IOC to ‘work with full engagement’ towards safe Olympics

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IOC to ‘work with full engagement’ towards safe Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will continue to “work with full engagement” towards a safe Olympics, an IOC spokesperson told Xinhua.

Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had said on Monday that he had never put the Olympics first when asked whether the Tokyo Olympics will go forward if the Covid-19 situation worsens, adding that the IOC has the final say on the matter.

“My priority has been to protect the lives and health of the Japanese population. We must first prevent the spread of the virus,” said Suga, whose government is under fierce criticism over its handling of the pandemic.

When asked about Suga’s comments, the IOC spokesperson responded: “The Olympic community from all over the world is thinking of the Japanese people who are affected by the pandemic and who are facing this crisis with solidarity and resilience. Together with our Japanese partners and friends, we continue to work with full engagement to ensure the safe organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The spokesperson also highlighted the vaccination of delegations, which has been in place to ensure safe Games.

“In addition to the already strict science and experience-based Covid-19 countermeasures, the IOC has initiated an already very successful vaccination program for the national delegations coming to Japan. This will ensure that the vast majority of the residents of the Olympic Village will arrive in Japan vaccinated,” the spokesperson said.

“It is happening in solidarity with the Japanese people, and to protect the Japanese people as well as the participants of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” he added.

Thus far, Japan has only managed to vaccinate 240,000 of those aged 65 or older with the second of their two jabs, in stark contrast to the pace of other advanced countries.

The Japanese central government has reportedly begun to speed up the national vaccination drive from Monday. In the following two weeks, the government said it will deliver enough vaccines to the local municipalities to inoculate nine million seniors, with all 36 million of this demographic having the requisite amount of vaccine doses administered by the end of June.

The host city of Tokyo is currently under an extended state of emergency until the end of May, and the Games organisers announced on Monday that IOC president Thomas Bach’s scheduled visit to Japan on May 17 and 18 has been postponed.

A recent opinion poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily showed nearly 60 percent of the people in Japan want the Games canceled.

Tokyo 2020, postponed by one year due to the pandemic, is scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8.

OYO app to show vaccination status of hotel staff

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OYO app to show vaccination status of hotel staff

Hospitality major OYO on Tuesday said that consumers will now be able to know the vaccination state of the staff of its partner hotels.

Noting that vaccination is the most important tool to fight Covid-19 and get back to normalcy, a statement by the company said that it has rolled out ‘VaccinAid’, a vaccine visibility initiative to drive awareness and social reinforcement among small and medium hotels and homes to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

In a tweet, Founder and CEO of OYO, Ritesh Agarwal said: “Vaccination is the most important intervention against COVID-19. We are launching an industry-first feature, VaccinAid, to show self-reported vaccination status of hotel staff across OYOs.”

As per OYO’s internal consumer survey, 87 percent of respondents said they would prefer hotels with vaccinated staff. With vaccination, as a part of the booking journey, users on the OYO app will have visibility on hotels and homes with vaccinated staff, either with the first dose or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Abhinav Sinha, Global COO & Chief Product Officer, OYO said, “This initiative is crucial to aid the recovery of impacted industries across the board, specifically for travel due to pandemic-led restrictions and the worry of stepping out.

“With mass vaccination drives taking place across the country, self-declared vaccine visibility on the app is a simple yet powerful intervention to reinforce trust among consumers. This is also our small way of promoting the larger cause of vaccination among our customer base as well as with our hotel partners and their staff,” Sinha said.

10-day lockdown in Telangana from May 12

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10-day lockdown in Telangana from May 12

The Telangana cabinet on Tuesday decided to impose a state-wide lockdown from May 12 (Wednesday) for 10 days to contain the spread of Covid-19.

There would be relaxation for all the activities from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily, said a brief statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at Pragati Bhavan, his official residence.

The announcement was made within minutes after the cabinet meeting began at 2 p.m. as the Telangana High Court was to hear the matter.

The high court had voiced its unhappiness over the lack of effective measures to check Covid spread. During the hearing earlier in the day, it had pulled up authorities for failing to strictly enforce night curfew.

The court had asked the government if it would wait till Ramzan to be over before announcing new measures to control the Covid situation.

The state government, which imposed night curfew, had so far ruled out imposing partial or total lockdown, saying the measure would be of not much help in containing the surge. It had also claimed that the situation in the state is totally under control and in fact, a downward trend started in new Covid cases.

Last week, the Chief Minister had stated such a move would bring life to a standstill and would lead to the total collapse of the economy.

However, with the pressure mounting on the government from various quarters, the government finally decided to impose the lockdown.

A detailed Government Order on lockdown with guidelines is likely to be issued later in the day.

