Author Archives: Arun Kumar N

About Arun Kumar N

Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.

India to provide loan assistance to print school books for Sri Lankan children

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Amid ongoing economic crisis with skyrocketing inflation and dollar crunch, Sri Lanka will get Indian loan assistance to print text books for school children for the year 2023.

Education Minister Susil Premejanatha said that steps have been taken to import raw materials including papers and ink required for textbook printing under Indian credit line for 2023 education year starting from next March.

With no dollars to import printing material, education was one of the main victims of current economic crisis the country has been going through and in March last year, the island nation cancelled examinations for millions of students with no papers to print exam papers.

Sri Lanka provides text books and school uniforms for students free of cost at a cost of around $44 million.

India has extended 8 Lines of Credit (LOCs) to Sri Lanka amounting to US$1,850.64 million in the past 10 years, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha last month.

“Government of India has extended 08 Lines of Credit (LOCs) to Sri Lanka amounting to USD 1,850.64 million in sectors including railways, infrastructure, defence, renewable energy, petroleum and fertilizers in the past 10 years,” Jaishankar said in a written reply.

In January 2022, India extended a $400 million currency swap and a Line of Credit of US$ 500 million for importing fuel from India. India has extended a credit facility of US$ 1 billion for the procurement of food, medicines and other essential items from India.

In addition, humanitarian assistance was provided to Sri Lanka by gifting essential medicines worth about INR 6 crores, 15,000 litres of kerosene oil and US$55 million LoC for procurement of Urea fertilizer.

India has provided the biggest financial support so far extending $4 billion for the year 2022 alone. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to provide $2.9 billion over four years with conditions to help salvage the country from its economic crisis.

 

NASA Hosts National Space Council Meeting, Vice President Kamala Harris Chairs Event

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Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the importance of climate, human spaceflight, and STEM education during the Biden-Harris Administration’s second National Space Council meeting Friday, held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“For generations, with our allies and partners around the globe, America has led our world in the exploration and use of space,” said Harris. “Our leadership has been guided by a set of fundamental principles – cooperation, security, ambition, and public trust – which is the recognition, of course, that space can and must be protected for the benefit of all people.

There is so much we still don’t know and so much we still haven’t done – space remains a place of undiscovered and unrealized opportunity. Our test and our responsibility is to work together to guide humanity forward into this new frontier and to make real the incredible potential of space for all people.”

National Space Council Meeting led by Chairwoman, Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo Date: September 9, 2022. Location: Building 9NW, SVMF. Photographer: Robert Markowitz.

For more than 50 years, NASA satellites have provided open-source and publicly available data on Earth’s land, water, temperature, weather, and climate. Improving access to key climate information is a priority for the agency. Building on his previous announcement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released the first concept, and shared a new video for the Earth Information Center. The center will allow the public to see how the Earth is changing and guide decision makers to mitigate, adapt, and respond to climate change.

“Just like we use mission control to monitor operations during spaceflight, we’re embarking on this effort to monitor conditions here on our home planet, and it will be available to everyone in an easy-to-access format,” Nelson said.

Planning for the Earth Information Center is underway with the initial phase providing an interactive visual display of imagery and data from NASA and other government agencies. NASA Headquarters plans to house this initial interactive display with goals to expand in person and virtual access over the next five years.

The Vice President also underscored the important research conducted on the International Space Station that will enable long duration stays on the Moon and future human missions to Mars, in addition to benefits to life here on Earth.

NASA/Photo: Nasa.gov

“NASA uses the International Space Station to conduct critical research on the risks associated with future Mars missions – space radiation, isolation, and distance from Earth, just to name a few. It’s also a testbed to develop the technologies we’ll need for long duration stays on the Moon, where we will build an Artemis Base Camp on the surface and Gateway outpost in lunar orbit,” Nelson said. “Research on the space station demonstrates that the benefits of microgravity are not just for discovery. We also develop new technologies that improve life on Earth, like treatments for cancer.”

In conjunction with the meeting, NASA announced a new Space Grant K-12 Inclusiveness and Diversity in STEM (SG KIDS) opportunity that will award more than $4 million to institutions across the U.S. to help bring the excitement of NASA and STEM to traditionally underserved and underrepresented groups of middle and high school students. The announcement is a part of a broader set of commitments made by public, private, and philanthropic partners announced by the Vice President to help in the recruitment and development of the next generation of the space workforce.

