Fuel price rise continues unabated, petrol over Rs 115/ltr in Mumbai

TB Team
-
0
Fuel price rise continues unabated, petrol over Rs 115/ltr in Mumbai

Petrol and diesel prices increased again on Monday, the sixth consecutive day of increase, as global oil prices failed to relent and continued to remain firm.

Accordingly, the pump price of petrol in Delhi increased by 35 paise per litre to jump to Rs 109.69 a litre while diesel prices also increased by the same margin to reach Rs 98.42 a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol prices have now risen to Rs 115.50 per litre while diesel to Rs 106.63 a litre, the highest among all metros.

Across the country as well petrol and diesel prices increased between 35-40 paise per litre, but their retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes on petroleum products.

The fuel prices have now increased six consecutive days by 35 paise per litre. Before this after holding for a couple of days, fuel prices again had risen on previous five days by about 35 paise per litre.

Diesel prices have now increased on 30 out of the last 38 days taking up its retail price by Rs 9.90 per litre in Delhi.

With diesel prices rising sharply, the fuel is now available at over Rs 100 a litre in several parts of the country. It is very close to breaching the mark even in Delhi where it had rapidly climbed to Rs 98.42 a litre on Monday.

Petrol prices had maintained stability since September 5, but oil companies finally raised the pump prices last week and this week given a spurt in the product prices lately. Petrol prices have also risen on 27 of the previous 34 days taking up the pump price by Rs 8.50 per litre.

Crude price has been on a surge, rising over three year high level of over $ 85 a barrel now as global demand remains firm while OPEC+ continues to move slowly on increasing production. It has fallen a bit to around $84 a barrel after China released some oil from its reserve to address supply concerns.

Since September 5, when both petrol and diesel prices were revised, the price of petrol and diesel in the international market is higher by around $9-10 per barrel as compared to average prices during August.

Online game platform Roblox back after 3-day outage

TB Team
-
0
Online game platform Roblox back after 3-day outage

Popular virtual gaming platform Roblox has announced that it is finally returning to normal after facing a three-day outage.

Roblox service was restored on Sunday evening after the outage left millions of the online platform’s players without access to their games.

“We have identified the root cause and solution. We are working on getting things back online and we will keep you updated throughout the day,” Roblox said in a tweet on Sunday.

Roblox has over 200 million monthly players that is used by two-thirds of kids aged nine to 12 in the US.

Right now the company has not offered any details about why the platform went down. Some users suggested the issue may have been linked to a promotional partnership with Chipotle that launched shortly before Roblox hit the buffers.

However, in a blog post by David Baszucki, Roblox founder and CEO, explained that the outage was caused by several factors in combination.

“A core system in our infrastructure became overwhelmed. Prompted by a subtle bug in our backend service communications while under heavy load. This was not due to any peak in external traffic or any particular experience. Rather the failure was caused by the growth in the number of servers in our data centres. The result was that most services at Roblox were unable to effectively communicate and deploy,” Baszucki noted.

The company reported a revenue of $588.7 million during the first nine months of 2020, a 68 per cent increase over the same period in 2019.

Roblox went public via a direct listing in March and said in its prospectus that its users spent an average of 2.6 hours daily on the platform over the past year.

Modi to address high-level COP26 segment on Monday

TB Team
-
0
Modi to address high-level COP26 segment on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the high-level ‘Action and Solidarity: The Critical Decade’ segment at the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change or COP26 on Monday evening.

The COP26 started on Sunday and will conclude on November 12.

“Prime Minister Modi’s intervention on the first day of the two-day High-Level segment is expected at around 3 p.m. (about 8.30 p.m. IST),” said an official in New Delhi.

Modi will participate in the COP26 opening ceremony at 12 noon (Glasgow time) and before the high-level event, he will squeeze in a bilateral meeting with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson.

Prior to that, his engagements for the day would begin with meeting community representatives, the Indian diaspora and Indologists at 10 a.m..

After participating at the G20 Summit and several bilateral meetings, including a one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Modi flew from Rome to the UK late Sunday evening.

Record No.1 finish at stake as Djokovic begins Paris Masters campaign

TB Team
-
0
Record No.1 finish at stake as Djokovic begins Paris Masters campaign

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic would be aiming to clinch his seventh year-end No. 1 finish in the ATP Rankings — which would break his tie with American great Pete Sampras for the most year-end No. 1 finishes in history — when he makes a long-awaited return to the Rolex Paris Masters beginning later on Monday.

The five-time Paris Open champion will be playing in his first competition since losing the US Open final to Russian Daniil Medvedev, who denied the world No.1 the opportunity to clinch his 21st major title and break the tie with Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Swiss master Roger Federer, who also have 20 major titles apiece.

