Actress Drew Barrymore says she doesn't want her daughters to act until they are older. The 45-year-old actress began her career when she was just 11 months and worked throughout her childhood.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan wishes his fans on the prosperous occasion of Eid al-Adha 2020. Like every year, the superstar treated his fans with his wishes and wrote, "Eid Mubarak" but his post had a COVID19 twist. Since the Eid celebrations are restricted this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the actor made sure he inspires fans to follow all the guidelines to contain the spread of the deadly infection. Salman shared a picture of himself in which he is seen masking his face which is the most important safety precaution.
Taapsee Pannu, who is currently staying at home like many other celebrities as the country is under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, is one of the most versatile and fearless actresses of B-town. Her film choices have earned Taapsee a fan following that looks up to her. On the special occasion of her birthday, here are five must-watch films of Tapsee Pannu that showcased her talent and let the audience wanting for more.
Palak Tiwari, daughter of TV star Shweta Tiwari, is all set for a Bollywood debut in a horror-thriller film franchise based on true events in Gurugram. The debutante says she feels like she has been ready to take this step for a while now. Titled "Rosie: The Saffron Chapter", Palak's debut project is directed by Vishal Mishra.
Black pride is the center of the film, with African artists strongly represented, as Beyonce shares her stage with Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, Mr Eazi, Busiswa, Salatiel, Yemi Alade, Moonchild Sanelly and more.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan never fails to miss wishing his fans on special occasions. Even though the actor is under the medical care at Nanavati Hospital after testing positive for COVID19 on July 11, he has been sharing his thoughts with his fans. On Saturday, Big B wished his fans on the occasion of Eid al-Adha 2020 and worte, "Eid al Adha ..Mubarak." He also shared some word of wisdom and tweeted, "जीभ पर लगी चोट जल्दी ठीक हो जाती है लेकिन जीभ से लगी चोट कभी ठीक नहीं होती" Roughly translated as, "Injury on the tongue heals quickly but the injury that our tongue gives to another person (our words) never heals."
Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti has been very active on social media, keeping the fans alive in the hearts of the fans through various pictures and videos. After asking fans to stay united in the process of seeking justice for the late actor, she wrote an open letter to PM Narendra Modi urging him to look into the case. She requested him to make sure that 'no evidences are tampered with.'
Actress Janhvi Kapoor's much-awaited film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl will be releasing on Netflix this Independence Day. While the fans have already seen the first look of the actress as the former IAF pilot Gunjan Saxena, the makers are all set to drop the trailer of the film today. Taking to social media, Janhvi on Friday announced, "It's been the most special experience and I couldn't possibly be more honored and excited to bring to you the trailer of #GunjanSaxena: The Kargil Girl tomorrow at 10 am"
Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah feels OTT platforms might just replace the theatre viewing experience in the future. "I have a fear that this will happen. When movies started being shown on Doordarshan in a regular way, I thought that the day is not very far when movies are going to premiere on television. One of Mahesh Bhatt's films 'Janam' did premiere on television. It was the first one to do so, and since then more films have premiered. It is foolish to imagine that the movie palaces will last forever. One has to live with the possibility that they will one day no longer be there," Shah told IANS.
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case has intensified after money laundering and actor's plans to take a break from acting to do organic farming came into the limelight. With new revelations, twists and turns, the case has become murkier and the demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has gained more strength. Not just fans, but many leaders from the political parties have also demanded a CBI probe in the case. 
Besides Ramayan and Shri Krishna, Dangal's Mahima Shanidev Ki is at the number three spot among the most watched shows on TV.
State power utility Mahadiscom, facing flak for sending 'inflated' bills for June, has now received a complaint from noted singer Asha Bhosle after she got an electricity bill of over Rs 2 lakh for her bungalow in hill station Lonavala. However, the utility has stated that the bill generated was as per the "actual meter reading" and it has already communicated the same to the legendary singer.Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was speculated that the launch of Apple's 2020 iPhone lineup might get delayed. However, in the earnings call of the third fiscal quarter of 2020, Apple CFO Luca Maestri confirmed that the iPhone 12 series supply will be "available a few weeks later", according to report by MacRumours.
While the Apple official hinted at a delay in availability according to a The Verge report, Qualcomm has hinted at a delay in the release of the new iPhone series as well, in the Q3 earnings report. The report states that Qualcomm mentioned a "partial impact from the delay of a global 5G flagship phone launch” for its fourth-quarter projections.
Traditionally, the iPhone event happens in the early weeks of September and goes on sale later the same month.
In addition to this, in line with the Qualcomm report on delayed released, tipster Jon Posser has also recently tweeted that the iPhone 12 lineup and new iPads will be launched in October.
iPhone 12
New iPadsOctober
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) July 29, 2020
Reportedly, the new iPhone 12 will come with a 20W power adapter. Prosser also posted a few pictures of the charger to drive his point home. iPhone 12 will come in four models, a new 5.4-inch screen size, two 6.1-inch models and a high-end 6.7-inch ‘Max’.
However, it is not clear if the 20W adapter will exclusively be available for iPhone 12 Pro or whether the company will offer fast charging power chargers for the entire iPhone 12 lineup this year.
New iPhone 12 will Be Equipped with 20W Power Adapter pic.twitter.com/FBJxlJXyYW
— Mr·white (@laobaiTD) June 24, 2020
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 12 lineup later this year. The renders of new designs of the iPhone 12 suggest that it has been borrowed heavily from the popular iPhone 4 model. However, it is expected to have more pronounced edges and angles, as well as a smaller notch that does not intrude upon the screen.
The upcoming phone is likely to feature an all-new Super Retina XDR display and will be powered by the Apple A14 Bionic chip. It will come with 120Hz ProMotion technology and 10-bit colour depth.
The 5.4-inch standard iPhone may package a full-size display into a smaller form, while Pro models are expected to sport either a 6.1-inch screen or a 6.7-inch screen.
iPhone 12 Pro will have a quad-camera setup at the rear. The device will be equipped with 5G support.
As announced by Oppo earlier this month, the company will be launching the Reno 4 Pro in India today.
In June, Oppo launched the Reno 4 and Reno 4 Pro in China. In India, currently only the higher model – Reno 4 Pro – is expected to be revealed.
The Oppo Reno 4 Pro launch event will kick off at 12.30 pm today. Oppo will be livestreaming the event on its official YouTube page. The webcast link is embedded below.