SG KIDS also addresses the White House Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, as well as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s focus on providing authentic STEM opportunities to K-12 students.

While at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Vice President Harris toured the agency’s mission control with Nelson and Johnson Center Director Vanessa Wyche. The Vice President also spoke with NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, living and working aboard the International Space Station about how their research benefits life on Earth, supports long duration space flight, and protects our planet.

The Vice President also received a tour of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF), where space flight crews and their support personnel receive world class training on high-fidelity hardware for real-time mission support. The SVMF consists of space station, Orion, Commercial vehicle mockups, part-task trainers and rack interfaces, a Precision Air Bearing Floor, and a Partial Gravity Simulator.

A recording of the full National Space Council meeting is available online at:

https://go.nasa.gov/3eEGxEW

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organises National Conference on Sustainable Coastal Management

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Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the first National Conference on Sustainable Coastal Management in India in Bhubaneswar today.

This conference is being organized by the Green Climate Fund supported project – Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities.

The objective of the conference is to bring officials from all 13 coastal states of India under one roof to focus on the three interrelated themes :

  1. Coastal and marine biodiversity,
  2. Climate mitigation and adaptation and
  3. Coastal pollution.

This endeavour is aimed at creating a vibrant network of stakeholders who will continue to engage with each other on the topics but also on cross-cutting themes such as coastal governance, technologies and innovation as well as domestic and international finance.

“The Indian coastline is of immense strategic, economic and social importance to the country.

  • Indian coastline spans 7,500 kilometres, seventh longest in the world,
  • home to 20 percent of the country’s population,
  • Three of our four metropolitan cities lie on the coast,
  • supports more than 17,000 species of plants and animals.

There is a great diversity of ecosystems within our coastal regions that support more than 17,000 species of plants and animals.  With the changing climate, we need to build the resilience of communities living in coastal areas.” said Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Sustainable Coastal Management in India

“This conference comes at an important time as India has submitted its revised NDCs and seeks to create multi-sectoral partnerships to meet these targets” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, said: “Such conferences are important to bring the conversations of resilience and sustainability to our country’s coastal areas.  This was also envisioned in the Honourable Prime Minister’s LiFE movement.”

Sustainable Coastal Management in India

Sustainable coastal management is recognised as need of the hour. Data-driven policies and management frameworks, participatory conservation models, and convergence between stakeholders are the key pillars for effective coastal management.

A programme on Enhancing Climate Resilience of Coastal Communities is being implemented in partnership with UNDP in the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the initiative is integrating ecosystem and community-based approaches to adaptation into coastal management and planning.

Torrential rains in Bengaluru trigger social media war on migrants issue

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As Bangalore is struggling to withstand torrential rains, the appalling picture of inadequate infrastructure is getting zoomed in international headlines with pictures of techies, CEOs travelling by boats and tractors to reach workplaces or shifting from their inundated residences.

Meanwhile, social media is abuzz with a debate on India’s Silicon City’s infrastructure, while the locals retaliated with the Twitter campaign for “Leave Bengaluru” is trending, as some users are asking migrants to leave the city and go back to their native places..

The tech communities and the Outer Ring Road Companies Association have asked the government that if they are not ensured proper infrastructure, they would find new destinations.

It ensued twitter campaigns titled “#LeaveBengalurua, “#GetLostMigrants’ and a#Bengaluru_nammadu’ (It’s our Bengaluru) are trending.
One Virat Rocky slammed trolls as “migrant mindset” and said it’s “double standard” mindset. He said, “If you don’t love me in my crisis, then you don’t deserve me in my good times.” He has used photos of water flooding on arterial roads and pictures of the beautiful spring season in the city.

Another post stated: “Bengaluru is our city, not yours. Please go back to your native places.” “Listen migrants, you are in Bengaluru to earn your bread and butter, just complete your work and get lost, says yet another post.

On the other hand, “This is the result of paying taxes to the government. Forget about good infrastructure, they are not able to provide basic facilities as well,” stated a post while referring to the Global Technology Park on Outer Ring Road being inundated.

Meanwhile a minister too joined the debate.

“Those who say they can’t live in silicon city Bengaluru, should not come here. No one invited them to come and reside here,” stated Minister for Horticulture V. Munirathna, targetting the trolls.

Those who talk in demeaning manner about Bengaluru belong to low culture. It is not fair for them to bad mouth Bengaluru, the city which has given them food, shelter and livelihood, he said.

