Prabhas’ mythological drama readies for a wrap

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Prabhas’ mythological drama readies for a wrap

Tollywood’s superhero Prabhas’ upcoming mythological drama ‘Adipurush’ is among the most-anticipated movies in recent times. Touted to be a visual extravaganza, the movie is expected to be a treat for VFX fans.

Prabhas, who is busy with back-to-back shoots, has joined the team ‘Adipurush’. The current shooting schedule of Adipurush is taking place in Mumbai and is to be wrapped up by the end of next month. Director Om Raut is planning to wrap up the shooting before the movie enters into the post-production phase, which needs heavy VFX and graphical representation.

It is even stated that the graphics in ‘Adipurush’ would have triple VFX than the ‘Baahubali’ series. So, the expectations are rife.

Om Raut is planning on shooting non-stop, so as to release the movie, by August 11, 2022. As the upcoming movie ‘Adipurush’ had initial hiccups, it was also postponed multiple times owing to the pandemic. In this frame of context, the makers are trying their best to wrap up things related to the shooting, so that the VFX works are carried out soon.

In this upcoming 3D action drama ‘Adipurush’, actor Prabhas is to play the role of Lord Ram, while actress Kriti Sanon is paired up alongside Prabhas to play Sita. Bollywood’s famous actor Saif Ali Khan will be seen as Ravan.

Rohit, Akash off to flying starts at Men’s World Boxing

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Rohit, Akash off to flying starts at Men’s World Boxing

Rohit Mor and Akash Sangwan started India’s campaign at the 2021 AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships with commanding victories on the opening day in Belgrade, Serbia.

According to information received here, making debut at the prestigious event, Rohit set the tone for India after defeating Olympian Jean Caicedo 5-0 comprehensively in the 57kg opening round match on Monday. The 20-year-old Indian made good use of his height and hit some timely heavy blows to score crucial points against the Ecuadorian pugilist, who participated at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Later in the night, Akash extended the winning momentum for India and produced an equally dominating show against Adem Fukran of Turkey in the 67kg bout. The 21-year-old Akash showcased good attacking as well as defensive skills of boxing and hardly allowed the Turkish boxer to score any points before completing a 5-0 win in a lopsided match.

In the round-of-32, Rohit will take on Alen Rahimic of Bosnia and Herzegovina while Akash will be up against German boxer Daniel Krotter on Thursday.

The second day of the competition on Tuesday will see four Indians starting their campaigns. While bronze medal winner of the 2015’s edition, Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will take on Kenya’s Victor Nyadera, Narender (+92kg) will fight against Poland’s Oskar Safaryan. Sumit (75kg) will play against Damon O’Neill of Jamaica.

On the other hand, Deepak Bhoria (51kg) will have a comparatively difficult challenge in his opening round match as he will start off against two-time Asian champion Azat Usenaliev of Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday. In-form Deepak, who claimed senior nationals title last month, had caught many eyeballs earlier this year after defeating Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at Strandja Memorial Tournament.

Two Indian pugilists-reigning Asian champion Sanjeet (92kg) and Sachin Kumar (80) have been awarded with first-round byes in their respective categories. Govind kumar Sahani (48kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), Sumit (75kg) and Lakshya Chahar (86kg) are the other boxers of the 13-member Indian contingent who will compete at the 21st edition of the tournament which will go on till November 6.

The event has been witnessing competition between 650 top boxers of more than 100 participating countries from across the world. It is also the first time in the history, the championships is being played in 13 weight categories as per AIBA’s newly-introduced weight divisions.

The gold medallists of each category will receive $100,000 while silver and bronze medallists will be given $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.

Chiranjeevi lends his voice for Krishna Vamsi’s ‘Rangamarthanda’

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Chiranjeevi lends his voice for Krishna Vamsi’s ‘Rangamarthanda’

Telugu director Krishna Vamsi, who wrapped up shooting for his upcoming directorial ‘Rangamarthanda’, has given a ‘mega’ update. As he starts dubbing for ‘Rangamarthanda’, he has roped in megastar Chiranjeevi to lend his voice.

