial establishments will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays. “Sanitization of these places will take place on the weekdays and people will be required to follow all safety protocols.

Vivo X50 series to launch in India on July 16

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Vivo X50 series to launch in India on July 16

Chinese smartphone brand Vivo has announced that it is going to launch a premium flagship smartphone Vivo X50 series in the Indian market on July 16.

“Block your calendar, #vivoX50Series is launching on 16th July 2020 at 12PM. #StayTuned Uncover the future of smartphone pro – photography,” the company said in a tweet.

The company is promoting this upcoming smartphone lineup by claiming the smartphone to be the “future of smartphone pro-photography.”

The series was launched in China last month with three models – the Vivo X50, Vivo X50 Pro, and Vivo X50 Pro+. However, the smartphone maker had earlier confirmed that only the Vivo X50 and Vivo X50 Pro models would be launched in India.

The Vivo X50 and X50 Pro features the same 6.56-inch fullHD+ (2376A-1080 pixels) display with a 90Hz refresh rate and are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor which is clubbed with Adreno 620 GPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB/256GB storage.

Both smartphones were launched with Android 10 OS layered with Fun Touch OS 10 UI and houses a 32MP front-facing camera.

The two smartphones differ in terms of rear camera setup and battery. While the Vivo X50 houses a quad-camera setup of 48MP+ 13MP+8MP+5MP. As for the Vivo X50 Pro, the handset houses a 48MP+8MP+8MP +13MP.

The Vivo X50 comes backed by a 4,200mAh battery, whereas the Pro variant of the handset houses a 4,315mAh battery.

India worst hit by public Cloud security incidents: Survey

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India worst hit by public Cloud security incidents: Survey

Public Cloud security incidents hit India the hardest in the last year with 93 percent of the country’s organizations experiencing such an issue, said a survey of 26 nations by cybersecurity company Sophos on Monday.

The cybersecurity incidents that Indian organizations suffered most included ransomware (53 percent) and other malware (49 percent), exposed data (49 percent), compromised accounts (48 percent), and crypto-jacking (36 percent), said the report titled “The State of Cloud Security 2020”

Europeans suffered the lowest percentage of security incidents in the Cloud, an indicator that compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines are helping to protect organizations from being compromised.

India is yet to enforce a data protection law.

“Ransomware, not surprisingly, is one of the most widely reported cybercrimes in the public Cloud,” Chester Wisniewski, Principal Research Scientist at Sophos said in a statement.

“The recent increase in remote working provides extra motivation to disable Cloud infrastructure that is being relied on more than ever, so it’s worrisome that many organizations still don’t understand their responsibility in securing Cloud data and workloads,” Wisniewski said.

“Cloud security is a shared responsibility, and organizations need to carefully manage and monitor Cloud environments in order to stay one step ahead of determined attackers.”

Accidental exposure continues to plague organizations, with misconfigurations exploited in 44 percent of reported attacks on Indian organizations.

Additionally, more than 55 percent of Indian businesses reported that cybercriminals gained access through stolen Cloud provider account credentials, said the report.

Despite this, only 29 percent said managing access to Cloud accounts is a top area of concern.

With 76 percent of organizations using the public Cloud, detection and response are leading Cloud security concerns for Indian IT managers while data security remains a top concern globally for businesses.

The report is based on an independent survey involving more than 3,500 IT managers across 26 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa that currently host data and workloads in the public Cloud.

I always looked up to Sardar Singh, says Vishal Antil

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I always looked up to Sardar Singh, says Vishal Antil

In 2017, when midfielder Vishal Antil came into the junior national coaching camp in SAI, Bengaluru, he would closely observe his senior compatriot Sardar Singh who trained at the same campus. The former India captain’s discipline, his focus on the game, and professionalism made Antil look up to him.

“You didn’t really have to interact with him to learn but just watch him go about his everyday routine. He was so disciplined and focused, he never let outside factors affect him mentally and he always took care of his body. The lights in his room would be switched off at 9.30 pm every day, these are qualities of a great player,” recalled Antil of his idol.

“For a junior player new in the national fold, there was so much to learn from Sardar though I never got a chance to interact with him or mustered the courage to go speak to him, I would always observe him and I always looked up to him and his discipline was infectious,” said Antil who was part of the Indian team that won the bronze medal in 2017, and the silver medal in 2018 at the Sultan of Johor Cup, Malaysia.

Though Antil was out of action with an ankle fracture for almost six-seven months in 2019, and also missed the Sultan of Johor Cup last year where the team returned runners-up, he was gearing up to do well for the team in the Junior Asia Cup in Dhaka which was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This team has been playing together over the past three years and we had shaped up well as a unit. We have also done well against good teams like Australia and lost closely to Great Britain in Sultan of Johor Cup. I feel, barring Malaysia who could have given us a tough fight, we were poised to do well and win the Junior Asia Cup,” expressed Antil.

Even though India has a direct entry for the Junior World Cup next year by virtue of being the hosts, winning the Junior Asia Cup would set up a good momentum to defend the title, feels Antil.

“Winning the Asia Cup and earning a berth for the Junior World Cup would be a matter of confidence and going into the Junior World Cup as Continental Champions would be ideal. We will be working hard to achieve this feat when the event is rescheduled,” the midfielder from Kurar Ibrahimpur, Haryana added.

With the junior national camp yet to be called, Antil like his other compatriots awaits to return to training. “Currently I am training in Sonipat along with Sumit (mid-fielder from senior core group) but I would definitely love to return to SAI, Bengaluru, and resume training along with my team,” he said.

