Several Indian users took to Twitter and complained of issues they were facing with Google services such as Gmail, Docs, Drive and Meet. Google’s email client wasn’t letting users send emails or attach files. However, after a few hours of the services were restored for all users.
The global tech giant apologised for the rather long global outage. “We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support,” the company said.
“System reliability is a top priority at Google. We are making continuous improvements to make our systems better,” the company said.
User reports indicate Gmail is having problems since 12:36 AM EDT. https://t.co/EsWw2oLYjH RT if you’re also having problems #Gmaildown— Downdetector (@downdetector) 1597898211000
Users reported glitches with not just Gmail but also Google Drive and said that they are unable to upload or download the files.
The number of users reporting issues with Gmail peaked at 12:00pm with 2,737 complaints logged on DownDetector. “Gmail sending issues. Meet recording issues. Creating files issues in Drive, CSV user upload issues in Admin Console. Posting message issues in Google Chat. Sites adding new pages issues. Keep issues. Voice mail issues,” noted Google.
The full squad and the support staff of all the IPL teams have boarded their flight to United Arab Emirates (UAE) to take part in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 13 seasons of IPL will strat from September 19 in UAE.
Many franchises shared the pictures on their official Instagram and Twitter handle of the players who had flown for UAE. Royal Challengers Bangalore had posted a group picture where players are covered with masks and shields on their faces. It’s really difficult to detect the but the players like the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, fast bowlers Umesh Yadav, all-rounder Shivam Dubey and Washington Sunder and wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel are easily recognisable.
“UAE calling! AirplaneFlag of United Arab Emirates. The Royal Challengers are all set to take-off! Drop a Red heart if you’re happy to see the RCB fam together again! #PlayBold #TravelDays #IPL2020,” RCB captioned the picture on Twitter.
Virat was not in the frame fans and fans asked on the comment section of the official Instagram and Twitter page of RCB to share something about him as well. Later on RCB Instagram handlers shared a picture of their captain Virat Kohli with the caption, ” You’ve all been asking! So there you go. Captain Kohli is in the house!”
Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Kings XI Punjab also shared the pictures of their respective players on Instagram and Twitter as well.
India’s cleanest cities 2020 list: Madhya Pradesh Indore, has emerged as the cleanest city in the country this year again! With this Indore has become the city to have grabbed the prestigious Swachh Survekshan award for four times in a row.
Moreover the city which is also known as the main financial centre of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the development which has released the Swachh Sarvekshan survey results for 2020.
India’s cleanest cities 2020: Top 10 cleanest cities
The 10 cities which emerged as the country’s best top 10 cities in the Swachh Survekshan survey undertaken this year are:
However the survey brochure describes the New Delhi Municipal Council as “India’s Cleanest National Capital (National or State Capitals/UT)”.
While total of 4,242 cities, 62 Cantonment Boards and 97 Ganga towns were surveyed, and 1.87 crore citizens participated in the exercise, according to the government.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has received a shot in the arm by bagging the third place in the overall Swachh Survekshan 2020 ranking in the country. The city has bettered its position from seventh last year.
Finally, the first and second places have gone to Indore and Surat, respectively.
As a result Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha, was adjudged the ‘Best Ganga Town’ in the country, followed by Kanpur, Munger, Prayagraj and Haridwar.
With key state polls and bypolls slated for this year, the Election Commission on Friday issued fresh guidelines for election-related activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After considering suggestions made by the political parties and chief electoral officers of states and union territories, the EC said only group of five people can campaign door-to-door. It also restricted candidate convoy for roadshows to five vehicles.
The new guidelines make it compulsory for every person to wear face mask during all election related activities. Thermal scanning, access to sanitizers for all, taking a part of nomination process online, option for depositing security money online.
“There shall be maximum 1,000 electors instead of 1,500 electors in a polling station,” the guidelines said.
First & Second randomization and preparation of EVMs/VVPATs shall be done in large halls.
A separate set of guidelines would be issued for voters who are residing in areas notified as “containment zone”, the Election Commission said.
The commission has recommended mandatory sanitisation of polling stations, preferably a day before the polls.
Nodal Health Officer shall be designated for the State, the District and the Assembly Constituency to oversee COVID-19 related arrangements and, preventive measures during the entire electoral process.
Polls are due in the months of October-November in Bihar, which has, till date, witnessed 1.15 lakh COVID-19 cases, including 574 fatalities. While the poll body has not made any official announcement regarding the poll schedule, several parties, including the ruling Janata Dal (United) ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has written in past to EC expressing concerns regarding the conduct of elections in the midst of a pandemic.