Sharing his excitement about Chiranjeevi’s voice-over, Krishna Vamsi wrote, “ThQ annyya for ur generosity n unconditional kindness …one more crowned lightening on #rangamarthandas sky. THE MEGA VOICE”, on his microblogging site. The director also shared a picture, which features Chiranjeevi in front of the mic, wrapping up his dubbing for ‘Rangamarthanda’.

While Chiranjeevi had a minor surgery, it is a great gesture that he went all the way to lend his voice to Krishna Vamsi’s prestigious project. Chiranjeevi has a great line-up of movies, that includes ‘Acharya’, which is all set for its release soon.

‘Rangamarthanda’ is Krishna Vamsi’s upcoming directorial starring Ramya Krishna, Prakash Raj, Shivathmika, Adarsh Balakrishna, and Rahul Silpligunj in the lead roles. While the makers are trying to wrap up the post-production works as soon as possible, there is no clarification regarding the release date yet.

Earlier, there were talks that ‘Rangamarthanda’ would get a direct OTT release, but the makers came forward to clear things up. So, ‘Rangamarthanda’ is to see its theatrical release, and the makers are eyeing December to release this emotional, action drama.

Twitter working on blockchain-linked ‘Collectibles’ tab

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Twitter working on blockchain-linked ‘Collectibles’ tab

Micro-blogging site Twitter is working on a tab that shows off a user’s NFT collection, and it is beginning to look a lot more complete.

According to The Verge, the platform first began working on the feature in September — a tweet from Mada Aflak, a software engineer for Twitter, first showed off the early stages of its experiment in late September.

The tweet’s video demonstrates how you can connect your crypto wallet from popular providers like Coinbase, Metamask and Crypto.com and then choose one of your NFTs to use as your profile picture.

Your full collection of NFTs will be stored in a tab on your profile, labelled Collectibles, the report said

Once selected, your profile picture will have a small badge that verifies that it’s a real NFT, it added.

Twitter hinted at letting users verify the NFTs they tweet back in September, so that detail doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

In addition to the Collectibles tab, reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong revealed that Twitter is working on a view that lets you get a close-up look at an NFT.

You will also be able to tap through to a page that shows detailed information about the NFT, including a description, its creator, any properties, as well as some information about the collection.

Stokes’ return for Ashes will give ‘everyone a lift’, says Hussain

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Stokes’ return for Ashes will give ‘everyone a lift’, says Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has said that that all-rounder Ben Stokes making himself available for selection, and his inclusion in the side for the gruelling Ashes, which begins in December, “will give everyone a lift”.

Stokes, who has been given the all-clear by his consultant and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) medical team to resume training following his second operation on a fractured left index finger, will depart for Australia with the Test specialists and the Lions on November 4.

Stokes had taken an indefinite break to tend to his mental wellbeing and also his injured finger earlier this year, but he recently returned to the nets, fanning speculation that he was ready to return to the England side.

“Stokes is absolutely vital to the England team. His addition to the Ashes squad will give everyone a lift. It is not just his immense contribution with bat, ball and in the field but his sheer presence,” said Hussain in his column for the Daily Mail on Monday.

“This is great news for (captain) Joe Root, the England team and all cricket supporters who want to see the best take on the best in Australia this winter. But, more importantly, it is great news for Ben Stokes. It means his finger is on the mend and it is also a really good sign that he is in a healthy place mentally because we know the last few months have been a battle for him,” added Hussain.

The hints of an impending return had been there the moment Stokes posted a picture of himself holding a bat.

“I thought, ‘OK, he’s not doing that because he’s thinking of Durham in April. He must have something else in mind’. As he said himself, he is ready for Australia. The only surprise is that Stokes will be there from the start. I thought he would join the team at some point but it is an unexpected bonus that he will be at the Gabba.”

For England, Ashes is the hardest tour of them all and Root, who leans most in his decision-making on Stokes and Jos Buttler, would be more confident going in the series beginning at The Gabba on December 8.