“The next 18 months are crucial for the Indian colts with the Junior World Cup coming up, though I won’t be in the age bracket for the World Cup once the event comes, I would want to contribute to the team in whatever way I can.

One more Congress leader dies of Covid-19 in Hyderabad

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One more Congress leader dies of Covid-19 in Hyderabad

Yet another leader of the opposition Congress party in Telangana died of Coronavirus on Monday.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) secretary G. Narendra Yadav succumbed to the virus at a private hospital in Hyderabad, where he was admitted a few days ago.

Yadav had recently participated in various programs to distribute aid among poor hit hard by the lockdown.

Yadav’s family members were tested for COVID-19. As the leader had participated in the party programs held at party headquarters Gandhi Bhavan in recent days, efforts were on to trace those who had come in contact with him.

“It is shocking and saddening that one of our active senior leaders Narendra Yadav died due to COVID-19. May his soul rest in peace and condolences to his family and friends… His death is a great loss to the party,” tweeted party spokesman Dr. Sravan Dasoju.

Yadav is the second party leader to die of COVID-19 in a week. Earlier, former chairman of minority cell of a party in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Sirajuddin succumbed to the virus.

He died while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a private hospital in Hyderabad on July 6.

His wife and brother had also tested positive for the virus.

COVID-19 had earlier claimed the life of a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bhasker Mudiraj, party president of the Mettuguda division in Hyderabad, succumbed to the infection at government-run Fever hospital.

His family had alleged that he was taken to many private hospitals but they refused to admit him as his test reports were awaited.

Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Deputy Speaker of Telangana Assembly Padma Rao, and three other legislators of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had recently tested positive for COVID-19. All of them have recovered.

The national team will tour Australia in December

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The national team will tour Australia in December

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly Saturday said the national team will tour Australia in December but called for a shortened quarantine period for the players.

Australia has checked the spread of the coronavirus except in Melbourne, its second-biggest city, which has witnessed a recent surge in cases. “Ya, ya, we have confirmed that tour. In December we will be coming. We just hope the number of quarantine days get reduced a bit, Ganguly told TV channel India Today.

“Because we don’t want the players to go all that far and sit in hotel rooms for two weeks. It is very, very depressing and disappointing.””And, as I said Australia and New Zealand have been in good position except Melbourne. So from that point of view we will be going there and hopefully the quarantine days will be less and we can get back to cricket.”

By Friday, Australia, a nation of 25 million, had recorded just more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases, 106 of them fatal.The West Indies squad spent 14 days in quarantine after landing in England on June 9 for the three-Test tour, that began on July 8, marking the return of international cricket.

Virat Kohli’s India are scheduled to tour Australia for four Test matches in December-January. India won a four-Test series in Australia 2-1 in 2018-19.”It is going to be a tough series. It is not going to be what it was two years back. It is going to be a strong Australia but our team is as good,” said Ganguly.

“We have the batting, we have the bowling. We just need to bat better. The best team overseas bat well. When we were so successful in England, in Australia, in Pakistan we were getting 400-500-600 in Test matches. I said that to Virat as well.”India’s Test series victory two years ago was their first in Australia after 71 years of trying.

But Australia were without top batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith, who both missed the series due to their ball-tampering bans.Ganguly backed his side to win under Kohli’s leadership.

“Because you are Virat Kohli your standards are high. When you walk out to play, when you walk out with your team, I, watching on TV, don’t expect you to just play well against Australia. I expect you to win,” said the former India captain.

“So you have to live up to the standards. For his captaincy tenure this will be a milestone series — more than the World Cup.”Meanwhile the Indian Premier League is still searching for a window this season, and Ganguly said he does not want 2020 to “finish without the IPL.”

The International Cricket Council will this month decide on the future of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled for October-November in Australia and Ganguly said the decision will have a bearing on the fate of IPL.

On this day: Kaif, Yuvraj script historic NatWest Trophy win

TB Team
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On this day: Kaif, Yuvraj script historic NatWest Trophy win

July 13 is etched into the memory of every Indian cricket follower as on this day, 18 years ago, Sourav Ganguly’s troops defeated England in the NatWest Trophy final at the iconic Lord’s in thrilling fashion.

Batting first, England posted a commanding total of 325/5 in 50 overs. Marcus Trescothick (109) and skipper Nasser Hussain (115) slammed respective centuries as Indian bowlers were sent for a leather hurt to all corners of the stadium.

Chasing the target, India got off to a fine start as openers Ganguly and Virender Sehwag put together a 106-run stand. But from there on, it all went downhill for the visitors as they lost quick wickets and were struggling at 146/5 in 24 overs.

Following Ganguly’s dismissal, Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar all perished in quick succession. That is when Mohammad Kaif joined Yuvraj Singh in the middle and started to rebuild the chase.

Both completed their respective half-centuries as they put together 121 runs off 106 deliveries to put India back in the hunt. Paul Collingwood, however, thought he won England the match when he got rid of Yuvraj for 69.

But Kaif had other plans as he struck a 47-run partnership with Harbjahan Singh to get India closer to the target.

After Harbjahan was dismissed by Andrew Flintoff and then Anil Kumble also went back into the hut without opening his account, Kaif won the match for India with two wickets and three balls to spare.

Kaif was named the man of the match for his blistering innings in which he scored 87* off 75 balls and it was one of his finest outings on the international arena, if not the best.

Hailing from the cricketing backwater of Uttar Pradesh, Kaif played between 2000-2006 for India, featuring in 13 Tests and 125 ODIs.

Despite Kaif and Yuvraj’s heroics, the match, however, will always be remembered for Ganguly’s shirt-waving at the end of the match where he caught the imagination of every Indian fan from the Lord’s balcony.

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