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Instagram launches its first consumer marketing campaign in India

By
Shivani Negi
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Photo-sharing social media app Instagram has come out with its first consumer marketibg camapign in India that aims to celebrate creators and their creativity which shines through its recent video format – Reels.

Reels, a short video making feature available on the updated version of Instagram, are huge hit among Instagram users. Recently Instgaram increased the duration of reels to 30 seconds which was initally 15 seconds.

Instagram’s new campaign, Do Your Thing, oughts to inspire creator in every individual.

Sukesh Nayak, chief creative officer, Ogilvy India, said, “With Reels, Instagram is democratizing creativity, and we’re trying to communicate this with the new campaign. The creatives are short, fun, surprising and very entertaining. They’ve been shot as Reels, and the storyline is inspired by the content from popular creators.”

In the consumer campaign video, the social media giant has displayed all the editing features that allow creators to create their preferred projects.

Meanwhile, Instagram recently celebrated its 10th birthday by releasing several new features that included Stories Map, IGTV Shopping update and custom app icons.

Default weather in Xiaomi India phones doesn’t show weather of Arunachal Pradesh

By
Neha Kumari
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After Xiaomi users posted on social media that the company’s smartphones were not displaying weather for Arunachal Pradesh, Now Mi India clarified that the issue that was cropped up owing to a technical error in its app has been fixed.


In a statement given to IANS, a Mi India spokesperson said: “We would like to clarify that the weather app on our devices uses data from multiple third-party data sources and we understand that for many locations, the weather-related data is not available on the current app”.

As a lot of Xiaomi smartphones users complained on Twitter saying that in-built weather application does not return any results when they try to find a city or town in Arunachal Pradesh. However, the issue has now been fixed.

“This is a technical error on our application. That said, we are working on improving the app to get the best experience for our users. As always, we are committed to India and our users across the country to provide them with the best possible user experience,” the spokesperson added.

Vishal Bhardwaj to make a film franchise on English author Agatha Christie’s work

By
Shivani Negi
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Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is all set to bring the work of English littérateur – Agatha Christie in Bollywood. He is currently developing a film franchise based on the work of the author. According to the reports, the series will feature fresh faces in the leading roles.

He told Times of India that he contacted Agatha Christie Limited (ACL), who takes the responsibility for the literary and media rights to Christie’s works, during the lockdown period. He stated,” We started discussing if we could make a movie in India. We clicked well, but it was a very long process. They offered me many novels, out of which I picked the first one.”

Talking about the collaboration, James Prichard, great grandson of Agatha Christie, and Chairman and CEO of Agatha Christie Limited, said: “I’m truly excited at the prospect of developing a new Agatha Christie film franchise in India, and am delighted to be partnering with Vishal, who is a multitalented and visionary filmmaker with a terrific track record for adapting works to create memorable pieces of cinema.

“He has also demonstrated a real passion and understanding of my great grandmother’s characters and stories and I very much look forward to seeing where this project takes us,” he added.

Bhardwaj added: “Agatha Christie had a tremendous skill of defining emotional chaos, dysfunctional relationships and the turmoil in her characters while engaging us in a riveting mystery. It is an honour to create an Indian franchise of a pair of young investigators looking to take over the world with their intelligence and charm. ACL have been such amazing partners and we are all excited to be on this journey.”

Bhadrdwaj has previously adapted iconic English writer Shakespeare’s Othello, Macbeth and Hamlet.

The first instalment of the franchise will narrate the story of a young heroine who is involved in investigating a murder case and for the same, she teams up with an unexpected companion.

As per the report, the first film of the series will probably go on floors in 2021. Basi Akpabio and Leo Dezoysa will be the executive producers for Agatha Christie Limited on the new films. Bhardwaj will also be co-producing through his production house.

Rohit Shetty and Ranveer Singh to collaborate for a film based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy Of Errors’

By
Shivani Negi
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Actor-director duo Ranveer Singh-Rohit Shetty are set to reunite for thier next project. The film will be an adaptation of Shakrespean comedy for the Bollywood screen.

The film titled Cirkus will be adopted from William Shakespeare’s play “The Comedy Of Errors”. Ranveer will reportedly play double role in the film.

Apart from Ranveer Singh, the film stars actresses Jacqueline Fernandez and Pooja Hegde in main roles. Cirkus will also feature Varun Sharma, Siddhartha Jadhav, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Vrajesh Hirjee, Vijay Patkar, Sulbha Arya, Mukesh Tiwari, Anil Charanjeett, Ashwini Kalsekar and Murli Sharma in pivotal roles.

The shooting for the film will reportedly start from next month in Mumbai, Ooty, and Goa. .