At the time of teasing the launch, Oppo also revealed that the Reno 4 Pro will feature a "3D Borderless Sense Screen and 90Hz Refresh Rate". As per the image teased, Oppo Reno 4 Pro will feature a punch-hole camera that sits on the top left corner of the display.
Block your calendars because the #Reno4Pro is here! Launching on 31st July with a 3D Borderless Sense Screen & 90Hz Refresh Rate! Get ready to #SenseTheInfinite #TrueBorderlessExperience
Know more: https://t.co/AeGcmkgCq0 pic.twitter.com/g06rkN5Fvu— OPPO India (@oppomobileindia) July 20, 2020
As per the China variant, the Oppo Reno4 Pro will sport a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It will house an in-display fingerprint sensor and a punch-hole camera. It will be powered by Snapdragon 765G SoC and will offer up to 12 GB RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage.
In terms of camera, Oppo Reno4 Pro will come with a triple rear camera setup at the back that houses a 48 MP primary sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 13 MP telephoto lens. For selfies, it might come with a 32 MP front camera.
Oppo Reno4 Pro will be equipped with a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging.
He has been in the industry for almost two decades but gained fame only in 2018. Actor Gajraj Rao has no complaints that recognition came his way a little late in life. Rao made his Bollywood debut in 1994 with Shekhar Kapur's "Bandit Queen" and was later seen in films like "Dil Se...", "Black Friday", "Talvar" and "Rangoon". But 2018 changed the game for him after he featured in "Badhaai Ho". "I have seen a lot of difficulties, given the background I come from. I had a no-frill childhood. I didn't have a lot of privileges. I have had a very basic life. My parents worked really hard to bring up their children. I come from that background," Gajraj told IANS.
Actor Sidharth Shukla is back with another music video with actress Neha Sharma titled Dil Ko Karaar Aaya. The romantic number was already making the headlines before it dropped on YouTube today, courtesy Sidharth's die-hard fans. Netizens were eagerly waiting for the song which is sung by Neha Kakkar and Yasser Desai. It shows the imaginary world of the actor where he is spending special moments with Neha Sharma. Sharing the song with his fans, Sidharth Shukla wrote, "Hope you guys like it.. let me know..."11:08 (IST)
Welcome!
Oppo is launch the Reno 4 Pro smartphone in India at 12 pm. Follow this space for the smallest of updates from the launch event.
Oppo is scheduled to host a virtual launch event in India today to unveil the Reno 4 Pro in the Indian market. The launch event will kick off at 12 pm IST, and will be livestreamed on Oppo's official Youtube channel.
Earlier this month, when Oppo teased the launch of the Reno 4 Pro in India, it also revealed that the smartphone will feature "3D Borderless Sense Screen and 90Hz Refresh Rate". As per the image teased, Oppo Reno 4 Pro will feature a punch-hole camera that sits on the top left corner of the display.
In June, Oppo launched the Reno 4 and Reno 4 Pro in China. In India, currently only the higher model – Reno 4 Pro – is expected to be revealed.
As per the China variant, the Oppo Reno4 Pro will sport a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It will house an in-display fingerprint sensor and a punch-hole camera. It will be powered by Snapdragon 765G SoC and will offer up to 12 GB RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage.
In terms of camera, Oppo Reno4 Pro will come with a triple rear camera setup at the back that houses a 48 MP primary sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 13 MP telephoto lens. For selfies, it might come with a 32 MP front camera.
Oppo Reno4 Pro will be equipped with a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging.
Scientists at Imperial College London say they are immunizing hundreds of people with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an early trial after seeing no worrying safety problems in a small number vaccinated so far.
Dr. Robin Shattock, a professor at the college, told The Associated Press that he and colleagues had just finished a very slow and arduous process of testing the vaccine at a low dose in the initial participants and would now expand the trial to about 300 people, including some over age 75.
“It’s well tolerated. There aren’t any side effects,” he said, adding it was still very early in the study. Shattock, who is leading the vaccine research at Imperial, said he hopes to have enough safety data to start inoculating several thousand people in October.
Since COVID-19 infections have dropped dramatically in Britain, making it difficult to determine whether the vaccine works, Shattock said he and his colleagues are also looking to test their vaccine elsewhere.
“We’re looking very carefully at the pandemic, at the numbers where the hot spots are and talking to collaborators that have the facilities to do these kinds of studies,” he said.
The Imperial vaccine uses synthetic strands of genetic code based on the virus. Once injected into a muscle, the body’s own cells are instructed to make copies of a spiky protein on the coronavirus. That should in turn trigger an immune response so the body can fight off any future COVID-19 infection.
Earlier this week, the world’s biggest coronavirus vaccine study started in the United States, with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers getting immunized with shots created by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.
Several other vaccines made by China and by Britain’s Oxford University, based on different vaccine technologies, began smaller final-stage tests in Brazil and other hard-hit countries earlier this month.
The World Health Organization has said multiple vaccine approaches are necessary for COVID-19, noting that the usual success rate for vaccine development is about 10%.
Shattock said there were numerous coronavirus vaccines now in clinical trials, and he predicted that at least some of them would prove to be effective.
“We have 20 vaccines in clinical trials, (so) we can be pretty confident that at least two of those will work,” he said. “It really depends on how strong the immune response needs to be to provide protection.”
Shattock said he was optimistic the Imperial vaccine would work, but must await the scientific data from the trial.
“I’m just going to hold my breath and wait to see,” he said.
The European Space Agency’s integral high-energy space observatory along with a global collaboration of telescopes managed to detect a unique mix of radiation being emitted from a dead star in our Milky Way galaxy. According to study authors, the discovery may solve a long-standing cosmic mystery.
A statement by ESA mentions that the finding involves two kinds of cosmic phenomena, magnetars and fast radio bursts.
The results of the study were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Magnetars have some of the most intense magnetic fields in the universe and as they become active, they can produce short bursts of high-energy radiation which is billion times brighter than the Sun.
Radio bursts, which were first discovered in 2007, are somewhat a mystery. They pulse brightly in radio waves for just a few milliseconds before fading away and are rarely seen again.
According to scientists, the true nature of fast radio bursts is unknown. No such phenomenon has been observed until now within the Milky Way with a known origin, or emitting any radiation which is beyond the domain of radio wave.
As per the report, in April a magnetar discovered six years ago in the constellation of Vulpecula, named SGR 1935+2154, became active after a substantial burst of X-rays. Astronomers soon afterwards discovered that the magnetar was radiating both X-rays and radio waves.