The short-form video app TikTok has removed more than 3,80,800 videos in the United States for breaching its hate speech policy in the year 2020. The app also said it has suspended more than 1,300 accounts for promoting hateful content.
TikTok in a blog post said that it has taken strict action against people posting gender-based harassment under its zero-tolerance policy. It has also blocked hate group that failed to recognize “violent tragedies” like the Holocaust or slavery.
TikTok is currently facing a tumultuous situation in the United States as the app has been accused of stealing users’ private data. Following this, the Trump administration has issued an executive order stating the app should either sell its operations to a US firm in 90 days or face the ban in the country.
ByteDance who owns TikTok has been in talks with a number of companies including Microsoft, Oracle and Twitter to sell itself in the stated but nothing has been finalised yet.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, a review by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that the video platform was being used promote white supremacy. The app has already been banned by Indian government late in June citing privacy issues which was its largest foreign market.
Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore,said not winning the title for 12 seasons adds pressure on the owners. He also said Virat Kohli will continue to remain the captain of RCB.
Virat Kohli is the captain of the RCB side for more than seven years and he is also the Indian team in all three formats. RCB is one of the most popular franchises in the Indian Premier League but they never won an IPL trophy.
Under Virat’s captaincy RCB secured the 5th, 7th, 3rd, 2nd, 8th, 6th, 8th place in the respective seasons since 2013. Every year the team management banks a lot top international players and especially the batsman. This year they brought Aaron Finch in their line-up and the likes of Virat Kohli and Ab de Villers in the starting four RCB is starting as favourites yet again in this season.
“Absolutely,” Churiwala said during a media briefing on Thursday, when asked about whether the title drought was putting the owners under pressure. “Performance is something that motivates us and drives all of us. We have been three times in the finals, (but) never lifted the trophy. It does add pressure. There’s no doubt about it. But there is also a learning every time. Our last two performances (seasons) has not been really upto the mark, but otherwise by and large it was not something that we should be really concerned about,” as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
This year the Royal Challengers side is the slimmest with just 21 players on board. Churiwala said the squad looks balanced time. Further Churiwala also said,”Without getting into specific names, on the matter of what was in our minds – very clearly, we were buying out to ensure that we can create a core XI. Each and every player has a meaningful role to play, whether they’re in the XI or not in the XI.”
“Number two, we also wanted to ensure that we have a proper balance between the batting side and the bowling side. We wanted to ensure that there’s strength on both sides. We had identified internally a couple of weaknesses we wanted to work upon, without getting to the specifics, some of the players we’ve chosen this time is to ensure that we stick to that. One of them was that the core players are national players, that’s what we’ve stuck to also this time.”
Churiwala remained optimistic still. “But, at least, with all the work that has happened since the last season we are very confident that at least we are going this time with a better squad, very clear preparations, very meaningful team. Rest let the team perform and deliver before we can speak more.”
Churiwala also retailiated on the questions that franchise is looking to replace Virat as the captain. He stated Virat is the best captain and he is also the captain of Indian cricket team and he is the most popular captain cricketing personality as well.
“Virat is the Indian captain,” Churiwala said. “And has the highest fan-followers. We all love Virat and love to be associated with Virat.”
“Look, this is what (the) game is: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, but let’s not forget what that individual is and what kind of track record he has,” Churiwala said. “As RCB, as an RCB owner, we are very, very proud that Virat is associated with us.”
“Obviously, you want to win the IPL,” Kohli said on the eve of Royal Challengers’ 2019 season-opener. “I am doing what I am supposed to do. I don’t care whether I am going to be judged on this [not winning IPL] or not. If I think like people from outside, I can’t even sustain five games. I would be sitting at home. I know people talk about it a lot and they like to grab opportunities to talk about these things. But I have a responsibility here and given a chance, as a captain, I would love to win the IPL for my team. We all are motivated to do so.”
Virat Kohli has been the skipper of Royal Challengers for 110 in IPL. Under his captaincy Royals won 49 games whereas they lost 55 games. The RCB captain has delivered as a player for the RCB in every season but he failed as captain this time he will look to change the fortune for RCB.
Around 1.95 lakh students had appeared in the exams, which were held on July 30 and July 31 amid huge protests. After the declaration of the results, the college-wise cut-off marks will be released. The counselling will be conducted online due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Also, Karnataka government has announced that there will be no change in the fee structure and seat-matrix ratio.
