iOS users can now Super Follow on Twitter

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iOS users can now Super Follow on Twitter

Micro-blogging site Twitter is allowing all iOS users to Super Follow select creators.

The feature, first released in September and only available in the US and Canada, allows users to monetise their Twitter account and create exclusive content through monthly subscriptions.

Twitter first announced Super Follows in February and rolled it out to select creators in September, reports The Verge.

Within the first two weeks, subscribers had contributed around $6,000, according to SensorTower.

Users interested in Super Follows have to meet the minimum requirements, according to the Super Follows policy.

They have to be 18 or older, have at least 10,000 followers, have tweeted at least 25 times in the past 30 days. Once accepted, they have to tweet a minimum of 25 tweets every 30 days.

Users are eligible to earn up to 97 per cent of revenue from their Super Follows subscription after in-app purchase fees, with Twitter taking 3 per cent.

However, if a user earns $50,000, they can earn up to 80 per cent of revenue after in-app purchase fees, and Twitter will increase its share up to 20 per cent of future earnings.

Super Followers are supposed to have access to bonus content and get badges to be easily recognised.

Twitter said it plans to include Android and web users in the future as it expands Super Follows.

How iPhone 13 Pro Max can be your perfect Diwali photographer

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How iPhone 13 Pro Max can be your perfect Diwali photographer

As India reopens and millions of people finally look forward to capture the Diwali moments outdoors, the all-new Cinematic Mode and Night Mode in the iPhone 13 Pro Max are set to make images and videos more brighter and beautiful in the low-light conditions, top photography experts said on Saturday.

With Cinematic mode, the iPhone 13 Pro Max camera can record videos with a shallow depth of field and add beautiful focus transitions for a cinema-grade look. And Night Mode automatically turns on when the camera detects a low-light environment.

Depending on how dark the scene is, the iPhone might take a Night mode photo quickly, or it might take several seconds.

According to artist Gursimran Basra, to capture beautiful low-light photographs, it is extremely important to keep your iPhone stable to get the maximum sharpness out of the phone.

“It is also important to look for light angles which makes the photographs bright and lit up. Trying various angles can be useful. The manual control over the exposure while shooting in the low light conditions helps to keep the photograph crisp and sharp,” Basra told in interview.

According to him, the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s ultra-wide camera lens captures more details in low-light conditions by capturing more light.

“I’m also blown away shooting with the new Cinematic Mode, Apple has introduced which brings these amazing videos in low light as well as in day time giving me no reason to skip any festive moment to shoot,” he added.

Photographer Anurag Banerjee said that the steadier the camera, the better the night mode image.

“I love the fact that Apple increased the size of the sensors on all three cameras this year, allowing for more light to come in and hence much better low light shots. It allows me much more flexibility to do more when the light conditions are challenging,” Banerjee told IANS.

When you take a photo in Night mode, a number appears next to the Night mode icon to indicate how long the shot will take.

To try longer Night mode photos, tap the Night mode icon. Then use the slider above the shutter button to choose Max, which extends the capture time. When you take the photo, the slider becomes a timer that counts down to the end of the capture time.

Photographer Joshua Karthik said that you should use a new ultra-wide lens with confidence in low light.

“I find that the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s ultra-wide lets in a lot more light now (92 per cent better), and is perfect for taking stable, gorgeous photos of the festival of lights in low light. The difference is remarkable,” he said.

Don’t forget to try your hand at cinematic video, even in low light.A

“If you’ve invited friends over for dinner, switch over to cinematic mode and get an even better-looking video of the festivities at home. Night Mode is like a cheat code for fantastic low light photos, and it works best if your subject isn’t moving around much,” Karthik added.

iPhone 13 Pro Max cameras have resulted in one thing: cleaner, better, noise-free low-light photos across all three lenses, the experts said.

Bypolls in lone Mizoram Assembly seat begins

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Bypolls in lone Mizoram Assembly seat begins

Voting for the bypoll to the Tuirial Assembly constituency in Kolasib district bordering Assam began on Saturday morning amid heavy security and following requisite Covid-19 protocols, officials said.