Sandro Mereghetti of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF–IASF) in Milan, lead author of the study, said that they detected the magnetar’s burst of high-energy, or ‘hard’, X-rays using Integral space observatory on 28 April.
Mereghetti said that the ‘Burst Alert System’ on Integral automatically alerted observatories worldwide about the discovery in just seconds.
Astronomers on Earth spotted an extremely bright burst of short radio waves from the direction of SGR 1935+2154 using the CHIME radio telescope in Canada which was independently confirmed by the Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission 2 (STARE2) in the US a few hours later.
Mereghetti revealed that they have never seen a burst of radio waves, resembling a fast radio burst, from a magnetar before.
Co-author of the study Volodymyr Savchenko from the Integral Science Data Centre at the University of Geneva revealed that an IBIS imager on Integral allowed them to confirm that the origin of the burst was associated with the magnetar.
“This is the first ever observational connection between magnetars and fast radio bursts. It is a major discovery and helps to bring the origin of these mysterious phenomena into focus,” said Mereghetti.
Eid-ul-Adha or Bakri-Id is a very important festival in India. On this day, people pray to the almighty and celebrate the occasion with their near and dear ones.
Known as the festival of sacrifice, Eid-ul-Adha is also a public holiday when schools, colleges and several businesses stay shut. This year, the festival will be celebrated on 1 August (Saturday).
This year with the novel coronavirus forcing us to maintain social distancing and not partake in any gathering, it is pertinent that we share our greetings online. One of the best and most interactive ways to do that is using WhatsApp stickers. There are several specialised stickers available for Bakri-Id, from which one can choose from. You can also curate your own personalised Eid-ul-Adha 2020 stickers.
Users just need to open the WhatsApp chat window and tap on the emoji icon situated at the bottom left on your screen. As the emoji section opens up, you will find a '+' sign on the top panel, click on it and you will be taken to the world of stickers. You can choose any sticker from the available packs. Simply clicking on a certain sticker will send it to the chat.
In order to download Eid-ul-Adha stickers, open WhatsApp and tap on the sticker icon. Now click on the plus icon to search for particular packs. Scroll through the several packs for the correct Eid-ul-Adha stickers pack and add them. If the stickers are not to your liking, you can go to the bottom of the screen and click on 'Get more stickers'. According to a blog by WhatsApp, this will take you to the app store from where you can install third-party apps that have WhatsApp compatible stickers.
WhatsApp introduced stickers in 2018 for all platforms: iOS, Android and web. Stickers are preferred on festivals and special occasions because they are far easier to send than typing a text message.
"Games have come a long way since 2002 [when the original Mafia game released]. Mechanics that felt serviceable back then often feel awkward and clunky now," says Haden Blackman, president and chief creative officer of video game developer Hangar 13, "So when we started work on Mafia: Definitive Edition, we knew that while we needed to work hard to preserve the tone and story of the original, we also needed to substantially overhaul the gameplay."
Hangar 13 — a division of 2K Games, whose debut game was 2016's Mafia III — has had a busy 2020 already with the release of the 'definitive editions' of Mafia II and III. Now, the Novato, California-based developer is gearing up for the launch of the ground-up remake of the original Mafia that hit stores in 2002. A week after the upcoming title's gameplay reveal and with the 25 September release date right around the corner, Tech2 sought out writer and video game designer Blackman via email for his thoughts.
First off, why should gamers — both those who have played the original and those who have not — be psyched about Mafia: Definitive Edition?
"To be honest, I think the answer is the same for both types of players," explains Blackman, "The central narrative and all the supporting characters were the heart of the original experience, and they're still the element we feel will be most attractive to fans today. I think new fans will be extremely surprised by just how well the story of [protagonist] Tommy Angelo holds up, while returning fans will be happy with how cinematic and immersive the presentation has become."
While Mafia II: Definitive Edition (the original released in 2010) and Mafia III: Definitive Edition (the original released in 2016) were remasters in a more conventional sense — a lick of paint here, a bit of polish there and a stack of DLC, the much-awaited Mafia: Definitive Edition is a very different beast altogether. "We've re-recorded the orchestral score, rebuilt the [fictional] city of Lost Heaven from scratch, invested heavily in facial motion capture and likeness capture, and done a lot of work to both capture the tone of the original, all in support of telling Tommy's story in the most compelling way possible," says the Hangar 13 chief, adding that in order to bring the 2002 game kicking and screaming into 2020, "Both the driving and shooting mechanics were modelled on the work we did in [the original version of] Mafia III."
This time around, gameplay has been designed around Tommy and his own skill sets as opposed to the other way around — which sadly tends to be the way in this sort of game; for instance, the other long-running action-adventure-crime franchise that isn't Saints Row: the Grand Theft Auto. GTA is outstanding, no doubt about it, however, it has its failings. Apart from there being little to differentiate between gameplay styles across various editions, a glaring case in point is its fifth instalment where beyond one unique special ability each and a few cosmetic differences, the gameplay for all three protagonists feels extremely similar.
Put simply: "We wanted the gameplay to reflect who Tommy is as a character."
Blackman adds, "Mafia III's protagonist Lincoln Clay is a trained soldier. Tommy Angelo, on the other hand, is a taxi driver when we first meet him. Therefore, we wanted combat to feel a little more deadly, as if Tommy is a little less prepared for the violence he encounters. Players will need to use cover thoughtfully and make every shot count if they want to succeed."
Aficionados of the 2002 iteration (developed by Illusion Softworks — now 2K Czech) have identified the story as one of the most compelling aspects of the original experience, to the extent that the two sequels are often compared very unfavourably to Mafia on this basis. This isn't lost on the Hangar 13 chief, who states that despite all the alterations elsewhere, "The central narrative remains unchanged."
"Tommy’s journey from taxi driver to hardened criminal still has all the major story beats that made the original experience so gripping," he continues, "That said, we were able to smooth out the transitions between certain scenes to create a more natural flow to the story and a greater sense of overall cohesion. We also added new dialogue and even new scenes for certain supporting characters. For example, Tommy's love interest Sarah serves as a major motivating factor for him throughout the story, so we wanted to make sure she felt like a real, three-dimensional character."
All of which is well and good, but surely there must have been some constraints or limitations the team faced when trying to rebuild an 18-year-old game. And in this case, the limitations were imposed by the city of Lost Heaven. "[It was], believe it or not, actually a positive constraint. As I mentioned, we rebuilt the entire city from the ground up, but we used the original Lost Heaven as our blueprint. Starting with such a solid foundation allowed us to focus on editing and perfecting the city rather than building something entirely from scratch. This is what allowed us to, for example, widen the streets to make driving around the city a bit more fun and make existing landmarks more visible and interesting," Blackman points out.