The news was shared by trade analyst and film critic Taran Adarsh. “BIGGG NEWS… #RanveerSingh and director #RohitShetty team up once again… Film titled #Cirkus… #Rohit’s take on #TheComedyOfErrors… Costars #PoojaHegde, #JacquelineFernandez and #VarunSharma… Produced-directed by #RohitShetty… Bhushan Kumar and Reliance Ent present, he tweeted.

Ranveer and Rohit previously collaborated for action film Simmba in 2019. The film also starred Sara Ali Khan in important role. The duo have also come together for a cameo in Sooryavanshi which will go on floors on soon.

Cirkus will be presented by Bhushan Kumar and Reliance Entertainment. It will be released in the winter of 2021.

Meanwhile, Ranveer is currently waiting for the release of his film 83. The film chronicles the historical victory of India cricket team in 1983 world cup. He will also be seen in Jayeshbhai Jordaar which is directed by debutant Divyang Thakkar. It also stars Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah.

National Education Policy to bring fundamental changes: PM Modi

By
Shivani Negi
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the graduates of University of Mysore. Addressing the students at the centenary convocation, the Prime Minister said, “Now you are going out of a formal university campus to the large campus of the real-life university. It will be a campus where, along with the degree, your ability and the applicability of the knowledge you have acquired will work.”

“When we talk about initiation, it is not just an opportunity to get a degree. It inspires new resolutions for the next stage of life,” said Modi. He further said that efforts are made to make India a global hub for education. “Skilling, reskilling and upskilling are the need of the day and the National Education Policy focuses on it,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi added that in the last six years, on average, a new IIT has been opened every year. He further said that in the last five years, work has also been done on governance reforms in the institution to resume gender equality and social inclusiveness.

The Prime Minister further said the new National Education Policy (NEP 2020) would focus in bringing about fundamental changes in the entire education sector.

It is a huge campaign to bring fundamental changes to the entire education set up in the country from pre-nursery to PhD. Focus is being made on a multidimensional approach to make our country’s able youth more competitive.”

PM Modi further acknowledged the university for being the source of rich education system of ancient India.

He further requested the University to promote research on local culture, Art and other social issues along with other noteworthy issues.

Covid-19 update: India’s tally tops 7.5 million cases

By
Shivani Negi
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Continuing its downward trend, India in last 24 hours reported 55,722 fresh coronavirus infection. The total covid-19 tally now stands sat 7,550271. With 579 fatalities, the death toll has reached 1,14,610.

The number of fatalities reported in last 24 hours are the lowest in months. The active cases remained less than 8 lakh for the third consecutive day, the health ministry data showed. It also informed that India continues to report a trend of steady decline in the active cases with currently 10.45 per cent of the total cases active ini the country.

“Following the national trend, 22 states and Union territories have less than 20,000 active cases. 13 states and Union territories have more than 20,000 but less than 50,000 active cases, while three states and Union territories have more than 50,000 active cases,” the health ministry said in a press release on Sunday.

India’s total recovered cases stand at 6,663,608 currently with the national recovery rate at 80.25 per cent.

Here’re some more updates related to the coronavirus:

*Schools across UP, Sikkim and Punjab resume after 7 months. States have released strict guidelines to curb the spread of the virus.

*A total of 9,50,83,976 samples were tested for Covid-19 up to 18th October. Of these, 8,59,786 samples were tested yesterday: ICMR

*Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in his Sunday Samvaad informed that there are no community transmission across the country, except in a few districts.

*The panel appointed by government has said that India could get rid of the virus by the end of February. It also said that more than 30 per cent of Indians have developed antibodies.

*Experts have said that UK needs three-week lockdown for covid reset.

*Covid-19 is additional layer to ‘gender equality in education’ challenge: UNESCO report

*Mumbai metro to resume operation after being shut for months.

*China’s health authority found living coronavirus in the outer packaging of imported frozen marine fish in the port city of Qingado.

Covid-19 vaccine update: Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech will continue late stage trial of their experimental covid-10 vaccine in coming months once they get regulatory approval, Health Minster said.

It is known that Bharat Biotech was one of the first drug makers across the country to conduct successful early stage trials of indigenous covid-19 vaccine. SII, on the other hand, has been involved in conducting trials and manufacturing Oxford and AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the global coronavirus tally has topped 40 million cases and currently stands at 40,264,218. While 30,108,031 have recovered, 1,118,167 have died so far.

Schools resume in UP, Punjab and Sikkim; check the guidelines

By
Shivani Negi
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After being shut for over 7 months due to coronavirus scare, schools in Uttar Pradesh are set to reopen from Monday for class 9 to class 12. The state has released a standard operating procedure(SOP) on the guidelines to be followed in the campus.

The SOP lists wearing mask, sanitisation and social distancing as some of the most important protocols to be followed.