Mizoram’s Joint Chief Electoral Officer, David L. Pachuau said 18,582 voters, including 9,095 women are eligible to exercise their vote to decide the electorate fortunes of four candidates.

The ruling Mizo National Front has fielded K. Laldawngliana while Laltlanmawia of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), Chalrosanga Ralte of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s K. Laldinthara are also in the electoral fray.

The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting Legislator, Andrew H. Thangliana of the ZPM. The counting of votes in all seats will take place on November 2.

Germany’s Q3 GDP up 1.8% but still below pre-crisis levels: Destatis

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Germany’s Q3 GDP up 1.8% but still below pre-crisis levels: Destatis

Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2021 rose by 1.8 per cent compared with the previous quarter, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday.

“The recovery of the German economy thus continued in summer,” Destatis noted, adding that growth was “mainly attributable to higher household final consumption expenditure”. However, GDP was still 1.1 per cent below that recorded in the final quarter of 2019, Xinhua news agency reported.

As savings have accumulated since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and consumption options were restricted for a long time, “many households are likely to be quite free-spending,” Nils Jannsen, senior researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), said.

On Wednesday, the German government lowered its GDP growth forecast and now expects the country’s economy to only grow by 2.6 per cent this year, instead of 3.5 per cent as previously projected.

Nonetheless, Germany is “back on a growth path after the Covid-19 crisis,” German Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier said, predicting that in 2022 the economy will gain “significant momentum”.

T20 World Cup: I look at situation & target bowlers accordingly, says Asif Ali

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T20 World Cup: I look at situation & target bowlers accordingly, says Asif Ali

After his match-winning knock against Afghanistan, Pakistan’s hard-hitter batsman Asif Ali on Friday said that he looks at the situation of the match and target the bowlers accordingly in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

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

“I was confident of finishing it off from this end and that’s what I told Shoaib Malik before he got out. I look at the situation of the match, and I target the bowlers accordingly,” said Asif at the post-match presentation.

“I was talking to Shoaib when I walked in to bat and I told him that I was confident enough of getting 20-25 in one over against Karim Janat, which I did,” he added.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam also praised Asif Ali for his match-winning innings in a crunch situation.

“He (Asif Ali) is known for this and I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed. We planned our strategies well with the ball, and also ensured that he kept the uneven boundary dimensions in mind while bowling,” said Babar.

World Boxing C’ship: Sanjeet, Akash advance into pre-quarters

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World Boxing C’ship: Sanjeet, Akash advance into pre-quarters

Reigning Asian champion Sanjeet stormed into pre-quarterfinals after defeating Russia’s Andrei Tsotskii in a second round match of the 92kg weight class at the 2021 AIBA Men’s Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Friday.

India’s Akash Kumar also advanced into the pre-quarter-finals after he received a walkover in the 54kg opening round match against Salah Ibrahim of Germany.

In the closely-contested initial two rounds, both boxers went after each other and traded some heavy blows. However, the boxer from Rohtak, who defeated Rio Olympics silver medallist Vassiliy Levit to clinch the Asian Championships title earlier this year, kept his cool and not only showed a good defence technique but also struck sharp punches, according to information received here on Friday.

The 24-year-old Indian produced a well-composed performance in the final round to win the bout by a 4-1 decision.

On Saturday, four Indians will be in action — Govind Sahani will fight against Georgia’s Sakhil Alakhverdovi in the pre-quarterfinals match while Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), Sumit (75kg), and Sachin Kumar (80kg) will play their respective Round-of-32 matches.

Earlier, during the matches played late on Thursday night, youngsters Rohit Mor (57kg) and Akash Sangwan continued their impressive run in the tournament and registered dominant victories in their respective round-of-32 matches. While 20-year-old debutant Rohit outclassed Alen Rahmic of Bosnia and Herzegovina by a unanimous margin in the featherweight category, Akash recorded a confident 4-1 victory against German pugilist Daniel Krotter in the 67kg category.