But Mafia veterans need not worry. "Returning fans will absolutely still recognise the city, it's just going to feel more detailed and more alive than before," he says.
A 'detailed' and 'alive' world will be music to the ears of gamers who have grown tired of open world games that provide acres and acres of nothingness to explore, just so they can claim to have the biggest world or the longest playtime. But what's Blackman's view of the optimal formula for open world games: 'Less is more' or 'the bigger, the better'? "I think it ultimately depends on the type of experience the developers are trying to create. Clearly there's room for all types of games, so it’s just a matter of picking an approach that best serves your creative goals," he answers most diplomatically, before explaining, "For Mafia, our primary goal is to tell a rich, compelling story that's paced in a deliberate way. So we focus on consistently pulling players along a path and keeping them invested and engaged in Tommy's story through both gameplay and cutscenes."
Reading between the lines, this gives the impression of a tight and focussed experience devoid of the trappings (endless things to collect, random expanses of nothingness and meaningless NPC interactions) of modern gaming. But whether it actually turns out this way remains to be seen. Fortunately, there isn't long to go till the Mafia: Definitive Edition is out on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One. What about the next-generation consoles, I hear you ask. "We don't have anything to announce [about PS5 and Xbox Series X] at this time, but of course we want as many fans as possible to be able to play our games," offers Blackman only slightly cryptically.
As COVID vaccine candidates across the world entered different stages of human trials, top global experts on Thursday strongly emphasised on the need to execute these tests with sufficient rigour to meet the standards of regulatory agencies throughout the world.
Participating in the 'International Symposium on the Novel Ideas in Science and Ethics of Vaccines Against COVID-19 Pandemic', organised by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), experts also discussed which groups should be prioritised for administering the vaccine whenever it is developed.
Anthony S Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA, said a few days ago, phase 3 human trials of mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate commenced. It is being co-developed by the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
According to the National Institutes of Health, the trial, which will be conducted at US clinical research sites, is expected to enrol approximately 30,000 adult volunteers.
"We have made it clear that all studies will be executed at the regulatory standard with all the required ethical review with the engagement of the community right from the beginning and with strong data and monitoring boards.
"We hope others who are supporting COVID-19 vaccine trials will also assure that their trials are executed with sufficient rigour to meet the standards of regulatory agencies throughout the world," Fauci said.
He added that India and the US have partnered for more than 30 years now for the Indo-US vaccine plan called VAP.
Three weeks ago, an expert advisory committee reviewed COVID vaccine research and development in India.
"Eleven vaccines were reviewed by a panel of experts who provided recommendations for how these candidates can be further developed and assessed and we look forward to continuing this involvement and supporting these vaccines R&D efforts," he said.
In the symposium, Adrian Hill, director Jenner Institute and professor of the Human Genetics at the Oxford University, whose vaccine candidate has already entered phase 3 human trials talked about the stringent norms practised during the phase 3 trials.
"So, we were able to get approval to go ahead quickly because of that safety database on the vaccine platform and by now we have vaccinated around 10,000 people in the UK for phase 3 trial," he said.
"It will soon be 4,000 people in Brazil, in the next couple of weeks in South Africa and it will start in the United States in a few weeks as well...around 30,000 people."
He said it can be over 50,000 people by the time they finish.
"We don't know when we get the result...it might be next month or it might take six months," he said.
The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, has been chosen by Oxford and its partner AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine once it is ready. The SII has also applied for conducting phase 3 trials in the country.
Niti Aayog member V K Paul, who is also a member of COVID-19 national task force, stressed that India is committed in a holistic way and pathways have been opened so that trail work is done expeditiously, effectively and by following the best principles of science and ethics.
"India's journey for a safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccine shall be driven by the best scientific and ethical principles and for that our regulatory and scientific mechanisms are already in place, Paul said.
Currently, two vaccine candidates Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila started phase 1 and 2 human trials.
Earlier this month, aiming to launch an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by August 15, the ICMR had written to select medical institutions and hospitals to fast-track clinical trial approvals for the vaccine candidate COVAXIN being developed in collaboration with Bharat Biotech.
The move had come under intense criticism from the scientific community.
Experts had also cautioned against rushing the process for developing a COVID-19 vaccine and stressed that it is not acting in accordance with the globally accepted norms to fast-track vaccine development for diseases of pandemic potential.
During the symposium, there were also deliberations on who will get the vaccine first within any country and globally.
Marc Lipsitch, professor of Epidemiology and Director, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, USA said the allocation should be per capita than per healthcare worker.
"It also depends on how much vaccine you have. If you have a very small amount. there have also been discussions in international community on if vaccine supply should be proportional to the healthcare workers a country has. I have argued that allocation should be per capita than per healthcare worker," Lipstich said.
On his part, Paul said India's journey to scale up and access to vaccines by all will be in full compliance with high principles of equity and human rights.
"We cannot accept a situation where the rich have the vaccine and not the poor. This is simply unacceptable. We will ensure that pathways are created. We are also working actively to prioritise the groups that should receive the vaccine before the other group and those decisions are in the active stage of being deliberated upon," Paul added.
Policymakers are actively holding deliberations to identify groups of people who will first receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it is developed, officials said.
Speaking at an international symposium on Novel Ideas in Science and Ethics of Vaccines against COVID-19 pandemic, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Rajesh Bhushan said prioritising who should get the vaccine first is a topic being discussed both within and outside the government.
"There is an emerging consensus that frontline workers are the people who have the best claim over who should get the vaccine first. But while that question engages us and there is no finality on the question, the issue of who will be on the priority list and who comes after frontline healthcare workers and that is if they come first then who are the people that would follow them," he said.
He said deliberations are on whether it will be the elderly or it will be people with co-morbidities or whether it will be people placed in socio-economic disadvantage whose immunity has been weakened because of prolonged exposure to poverty and malnutrition.
"So these are the questions presently engaging the policymakers within Government of India," he said.
NITI Aayog member V K Paul who is also part of the COVID-19 national taskforce said policymakers are actively deliberating to prioritise the groups of people who will first receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it is developed.
"India's journey for a safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccine shall be driven by the best scientific and ethical principles and for that our regulatory and scientific mechanisms are already in place," he said at the symposium.
He said India's journey to scale up and access to vaccines by all will be in full compliance with the high principles of equity and human rights.
