Djokovic struggles but wins opening-round game at Paris Masters

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Djokovic struggles but wins opening-round game at Paris Masters

Five-time Paris Masters champion, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, made a winning return to the Tour in his first singles game since his US Open final loss to Russian Daniil Medevdev in September, overcoming Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours to reach the third round here.

The 34-year-old Serbian world No. 1 said that it was a great feeling to be back on court nearly two months after the US Open final defeat to world No.2 Medvedev, who clinched his maiden major in September and denied Djokovic a record 21st major, which would have broken the tie with Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Swiss ace Roger Federer.

Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are current on 20 majors each.

“It was great to be back on the court after almost two months without competition,” Djokovic was quoted as saying by atptour.com. “I did not expect anything but I knew this was not going to be an easy match. Marton is a very talented player; he has a lot of quality. It was a great fight. I couldn’t break his serve, he was playing with a lot of precision and we pushed each other to the limit. It was a great opening match for me. I am very pleased.”

If the top seed Djokovic wins the Paris title, he will clinch his seventh year-end No. 1 finish in the ATP Rankings, which would break his tie with Pete Sampras for the most year-end No. 1 finishes in history.

In a tight match, Djokovic struggled to find his rhythm consistently from the baseline, with Fucsovics striking the ball aggressively and with depth, which caused the 34-year-old problems. However, Djokovic found a way to advance, improving his ATP head-to-head record against the Hungarian to 4-0.

“It is just about spending time on court, finding that match-play intensity and playing more points,” Djokovic added. “The more matches I play, I think I am going to get better. I know myself well; I was in this situation before, quite a lot of times, so hopefully experience can play a role in doing the job well.”

The 85-time tour-level champion will next face Adrian Mannarino or Gael Monfils — both from France — as he continues the pursuit of his fifth tour-level trophy of the season. Djokovic is also competing in doubles for just the third time this season in Paris alongside countryman Filip Krajinovic of Serbina.

Earlier this year, Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon to draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 major titles. He also captured the Belgarde Open on home soil.

Facebook to shut down facial recognition feature

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Facebook to shut down facial recognition feature

Facebook has announced that it is shutting down its Face Recognition system and will delete the facial data of more than one billion of its users.

Facebook said more than a third of its daily active users had previously opted into the use of face recognition technology, that’s more than 600 million accounts.

“This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history. More than a third of Facebook’s daily active users have opted in to our Face Recognition setting and are able to be recognized, and its removal will result in the deletion of more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates,” Facebook parent company Meta said in a statement.

Facebook Face Recognition used to analyse the photos and videos that the company thinks a user is in on Facebook and it replaced the “tag suggestion” setting on the social network.

This change will also impact Automatic Alt Text (AAT), which creates image descriptions for blind and visually-impaired people. After this change, AAT descriptions will no longer include the names of people recognised in photos but will function normally otherwise.

Facial recognition has been available on Facebook since 2011, and Facebook turned the feature on automatically for more than 500 million people at the time that it debuted.

“We believe facial recognition can help for products like these with privacy, transparency and control in place, so you decide if and how your face is used. We will continue working on these technologies and engaging outside experts,” the firm added.

Face Recognition and the features that it enables will be officially removed in coming weeks.

Recently, Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta as part of a major rebrand.

The company said it would better “encompass” what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR).

Music of the Heart: New song ‘Tumse Bhi Zyada’ from Ahan Shetty’s ‘Tadap’

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Music of the Heart: New song ‘Tumse Bhi Zyada’ from Ahan Shetty’s ‘Tadap’

The trailer of Ahan Shetty and Tara Sutaria-starrer ‘Tadap’ has grabbed attention ever since its release. The film marks the Bollywood debut of Ahan.

The makers released the first song from the film ‘Tumse Bhi Zyada’ on the occasion of Dhanteras.

Ahan took to his social media and shared a glimpse of the song showing that things can take a pretty unusual turn when you’re least expecting. One moment Ahan and Tara can be seen in a romantic moment and the very next moment things turn darker as we see him being dragged by someone with his bike being set on fire.

The song starts off slow with the nylon guitar slowly giving into the feel of flamenco and soon transitions into a full blown classic Bollywood love number. The track has been composed by Pritam while Arijit Singh has gone behind the mic to lend vocals to the soulful track.

K’taka govt allows entry of fans to Puneeth’s samadhi

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K’taka govt allows entry of fans to Puneeth’s samadhi

Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar’s family conducted ‘Haalu-Tuppa’ ceremony (offering of milk and ghee to grave) at Kanteerava Studio premises where his mortal remains were laid to rest on Tuesday.

Though, prohibition orders are in place, thousands of his fans surrounded the stadium premises and urged that they should be allowed inside to pay respects to their favourite star. Owing to the pressure, the entry was allowed.

