BJP workers on a protest march in Mumbai against West Bengal CM

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested in Mumbai on Friday against yesterday’s stone-pelting attack on the convoy of BJP President JP Nadda in Kolkata.

BJP workers marched towards the Governor House here in order to hand over a memorandum to Governor Bhagat Koshyari, to take action against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with yesterday’s attack. Members of “Bengali Citizens of India” also joined this protest with BJP workers.

The party workers were seen burning West Bengal Chief Minister’s effigy, rubbing black ink on her posters while raising slogans against the West Bengal Government.

“The public system is being strangled in broad daylight in West Bengal. We will go to Raj Bhavan today and urge the Governor to take our matter to the President and bring Presidential rule in West Bengal,” said Ram Kadam, BJP MLA and spokesperson.

This comes a day after BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda’s convoy was attacked and several party leaders including Kailash Vijayvargiya were injured when protesters pelted stones at their vehicles at Diamond Harbour.

Nadda on Thursday concluded his two-day visit to the state.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a virtual summit with Uzbekistan, the war-torn country’s northern neighbor, on Friday.

In order to restore peace in Afghanistan, the negotiations with the Taliban must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled, “Both the countries are on the same page when it comes to regional security and we stand strong together against terrorism. The two countries (India and Uzbekistan) have agreed that in order to restore peace in Afghanistan, the negotiations with the Taliban must be Afghan-led and Afghan controlled,” he said at his opening address.

Congratulating President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ahead of the completion of his five years of rule on December 14, PM Modi said that he was looking forward to the Uzbekistan visit this year, which couldn’t take due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was really looking forward to visiting Uzbekistan this year but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my journey was not possible hence. But I am happy that with the “work from anywhere” model, we are meeting each other virtually,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the leaders will discuss an entire spectrum of the bilateral relationship, including the strengthening of India-Uzbekistan cooperation in the post-COVID world. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
PM Modi said India and Uzbekistan are two very rich civilizations.

“The two countries share an old, strong bond. Our views on the current challenges and approach towards them are extremely similar,” he added.
The PMO added India and Uzbekistan have continued to maintain high-level exchanges in the recent past. “The visits of Prime Minister Modi to Uzbekistan in 2015 and 2016 and President Mirziyoyev to India in 2018 and 2019 have imparted a new dynamism to the strategic partnership,” the PMO website read.

It added that several government-to-government agreements are expected to be concluded coinciding with the virtual summit.

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Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of a new 110-inch MicroLED TV, and the product is up for the pre-sale in South Korea as of now.

The newly launched TV has an astonishing color vibrancy and brightness with self-emissive LED display technology. Unlike earlier, Samsung’s MicroLED TV can be installed in a traditional TV as the model is prefabricated and not modular. “As consumers rely on their televisions for more functions than ever, we are incredibly excited to bring the 110 MicroLED to the commercial market,” said Jonghee Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics in an official statement.
“Samsung MicroLED is going to redefine what premium at-home experiences mean for consumers around the world,” Jonghee added.

The 110 MicroLED also has a processor powerful enough to live up to its display capabilities. Its all-new Micro AI Processor delivers 4K HDR content — resulting in bright, vivid, realistic picture quality that is optimized for each scene.

The newly launched TV also includes an embedded Majestic Sound System that delivers 5.1 channel sound with no external speaker. The product will be available globally in the first quarter of 2021.

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Members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee proceeded from Amritsar to join the farmers’ protest in Delhi against the new agriculture laws

Amritsar (Punjab) [India]: Another group comprising members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee proceeded from Amritsar on Friday to join the farmers’ protest in Delhi against the new agriculture laws.

“Around 700 tractor trolleys and along with other vehicles are moving towards Delhi’s Kundli border. Around 50,000 farmers will go to the Kundli border. Today, we will cross the Shambhu border in Punjab. Later, we will stay in Haryana during the night. The next morning we will move towards the Kundli border,” SS Pandher, Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee. The farmers are protesting against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

After rejecting the Centre’s proposals to make amendments in the recently enacted farm laws, against which the farmers are protesting, the agitating leaders on Thursday said that they would intensify their agitation by blocking railway tracks to put pressure on the government to repeal the three Acts. 

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Tech giant Google on Thursday announced that it is launching new information panels in its search results for countering misinformation and for educating people about the things that are available in their location.

According to The Verge, the panels are rolling out starting in the United Kingdom, where the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is approved and is being administered, and will be introduced in more countries as local health authorities begin authorizing vaccines. The panels will include information on each individual vaccine and will aim to address the vaccine misinformation.

It will also provide guidance about how, when, and where people can receive the shots, reported The Verge.

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YouTube has provided creators with a new feature which are more likely to notice a dramatic difference between HDR and non-HDR video

Washington [US]: Video streaming platform YouTube announced on Tuesday that it has launched HDR for live streams as well. This announcement has come after the company rolled out HDR support more than four years ago for pre-recorded video content uploaded to the platform.