Bengaluru city is spoiled only because of people like this, ones whose history of the city will never talk about it. Those who come here first have to know the history. People from north India have settled in Bengaluru in large numbers. Those who tweet as per their whims and fancies must be taught a lesson legally, Minister Munirathna opined.

 

The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King

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Britain’s longest-serving Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral aged 96, ending an era of 70 years of rule. Her family was at her bed side at the Scottish estate since earlier on Thursday.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952. Following her demise, the Operation London Bridge, codename to post-Queen formalities, will come into effect.

Her eldest son Charles will lead the country in mourning as the new King with the title, King Charles III, and take over as head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms from Canada to Australia.

In a statement, the new King said, “The death of my beloved mother Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.

“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

Queen Elizabeth II is dead, Charles III becomes UK’s new King

All the Queen’s children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after the news of her deteriorating health started pouring in. Her grandson, Prince William, is already there and his brother, Prince Harry, is on his way.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.

15 PMs appointed by her

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Ms Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, reported BBC.

At Buckingham Palace in London, the Union flag was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST.

Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926, she married her third cousin, Philip, Prince of Greece, who was serving in the Royal Navy in 1947 and he remained her strength through 74 years of marriage, until his death in 2021, aged 99.

Queen Elizabeth II seriously ill, children rush to Balmoral Castle in Scotland

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Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest serving monarch, is under medical supervision at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland with rumours of her deteriorating health condition going viral.

According to the Buckingham Palace, “Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.”

The palace’s statement on Thursday further escalated concerns about the Queen’s health and people started gathering outside the palace. As many as 100 people, braving torrential rain, are seen at the gates of the Buckingham Palace amid concerns over the health of Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II

“The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral,” a palace spokesperson said. Reports said that all the children of the Queen — Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward are at her side in the palace while her grandson Prince William reached the Balmoral Castle.

Prince Harry, who was travelling with his wife Sussex Meghan, is planning to travel to Balmore alone. Prime Minister Prime Liz Truss is unlikely to travel to Scotland, her spokesperson told news agency Reuters on Thursday evening.

The 96-year-old monarch has been facing several health issues since October  2021 and often struggles to to walk and stand. Recently, she was seen using walking stick while meeting the newly elected PM Truss.

On hearing the condition of the Queen’s health, the traditional ceremony of the Changing of the Guard to take place outside the Buckingham Palace on Friday morning, has been called off.

 

Trump Says “Everyone Wants Me To Run” in 2024 poll; Praises Modi

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In an interview with NDTV, former US President Donald Trump hinted at running again in 2024, in what may be his first revelation on the subject.

When asked, Trump said, “Everyone wants me to run,” and claimed that he is ahead in popularity polls whether in his Republican party or among the Democrats.

“I’m leading in the polls, and every poll – Republican polls and Democrat polls. I’ll make a decision in the very near future, I suspect. And I think that a lot of people are going to be very happy,” he said.

Video grab of PM Narendra Modi with former US President Donald Trump (White House)

Recalling his 2019 joint address with Indian PM Narendra Modi at “Howdy, Modi” rally in Houston, Texas, he said, “I’ve had a great relationship with India and with PM Modi. We were, we’ve been friends. I think he’s a great guy and doing a terrific job,” Trump said.

On his daughter Ivanka Trump, he praised her as the most capable person but refuted rumors that she would be his Vice Presidential candidate. ” I’ve never even heard but that’s an interesting idea. I wouldn’t (consider it).”

Results of Railway Recruitment Boards announced

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Indian Railways conducted Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) of Level 6 of CEN 01/2019 Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) for 7124 posts for recruitment of Station Masters and  Commercial Apprentices on 30th July 2022.

The results of Level 6 posts of all 21 Railway Recruitment Boards (RRB) have been declared. The break-up of selected candidates for each RRB is as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook, Instagram addiction in adolescents linked to inequality: Global study of 179,000 children suggests

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Adolescents from deprived backgrounds are more likely to report an addiction to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media, according to research published in the peer-reviewed journal Information, Communication and Society.

In the first study of its kind, the findings show a link between economic inequality and problematic use of social network platforms and instant messaging applications. The situation is worse in schools where wealth and social differences exist between classmates.

The authors say the results – based on more than 179,000 schoolchildren in 40 countries – suggest that new strategies are needed on social media use that reduce the impact of deprivation.