Raghavendra Rajkumar, Puneeth’s elder brother said that, his younger brother belonged to masses and since the family worshipping is done, they can visit his grave anytime, he said.

Puneeth’s wife Ashwini, daughters Dhriti and Vandana performed puja along with other members of the family.

Meanwhile, Telugu super star Akkineni Nagarjuna visited the residence of Puneeth Rajkumar and met his family members. “It’s very shocking and heartbreaking development. It is not possible for us to believe what happened. I am speechless and don’t know what to say to his family members,” he said.

“All are talking about only Puneeth Rajkumar’s virtues on how he involved into social service, how he encouraged talent. I don’t understand how God just took him away. My deepest condolences to his family, people of Karnataka and his fans. My heart goes out to him,” he said.

PM Modi, Bill Gates discuss ways to step up clean energy innovation

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PM Modi, Bill Gates discuss ways to step up clean energy innovation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Tuesday and discussed ways to step up activities in India under Mission Innovation — a multinational initiative to accelerate public and private global clean energy innovations.

Meeting Bill Gates on the sidelines of COP26 Summit in the UK’s Glasgow, the Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India.

Bill Gates briefed Prime Minister on the progress of Mission Innovation, and they discussed ways to step up activities in India under it, as well as promising opportunities in areas like green hydrogen, aviation fuels, battery storage, and vaccine research.

T20 World Cup: Babar, Rizwan help Pak beat Namibia, seal a spot in semis

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T20 World Cup: Babar, Rizwan help Pak beat Namibia, seal a spot in semis

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan became the first pair to share five century-partnerships in T20 cricket as they helped Pakistan to a comprehensive 45-run victory against Namibia in a Group 2 match in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

This was Pakistan’s fourth successive win in this tournament, which took their points tally to eight and sealed them a place in the semi-finals from Group 2.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, elected to bat first as he wanted his batters to spend some time in the middle and set a target as they have won their first three matches in the Super 12 stage by chasing.
With Babar and Rizwan hitting contrasting half-centuries, Pakistan posted a challenging 189/2 in their 20 overs. Babar scored 70 off 49 deliveries while Rizwan compiled 79 off 50, which included 24 off the final over bowled by JJ Smit.

The target of 190 was too stiff for first-timers Namibia and they were restricted to 144/5 in their allotted 20 overs as Pakistan cantered to a comprehensive victory.

With the Pakistani bowlers in good form in the tournament so far, Namibia never got a chance to harbour hopes of chasing the stiff target. Namibia got off to a poor start as Hasan Ali, who opened the attack with Shaheen Afridi, castling Michael van Lingen (4) with one that moved a bit.

They managed to score 34/1 in the Power-play and reached 50 off exactly 50 deliveries as the going was tough and the Pakistani bowlers did not allow them many chances. Stephan Baard (29) was run out to a smart piece of work by Haris Rauf and Rizwan as Namibia slumped in a deep hole.

Craig Williams (40) and David Wiese (43 not out) were the top scorers for Namibia as they scored at a sedate pace to reach 144/5 in 20 overs, losing by 45 runs.

Earlier, Babar and Rizwan struck contrasting half-centuries as they compiled their fifth century stand in Twenty20 cricket t’ lead Pakistan’s charge against Namibia. Babar was precise and in control, while Rizwan struggled to get going initially, started slowly before exploding into action in the final over of the innings, blasting four boundaries and a huge six off JJ Smit as he remained unbeaten with 79 off 50 deliveries.

Babar completed his third successive half-century of the tournament as he struck 70 off 49 deliveries, hitting seven well-timed boundaries in the process.

Pakistan had got off to a sedate start as Ruben Trumpelmann started the proceedings with a maiden over, a rare occasion in T20 cricket. Though Babar tucked David Wiese through covers for a four in the fourth over, Pakistan could only manage 29/0 in the Power-play.

But th’y soon broke Namibia’s initial stranglehold and propelled the scoring rate with some good shots, capitalising on the inexperience of the rival bowlers and some slopping work by their fielders. Babar completed his fifth off 39 deliveries and with Rizwan too upping the ante, Pakistan reached 100 in the 13th over. But just when it looked like he will go for a hundred, Babar was out, holing out to deep mid-wicket off Wiese with the score reading 113.

Fakar Zaman (5) failed to did not contribute much but’Mohammed Hafeez blazed’s cameo — 32 not out off 16 balls, studded with five boundaries, ensured Pakistan kept up the scoring rate high.