The qualified candidates will have to upload their documents in pdf format according to their ranks.
Rakshitha M of RV PU College in Bengaluru, secured the first rank in the State in the Engineering stream of the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2020.
Varun Gowda A B of Expert PU College in Mangaluru has secured the first rank in BSc Agricultural stream while Sai Vivek P of Narayana E-techno School, Bengaluru, stood first in Veterinary, B-Pharma and Pharma-D streams.
In Engineering stream, five candidates from Bengaluru have secured ranks among the top 10 candidates in the State. While three candidates each from BSc agricultural stream and veterinary stream have secured top-10 ranks from Bengaluru.
Phase-III of clinical trial of a COVID-19 has been approved by Pakistan’s drug auditor in collaboration with a Chinese company, a media report said.
National Institute of Health (NIH) stated that, it has obtained formal approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for phase-III Clinical trail of Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Adenovirus Type 5 vector (Ad5-nCoV) developed by CanSinoBio and Beijing Institute of Biotechnology China (BIB).
The NIH said this would be the first-ever phase-III clinical trial for any vaccine in Pakistan. “It is a multi-country multi-centre clinical trial which CanSinoBio is already conducting in China, Russia, Chile and Argentina and will shortly start in Saudi Arabia. The principal investigator of the multi-centre clinical trial in Pakistan is NIH executive director Maj Gen Aamer Ikram,” the statement said
“AJM Pharma CEO Adnan Hussain signed an agreement with the NIH last month for collaborating on the phase-III clinical trial of CanSinoBIO Ad5-nCoV in Pakistan,” it said
According to a document signed by DRAP Clinical Studies Committee secretary Shafqat Hussain Danish, the committee recommended that the trial be held in Indus Hospital in Karachi.
“Though vaccines are being prepared in different countries, we cannot surely say whether we will get them as there will be high demand for the vaccines across the globe. If this trial is successful, the vaccine will be easily available to us at affordable rates,” the official said.
Pakistan’s coronavirus cases has crossed 292,000 mark so far. While 274,000 people have recovered, more than 6,220 casualties have been reported in the country.
Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who also heads the National Coordination and Operation Centre on COVID-19, said he was hopeful that the trials on the vaccine would be successful.
The E-commerce giant Amazon has launched Amazon pay digital gold feature in which users can buy gold starting from Rs 5. Customers can sell the amount of gold at any time. They will have the flexibility to keep gold in a digital locker and buy or sell the precious metal without having to rent a locker. The company mentioned that its vault will be totally secure.
”We believe in innovating on behalf of our customers to create newer experiences for them. As part of this commitment, we are constantly evaluating new areas and opportunities to connect with and serve our customers. This has led to Amazon Pay launching digital gold services in partnership with Safegold,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Amazon named this feature as ‘Gold Vault’. The users will be able to buy gold for as little as Rs 5 on the platform for which Amazon has partnered with SafeGold. The gold being handed over is 24 carat with 99.5% purity. However, the idea of digital gold is not new in market. Other e-wallets like Paytm, Phonepe, Google pay have been offering the same for some time.
Digital transactions saw a boost since the nationwide lockdown was imposed in the country to curb the spread of coronavirus disease. Introduction of various entities such as gold security has also shown a tremendous growth for e-commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, Gold prices have been rapidly rising since last few weeks due to global volatility and weakening of US dollar amid the pandemic.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan was convicted of criminal contempt by the Supreme Court and he made it clear to the court that he didn’t want to apologise and this “moment of history” this was his “responsibility to the future.”
The Supreme Court of India had given Prashant Bhushan time to apologise and reserved its order after hearing the arguments.
“We have given time to the contemnor to submit unconditional apology if he so desires. Let it be filed by 24.08.2020. In case apology is submitted, the case to be posted for consideration on the same, on 25.08.2020”, the trio of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari ordered.
“I find it hard to believe that the Court finds my tweet ‘has the effect of destabilizing the very foundation of this important pillar of Indian democracy.’ I can only reiterate that these two tweets represented my bonafide beliefs, the expression of which must be permissible in any democracy”, Bhushan said in the statement as quoted as saying by Indian Express.
When he was asked about his position to reconsider his decision then he said: “I don’t want to reconsider the statement…If your Lordships want to give me time, I welcome. But I don’t think it will serve any purpose…It is not very likely that I will change my statement”.
Justice Mishra had stated that the court would “like to give time. Later on, there should not be a complaint that time was given.”
Bhushan said that he is not worried as his statement was “well-considered and well thought of.”