"We cannot accept a situation where the rich have the vaccine and not the poor. This is simply unacceptable. We will ensure that pathways are created. We are also working actively to prioritise the groups that should receive the vaccine before the other group and those decisions are in the active stage of being deliberated upon," he added.
Paul said India visualises its capabilities against COVID-19, including the vaccines, not just for the country and its citizens but for the world and humanity.
"The Indian government values and welcomes international partnerships, technical exchange, knowledge sharing and collective discourse in this journey," Paul said.
Indian Medical Research Institute (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava said once a safe and effective vaccine is developed there will be four major challenges.
"One is prioritisation and fair distribution to vulnerable groups, second is logistics of vaccine rollout, including cold chain, and third is stockpiling and fourth is training people who will administer this vaccine," he said.
"In context of these four points, India will have to play a significant role and I can assure you that it is a part India will play with great care and responsibility. It will require immense collaboration across borders keeping in mind the noblest principles of science and humanity," he added.
Underlining that the need for a vaccine is both great and urgent, Bhargava said a dilemma is that the pandemic is going at a devastating pace and to develop a vaccine one needs time and it is not only for science part of it, but ethics and the regulatory and social considerations that need to be kept in mind.
"We need to crystallize a mix and match of these ideas which may run in parallel with the right balance of the speed and safety. A balance between speed and safety has to be maintained once we crystallize novel ideas," he said.
Honor will launch three new products in India today – Honor 9A, Honor 9S, and Honor MagicBook 15. The two smartphones have already debuted globally, and it is expected that India variants will come with the same specifications.
Honor 9A will come with a triple rear camera setup whereas Honor 9S will sport a single camera at the back. Both the smartphones will come with AppGallery instead of Google Play Store.
The launch event will kick off at 2 pm today. You can visit the company's YouTube page to watch the livestream. You can also click on the webcast link embedded below.
Less than 24 hours for the HONOR Unlock launch!! We can't keep calm
Give us a shout-out if you're excited too!! pic.twitter.com/arDFyVh5nl— Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) July 30, 2020
Going by the variant launched in Russia, the Honor 9A phone is powered by a huge 5,000 mAh battery along with 3 GB RAM and 64 GB expandable storage. The device has a display screen of 6.3-inch (16 cm) with 1600 x 720 pixel resolution for crystal clear visual experience. It comes with a fingerprint reader and has an 8 MP front camera for selfies. The device has a 13 MP main sensor, a 5 MP secondary camera and a 2 MP sensor at the back. The Honor 9A runs on Android 10 with Magic UI 3.1.1.
One of its most attractive features is its NFC support. It also comes with Huawei Histen 6.0 and Smart PA audio system.
As per the Flipkart teaser, Honor 9S will offer 2 GB RAM and an expandable memory of 32 GB. It is likely to on Android 10 and supports Magic UI 3.1. The smartphone is expected to sport a 5.45-inch (13.84 cm) screen that has a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels.
In terms of camera specs, Honor 9S might come with a single 8 MP rear camera with autofocus feature. It is likely to sport a 5 MP selfie camera. An LED flash has also found its place at the back.
As per the global variant, MagicBook 15 runs on an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U CPU that uses AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics. Further, the laptop has PCIe SSD storage with up to 16 GB DDR4 RAM.
The MagicBook 15 features a 15.6-inch 'Full View' display and offers an 87 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Honor says that the laptop has an 11 percent increase in the trackpad size and the thickness of the laptops has been reduced by 62 cm. Around the display, the laptop has 4.8mm thin bezels and the silver variant comes with a cool blue chamfer along the edges of the lid.
The MagicBook 15 also comes with 56 W battery and Type-C charging. The power button on the laptop doubles as a biometric authenticator.
Only one specific kind of mitochondrial DNA usually exists in a cell, based on where in the body the cells are and what the cell does. Now, researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigadores Cardiovasculares (CNIC) know why. The study has identified the mechanism of 'competition' between different kinds of mitochondrial genomes in the same cell, at the end of which only one kind remains.
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles, commonly called "powerhouses of the cells" since it generates most of the chemical energy needed to power the biochemical reactions in cells. These have their own chromosomes, which are mostly inherited from the mother's DNA.
In the study, scientists found that cells use a process of selection of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), based on how it affects metabolism in the cell. mtDNA can be influenced, found scientists, by "differences in gene function, the action of drugs, or dietary changes".
"The study establishes that the selection of an mtDNA variant depends on the cell type and not the tissue, as was thought previously," Dr Ana Victoria Lechuga-Vieco, first author on the study, said in a news release. She further explained that the preference of a cell for a specific mtDNA variant depends on the cell's metabolic programming, nuclear genes that have subtle effects on metabolism, and in-cell processes that only allow high-quality mitochondrial DNA. The recent study shows that this mechanism was a process of "functional selection".
The study compiled data and findings collected over 5 years from tests conducted in many labs across Europe. The analyses shows that cells can analyze which mtDNA genome would be best suited for the metabolic needs of a specific cell type. This process of the cell selecting mtDNA can vary from one cell type to another.
The findings of the study was published in the journal Science Advances on 29 July 2020.
Actor Bobby Deol is all set to enter the digital world in August with his upcoming film, "Class of 83". "Class of ‘83" is backed by superstar Shah Rukh Khan's banner Red Chillies Entertainment. On Friday, it was announced that the film will release on Netflix next month. The film is directed by Atul Sabharwal. That apart, "Masaba Masaba" is also slated to release in August.
It's Preeti aka Kiara Advani's birthday today. The actress has proved her mettle in acting with not just her Bollywood career but also some of her OTT releases. Her career in the industry began with Fugly and ever since there has been no looking back. With a lot of hit movies in her kitty like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Good Newwz, etc. But the one film that made her a household name was Kabir Singh in which she was seen playing the role of Preeti opposite Kabir, which was played by actor Shahid Kapoor. And therefore how can he stay behind in wishing her on her special day. Taking to Instagram, Shahid shared a perfect birthday wish for Kiara inspired by dialogue from their hit film that read: Kabhi Tujhe Koi Touch Na Kare.Realme launched the new Realme 6i smartphone in India last week. Today, 31 July, the smartphone will be available for purchase for the first time.
The highlight of the smartphone includes its 4,300 mAh battery that supports 30 W flash charge, a MediaTek Helio G90T chipset and a 6.5-inch 90 Hz display.
Realme 6i is part of the Realme 6 series, which already includes Realme 6 (Review) and Realme 6 Pro (Review).