Action by policymakers could help limit young people’s dysfunctional or abnormal behaviour, add the authors. These negative patterns include being unable to reduce screen time or lying to friends and family about social media use.

facebook

“These findings indicate the potentially harmful influences of inequality at the individual, school and country level on adolescents’ problematic social media use,” says lead author Michela Lenzi from the University of Padua, Italy, an Associate Professor in psychology.

“Policymakers should develop actions to reduce inequalities to limit maladaptive patterns of social media use by adolescents.”

“As the digital divide continues to close in many countries, economic inequalities persist and remain a robust social determinant of adolescent health and well-being. Schools represent an ideal setting to foster safe and prosocial online behaviours.”

Many young people use social media every day and the benefits to well-being are well-documented, as are the risks.

Problematic social media use (PSMU) is not formally recognised as a behavioural addiction. However, it is regarded as a health issue affecting young people.

Social Media/Photo:indiainternationaltimes

This study aimed to investigate the links between socio-economic inequalities, measured at individual, school and country level, and adolescent PSMU.

In addition, the authors evaluated the role of peer and family support as moderators of these associations.

The findings were based on 179,049 children aged 11, 13 and 15 from 40 countries including most of Europe and Canada. Evidence came from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, an international World Health Organization collaborative study carried out every four years.

The researchers asked children to complete questionnaires in order to identify addiction-like behaviour associated with social media. The forms were filled out anonymously while supervised in the classroom by a teacher or trained interviewer.

Any child who reported six or more items was identified as having PSMU. These items included feeling bad when not using social media, trying but failing to spend less time using it, and using social media to escape from negative feelings.

An index based on material assets in the home or family activities was used to calculate scales of deprivation. Items included number of bathrooms, and how many family vacations out of the country in the past year.

The authors measured country wealth, and family/peer social support e.g. degree of help provided from relatives and friends. They also took into account the proportion of the population who used the internet in each country.

 

Findings showed that adolescents who were relatively more deprived than their schoolmates and attended more economically unequal schools were more likely to report PSMU.

The association with a wealth divide among pupils in the same class was stronger in youths with lower peer support. But a link between country income inequality and PSMU was only found in adolescents reporting low levels of family support.

There may be many reasons for the link between economic deprivation and PSMU. One theory suggested by the authors is that sharing images or videos resonates especially with the more deprived adolescents because they associate them with power and status.

They suggest that school-based prevention efforts might target ‘objective and perceived’ social class differences among schoolmates.

Also key, is increasing peer support which the authors found was a protective factor in the relationship between relative deprivation and PSMU.

Piyush Goyal to attend Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF) Ministerial meeting in Los Angeles tomorrow

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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal will continue his tour of the US and travel to Los Angeles today to attend the first in-person Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF), US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) meeting and other significant events.

Earlier in the day, Shri Goyal had a luncheon engagement with ‘Indiaspora’.

Interacting with media later in the day, ahead of the IPEF Ministerial, Shri Piyush Goyal said that discussions at IPEF would focus on opening opportunities for the member nations to work in partnership with each other to ensure that particularly during challenges and difficult times, supply chains remain open and business and people of countries don’t suffer because of chaotic conditions like covid and conflict.

Ministry of Commerce/photo:en.wikipedia.org

 

Terming IPEF as a new and unique initiative and a partnership between rules-based, like-minded countries which have transparent economic systems, Shri Goyal said that IPEF would work to ensure that the Indo-Pacific Region would remain secure and open for business.

Elaborating further, the Minister said that at the IPEF Ministerial, discussions would focus on facilitating open trade, keeping supply chains open. He said that as trading relations with IPEF nations expand, investments, both from and into India, would also get a leg up. All the countries meeting tomorrow have a lot to offer each other in terms of trade, investments and technology and we will work together on all fronts, he added.

Responding to a query, Shri Goyal said that US and India share a very good and strong business relationship. The US is India’s largest trading partner and many Indian companies do a lot of work for their counterparts in America. There is a lot of investment flowing from US to India, he added.

Observing that US and India are getting closer together, the Minister said that the relations between the two nations were strengthening by the day through two Quads now- one with Japan and Australia and another with Israel and UAE. 2 plus 2 ministerial dialogues between India and USA are robust and vibrant and our engagements in several areas including geopolitical and sensitive areas are expanding. The leaders of both countries, the businesses of both countries and the people of both countries are closer than ever before, he added.