“Big characters are needed in Australia more than anywhere. You need players who stand up to the Aussies, who can look them in the eye and not take a backward step in a hostile environment. When you have lost nine out of your last 10 Tests in Australia, as England have, they need their biggest character on this tour more than ever,” added Hussain.

After leaving Scotland in a spin, Afghanistan want to demolish Pakistan

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After leaving Scotland in a spin, Afghanistan want to demolish Pakistan

With Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman leaving Scotland in a spin during the ICC T20 World Cup ‘Super 12’ game on Monday evening, Naveen ul-Haq said that his side will fancy their chances against Pakistan when the neighbours clash on October 29.

Afghanistan’s spin attack was on full display at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday with Rashid (4/9 in 2.2 overs) and Mujeeb (5/20 in 4 overs) reducing Scotland batters to pulp, and notching up a 130-run victory by dismissing the rivals for 60 runs after amassing 190/4.

“Well, can’t say much (about Mujeeb and Rashid), it was nine wickets from them. You can’t ask much more than these two, said Naveen ul-Haq after the massive win, adding that his side would be ready for the Pakistan challenge.

“We have a good side. Whoever plays good cricket on that day (game vs Pakistan), they will win. It was a good win (vs Scotland). Our players were ready for it. We were well prepared. First of all, our players were playing and participating in different leagues, so yeah, all the boys were ready for this tournament and this match,” said Naveen.

While Afghanistan haven’t played many bilateral series, their players — especially spinners — have plied their trade in lucrative leagues across the world, which has given them the confidence to play against the best sides here.

The way Afghanistan used the short Sharjah boundaries on Monday indicated they had done their planning thoroughly against Scotland to prevent them from creating another upset in the tournament. Scotland had defeated Bangladesh and topped the Group to qualify for the ‘Super 12’ stage on a high.

“We had this plan like left/right combination. So for both the batsmen, it was easier to target the shorter side. We had this plan and we executed that well. The first game of a tournament or a series is very important. We needed that win to start our tournament. We won’t be complacent about this win. We move forward. It was a great game, but looking forward, we still have four games to go.”

Naveen added that the conditions did suit his team.

“These conditions are well suitable for us, for our spinners. Moving forward into the tournament, these spinners will be our key bowlers and key weapons in this tournament. We won’t be bowling full deliveries. It’s going to be back of a length.”

Apple iOS 14 privacy changes hitting us hard: Mark Zuckerberg

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Apple iOS 14 privacy changes hitting us hard: Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has once again slammed Apple for its App Store policies, saying the iOS privacy changes are negatively affecting its business.

In an earnings call after posting robust Q3 results, Zuckerberg said late on Monday that the company did experience revenue headwinds this quarter.

“Apple’s changes are not only negatively affecting our business, but millions of small businesses, and what is already a difficult time for them and the economy,” he told the analysts.

Facebook has been fiercely critical of the iOS 14 changes since these were introduced some months ago.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the biggest impact to them has come from iOS 14 changes which advantaged Apple’s own advertising business.

“We started to see that impact in Q2, but adoption on the consumer side ramped up by late June, so it hit critical mass in Q3. As a result, we’ve encountered 2 challenges,” she said.

“One is that the accuracy of our ads targeting decreased, which increased the cost of driving outcomes for our advertisers. And the other is that measuring those outcomes became more difficult,” Sandberg told the analysts, adding that on targeting, “we focused on improving campaign performance even with the increased limitations facing our industry”.

The company said that to counter Apple, it is building commerce tools to help businesses reach more new customers, and get more incremental sales.

“Over the longer term, we’re developing privacy enhancing technologies in collaboration with others across the industry to help minimise the amount of personal information we process, while still allowing us to show relevant ads,” said Sandberg.

YouTube to demonetise low-quality kids’ videos from Nov

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YouTube to demonetise low-quality kids’ videos from Nov

Google-owned YouTube has warned creators that it will start demonetising kids channels on its platform that produce low-quality videos.