We will give two-three days’ time. Think over… You must think over,” said Justice Mishra.
Attorney General KK Venugopal also urged the Supreme Court to spare Prashant Bhushan from any severe punishment. “I will request you not to punish Prashant Bhushan”, Venugopal told the court.
Justice Mishra told the AG “please don’t argue on merits” and said it had never punished anyone without following due procedure.
“We cannot consider your proposal unless he rethinks his statement…You please first go through his reply. Consider if that’s a defense or an aggravation…Read it and then tell us what we should do,” Justice Mishra added.
Instagram on Wednesday suspended former Bigg Boss contestant Hindustani Bhau’s account for violating its community guidelines. Hindustani Bhau, who claims to be a nationalist, was recently in news for registering a complaint against Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor for disrespecting Indian Army in the second season of Alt Balaji’s web series ‘XXX: Uncensored’.
His account was suspended after multiple users reported him for promoting hate speech and violence. Following which, the account was taken down and the users who had reported the account were informed about the same.
In a recent viral video, Bhau talked about thrashing people who disrespect Hindu Gods. Not only that, he also mentioned that he wouldn’t refrain himself from taking law in his own hands if anyone disrespects Hindu idols.
The video sparked outrage among netizens for its hate speech leading to mass reporting of his account.
On August 18, comedian Kunal Kamra took to his Twitter account to urge Mahrashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Mumbai Police to take action against Bhau for inciting communal violence.
“Calling for open violence is a crime. This is a mob building & hate spreading exercise. This is deeply alarming. Could lead to violence & an artist not getting due process. Remarks like “System side main” are an isnult to our constituion,” Kamra wrote while sharing Bhau’s video.
HM @AnilDeshmukhNCP & @MumbaiPolice, Calling for open violence is a crime. This is a mob building & hate spreading excercise. This is deeply alarming. Could lead to violence & an artist not getting due process. Remarks like “System side main” are an insult to our constitution… pic.twitter.com/oeCfdGFRu5
Sacred Games’ actress Kubbra Sait wrote, “Why do people like this still have access to social media? Why is nothing legally being done to these who instigate? Who gives them the power to get away with words? Why is there no action being taken?”
Why do people like this still have access to social media? Why is nothing legally being done to these who instigate? Who gives them the power to get away with words? Why is there no action being taken? https://t.co/g3EQNteUi6
Hindustani Bhau, whose real name is Vikas Pathak, attracted limelight after his stint in Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 13 last year. He entered the controversial reality show as a wild-card contestant.
Covid-19 Cases in Himachal – Coronavirus cases in Himachal Pradesh rose to 4,617 in the last 24 hours. The tally includes 1,413 active cases, 3,132 recovered cases and 47 deaths till date.
Delhi Reports 1,250 New Covid-19 Cases – Health bulletin shows Delhi reported 1,250 new coronavirus cases. While 1,082 discharged cases and 13 deaths. Total number of cases now stands at 1,58,604 including 1,42,908 recovered cases, 11,426 active cases. The death toll rose to 4,270.
J&K Covid-19 Tally Update – A total of 654 new coronavirus cases were reported from Jammu and Kashmir today; 114 from Jammu division and 540 from Kashmir division, taking the total number of cases in the Union Territory to 31,371.
Kerala Records 1,983 New Covid-19 Cases –Kerala reported 1,983 fresh Covid-19 cases, 1,419 recoveries and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours. There are 18,673 active cases and 35,247 recovered cases said State Health Minister, KK Shailaja.
Russia has said that it will begin COVID-19 vaccine trials on 40,000 people next week. It said the tests were the equivalent of the Phase 3 trials that other vaccines are undergoing. The vaccine, named Sputnik V, was announced with much fanfare in Russia but drew warnings from Western scientists and the WHO who said it still needed a rigorous safety review.
India, meanwhile, continues to maintain a cautious approach to the announcement, saying that the “National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19” would evaluate all candidates first and then explore partnerships for Indian companies.
Hartalika Teej Vrat 2020 is observed on Tritiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month. This year, Hartalika Teej will be celebrated on 21 August, Friday. It is believed that the suhagan women who observe Nirjala fast on this day are blessed with unbroken good luck. Suhagan women fast for the long life of their husband and wish happiness and prosperity in the family.
The women who observe this fast remain engaged in the worship of Gauri Shankar throughout the day. Mother makes up Parvati. On this day, women offer a boon to Maa Parvati. The materials to be offered to Maa Parvati include vermilion, bindi, kajal, lipstick, perfume, red chunari, necklace, earrings, nose cloves, comb, mirror, oil, nail paint, bangles, mehndi, waistband, nettle , Important things like Payal, Mahawar are included.