Highlighting some of the milestones India has achieved in international engagement such as USD 675 billion worth of foreign trade despite challenges of conflict, inflation, threat of recession and pandemic and record FDI in the last eight years, the Minister expressed confidence that India is and would remain a preferred trading partner and investment destination to the world, thanks to the huge market, honest government and transparent economic policies, rule of law, vibrant media and judiciary. This will improve the well-being of people of India provide jobs, thrust to economic activity and thus growth, he added.

The Minister also engaged with top companies and labs of semiconductor manufacturing and research to explore greater collaboration with Indian companies. He held a meeting with Tim Archer, CEO of Lam Research.

“Building on our pool of young & skilled workforce, discussed how India in collaboration with Lam research, can provide a leading edge in semiconductor innovation”, he tweeted after the meeting.

iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Max come with new design and display: Insights

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The newly-launched iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have certain new features worth to take note of such as the first-ever 48MP camera, the Always-On display, new SoS connectivity via satellite, and other safety capabilities.

Powered by A16 Bionic, the fastest chip ever in a smartphone, iPhone 14 Pro introduces a new class of pro camera system, with the first-ever 48MP Main camera on iPhone featuring a quad-pixel sensor, and Photonic Engine, an enhanced image pipeline that dramatically improves low-light photos.

These features help make iPhone more useful for everyday tasks, for emergency situations with SOS via satellite and Crash Detection, said the company. To be available in four colors — deep purple, silver, gold, and space black — pre-orders will begin Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16.

“Our customers count on their iPhone every day, and with iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, we’re delivering more advancements than any other iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Design and Display

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feature a surgical-grade stainless steel and textured matte glass design in four colors. Available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes,1 both models include a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that features the Always-On display for the first time, enabled by a new 1Hz refresh rate and power-efficient technologies.

Apple said the feature makes the new Lock Screen even more useful, keeping the time, widgets, and Live Activities available at a glance. The advanced display also brings the same peak HDR brightness level as Pro Display XDR, and the highest outdoor peak brightness in a smartphone: up to 2000 nits, which is twice as bright as iPhone 13 Pro.

Always-On Display

Both models include a new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion that features the Always-On display, enabled by a new 1Hz refresh rate and multiple power-efficient technologies.

Both iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max offer features with the Ceramic Shield front cover — tougher than any smartphone glass — and are protected from common spills and accidents with water and dust resistance.

Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island enables new ways to interact with iPhone, featuring a design that blends the line between hardware and software, adapting in real time to show important alerts, notifications, and activities. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the TrueDepth camera has been redesigned to take up less of the display area.

Without impeding content on the screen, the Dynamic Island maintains an active state to allow users easier access to controls with a simple tap-and-hold. Ongoing background activities like Maps, Music, or a timer remain visible and interactive, and third-party apps in iOS 16 that provide information like sports scores and ride-sharing with Live Activities can take advantage of the Dynamic Island.

The Dynamic Island blurs the line between hardware and software, fluidly expanding into different shapes to clearly convey important activities like Face ID authentication.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max launched; Features, Specs, Price and Availability

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Finally, Apple today has iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the most advanced Pro lineup ever featuring the Always-On display, the first-ever 48MP camera on iPhone, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via satellite, and a new way to receive notifications and activities with the Dynamic Island.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max represent features like the Dynamic Island, the first-ever 48MP camera on iPhone, the Always-On display, and safety capabilities, sid Apple at the livestreamed launch event.

iphone 14 pro

“Our customers count on their iPhone every day, and with iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, we’re delivering more advancements than any other iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at the launch event.

“Groundbreaking safety capabilities bring users even more security, offering help when they need it most. And with the incredibly powerful and efficient A16 Bionic chip and all-day battery life, this is the best iPhone yet,” he said.

Powered by A16 Bionic, the fastest chip ever in a smartphone, iPhone 14 Pro introduces a new class of pro camera system, with the first-ever 48MP Main camera on iPhone featuring a quad-pixel sensor, and Photonic Engine, an enhanced image pipeline that dramatically improves low-light photos.

These features help make iPhone more useful for everyday tasks, creative projects, and now even emergency situations with features such as Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection, said the company.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in four colors — deep purple, silver, gold, and space black. Pre-orders begin Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16 online and at Apple stores worldwide.