Narender had provided India a winning start for the day by defeating Sierra Leone’s Mohamed Kendeh by RSC verdict in the +92kg round-of-32 match.

Andhra to put 4.5K digital libraries to use by Telugu New Year in 2022

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Andhra to put 4.5K digital libraries to use by Telugu New Year in 2022

Construction of 4,530 digital libraries in Andhra Pradesh, will be completed by January, and will be operational by April 2022. At the meeting held on Friday to review the progress of the YSR Digital Libraries program in the state, officials informed chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy that the first phase of the project would be ready in the next two months.

Andhra Pradesh has embarked on an ambitious digital empowerment program to enable the work from home (WFH) concept from the nook and corner of the state. A total of 12,979 digital libraries are being set-up across the state in three phases.

Stating that the digital libraries, including computer equipment, of phase-1 will be made available by Ugadi festival which is the Telugu New Year celebrated in April and directed the officials to prepare an action plan to complete phase 2 work by December 2022, and phase 3 work by June 2023. He instructed officials to deploy the latest technologies and ensure uninterrupted bandwidth internet is provided to every village digital library.

In the meeting on Friday, the district collectors of Anantapur, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts have been asked to focus on construction of digital libraries in their respective districts. The facilities at these libraries should facilitate work from home capabilities, and help the youth prepare for competitive examinations, the chief minister observed. He instructed the officials to focus and ensure proper maintenance of the libraries.

Industries, commerce and IT minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy, chief secretary Sameer Sharma, panchayati raj and rural development principal secretary Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, were among those who attended the review meeting.

Scientists detect new phase of water inside other planets

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Scientists detect new phase of water inside other planets

Scientists have recreated the structure of ice formed at the centre of planets like Neptune and Uranus.

Known as “superionic ice”, it forms at extremely high temperatures and pressures, such as those deep inside planets like Neptune and Uranus.

The superionic ice had only been glimpsed in a brief instant as scientists sent a shockwave through a droplet of water, but in the new study published in the journal Nature Physics, scientists found a way to reliably create, sustain and examine the ice.

“It was a surprise — everyone thought this phase wouldn’t appear until you are at much higher pressures than where we first found it,” said Vitali Prakapenka, research professor at University of Chicago.

“But we were able to very accurately map the properties of this new ice, which constitutes a new phase of matter, thanks to several powerful tools,” Prakapenka added.

To develop superionic ice, the team pressed water between two diamonds, the hardest material on Earth, to reproduce the intense pressure that exists at the core of planets. Then, they used the Advanced Photon Source, or high-brightness X-ray beams, to shoot a laser through the diamonds to heat the water.

When they first ran the experiments, Prakapenka saw readings of the structure that were much different than he was expecting.

“That means it was a reversible, structural change, not a chemical reaction,” Prakapenka said.

“Imagine a cube, a lattice with oxygen atoms at the corners connected by hydrogen. When it transforms into this new superionic phase, the lattice expands, allowing the hydrogen atoms to migrate around while the oxygen atoms remain steady in their positions. It’s kind of like a solid oxygen lattice sitting in an ocean of floating hydrogen atoms,” Prakapenka noted.

The ice becomes less dense, but significantly darker because it interacts differently with light.

These properties of ice play a role in a planet’s magnetic fields, which have a huge impact on its ability to host life: Earth’s powerful magnetic fields protect us from harmful incoming radiation and cosmic rays, whereas the surfaces of barren planets Mars and Mercury are exposed. Knowing the conditions that affect magnetic field formation can guide scientists as they search for stars and planets in other solar systems that might host life, the team said.

T20 World Cup: Pooran, bowlers keep Windies alive with 3-run win over Bangladesh

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T20 World Cup: Pooran, bowlers keep Windies alive with 3-run win over Bangladesh

A late cameo from Nicholas Pooran (40 off 21) followed by a superb defence by the bowlers meant that West Indies edged Bangladesh by three runs in a Group 1 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Friday. With this win, the defending champions have stayed alive in the competition while Bangladesh stare at an early exit.