Realme 6i will be available for purchase on 31 July at 12 pm on Flipkart and Realme.com.
The smartphone comes in two variants: A 4 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage variant, which priced at Rs 12,999, and a 6 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage variant that will cost you Rs 14,999.
The smartphone comes in Lunar White and Eclipse Black colour variants.
(Also read: Realme 6i and all upcoming Realme phones will not feature any of the 59 Chinese apps banned in India)
Realme 6i is powered by Mediatek Helio G90T chipset, it features a 6.5-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 90 Hz refresh rate. The smartphone offers up to 6 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage.
It comes with Android 10-based Realme UI out-of-the-box.
Realme 6i is fuelled by a 4,300 mAh battery with 30W Flash Charge support.
In terms of camera, Realme 6i sports a quad-camera setup on the back, with a 48 MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8 MP ultra-wide lens, and two 2 MP depth and macro sensors. For selfies, the Realme 6i features a 16 MP selfie camera.
Bengali star Jisshu Sengupta avers that, irrespective of whether one is a star kid or not, survival in the film industry depends only on talent and luck. Jisshu, who features opposite Vidya Balan in the new OTT release, "Shakuntala Devi", rose from a humble background to become a big success story in contemporary Bengali cinema.As announced by Oppo earlier this month, the company will be launching the Reno 4 Pro in India today.
In June, Oppo launched the Reno 4 and Reno 4 Pro in China. In India, currently only the higher model – Reno 4 Pro – is expected to be revealed.
The Oppo Reno 4 Pro launch event will kick off at 12 pm today. Oppo will be livestreaming the event on its official YouTube page. The webcast link is embedded below.
At the time of teasing the launch, Oppo also revealed that the Reno 4 Pro will feature a "3D Borderless Sense Screen and 90Hz Refresh Rate". As per the image teased, Oppo Reno 4 Pro will feature a punch-hole camera that sits on the top left corner of the display.
Block your calendars because the #Reno4Pro is here! Launching on 31st July with a 3D Borderless Sense Screen & 90Hz Refresh Rate! Get ready to #SenseTheInfinite #TrueBorderlessExperience
Know more: https://t.co/AeGcmkgCq0 pic.twitter.com/g06rkN5Fvu— OPPO India (@oppomobileindia) July 20, 2020
As per the China variant, the Oppo Reno4 Pro will sport a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It will house an in-display fingerprint sensor and a punch-hole camera. It will be powered by Snapdragon 765G SoC and will offer up to 12 GB RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage.
In terms of camera, Oppo Reno4 Pro will come with a triple rear camera setup at the back that houses a 48 MP primary sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 13 MP telephoto lens. For selfies, it might come with a 32 MP front camera.
Oppo Reno4 Pro will be equipped with a 4,000 mAh battery that supports 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging.
Sushant Singh Rajput Death Investigation: UPDATES After actor Sushant Singh Rajput's family filed an FIR against his then-current girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, many new revelations have been made in his death investigation. While Rhea has denied all the allegations and has claimed that she is being implicated in the case, she moved to the apex court to get the case transfered to Mumbai. On the other hand, Sushant's ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande has finally broken her silence on his death and claimed that Sushant was a 'happy go lucky guy' and he cannot take his own life. Ankita claims that the duo has seen more hardships than this and Sushant cannot be depressed and die by suicide. 
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is currently under medical care at Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai along with son Abhishek after they tested positive for COVID19. Big B keeps his fans updated about his health and keeps sharing his golden words through a series of tweets and Instagram posts. On Thursday, the actor shared more words of wisdom on relationships and how important it is to make relationships that can last. Big B tweeted, "रिश्ते बनाना उतना ही सरल है, जितना मिट्टी पर मिट्टी से मिट्टी लिखना । और निभाना उतना ही कठिन जितना पानी पर पानी से पानी लिखना ॥" Roughly translated as-- " Making relationships is as easy as writing soil on soil and maintaining them is as difficult as writing water on water."
Actress Vidya Balan's much-awaited film Shakuntala Devi has finally released on Amazon Prime and fans are in love with it. The film is a biopic on Math genius Shakuntala Devi who refused to fit into the stereotypes. The film is as much as a biopic as it is a drama about a mother-daughter relationship. Sanya Malhotra plays the role of her daughter in the film, Anupama Banerjee. The film shows how a talented woman learns to live on her own, and on her own terms in a world and in an era where men struggle to fathom her. She is a gifted soul and wants to celebrate it every second of the day.
Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande finally broke her silence on the sudden demise of the actor on June 14. The actor died by suicide that it was said that he was battling depression for the past few months. However, Ankita refused to believe that the actor took his own life and claimed that he was not depressed. In an interview with Republic TV, the Pavitra Rishta actress reacted to the stories around Sushant's death and stressed that he should not be remembered as someone who was depressed but as someone who was an inspiration. She lauded Sushant for being passionate and claimed that he was a 'happy go lucky guy' who cannot be depressed about anything.
Bollywood actress Preity Zinta is excited about her organic farming harvest, fresh capsicums. The actress has shared a note of gratitude for her mother, who taught her how to grow vegetables at home. On Thursday, Preity took to her verified Twitter account to share a video where she can be seen plucking a few homegrown capsicums.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held virtually this year due to coronavirus pandemic. The development comes a day after the nominations for the annual award ceremony was announced. The ceremony, which was originally to be held at Microsoft Theater here, will now be shot from the actors' homes across the US. It will take place on September 20.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has planned to host an online, multi-country symposium on 'Novel Ideas in Science and Ethics of Vaccines Against Covid-19 Pandemic' on 30 July.
The web symposium will see leading medical experts and scientists as speakers and panellists on different themes in the science and ethics around a vaccine for the coronavirus pandemic.
The event would be conducted from 4.30 pm to 6.45 pm today, and livestreamed on ICMR's website.
A vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from German biotechnology company CureVac is administered to a volunteer at the start of a clinical test series at a university clinic in Tuebingen, Germany. Reuters
The first session by Dr Anthony S Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA is a talk on 'Confronting the pandemic'.
This will be followed by remarks from experts on 'Timely & Safe – Towards a Covid-19 vaccine - Role of vaccines in ending epidemics'.
Two panel discussions on 'Novel Ideas in Vaccine Development, rollout, and adopting emerging evidence in pandemic situations', and 'Ethics of different development approaches, equity of participation in development & community engagement' are expected to follow, where many world-leading experts are expected to share their views.