 

iPhone 14 launched; Pricing and Availability

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The newly launched iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in deep purple, silver, gold, and space black in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.

Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the US, and 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in Malaysia, Turkey, and 20 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 23.

iphone 14 pro

Emergency SOS via satellite will be available starting in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be included for free for two years with the activation of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Customers can get iPhone 14 Pro for $41.62 (US) a month for 24 months or $999 (US) before trade-in, and iPhone 14 Pro Max for $45.79 (US) a month for 24 months or $1,099 (US) before trade-in from apple.com/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are also available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers.

Customers can save up to $1,000 (US) on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max with trade-in directly from apple.com/store or at an Apple Store when they activate it with select US carriers. Terms apply. For eligibility requirements and more details, see apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/carrier-offers.

Customers in the US can get ready for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max pre-orders until 10 p.m. PDT on Thursday, September 8, by visiting apple.com/store or using the Apple Store app. They can choose to pay monthly or in full, add a trade-in credit toward their new product, or upgrade through the iPhone Upgrade Program.

iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 12.

Customers who purchase iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will receive three months of Apple Arcade with a new subscription.

Leather Wallet with MagSafe and iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Leather Cases will be available in five new colors: midnight, forest green, ink, umber, and orange.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Clear Case and Silicone Cases will be available in midnight, storm blue, red, chalk pink, lilac, elderberry, succulent, and sunglow.

More than 1.1 million sea turtles poached over last three decades: Study

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One of the most serious threats to wildlife biodiversity, in addition to the climate crisis, is the illegal killing and trafficking of animals and plants. Despite many laws against the black-market wildlife trade, it is considered to be one of the most lucrative illicit industries in the world.

Animals, especially endangered and threatened species, are often exploited and sold for their pelts or used as medicine, aphrodisiacs, curios, food and spiritual artifacts.

In a new study published in Global Change Biology, Arizona State University researchers estimate that more than 1.1 million sea turtles have been illegally killed and, in some cases, trafficked between 1990 and 2020. Even with existing laws prohibiting their capture and use, as many as 44,000 sea turtles were exploited each year over the past decade in 65 countries or territories and in 44 of the world’s 58 major sea turtle populations.

Hawksbills turtle/Photo:en.wikipedia.org

Despite the seemingly large number of poached turtles, the study shows that the reported illegal exploitation of sea turtles declined by approximately 28% over the last decade —something that surprised the researchers. They initially expected to see an overall increase in reported poaching.

“The decline over the past decade could be due to increased protective legislation and enhanced conservation efforts, coupled with an increase in awareness of the problem or changing local norms and traditions,” says Kayla Burgher, co-first author of the study and a doctoral student in ASU’s environmental life sciences program in the School of Life Sciences.

In addition to the slight decline, the researchers found that most of the reported illegal exploitation over the past decade occurred in large, stable and genetically diverse sea turtle populations.

Jesse Senko, co-first author of the study and an assistant research professor with the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society says this discovery may be a silver lining to the high number of turtles illegally exploited. “What this means is that most of these sea turtles came from healthy, low-risk populations, which suggests that, with a few exceptions, current levels of illegal exploitation are likely not having a major detrimental impact on most major sea turtle populations throughout the world’s oceans.”

Sea turtle/Photo:en.wikipedia.org

Our assessment also did not include eggs or turtle products, such as bracelets or earrings made from sea turtle shells that could not be easily attributed to individual turtles,” says Senko.

The study revealed additional patterns and trends that may assist in determining conservation management priorities. For example, Vietnam was the most common country of origin for illegal sea turtle trafficking, while China and Japan served as destinations for nearly all trafficked sea turtle products. Similarly, Vietnam to China was the most common trade route across all three decades.

Across the 30-year study period, 95% of poached sea turtles came from two species — green and hawksbill turtles — both of which are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Also, Southeast Asia and Madagascar emerged as major hotspots for illegal sea turtle take and trade, particularly for critically endangered hawksbills, which are prized in the illicit wildlife trade for their beautiful shells.

“Our assessment is an important foundation for future research and outreach efforts regarding illegal sea turtle exploitation. We believe this study can help conservation practitioners and legislators prioritize conservation efforts and allocate their resources to best help protect sea turtle populations from harmful levels of exploitation worldwide,” says Burgher.

The research team says much more needs to be done to sustain global biodiversity.