According to Mashable, with this announcement, YouTube becomes the first major platform to enable HDR quality content on its live streams. HDR — which stands for high-dynamic range — the video has a broader range of colors and higher contrast. An HDR video’s whites will be brighter and blacks will be darker. The overall image ends up being much more vibrant than that of standard video.

With this new feature, the users are more likely to notice a dramatic difference between HDR and non-HDR video than between 4k and 1080p video. Earlier in 2016, YouTube rolled out 4k live streaming in 2016
As per Mashable, viewers can stream HDR content on any supported mobile device, TV, or streaming set-top box or stick. YouTube has provided creators with an outline of what they need in order to live stream in HDR as well.
This is the second time this month that YouTube has launched some big new features for the company’s live-streaming features.

Last week, YouTube rolled out new updates to its Premiere feature, which allows creators to air pre-recorded uploaded video as a one-time live stream when it is first made public.

The new features allowed creators to air a teaser trailer or countdown before the video’s debut. The update also provided creators with the ability to live-stream before the video’s premiere and seamlessly transition into the newly uploaded video after the live portion of the stream ends. 

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Snowman and SpiceJet have signed a pact for jointly engaging in storage, transportation, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Integrated temperature-controlled logistics service provider Snowman and low-cost airline SpiceJet have signed a pact for jointly engaging in storage, transportation, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines from various manufacturers across India and internationally.

Snowman will handle the ground services which includes activities like transportation to and from manufacturers, warehouses, airports and consumption points, packing, storage and warehousing, in the required temperature zones.

On the other hand, SpiceJet will provide air connectivity for temperature-controlled distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines across India as well as internationally.

Snowman is the largest cold chain provider in India and provides integrated temperature-controlled warehousing transportation and distribution services. The company has facilities in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

SpiceXpress, the dedicated cargo arm of SpiceJet, has come forth to take up the responsibility of seamlessly transporting the vaccine through a specialised service called Spice Pharma Pro.

The airline has tied up with global leaders in cold chain solutions offering active and passive packaging with dedicated equipment to perform seamless cold chain operations.

With a dedicated fleet of 17 cargo aircraft, SpiceXpress has been preparing for the humungous task of transporting medicines, vaccines, blood samples and temperature-sensitive cargo by developing end-to-end cold chain logistics solutions.

SpiceJet transported 85,000 tonnes of cargo since the lockdown in March. The airline’s international cargo network now spans over 50 international destinations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, China, Myanmar, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada among others. 

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The three-in-one account allows customers to invest in a wide variety of financial products

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a three-in-one account which allows customers to invest in a wide variety of financial products.

A 3-in-1 account (savings + trading + Demat) is a convenient option that helps the customers to keep all their banking and financial investments under one umbrella entity. The bank provides stock broking and Demat services through a referral arrangement with brokerage firms for trading and depository services. These arrangements enable Equitas customers to invest funds across investment products using a single platform.

“This product allows customers a secure seamless and convenient way to invest in their choice of investment instruments including equity, fixed deposits, government securities and mutual fund products,” said Murali Vaidyanathan, President and Country Head for branch banking, liabilities, product and wealth.

The financial products offered through the 3-in-1 account includes direct equity trading, future and options trading, mutual fund investment across all asset management companies, exchange-traded funds, corporate fixed deposits, corporate bonds, government bonds, insurance products, National Pension Scheme and initial public offerings.

Equitas Small Finance Bank is the largest small finance bank in India in terms of a number of banking outlets and the second largest in terms of assets under management and total deposits. Its distribution channels comprise of 853 banking outlets and 322 ATMs across 15 states and union territories in India.

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World Athletics announced World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing to postpone the event from March 19-21 in 2021 to March 2023

Quai Antoine [Monaco]: World Athletics (WA) on Thursday announced that they have agreed with the organisers of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing to postpone the event from March 19-21 in 2021 to March 2023.

“Whilst we have been liaising with the Organising Committee and the Chinese Athletics Association to evaluate the staging over the last few weeks, given the current global situation, there is still significant uncertainty about the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early part of 2021,” WA said in a release. “For the safety of our athletes and technical officials, we must duly consider the risks in bringing a large group of people to attend the event under the pandemic situation and fully respect and carry out the pandemic prevention policy of the host country,” it added.

Earlier this year, the event was postponed to March 2021 after the coronavirus outbreak in China. The event was originally scheduled to held in Nanjing from March 13-15 this year.

Nanjing will now host World Indoor Championships 2023, one year after the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in 2022.

Despite this postponement, athletes will still have substantial competitive opportunities available in the early part of 2021 through the World Indoor Tour which comprises 26 meetings spread across 12 countries in Europe and North America.

The World Indoor Tour runs from the end of January to the end of February 2021 and is organised across three different tiers of competition — Gold, Silver and Bronze. 

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