The 25+ speakers at the symposium include Prof (Dr) Balram Bhargava, Director General of ICMR; Prof Nir Eyal, Director, Center for Population-level Bioethics (CPLB) at Rutgers School of Public Health; Prof (Dr) Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, New Delhi; Prof Adrian Hill, Director, Jenner Institute & Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford; Prof Adam Kamradt-Scott, Director, Global Health Security Network; Prof Gagandeep Kang, Director, Translational Health Science & Technology Institute; Prof Heidi Larson, Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP) and Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, among several others.
Find the detailed agenda for the symposium here.
New Delhi: CDSCO expert panel has sought clarifications from Serum Institute of India (SII) over its application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19, official sources said on Wednesday.
The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 which held its meeting on Tuesday deliberated on the application by SII and asked the Pune-based firm to revise its protocol for the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, besides seeking some additional information.
On Wednesday evening, SII submitted a revised protocol for conducting the trials to the DCGI.
"The company on Tuesday was asked to clearly define phase 2 and phase 3 part of the protocol and resubmit their application for evaluation by the SEC," an official source said.
The panel also recommended that the proposed clinical trial sites be distributed across India, the source said.
"They also have not given justification for the proposed enrolment of 1,600 subjects during the trial," the source added.
Additional Director, Government Affairs, SII, Prakash Kumar Singh said, "We have submitted our revised protocol to DCGI office today evening for further action by SEC and DCGI."
The SII which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19 had submitted its application to the DCGI on Friday, seeking permission for conducting the phase 2 and 3 trials of the potential vaccine ''Covidshield''.
"According to the application, it would conduct an observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of ''Covishield'' in healthy Indian adults. The firm said that around 1,600 participants of more than 18 years would be enrolled in the study," a source had said.
Initial results of the first two-phase trials of the vaccine conducted in five trial sites in the UK showed it has an acceptable safety profile and homologous boosting increased antibody responses, the source said.
To introduce the vaccine, SII, the world's largest vaccine maker by the number of doses produced and sold, has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca.
On the partnership with AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla had said, "Serum Institute of India has entered a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca to produce and supply 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University."
These vaccines will be for India and middle and low-income countries across the world (GAVI countries), he had said.
The firm plans to start phase 2 and 3 human trials in India in August.
Oxford University recently had announced satisfactory progress with the vaccine, making it one of the leading ones among the dozens of vaccine candidates being developed around the world.
Sonu Sood is celebrating his 47th birthday today. The Bollywood actor has been helping migrant labourers and distressed workers in every way possible. He has been a 'real-life hero' and 'messiah of migrants' in the times of coronavirus pandemic. From reuniting these migrant workers with their families to providing them food shelters, Sonu has done it all. He took the risk to come to the forefront and provide a helping hand to everyone who was affected by the dire situation. And now it seems that he has moved one step ahead as on his special day he took to his social media and announced as many as 3 Lakh job offers for the migrant workers who in the difficult times also lost their jobs. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "मेरे जन्मदिन के अवसर पे मेरे प्रवासी भाइयों के लिए Pravasi Rojgar.com का 3 लाख नौकरियों के लिए मेरा करार। ये सभी अच्छे वेतन, PF,ESI और अन्य लाभ प्रदान करते हैं। धन्यवाद् AEPC, CITI, Trident, Quess Corp, Amazon, Sodexo, Urban Co , Portea और अन्य सभी का। #AbIndiaBanegaKamyaab."
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death investigation took a shocking turn when his father K.K. Singh filed a detailed FIR against Rhea Chakraborty, accusing her of abetment to suicide. With the FIR, many new revelations have been made from the family as well as Sushant's ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande's side. On Wednesday, Bihar Police recorded the statement of the actor's sister Mitu Singh and received some 'sensational' information. It is being said that Mumbai Police has been helping Rhea in the case. Reportedly, Bihar Police has received some 'very serious' information from the actor's sister's statement, which hasn't been shared with Mumbai Police.
Sushant Singh Rajput Death Investigation: After 45 days of the actor's shocking death, his family finally came into action. Sushant's father K.K Singh filed FIR against Rhea Chakraborty who happened to be his girlfriend. The 74-year-old Singh lodged a complaint against Rhea, the deceased actor's friend, and six others on July 25 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including those pertaining to abetment of suicide and fraud. Sushant, 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then the Mumbai police has been probing the case keeping in mind various angles. Talking about Rhea, FIR under various sections of IPC including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property). Catch all the latest updates related to Sushant Singh Rajput's alleged suicide case here:
Here are some lesser known facts about Sonu Sood, who has been at the forefront of war against coronavirus in India.Post collecting hundreds of hours of interviews and over a million documents about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, lawmakers finally got a chance on Wednesday to grill the CEOs of Big Tech over their dominance and allegations of monopolistic practices that stifle competition. However, currently, it's unclear how much they advanced their goal of bringing some of the world’s largest companies to heel.
Invective flew as legislators questioned Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Tim Cook of Apple at a hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust. For the last year, that panel has probed the business practices of the Silicon Valley giants with an eye to determining if they need to be regulated more heavily, or even broken up.
In nearly five hours of testimony and questioning, however, there were few startling revelations or striking confrontations. While the executives faced hostile questioning and frequent interruptions from lawmakers of both parties, little seemed to land more than glancing blows.
The CEOs testified via video to lawmakers, at times appearing together on the committee room display as tiny individual figures in a mostly empty array of squares. Most committee members were seated, masks on, in the hearing room in Washington.
(Also read: Regulation in the digital age: Breaking up big tech is not a solution, says Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom)
The execs provided lots of data purporting to show how much competition they face and just how valuable their innovation and essential services are to consumers. But they sometimes struggled to answer pointed questions about their business practices. They also confronted a range of other concerns about alleged political bias, their effect on US democracy, and their role in China.
The panel’s chairman, Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, said each platform controlled by Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple “is a bottleneck for a key channel of distribution.”
“Whether they control access to information or to a marketplace, these platforms have the incentive and ability to exploit this power,” he said. “They can charge exorbitant fees, impose oppressive contracts, and extract valuable data from the people and businesses that rely on them.”
“Simply put: They have too much power.”
The four CEOs command corporations whose products are woven into the fabric of everyday life, with millions or even billions of customers, and a combined market value greater than the entire German economy. One of them, Bezos, is the world’s richest individual; Zuckerberg is the fourth-ranked billionaire.