“Increased support for governments lacking the resources to protect sea turtles is needed, along with support for communities to sustain human well-being in the face of restrictions or bans on sea turtle exploitation. We must develop conservation strategies that benefit both people and turtles,” says Senko.

Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti passes away, state declares mourning; Modi condoles

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Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Vishwanath Katti aged 61 passed away due to cardiac arrest in Bengaluru on Tuesday night.
The State declared one day mourning.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief on the demise of Karnataka Minister, Umesh Katti.

The Prime Minister tweeted;

“Shri Umesh Katti Ji was an experienced leader who made rich contributions to Karnataka’s development. Pained by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this tragic hour. Om Shanti.”

President to launch TB Mukt Bharat initiative, target 2025

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President Droupadi Murmu will virtually launch the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan on Friday to reinvigorate the mission of TB elimination from the country by 2025.

Following the government’s initiative to end Tuberculosis or TB in the country five years ahead of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target of 2030 by the United Nations, the Abhiyaan will be launched in presence of Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and other officials.

The virtual event will be attended by representatives from State and district health administration, corporates, industries, civil society and NGOs as the country reiterates the commitment towards TB elimination by 2025.

The TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has been envisioned to bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination.

The President will also launch the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative which forms a vital component of the Abhiyaan. The Ni-kshay Mitra  portal provides a platform for donors to provide various forms of support to those undergoing TB treatment. The three pronged support includes nutritional, additional diagnostic, and vocational support.

The launch event aims to highlight the need for a societal approach that brings together people from all backgrounds to achieve the ambitious target of eliminating TB from the country by 2025, ahead of the SDG targets set by the UN.

SDG target to eliminate TB

Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. In June 2022, WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a dialogue with WHO’s Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis (CSTF-TB) sought to support the rapid adoption of WHO guidelines at country level.

It has called upon nations to increase access to the best evidence-based interventions for people and communities affected by TB, including prevention, detection and treatment of people with TB and related comorbidities, with the involvement of civil society and affected communities.

30 Doradus: Thousands of stunning young stars in “cosmic tarantula”captured by James Webb telescope

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Thousands of never-before-seen young stars spotted in a stellar nursery called 30 Doradus, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, called Tarantula Nebula owing to its appearance in dusty filaments.

The nebula has long been a favorite for astronomers studying star formation and the  Webb has been revealing beautiful distant background galaxies, as well as the detailed structure and composition of the nebula’s gas and dust ever since it’s started capturing the deep space.

At only 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, the Tarantula Nebula is the largest and brightest star-forming region in the Local Group, the galaxies nearest our Milky Way. It is home to the hottest, most massive stars known. Astronomers focused three of Webb’s high-resolution infrared instruments on the Tarantula. Under the lens of Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the region resembles a burrowing tarantula’s home, lined with its silk.

The nebula’s cavity centered in the image above has been hollowed out by blistering radiation from a cluster of massive young stars, which sparkle pale blue in the image. Only the densest surrounding areas of the nebula resist erosion by these stars’ powerful stellar winds, forming pillars that appear to point back toward the cluster. These pillars contain forming protostars, which will eventually emerge from their dusty cocoons and take their turn shaping the nebula.

Caption: Nestled in the center of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest star yet discovered, astronomers have produced the sharpest image ever of this star.  Photo:Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgment

Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) caught one very young star doing precisely emerging out of the dust. Astronomers previously thought this star might be a bit older and already in the process of clearing out a bubble around itself. However, NIRSpec showed that the star was only just beginning to emerge from its pillar and still maintained an insulating cloud of dust around itself. Without Webb’s high-resolution spectra at infrared wavelengths, this episode of star formation-in-action could not have been revealed.

The region takes on a different appearance when viewed in the longer infrared wavelengths detected by Webb’s Mid-infrared Instrument (MIRI). The hot stars fade, and the cooler gas and dust glow. Within the stellar nursery clouds, points of light indicate embedded protostars, still gaining mass.

While shorter wavelengths of light are absorbed or scattered by dust grains in the nebula, and therefore never reach Webb to be detected, longer mid-infrared wavelengths penetrate that dust, ultimately revealing a previously unseen cosmic environment.

Caption: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

One of the reasons the Tarantula Nebula is interesting to astronomers is that the nebula has a similar type of chemical composition as the gigantic star-forming regions observed at the universe’s “cosmic noon,” when the cosmos was only a few billion years old and star formation was at its peak. Star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy are not producing stars at the same furious rate as the Tarantula Nebula, and have a different chemical composition.