The classes will operate in two shifts. In the first shift, Students of class 9 and 10 will be taught while the second shift will be alloted to the students of class 10 and 12. The first shift will be held from 8:50 am to 12: 20 pm, whereas the seconf shift will be conducted from 12:20 pm to

“In the first phase, Classes 9 to 12 may start in these schools. The schools must run in two shifts of smaller durations, to ensure student safety,” deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma had said on October 10.

Students have been given choice whether they want to take class physcially or virtually as online classes will also continue to run. Parents will need to give their written consent for their ward to appear in class. In any calss, 50 per cent of the students will be called one day and the remaining 50 per cent will attend the class next day.

All the children should must wear a wask and full sleeve t-shirt, pants and shoes with socks.

If any student or teacher shows any symptom, they will not be allowed to come to the school.

The school buses will be sanitised everyday and proper distance would be maintained in the seating arrangements.

It is noteworthy that schools in containment zone will continue to remain shut.

Besides Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Sikkim have also permitted schools to resume.

In Punjab, classes will for class 9 to 12 will resume in the areas outside containment zones. Schools will open three hours a day. No students except for class 9 to 12 will be allowed to take classes physically.

Meanwhile, in Sikkim, school will open in a graded manner form October 19. There will be no winter holidays this year. The classes will be held six days a week with Saturday being a half day.

Twitter receives flak after it showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of China

By
Shivani Negi
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Twitter attracted flak on Sunday after it showed Jammu and Kashmir as a part of China in the timelines.

The matter was brought into light by senior defence journalist Nitin Gokhale who entered his live broadcast location as Leh at the hall of fame and the location displayed as , “Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China.”

“Twitter folks, I just did a live (sic) from Hall of Fame. Giving Hall of fame as the location and guess what it is saying Jammu & Kashmir, People’s Republic of China! Are you guys nuts?” Gokhale wrote on his official Twitter account.

Several Twitter users took to Gokhal’e comment section, saying they have been experiencing the similar message with respect to the location.

Kanchan Gupta, Distinguished Fellow Observer Research Foundation(ORF) also brought out the error adn wrote, “So @Twitter has decided to configure geography and declare Jammu & Kashmir as part of People’s Republic of #China. If this is not a violation of India laws, What is? Citizens of India have been punished for far less. But US Big tech is above the law,” Gupta wrote while tagging Telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Other netizens also observed the same result:

Hall of Fame is museum constructed by Indian Army to pay the martyrs who lost their lives while serving for the country in the Indo-Pak wars. It is located on teh Leh-kargil road.

It is noteworthy that the microblogging site Twitter has also shown Jammu and Kashmir as part of China and Pakistan on its app.

Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of practising “dividing society” for sake of votes

By
Neha Kumari
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Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of practising the politics of “dividing society” for sake of votes. As the election will begin from October 28, and asserted that people have supported the government’s move on Jammu and Kashmir.

“People have seen how much progress has happened in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Still, the Congress is singing the tune of whatever few separatists are there. The Congress has become a narrow party and that is why it is taking stand against the sentiments of people in the country,” he told reporters.

While BJP president J P Nadda pointed on the Congress and said, “Since Congress has no good governance agenda to talk about, they are back to their ‘Divide India’ dirty tricks before Bihar elections. Shri Rahul Gandhi praises Pakistan and Shri Chidambaram says Congress wants Article 370 to return! Shameful!”

A Lawyer from Odisha gave Rape threat to Kangana Ranaut

By
Neha Kumari
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A lawyer from Odisha, Mehendi Reza gave rape threats to actor Kangana Ranaut. He gave threat in the comment section of a post on her official Facebook page. After people started criticising him he sid that his ID was hacked in an apology post on his profile.

Kangana Ranaut posted a few photographs and wished everyone on Navratri. In that post she also informed that another FIR had been registered against her.

She wrote, “Who all are fasting on Navratris? Pictures clicked from today’s celebrations as I am also fasting, meanwhile another FIR filed against me, Pappu sena in Maharashtra seems to be obsessing over me, don’t miss me so much I will be there soon.”

Amit Shah says: No one can take away Indian land

By
Neha Kumari
-

Amid the ongoing standoff with China in Ladakh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Modi government is fully conscious to save every inch of land in the country and no one can occupy it. Shah also said that the government is taking all possible military and diplomatic steps to resolve the deadlock with Ladakh in China.


In response to a question on whether China has entered Indian territory, he said in a conversation with a private channel, ”We are wary of every inch of our territory, no one can capture it. Our defense forces and leadership are capable of protecting the sovereignty and boundary of the country. ”

The Home Minister also said that the government is committed to the sovereignty and security of the country. In the context of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Shah expressed confidence that the NDA would get a two-thirds majority. He said that Nitish Kumar will be the next Chief Minister of the state after the elections.