“The year-end No. 1 is on the line between Medvedev and myself, and I’m in a pretty good position,” Djokovic was quoted as saying by atptour.com on Sunday evening.

“That’s obviously the goal for the end of the season other than trying to do well in the Davis Cup with the national team. So, hopefully I can have a strong finish of the season and clinch that year-end No. 1.”

Among the various scenarios where the Serbian can finish No. 1 on the ATP rankings this year is if he wins the Paris title, regardless of Medvedev’s Paris finish or if he reaches the Paris final and Medvedev does not win the title.

However, Djokovic can draw inspiration from the fact that he has won in Paris five times. Also, in his past six appearances here, Djokovic has won the title four times, made another final and also reached the quarterfinals.

“I’m pleased to be back. I have been training really well (the) past couple of weeks. And I have had plenty of success in Paris-Bercy over the years, so that gives me enough reason to believe that I can do well, and I can go far in the tournament,” said Djokovic.

“Having said that, the lack of match play could be dangerous, so I have to really make sure that I start off my first match very well with a good intensity and build my form as that match passes on and hopefully get a win and get myself more comfortable on this court and just getting that match play in.”

The 36-time ATP Masters 1000 winner will begin his campaign against Italian Fabio Fognini, who he has beaten eight times, or Hungarian Marton Fucsovics (3-0).

“I have learned over the years to deal with losses in such way (US Open lost to Medvedev) that I treat them as great opportunities for growth. I feel that the US Open loss in the final has arrived arguably at the worst or at the best time for me, in a way,” Djokovic said.

“Of course I’m disappointed that I lost the match, but I feel like I was blessed to experience love from the crowd and support from the stadium that I have never experienced before in my life in New York, and actually not in many places around the world,” added Djokovic.

Scenarios where Djokovic can finish the year as No. 1 on the ATP Rankings:

1. Djokovic wins Paris title (regardless of Medvedev’s Paris finish)

2. Djokovic reaches Paris final + Medvedev does not win Paris title

3. Djokovic reaches Paris SF + Medvedev does not reach Paris final

4. Djokovic reaches Paris QF + Medvedev does not reach Paris SF

5. Djokovic reaches Paris 3R + Medvedev does not reach Paris SF

6. Medvedev does not reach Paris QF (regardless of Djokovic’s Paris finish)

Manushi Chhillar roped in for Unicef’s nationwide youth campaign

TB Team
-
0
Manushi Chhillar roped in for Unicef’s nationwide youth campaign

Debutante and former Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar has been roped in by Unicef for a youth campaign. She says there is an urgent need to connect young people to 21st century skills and livelihood opportunities, while engaging them as change-makers effectively.

About the initiative, Manushi said: “Youth are like a spark that can light lamps. We are the future, and whatever we sow today, we are going to reap a lot more of it in the future. India has more than 300 million young people, and by preparing them for the transition to work and engaged citizenship, the potential for India’s progress would be unlimited.”

Manushi, who is all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite Akshay Kumar in the period drama ‘Prithviraj’, lays down the roadmap to achieve important goalposts for India’s transformation by actively engaging the youth from here on.

Manushi said: “There is an urgent need to connect young people to 21st century skills and livelihood opportunities, while engaging them as change-makers effectively. Young people bring fresh ideas and a new outlook to the most pressing problems, and we need to provide them with platforms to take their ideas forward.

“This is something I experienced while participating in Miss World as well, where everyone would bring forward an idea – no matter how big or how small, and organisations that have the necessary resources to enable these ideas will step up to support.

“This will not just help the society at large, but also be a learning experience for that young person.

“For far too long, adults have made the decisions for young people, and the time is now to involve them in decision-making, especially about them and their future.”

‘Prithviraj’ will release theatrically on January 21, 2022.

Indian, US armies hold joint exercises in Alaskan snow-bound mountain

TB Team
-
0
Indian, US armies hold joint exercises in Alaskan snow-bound mountain

Indian and US armies held a joint exercise in the snow-bound Chugach Mountains in Alaska approximating the conditions Indian soldiers face in the Himalayas where they confront Chinese troops.

During the two weeks of the ‘Yudh Abhyas’ joint military exercises that ended on Friday, the soldiers practised cold weather survival, medical evacuation by air, mountaineering and small-arms marksmanship, according to the US Army.

The final part of the drill was the field training exercise thousands of metres above sea level in “the Chugach Mountains in deep snow, blowing winds, and sub-freezing temperatures”, where combined Indian and US Army units carried out a simulated military operation assault, a US Army write-up said.

The highest point in the Chugach Mountains is about 4,000 metres.

Indian soldiers have faced Chinese aggression in the snow-bound Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control leading to clashes with casualties on both sides. There was also a standoff in January this year in the Sikkim area.