Caption: In this mosaic image displays the Tarantula Nebula star, including tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars that were previously shrouded in cosmic dust. The most active region appears to sparkle with massive young stars, appearing pale blue./Photo:NASA

This makes the Tarantula the closest (i.e., easiest to see in detail) example of what was happening in the universe as it reached its brilliant high noon. Webb will provide astronomers the opportunity to compare and contrast observations of star formation in the Tarantula Nebula with the telescope’s deep observations of distant galaxies from the actual era of cosmic noon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suresh Raina announces retirement from all formats of cricket

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Suresh Raina, the first Indian batter to score a century in all three international formats, has announced his retirement from “all formats of cricket,” including IPL and other domestic matches. Raina, 35, had already retired from international cricket since 2020.

“I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of cricket,” Raina posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

However, Raina may in play tournaments like the Road Safety Series, for which he has already been confirmed, besides several T20 leagues abroad. “I want to continue playing cricket for two or three years,” he told Dainik Jagran. “I have informed BCCI secretary Jay Shah and vice-president Rajiv Shukla about my decision…. I will play in the Road Safety Series. T20 franchises from South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE have contacted me but I am yet to take any decision.”

Suresh Raina calls it quits from all cricket matches

Raina, who kept away from the first-class cricket since 2018, played in the IPL last October for the Chennai Super Kings, whom he represented for 11 seasons between 2008 and 2021. He won four titles in CSK in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 and is their top-scorer with 4,687 runs from 176 matches. However, he was released by CSK in Feb 2022 auction.

Raina has so far scored 6,871 runs in 109 first-class matches, 8,078 runs in 302 list A matches, 8,654 runs in 336 T20 matches.

He started playing for Uttar Pradesh in 2002 and made his international debut in 2005. In his career, Raina played 226 ODIs, 78 T20Is and 18 Tests for India, and was a member of the squad that won the ODI World Cup in 2011.

India is our friend: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is on a four-day visit, said India remains a friend of Bangladesh ever and remembered India’s contribution during the liberation struggle.

Hasina was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where the duo shook hands and posed for the photograph.

She was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. After her welcome, Hasina said, “India is our friend. Whenever I come to India, it is a matter of happiness for me, especially because we always remember India’s contribution during our liberation struggle. We have a friendly relationship, we are cooperating with each other.”

The leaders of the two countries are expected to hold extensive talks, after which the two sides are likely to unveil measures to boost cooperation in the areas of defence, trade and river-water sharing.

PM receives the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ms. Sheikh Hasina in a ceremonial welcome, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on September 06, 2022.

On Thursday, Hasina is scheduled to visit Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Hasina’s delegation includes Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Railway Minister Mohd Nurul Islam Suzanne, Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel Haque and Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Masiur AKM Rahman.

She had last visited New Delhi in October 2019. In March 2021, Prime Minister Modi visited Bangladesh to attend events organised to mark the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle.

India and Bangladesh finalised the text of the agreement on the interim sharing of waters of the Kushiyara river last month and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is likely to be signed on Tuesday.

 

Micro-blogging platform Koo says 15 employees fired, not 40

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Homegrown micro-blogging platform Koo on Tuesday refuted earlier reports that it had  laid off 40 employees and clarified that only 15 employees, or 5 per cent of its workforce has been fired.

In a fresh statement to media, the Twitter rival said that 15 positions “have been made redundant or removed due to performance issues.  This is completely aligned with the industry standards of hiring and retrenchment. At the same time, Koo continues to hire talent in its monetisation, product and engineering teams.”

 

The company spokesperson also said Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder and CEO, Koo, was recently in London for an industry event for Indian entrepreneurs and not to raise funds. She “did not meet any funders or high net worth individuals (HNIs) in London and did not engage in any fundraising activity,” said the company.

Koo has so far raised $44.1 million to date. Launched in March 2020, Koo is currently available in 10 languages — Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali and English.

According to the platform, it has over 45 million downloads and is actively leveraged by 7,000 high-profile people from across the spectrum.

Koo is backed by Tiger Global and early stage investors like Accel, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures and Dream incubator. In February this year, Koo raised $10 million. Its investors include Capsier Venture Partner, Ravi Modi Family Trust, Ashneer Grover, FBC Venture Partners, Adventz Finance among others.