Riwan, who struggled initially and survived a couple of close calls on video review, completed his fifty off 42 balls, hitting four boundaries and three sixes in the process. He was batting on 54 going into the final over and then blasted JJ Smit for four fours, a six, and two runs for a total of 24 off six deliveries as Pakistan ended their innings in a flurry of activity.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 189/2 in 20 overs (Babar 70, Rizwan 79 not out, Mohammed Hafeez 32 not out; David Wiese 1/30) beat Namibia 144/5 in 20 overs (Craig Williams 40, David Wiese 43 not out; Hasan Ali 1-22, Imad Wasim 1/13) by 45 runs.

T20 World Cup: South Africa thrash Bangladesh by six wickets

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T20 World Cup: South Africa thrash Bangladesh by six wickets

South Africa beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their Group 1 match of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

Chasing a small total of 85, Proteas reached the target in 13.3 overs.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 84 all out in 18.2 overs (Mehedi Hasan 27; Anrich Nortje 3/8, Kagiso Rabada 3/20), South Africa 86/4 in 13.3 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 22, Temba Bavuna 31, Taskin Ahmed 2-18).

Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh resigns from Congress

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Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh resigns from Congress

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday resigned from the Congress and sent a seven-page letter to party President Sonia Gandhi. He named his party the Punjab Lok Congress.

“I have today sent my resignation to Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji, listing my reasons for the resignation. ‘Punjab Lok Congress’ is the name of the new party. The registration is pending approval with the Election Commission of India. The party symbol will be approved later,” Amarinder Singh informed in a tweet.

Singh had quit as the chief minister in September after a power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Sidhu.

Amazon to launch its first internet satellites in late 2022

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Amazon to launch its first internet satellites in late 2022

E-commerce giant Amazon aims to launch its first Project Kuiper internet satellites in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company has announced.

With Project Kuiper, Amazon aims to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet to anywhere in the world.

The company filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch and operate its first two prototype satellites, called KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2. Amazon said the satellites will launch with ABL Space on its RS1 rocket, CNBC reported.

“We’ll soon be ready to see how (the satellites) perform in space,” Rajeev Badya, Vice President of technology at Amazon said in a statement. “There is no substitute for on-orbit testing, and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment.”

The FCC had, last year, authorised Amazon’s system, which the company says it plans to “invest more than $10 billion” in Kuiper. Early service from Kuiper is set to begin once Amazon has 578 satellites in orbit.

Amazon last week announced a partnership with Verizon, to collaborate with the telecom giant in the increasingly competitive field of high-speed satellite internet, the report said.

Kuiper is poised to go toe-to-toe with SpaceX’s Starlink network, which is the furthest along in the latest generation of broadband satellite systems, the report said.

A variety of other networks are in various stages of development, including those of British-owned OneWeb, BlackRock-backed Astranis, satellite-to-smartphone specialist AST SpaceMobile, Lockheed Martin’s partnership with start-up Omnispace and Canadian satellite operator Telesat’s Lightspeed.

The Project Kuiper team has grown steadily at Amazon, which now has more than 750 people and “hundreds more” expected to be hired in the next year. Amazon built a 219,000 square feet facility in Redmond, Washington to test and manufacture the satellites, and plans to add another 20,000 square feet facility.

Odisha records 49% growth in GST collection in October

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Odisha records 49% growth in GST collection in October

Odisha recorded a 49 per cent growth in GST collection during October 2021 compared to the same month last year, officials said on Tuesday.

The state has collected Rs 3,593.34 crore in the last month as against Rs 2,428.27 crore collected in October last year. This is the highest growth rate of GST amongst all the major states in the country for the second consecutive month, the office of the Odisha Commercial Tax and GST Commissioner said in a statement.

The progressive GST collection till October of the current financial year was Rs 23,897.20 crore while Rs 14,701.25 crore was collected till October of last fiscal, thereby registering a growth of 62.55 per cent, it said.

Similarly, the collection of Odisha GST (OGST) has recorded a growth of 59.60 per cent. The OGST collection during the month of October was Rs 1,053.48 crore against a collection of Rs 660.09 crore during October 2020. The collection of OGST during October ’21 is also the third highest-ever gross collection by the state, claimed the GST office.

The progressive collection of OGST up to October of FY 2021-22 was Rs 6,819.91 crore while the state had collected Rs 4,331.54 crore during the same period in the last financial year. The progressive OGST collection recorded a growth of 57.45 per cent till September.

Similarly, there is a collection of Rs 907.29 crore in CGST, Rs 1005.50 crore in IGST and Rs 627.07 crore in Cess during October, 2021. There was a growth of 70.31 per cent in the collection of CGST, 37.43 per cent in IGST and 24.47 per cent in Cess over October, 2020.

Moreover, the total collection of VAT from petrol and liquor was Rs 728.32 crore during October ’21 as against Rs 696.43 crore collected in October ’20 with a growth rate of 4.58 per cent.

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