Flipkart to ramp grocery ops for contactless doorstep delivery

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Flipkart to ramp grocery ops for contactless doorstep delivery

Domestic e-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Tuesday announced strengthening of its grocery supply chain infrastructure to provide its customers safe and seamless access to ordering daily essentials through quick and contactless doorstep delivery.

As part of the plan, Flipkart will add over 8 lakh square feet of space through five new fulfilment centres over the next three months. With this additional infrastructure, the marketplace will bring the ease of online grocery shopping to more users across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Coimbatore, and Hyderabad. This will also help Flipkart cater to over 73,000 grocery orders per day.

In the last month, the e-commerce company ramped up grocery fulfilment centre capacity across Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Patna. It currently serves close to 64,000 orders a day.

“During these challenging times, e-commerce has emerged as a safe means of making purchases. Customer safety is at the centre of the Flipkart group’s efforts and our new grocery supply chain infrastructure will help us serve more customers in the country who can order daily essentials seamlessly and avail of contactless delivery. We are also continuously engaging with brand and marketplace partners to ensure stock availability across the country,” Smrithi Ravichandran, Vice President – Grocery, Flipkart, said in a statement.

Flipkart Grocery offers over 7,000 products across more than 200 categories — ranging from daily household supplies, staples, snacks and beverages, confectionery, personal care, and much more.

Last month, Flipkart also expanded its hyperlocal service Flipkart Quick to six new cities — Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune — to provide consumers access to order daily essentials such as fruits and vegetables and get delivery within 90 minutes.

Katy Perry unfazed by Luke Bryan’s criticism of her leg hair

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Katy Perry unfazed by Luke Bryan’s criticism of her leg hair

Pop star Katy Perry is unfazed by Luke Bryans’s jibe at her leg hair. The mother of one has shared a video on Instagram Story, of country music star Bryan trolling her about leg hair.

In the video, Bryan is seen telling Perry what she looks like on the set of “American Idol”.

“I know you’re a mom and everything, but we gotta do something about this leg hair,” Bryan tells Perry.

Perry, who appears to be the one holding the camera, then showed her unshaven leg.

“No, I don’t get time!” Perry yelled at her fellow “American Idol” judge, though her face remained unseen. Citing her busy schedule as a working mom, she said: “I’d rather cuddle with my daughter!”

Bryan tried to stress his point by saying: “It is literally…,” but Perry cut him off by saying, “Yeah!” She even added a #MOMSKNOW hashtag to emphasize her case.

Amitabh Bachchan contributed Rs 15 cr in the fight against the pandemic.

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Amitabh Bachchan contributed Rs 15 cr in the fight against the pandemic.

Amitabh Bachchan took a blog to share his contributions about the India battle on covid -19(coronavirus). He said he had contributed over rs15 crore and will not step back on this, do more. Amitabh has given encouragement to others to come forward gather and give a hand to win this battle.

Amitabh said  I trying to help Covid-19 medical facilities and orphaned children and poor people who have to suffer from medical issues. Amitabh has given clarity on the 2 crore figure which has been doing the rounds in media.

He said, actually, as of now, my personal contributions and donations about the covid-19 battle are 15crores.

Amitabh ordered 20 ventilators and oxygen concentrators from Poland and other countries.
Adopting two children who have lost their parents due to covid-19, Bachchan Senior said.

India’s limited overs series in SL to be played in Colombo: Report

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India’s limited overs series in SL to be played in Colombo: Report

Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium will host all the matches in India’s upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. Indian cricket board president Sourav Ganguly earlier said that India is set to visit Sri Lanka in July for enjoying three ODIs and as many T20Is.

“We arrange to host the whole series at one venue. As of now, it’s been decided that the Premadasa Stadium will host the fixtures. Obviously, it depends on how things are around that point,” Arjuna de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) Administrative Committee chairman, told Sportstar on Monday.

“With the Covid situation fluid, we cannot allow fans yet, so all the matches are going to be closed-door affairs,” De Silva said.

India is reportedly set to arrive in Sri Lanka for the series on July 5 and, after the team completes its week-long quarantine, will play the ODI series starting on July 13. The T20I series will begin on July 22.

“As of now, we’ll stick with the protocol where the players will need to undergo hard quarantine for the primary three days and within the next four days, they’re going to be allowed to coach. However, if there are any revised guidelines by the health ministry around that point, we’ll need to follow that,” he added.

Disha Patani: Salman Khan dances like no one’s watching him

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Disha Patani: Salman Khan dances like no one’s watching him

Disha Patani is paired with Salman Khan in the upcoming action thriller “Radhe: Your much loved Bhai”, scheduled to drop digitally for a pay-per-view watch on Eid. Disha, who has worked with Salman within the 2019 drama “Bharat” earlier, says it’s always a pleasure seeing the superstar dance.