About 350 Indian soldiers from the 7th Battalion of the Madras Regiment known as “Shandaar Saath,” and 400 US para-troopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division called the “Spartan Brigade” took part in the 17th edition of Yudh Abhyas.

The exercises were “aimed at improving the combined interoperability of the Indian and US Army to increase partner capacity for conventional, complex, and future contingencies throughout the Indo-Pacific region”, according to the US Army article.

The troops from the two countries worked on evacuating casualties using UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and practiced sling loading artillery underneath CH-47 Chinook helicopters. They also took turns familiarising themselves with each other’s weapon systems including the American M4 carbine, M240B, and the Indian Small Arms System.

CH-47s and UH-60 helicopters are also in the Indian military’s arsenal.

“This exercise has achieved a high degree of interoperability and jointmanship at all levels,” Indian Brigadier Parag Nangare, who was the exercise director.

“We have learned the best practices, techniques, and procedures which have evolved from operating in these conditions.”

“Two weeks ago, we met as strangers” but now “we share a bond of friendship and the knowledge that when needed, we will be there for each other”, said US Army Colonel Jody Shouse.

The soldiers from the two countries practised yoga and for building camaraderie played kabbadi and American football.

With India deeply entrenched in the UN Peacekeeping operations as the largest contributor of troops, the exercises included a simulation of a UN mission with the US that does not contribute regular troops to the UN.

They shared “their best practices in planning, coordinating and executing military missions as a combined staff”, the US Army write-up said.

This was the second Yudh Abhyas held this year as the 2020 edition of the exercise was postponed to February this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and conducted in Rajasthan.

Apple to launch ‘iMac Pro’ in 2022 with M1 Pro/Max chips: Report

TB Team
-
0
Apple to launch ‘iMac Pro’ in 2022 with M1 Pro/Max chips: Report

Cupertino based tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to launch its next-generation iMac that could be called the iMacaCE Pro in 2022.

According to MacRumors, the device will feature the same M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that Apple introduced with the MacBook Pro models, and there could possibly be “an added configuration.”

The upcoming iMac Pro will feature mini-LED technology and ProMotion, which are two functions available with the new MacBook Pro. The base model of the iMac Pro will feature 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which can be upgraded to a much more capable configuration.

Design wise, it could look similar to the 24-inch 24-inch iMac. The port selection includes HDMI, USB-C, an SD card, and an Ethernet port on the power brick.

Apple recently unveiled its two latest computer-focused ARM-based Systems-On-a-Chip (SOCs), the M1 Pro and M1 Max.

According to the firm, the GPU in M1 Pro is up to 2x faster than M1, while M1 Max is up to an astonishing 4x faster than M1, allowing pro users to fly through the most demanding graphics workflows.

The M1 Pro and M1 Max introduce a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture to pro systems for the first time.

The M1 Pro has an up-to-16-core GPU that is up to 2x faster than M1 and up to 7x faster than the integrated graphics on the latest 8-core PC laptop chip.

The M1 Max delivers up to 400GB/s of memory bandwidth — 2x that of M1 Pro and nearly 6x that of M1 — and support for up to 64GB of unified memory.

T20 WC: The big one tonight was taking their batsman out of the equation, says Sodhi

TB Team
-
0
T20 WC: The big one tonight was taking their batsman out of the equation, says Sodhi

New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi believes that taking the Indian batsmen out of the equation was a big thing for his team in their T20 World Cup win on Sunday. He added that it was important to bowl according to how the conditions were. Sodhi, along with Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner, were instrumental in restricting India to a paltry 110/7 in 20 overs. In reply, New Zealand chased down the target with 33 balls to spare, registering their first win of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“I think the big one tonight was taking their batsman out of the equation. I think if you bowl to the conditions, it was important. You didn’t want to get too full on this side, closest to us, because the boundary on the leg side was so small. Whereas on the other side, the leg side was a lot longer, so you probably had a bit more margin for error with your length. I think it was just being really conscious of that and making sure you bowled to the conditions more so than the batsmen,” Sodhi said in the post-match press conference.

“And often, even if the conditions are offering something, if there’s a little bit of spin or a little bit of bounce or something like that, if you overpitch with the quality of batsmen on the Indian cricket team the amount of time they take spinners down in the IPL, you’re asking for trouble. So, it was important to keep your length back arc on this side of the field,” added Sodhi, who was adjudged as ‘Player of the Match’ for his spell of 2/17 in four overs, including the scalps of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Sodhi admitted that the rejigged Indian batting order at the top was a surprise for his team. But he credited the Power-play bowlers for taking out the newly-formed opening pair of Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul. “I think the change to the team was something that we found out quite late. Ishan Kishan has obviously been in great form. So we had to think on our feet, which I think the Power-play bowlers did exceptionally well in doing. You have to be able to think on your feet. As a team, we speak a lot about the depth of conditions. That’s a big thing that we try to pride ourselves on. I think when you’re faced with circumstances like that, to be able to respond quickly is a great test of character. And I thought the bowlers did that really well in the Power-play today.”