The rules of fasting Teej fast
Hartalika Teej is fasted with many rules. Water is not taken on this day. There is a law to take water after worshiping in the morning on the next day.
Once the Hatalika Teej is fasted, it is not left in the middle. Every year, this fast should be done with complete law.
On the day of fasting Teej, women wake up all night and perform Bhajan Kirtan. Sleeping at night on this day is not considered auspicious.
On the third day of Shukla Paksha in Bhadrapad month i.e, August 21, take a bath and wear clean clothes. Now clean the worship place and establish Lord Shiva, Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha’s idol. Decorate the place with flowers and diyas. Pour Ganga Jal on the idols and dress them in new clothes. You can add Sandalwood, Roli, honey, milk and rice in Ganga Jal to make it more pure and blissful. After that, recite, Om Namah Shivay.
Muharram 2020: This year, the month of Muharram starts on 20 August. This month is considered very holy after Ramadan. It will end on September 18. Muharram is celebrated on the 10th of this month. The festival of Muharram is celebrated in the sorrow of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein, the prophet of Islam, the prophet Hazrat Mohammad Sahab.
As soon as the moon of Moharram is seen, the Ajadars become confused in their Imam’s sorrow. This day commemorates the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his 72 Janissars in the ground of Karbala. These are important part of the procession of Ashura to be taken out on the ninth and 10th day of Moharram. The martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions is remembered at Karbala in Moharram.
These tazias are the replicas of the tombs of Hazrat Imam Hussain and Hazrat Imam Hassan of the Prophet Mohammad and form an integral part of the procession of Ashura.
The beginning of the Hijri calendar: In 638 A.D., the second Caliph of Islam, Omar, felt the need of the calendar. Different calendars were used in countries like Iran, Syria, Egypt etc. So, Khalifa Omar envisioned a calendar that would be for the entire Muslim world. The beginning of the Hijri calendar was the result of this.
Islamic Months Names List
The 12 Months: 1: Muharram Islamic Months names in Urdu Arabic Hindi text 2: Safar 3: Rabiul-Awwal 4: Rabi-uthani 5: Jumadi-ul-Awwal 6: Jumadi-uthani 7: Rajab 8: Sha’ban 9: Ramadan 10:Shawwal 11:Zhul-Q’ada 12:Zhul-Hijja
Toyota Urban Cruiser’s leaked brochure surfaced online, creating hype and completely revealing the design and details. Pre-launch bookings will commence on August 22 and the prices are expected to be announced in September.
As per the details revealed, the SUV is based on Vitara Brezza. Talking about the Design aspect, the Urban Cruiser differentiated itself from the Vitara with a new Face. It now gets Toyota’s twin slat grille and a new bumper with muscular fog lamp housings. The LED headlamps and fog lamps, alloy wheels, silhouette and tail lamps are same as the Vitara Brezza. That said, it’s definite that the Urban Cruiser’s revised face makes it stand out from the Brezza.
The Interiors of the Urban Cruiser are quite similar to Brezza, the dashboard in clearly inspired straight from it. The only changes come in the form of the Toyota logo on the steering wheel and a black-brown interior colour scheme thanks to the new coffee brown upholstery, unlike the Brezza’s all-black theme.
Even the feature list is a straight lift from the Brezza and that’s no bad thing. Highlights include a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, climate control, cruise control, steering-mounted audio controls, auto-dimming rearview mirror and rain-sensing wipers. On the safety front, it will come with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors and a rearview camera.
The Urban Cruiser will come with Maruti’s 105PS 1.5-litre petrol engine, mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. Only the automatic variants benefit from the mild-hybrid system that packs functions such as torque boost and auto-idle start stop. We expect the fuel efficiency figures to be similar to the Brezza. The Brezza’s manual variants have a claimed efficiency of 17.03kmpl while the automatic variants return 18.76kmpl.
The Urban Cruiser will be offered in six colour options: silver, orange, grey, blue, white and brown. You also have a choice of three dual-tone options: brown/black, orange/white and blue/black. It must be mentioned that the brown finish is exclusive to the Urban Cruiser.Toyota will also offer the Urban Cruiser with a standard warranty of 3-year/1,00,000km, bettering the Brezza’s standard 2-year/40,000km package. You also have the backup of Toyota’s famed after-sales service.