Their much-hyped dance number “Seeti maar” within the film has been well-received upon release, having garnered over 110 million views since it officially dropped on YouTube on April 26. If Disha has been appreciated for matching steps adeptly with the veteran superstar, she says it had been the guidance she got from Salman also because of the film’s director Prabhu Deva that helped.

“He (Salman) and Prabhu sir guided me. I’m just following instructions within the song. He (Salman) adds that different charm. He features a different sort of dancing. When he dances it’s like nobody is watching him. It’s just fun to ascertain him dance,” she told.

Ask her if she feels a Salman Khan film is already a hit even before releases, and she or he replies: “I don’t believe that an excessive amount of. I’m happy that I’m a part of such an excellent cast and film. I’m happy that folks are giving us good reactions for the trailer and song.”

She adds: “I care a touch bit until some extent and (then I) don’t overthink things. I’m just happy. I desire once I even have shot for the film and given my best, my work is completed. Then I just enjoy the ride.”

She hopes that the audience enjoys the film: “It was an excellent experience I need to work with the most important star in the country. I’m excited, nervous, looking forward to the audience’s reaction. I hope that they enjoy the film,” she says.

Judicial probe of ED by CPI-M not in federal spirit, says BJP

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Judicial probe of ED by CPI-M not in federal spirit, says BJP

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan expressed concern within the manner during which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan went ahead and appointed a Judicial Commission to probe the action taken by the Enforcement Directorate officials to pressurize two prime accused within the gold smuggling case to confess against Vijayan.

The government orders for the new judicial probe came out the opposite day and this probe was announced before the Assembly polls.

It will be headed by Justice (rtd) V.K. Mohan and therefore the terms of reference even have been given.

Muraleedharan wrote during a Facebook post that if this is often the way things are getting to be taken forward by Vijayan, which is an attack on the federal structure, then it isn’t getting to be wealthy.

“If Vijayan is resorting to such things within the wake of the electoral victory, then things won’t be wealthy. It’s using public money that Vijayan has appointed this Commission which too to probe the events that happened under his government. He should think that aside from wasting public money there’ll be no good as there are numerous Commission reports which have not seen the sunshine of the day and hence wasting public money during these bad times doesn’t augur good,” said Muraleedharan.

Incidentally, this new move comes at a time when in April, Vijayan suffered a setback after the Kerala supreme court quashed the 2 FIRs registered against the Enforcement Directorate officials by the Crime Branch unit of Kerala police within the exact same case.

The premise of this judicial probe is predicated on a complaint by two women police officials that they were allegedly being pressurized to testify that the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh was coerced into giving statements implicating Vijayan within the case.

According to the 2 women police officials, who were providing security to Swapna Suresh, when under judicial custody, that that they had heard of the ED pressurizing her to call Vijayan.

Incidentally, when Vijayan went about this by registering a case by the Crime Branch and therefore the then announced judicial probe Union Ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman among others had slammed such move by the Kerala government.

Windies may never return to dominate world cricket, says Ambrose

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Windies may never return to dominate world cricket, says Ambrose

West Indies’ glory days of the past may never come, said legendary former fast bowler Curtly Ambrose. Ambrose said that the West Indies could also be ready to be competitive and climb up the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rankings again but the team may never be ready to dominate world cricket the way they did during his playing days.

“When we were the simplest team within the world, West Indians everywhere the world could walk and boast about how good we were because we were the simplest, so it’s getting to be difficult to ascertain those glory days again. Yes, we will be competitive and climb up the ICC rankings and be a force to be reckoned with again, but those glory days, i do not think we’ll see them again,” said Ambrose on the Talk-Sports sleep in Antigua.

Ambrose said that while he doesn’t suggest any disrespect to the present generation, most younger players don’t quite know what cricket means to Caribbean people living within the islands and abroad.

“Most of the kids we’ve now probably don’t quite understand what cricket means to West Indians within the West Indies and abroad because cricket is that the only sport that basically unites Caribbean people,” he said.

“This is not any disrespect to the players we’ve now because we have a few of men who have some quality in them and may become great, but what we’ve to know is that I do not think we’ll ever see those great, exceptional glory days again,” he said.

Ambrose took 405 Test wickets in 98 matches and 225 ODI wickets in 176 matches between 1988 and 2000. he’s West Indies’ second highest wicket-taker of all time in both formats, behind his famous former bowling partner Courtney Walsh.

“It’s getting to be difficult to seek out another Viv Richards or a (Desmond) Haynes and (Gordon) Greenidge, a Brian Lara, Richie Richardson, you know, a Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, and therefore the list goes on and on, Clive Lloyd. It’s getting to be extremely difficult to seek out those quality players again,” said Ambrose.

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