Sodhi, along with left-arm spinner Santner, kept India on a very tight leash in the middle overs. With combined figures of 2/32 in eight overs, the spin duo ensured that India didn’t get any boundaries in that phase.

“I think off the pitch we have a great relationship. Very good mates. We’ve played a lot of cricket together now. But I think on the pitch, the way that he bowled today, four overs through the middle. One of those in the Power-play, to create the pressure that he did and do some false strokes, I think a lot of us bowlers benefit a lot from the pressure that he puts on through that middle period. And that can definitely never go unnoticed,” remarked Sodhi about his spin partner.

New Zealand’s next match in the tournament is against Scotland on November 3 in Dubai.

T20 World Cup: Rashid Khan apologises to fans after defeat to Pakistan

TB Team
-
0
T20 World Cup: Rashid Khan apologises to fans after defeat to Pakistan

Star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan on Saturday apologised to the fans back home and all around the world after their teams five-wicket loss against Pakistan in the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup.

Captain Babar Azam’s fighting fifty (51 off 47) and Asif Ali’s cameo (25 off 7) powered Pakistan to a convincing five-wicket win over Afghanistan in a Super 12 match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

While apologising to the Afghan cricket fans, the leg-spinner said the team was not able to give them something to cheer about.

“Sorry to all the fans back home and all around the world not giving you victory to celebrate and bring smiles on your faces,” Rashid Khan wrote on Twitter.

“BUT your support and prayers will be important for the rest of the games. AFGHANISTAN ZINDABAD,” he added.

Though Afghanistan lost the match, Rashid bagged the wickets of Md Hafeez, Babar Azam, and became the latest entrant in the 100 wickets c’ub in men’s T20 Internationals. Overall, he became only the fourth man, after Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, and Lasith Malinga, to achieve this milestone.

“Thank you, everyone, for your messages 100th T20 international wkts,” said the spinner while thanking his fans.

The 23-year old made his debut only in 2015 and is the quickest to the landmark in terms of matches and time. It needed him only 53 T20Is and six years to reach the century. Malinga had done it in 76 matches whereas Shakib and Southee, who also completed 100 wickets during this tournament against Pakistan, needed 84 matches each.

Afghanistan will face Namibia in their third Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Sunday.

Over 69% cast votes in Assam bypolls

TB Team
-
0
Over 69% cast votes in Assam bypolls

Over 69.60 per cent of nearly eight lakh voters on Saturday cast their votes in the bypolls to the five Assembly seats in Assam, officials said.

Election officials said that the voting was held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. under heavy security cover of the central forces and strict Covid protocols in all the 1,176 polling stations. One health worker was posted as Covid Nodal Officer in each of the polling stations, where sanitizer, infrared thermometer and social distancing were religiously followed by the voters and elections officials.

According to the election officials, the voting was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere of the five districts, where the by-elections were conducted. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer Nitin Khade, who along with other officials monitored the polling process through webcasting, said that there has been no incident so far.

“Adequate Central Armed Police Forces were deployed at each polling station to ensure free and fair polling,” he said. Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of the five districts personally supervised the situations.

An election official said that showcasing Assam’s vibrant traditional culture, many of the polling stations were decorated with local produce and items.

Nearly eight lakh voters, including 3,93,078 women, were eligible to decide the fate of 31 candidates in Mariani, Thowra, Bhabanipur, Gossaigaon and Tamulpur Assembly seats. The BJP has fielded turncoat candidates in three seats — Congress’ Rupjyoti Kurmi in Mariani and Sushanta Borgohain in Thowra, and All India United Democratic Front’s (AIUDF) Phanidhar Talukdar in Bhabanipur. The BJP’s ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) had nominated Jiron Basumatary in Gossaigaon and Jolen Daimary in Tamulpur.

The main opposition Congress, which fielded candidates in all five seats, has been trying hard to at least retain the Thowra and Mariani seats.

The AIUDF has fielded candidates in Bhabanipur and Gossaigaon, while the Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal is contesting in Thowra and Mariani and Hagrama Mahilary-led Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) is contesting in Gossaigaon.

The AIUDF and the BPF were allies of the Congress-led 10-party ‘Mahajot’ (grand alliance) in the Assembly polls earlier this year.

The by-elections were necessitated due to the Covid-related deaths of two sitting MLAs belonging to UPPL and BPF while two Congress (Kurmi and Borgohain) and one AIUDF legislator (Talukdar) joined BJP after quitting their Assembly membership.

The counting of votes will take place on November 2.

1...1,8381,8391,840...4,378Page 1,839 of 4,378