And they had a few rough moments. Pichai and Zuckerberg, for instance, appeared discomfited when pressed about unsavory aspects of their companies’ businesses, but got respites when their inquisitors ran out of time. Bezos also acknowledged that alleged misdeeds at Amazon — such as reports that the company has used data generated by independent sellers on its platform to compete against them — would be “unacceptable” if proven to be true.
Zuckerberg was also asked about a series of popular conspiracy theories — including that the coronavirus pandemic is a hoax — that have thrived on Facebook’s platform during the deadly virus’ grip across the globe.
Zuckerberg offered assurances that the social network’s users don’t want to see misinformation in their feeds, so the company has taken big steps to scrub its site of inaccurate coronavirus claims. But that only invited more push back from lawmakers who noted that just on Monday the company struggled to take down a video of pro-Trump doctors peddling misleading claims that Americans don’t need to wear masks and an unproven anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a sure-fire way to treat the virus.
Outside observers were able to draw radically different conclusions from the event. Richard Hamilton Jr., a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer, said that everyone on the committee seemed to be in agreement on the need for tougher regulation of all four companies — an “ominous” sign, he said. But Stephen Beck, CEO of the management consulting firm cg42, said the tech companies and their brands emerged relatively unscathed.
In particular, he said, Cook was particularly polished and well prepared, enabling the Apple CEO to put on what Beck called “a master class in terms of how to handle these situations.” Cook drew less attention from lawmakers than did the other CEOs after arguing that Apple isn’t dominant in any of its markets.
Among the toughest questions for Google and Amazon involved accusations that they used their dominant platforms to scoop up data about competitors in a way that gave them an unfair advantage.
Bezos, who was appearing before Congress for the first time, said he couldn’t guarantee that the company had not accessed seller data to make competing products, an allegation that the company and its executives have previously denied.
“We have a policy against using seller specific data to aid our private label business,” Bezos said in a response to a question from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat. “But I can’t guarantee to you that that policy hasn’t been violated.”
Pichai deployed an old Washington trick — appealing to the specific interests of legislators. In his opening remarks, he touted Google’s value to mom-and-pop businesses in Bristol, Rhode Island, and Pewaukee, Wisconsin, which just happen to be located in the home districts of Cicilline and Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, the panel’s senior Republican.
But the Google executive struggled as Cicilline accused the company of leveraging its dominant search engine to steal ideas and information from other websites and manipulating its results to drive people to its own digital services to boost its profits.
Pichai repeatedly deflected Cicilline’s attacks by asserting that Google tries to provide the most helpful and relevant information to the hundreds of millions of people who use its search engine each day in an effort to keep them coming back instead of defecting to a rival service, such as Microsoft’s Bing.
As Democrats largely focused on market competition, several Republicans aired longstanding grievances, claiming the tech companies are censoring conservative voices and questioning their business activities in China. “Big Tech is out to get conservatives,” insisted Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
In its bipartisan investigation, the Judiciary subcommittee collected testimony from mid-level executives of the four firms, competitors and legal experts, and pored over more than a million internal documents from the companies. A key question: whether existing competition policies and century-old antitrust laws are adequate for overseeing the tech giants, or if new legislation and enforcement funding are needed.
Cicilline has called the four companies monopolies, although he says breaking them up should be a last resort. While forced breakups may appear unlikely, the wide scrutiny of Big Tech points toward possible new restrictions on its power.
The companies face legal and political offensives on multiplying fronts, from Congress, the Trump administration, federal and state regulators and European watchdogs. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have been investigating the four companies’ practices.
With inputs from AP
OnePlus smartphones may soon get the always-on display feature. OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau teased the much-awaited feature on his Twitter.
The tweet hints at the screen technology appearing in OxygenOS 11. Lau, however, did not provide other details including the date when it will be available. The image shared by Lau shows an analog clock and the caption says, "11 'on display'."
11 "on display." 😉 pic.twitter.com/Y2prOL8Nge
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) July 28, 2020
However, it is not clear from Lau’s tweet whether 11 hints at OxygenOS 11 or Android 11.
In March, OnePlus said that always-on display was the top request within their community co-creation platform called IDEAS. The company has confirmed that the OS Product team is working on introducing the feature to its phones through upcoming software updates.
The feature was earlier present only in the initial units of the OnePlus 6 (Review), but was gradually removed as it impacted battery life. Since then, the company has shied from bringing AOD support to its phones.
The smartphones manufactured by OnePlus currently support an ambient display mode that shows basic contextual information the moment the phone is lifted or the screen is tapped. The screen goes off when the device is not being used.
With the always-on display, users would be able to see any information that they receive on their phone without even touching it.
A report by Android Authority says that always-on display technology has been available from major smartphone makers for years, including on recent devices like the Galaxy S20 series.
Meanwhile, after launching OnePlus Nord this month the company is reportedly working on another 'affordable' smartphone which will likely be called the OnePlus Nord Lite.
The phone is expected to launch in India soon and is likely to come powered with a new Snapdragon 690 5G chipset. The possibility of the new smartphone was hinted in a code snippet in the latest version of OxygenOS 10.5.
So far, researchers have found no evidence to suggest that life once existed on the surface of Mars. But recent findings have pointed to the possibility of life below the planet's surface.
While the conditions for life are considered less harsh and traces of water have also been found, the subsurface has yet to be fully-explored.
Astrophysicist and research scientist Dimitra Atri at the Center for Space Science at New York University, Abu Dhabi, is of the belief that the subsurface would be a more suitable candidate to support Martian life.
In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, Atri has argued that continuous bombardment by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) could easily provide the energy required to stimulate organic activity.
The research scholar studied the effect on the environment of the Red Planet's subsurface when GCRs are continuously emitted. In a thermodynamic process called the chemical disequilibrium, the study revealed the radiation could act as major catalysts in developing life-generating conditions.
Atri has argued that the GCRs will induce a certain chemical reaction that can create metabolic energy and host living organisms. The process will be quite similar to the chemical and radiation environments seen on Earth.
"It is exciting to contemplate that life could survive in such a harsh environment, as few as two meters below the surface of Mars," added Atri.
Interestingly, the study also suggests ways by which life could be detected by scientists in future missions to Mars.
Space agencies have plans of exploring the untouched subsurface of Mars, as per a report in the Independent.
A rover as part of the ExoMars mission, jointly handled by the European Space Agency and the Roscosmos, was supposed to be launched but had to be delayed for technical reasons. Now the rover will be sent in two years’ time.
Atri is of the strong opinion that the ExoMars rover will be able to detect life beneath the surface.