In a nail-biting match, where fortunes swung as a pendulum and fielders faltered on many occasions, West Indies managed to come out on top, thanks to some fiery knocks from the lower-order batsmen and bowlers using their experience, something which Bangladesh lacked. In response, to West Indies’s 142/7, Bangladesh were restricted to 139/5 in 20 overs.

Chasing 143 for victory, Bangladesh lost openers Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Naim in successive overs of the power-play. While Shakib, opening for the first time in T20Is, chipped to mid-on after a leading-edge off Andre Russell, Naim chopped on to his stumps off Jason Holder.

Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das stitched a stand of 31 runs for the third wicket. But Akeal Hosein forced a leading-edge off Sarkar, pouched by a diving Chris Gayle at short third man. Mushfiqur Rahim fell cheaply, bringing out the scoop against Ravi Rampaul but missed the slower delivery, which hit the stumps.

Das along with Mahmudullah kept the scoreboard ticking to bring the equation to 30 runs off the last three overs. Dwayne Bravo was hit for a six by Mahmudullah in the 19th over but took out Das, holing out to long-on, on the final ball of the over. Andre Russell defended 13 in the final over, nailing his yorkers despite a misfield and a dropped catch to keep West Indies alive in the tournament.

Earlier, West Indies lost Evin Lewis on the final ball of the third over, flicking a top-edge to backward square leg off Mustafizur Rahman. The defending champions were dealt with another blow in the power-play as Chris Gayle was bowled through the gate by Mahedi Hasan. Post-power-play, Hasan had his second wicket of the match as Shimron Hetmyer holed out to long-off.

With only two boundaries coming at the halfway stage, captain Kieron Pollard retiring out increased further trouble for the West Indies. Russell walked in but was run out at non-striker’s end as the ball coming from a Roston Chase straight drive ricocheted off pacer Taskin Ahmed’s boot before hitting the stumps.

Pooran and Chase (39) stitched a 57-run partnership to give late impetus to the West Indies innings. The duo took 14 off the 15th over from Rahman before Pooran smoked back-to-back leg-side sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the 16th over. Pooran went on to smash Hasan for two down the ground sixes in the 18th over.

Shoriful Islam took out both Pooran and Chase on successive deliveries to sink West Indies further. Rahman’s final over saw him take out Bravo before Holder smacked him for back-to-back sixes on the leg-side. Pollard walked out and ended the innings in style, hitting Rahman for a six to help his team cross the 140-mark, which proved to be enough at the end.

Brief scores:

West Indies 142/7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 40, Roston Chase 39, Shoriful Islam 2/20, Mahedi Hasan 2/27) against Bangladesh 139/5 in 20 overs (Litton Das 44, Mahmudullah 31 not out, Jason Holder 1/22, Akeal Hosein 1/24) by three runs.

TN CM Stalin condoles death of actor Puneeth Rajkumar

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TN CM Stalin condoles death of actor Puneeth Rajkumar

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has condoled the death of popular Kannada movie star Puneeth Rajkumar who died following a massive heart attack on Friday at Bengaluru.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said that he was deeply shocked and pained at the passing away of the popular actor of the Kannada film world. He said that the Kannada film world has lost one of its contemporary icons.

Stalin said that he and his family were close to Puneeth Rajkumar’s family who was the son of famous Kannada actor, the late Rajkumar.

Stalin in his condolence message said, “Deeply shocked and appalled to hear about the sudden demise of ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar who is also the son of late legendary Kannada star Rajkumar Avargal. Both our families share a cordial bond for many decades. Thus it is a personal loss for me.”

Stalin said, “Puneeth remained a humble human being despite his stardom. His kind act of visiting our Gopalapuram residence to offer his family’s condolences for Thalaivar Kalaignar’s death still lingers in my heart”.

He said, “Kannada cine industry has lost one of its greatest contemporary icons. I offer my heartfelt condolences to Puneeth’s family and people of Karnataka who are mourning this irreparable loss.”

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