Have Chinese soldiers entered Indian territory? In response to this question, Shah said, ‘We are vigilant about every inch of our territory, no one can capture it. Our defense forces and leadership are capable of protecting the sovereignty and boundary of the country”.

Regarding West Bengal, the Home Minister said that after next year’s assembly elections the government will change there and BJP will come to power there. He said, ‘We think we will fight strongly in West Bengal and form the government.’ He said that the law and order situation in West Bengal is serious and political parties like BJP have every right to demand imposition of President’s rule there.

Prakash Javadekar appealed to download the SAMEER App

By
Neha Kumari
-

The Central Government has introduced a new app today. The government has today introduced a new app giving information about pollution, which will give information about pollution to people. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar appealed to people to download the SAMEER App.

Javadekar took suggestions from the public during Facebook Live and also answered all the questions. The Union Minister also informed about all steps taken by the Modi government to eradicate pollution. He informed that 60 to 70 polluting power plants will be identified and closed in the next two years in the country.

To reduce pollution, he suggested people use e-vehicles. He said that more than 2 e-vehicles are being used in the country. He said that I myself use the e-vehicle itself and also appeal to the people to use it only, so that it can help reduce pollution. The air quality index has reached alarming levels since the onset of winter.

He said that 60 to 70 power plants would be identified and closed in the next two years. He said that the main causes of pollution in the country are traffic, industry, garbage, dust, stubble and geography. He said that people should use public vehicles. Avoid using vehicles for short distances.

Another controversy in Pakistan Cricket seeks attention

By
Harshit
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Pakistan cricket team, Pakistan cricket COVID-19 protocol
Pakistan cricket team, Pakistan cricket COVID-19 protocol

Once again a new controversy has arisen in Pakistan cricket. The Bio Secure bubble of nine players and three officials has been broken in the Nation T20 Cup released in Rawalpindi. Pakistan Cricket Board is disappointed with this action of the players.

According to the Pakistan newspaper The Dawn, these are top players like Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Fakhar Jaman, Yasir Shah, Khurram Manzoor, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali, Imam ul Haq. At the same time, among the officers are Abdul Razzaq, Basit Ali, and Rashid Khan. The PCB has issued a warning saying that now someone will violate the Bio Secure bubble in the future, will be directly be terminated from the Pakistan playing contingent.

According to the statement issued by the PCB, high-performance Director Nadeem Khan, “The PCB is frustrated and disappointed that some senior players and officials violated the BioSecure bubble with the National T20 Cup.” With this, they put the health and safety of the tournament and his colleagues at risk. “

He said, “This is completely unacceptable. After talking to the players and officials concerned, it has been decided that a zero-tolerance policy will be adopted for such violations in future and those who violate the protocols will be out of the tournament. “

IPL 2020: Sunil Narine gets green signal for his bowling action

By
Harshit
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Sunil Narine, IPL, IPL 2020
Sunil Narine, IPL, IPL 2020

The bowling action of veteran off-spinner Sunil Narine was dubbed as clean by IPL bowling action committee. Narine complained last week about suspected bowling action.

It happned during the Knight Riders’ match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) last Saturday and as a result of it he got a warning of getting banned from bowling in the league if this had happened once again. The player and franchise were revealed that the IPL committee found Narine’s their bowling action clean.

“The bowling action of Kolkata Knight Riders’ player Sunil Naren has been found clean by the IPL’s suspected bowling action committee,” the IPL committee said in a statement on Sunday.

After the complaint, Naren was placed on the IPL warning list. The Knight Riders had requested the Special Committee to officially assess Narine’s action and also submitted slow-motion footage of his action from the rear and side angles.

India-China prepares for 8th round of military level talk

By
Harshit
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India-China will hold the eighth round of military and diplomatic level talks next week to discuss the disengagement at the Line Of Actual Control. The two countries are also preparing for snow and winter deployment at LAC.

This time the Indian contingent will comprise Lieutenant General PGK Menon, who has just taken over the 14 corps in Leh. Naveen Srivastava the joint secretary, East Asia of the Ministry of External Affairs will also mark his presence in the 8th round of talks. The Chinese side will see the likes of major general Lin Liu and a foreign ministry official.

“If India were to withdraw its armoured units from south of Pangong Tso to beyond Chang La or beyond Marsimik La, then they will never reach back to the contested points in a worst-case scenario as both the passes are blocked by heavy snow till April every year. The PLA, on the other hand, have an advantage as they have a six-lane Kashgar-Lhasa highway just 10 km from both Marsimik La and Kongka La with roads running right up to their posts,” said a senior official.


While the People Liberation Army (PLA) has proposed that both sides should withdraw armored and artillery units as part of de-escalation and then go for dis-engagement of infantry, the Indian side is very much clear that armored units cannot be withdrawn as it will give an advantage to the adversary due to terrain and capability.

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