YouTube channels that primarily target young audiences are classified as “made for kids”.

“These channels will need to deliver high-quality content and comply with kids-specific monetisation policies,” said James Beser, Director of Product Management, Kids and Family at YouTube.

For example, channels that have predominantly low-quality kids content such as “heavily commercial or promotional” or “encouraging negative behaviours or attitudes” may be suspended from YouTube Partner Programme.

“And if an individual video violates these quality principles, it may see limited or no ads,” Beser added in a blog post late on Monday.

Earlier in October, YouTube shared additional monetisation policies for channels that primarily create kids and family content on YouTube.

“Going forward, these principles will have not only an impact on recommendations and inclusion in YouTube Kids but also on monetisation,” the company warned.

YouTube said in Q2 2021, it removed more than 1.8 million videos for violation of its child safety policies.

“We have reached out to potentially impacted creators in order to support them before these changes take effect starting next month,” the company added.

“There is a vibrant community of kids and family content creators that produce high-quality content. And we want to make sure that we’re rewarding these creators and helping them grow and succeed on YouTube,” Beser said.

‘YouTube Kids’ is a separate app that is a filtered version of YouTube, has specific content policies and a much smaller set of channels and videos available.

Facebook reports bumper Q3 sales at $29 bn as scrutiny grows

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Facebook reports bumper Q3 sales at $29 bn as scrutiny grows

Amid intense scrutiny from governments the world over, especially in the US, Facebook has reported a bumper third quarter (Q3) revenue at $29 billion — up 35 per cent (on-year) — and $28.3 billion came from ad revenue.

The social network reported $9.1 billion in net income, up 17 per cent from the same quarter last year.

Facebook’s shares were up 1.9 after its third-quarter earnings.

Approximately 2.8 billion people are using at least one of its apps on a daily basis, and 3.6 billion people used at least one on a monthly basis in September, the company said late on Monday while announcing its Q3 (July-September period) results.

“We made good progress this quarter and our community continues to grow. I’m excited about our roadmap, especially around creators, commerce, and helping to build the metaverse,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook daily active users reached 1.93 billion, up 6 per cent or 110 million compared to last year while months active users grew by 170 million or 6 per cent compared to last year.

Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said during the earnings call that the advertising spend was negatively impacted by performance in measurement headwinds related to Apple’s changes.

“Second, we are seeing some macro headwinds as growth in online commerce has moderated from the elevated levels experienced earlier in the pandemic, and businesses faced supply chain disruptions,” Wehner added.

Facebook currently employs 68,177 people — an increase of 20 per cent year-over-year.

Zoom’s live captioning feature now available to all users

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Zoom’s live captioning feature now available to all users

Video conferencing app Zoom has announced that it is adding live closed captioning service from the paid version of its video conferencing software to all of its free users.

This feature, which provides automatic captioning during a Zoom video call, is also available for paid Zoom Meetings and Zoom Video Webinars accounts.

“It is important to us that everyone can successfully connect, communicate, and participate using Zoom. Without the proper accessibility tools, people with disabilities face tremendous barriers when using video communication solutions. That is why we are focused on building out a platform that is accessible to everyone,” the company said in a statement.

Auto-generated captions are currently available in English, and the firm is planning to expand them to other languages in the future.

In order to enable closed captioning, one just needs to sign into the Zoom web portal, navigate to the Settings option and click the Meeting tab. Under In Meeting (Advanced), one can click on the Closed captioning toggle to enable or disable it.

The company has also announced a few other major changes including the whiteboard feature.

The enhanced Zoom Whiteboard, anticipated later this year, will enable seamless, asynchronous collaboration across a wide range of devices while providing a more engaging and streamlined meeting experience.

Users will be able to interact with a virtual whiteboard just as you would in person.

The company will also extend its new end-to-end encryption offering to Zoom Phone, enabling users to upgrade to end-to-end encryption during one-on-one phone calls that occur via the Zoom client.

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