As data security concerns on Facebook and WhatsApp loom large, Twitter is reportedly working on a 'Secret' encrypted messages feature which could make the microblogging platform safer for sensitive communications.

With this feature, Twitter is expected to roll out options about encrypted messaging like starting a secret conversation and viewing both sides of the conversation for encryption keys to verify a secure connection, TechCrunch reported on Monday.

The encrypted Direct Message (DM) option was first spotted inside Twitter for APK that contains codes for unreleased features that companies are testing.

Instant messaging app WhatsApp uses "end-to-end encryption" in all conversations. This can be opted into Messenger.

End-to-end encrypted messages are secured with a lock and only the sender and recipient have the special key needed to unlock and read them.

For added protection, every message sent has its own unique lock and key. No one can intercept the communications.

Last week, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum quit reportedly "after clashing with its parent, Facebook, over the popular messaging service's strategy and Facebook's attempts to use its personal data and weaken its encryption".

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Representational picture

Washington: Twitter is reportedly testing a new feature on its Android app that makes messaging secure with end-to-end encryption.

Called 'Secret Conversation', the feature is expected to be available in the conversation info section in direct messaging of the Twitter app on Android, Mashable reports.

As users seek more security, end-to-end encryption has become a new mandate for messaging apps. The technology makes it difficult for snoopers to access or intercept messages which are exchanged between two parties.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for such a feature on the platform a year ago. It remains to be seen when the end-to-end encryption is officially rolled out.

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Representational picture

San Francisco: A data set of over 3 million Facebook users collected via a personality app was available to download freely for anyone for almost four years, New Scientist reported. The data set was collected via the personality quiz app "myPersonality" by academics at the University of Cambridge.

"The data was highly sensitive, revealing personal details of Facebook users, such as the results of psychological tests.

"It was meant to be stored and shared anonymously, however such poor precautions were taken that deanonymising would not be hard," the report said.

The data sets were controlled by David Stillwell and Michal Kosinski at the University of Cambridge.

"More than 6 million people completed the tests on the myPersonality app and nearly half agreed to share data from their Facebook profiles with the project," said the report.

Alexandr Kogan, at the centre of the British political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica scandal, was previously part of the project.

"Cambridge Analytica had approached the myPersonality app team in 2013 to get access to the data, but was turned down because of its political ambitions," the report said.

Facebook last month suspended "myPersonality" from its platform, saying the app may have violated its policies.

The social media giant on Monday said that is auditing each and every app that has access to the data of its users and has already suspended 200 apps which failed to comply with its policies.

The company CEO Mark Zuckerberg had promised a thorough investigation and audit into apps that had access to information before Facebook changed its platform policies in 2014 -- significantly reducing the data apps could access.

"To date, thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended -- pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data," Facebook said.

If Facebook finds evidence that these or other apps did misuse data, it will ban them and notify users via Help Centre on its website.

Appearing before the US Congress in April, Zuckerberg told lawmakers that his own personal data was part of 87 million Facebook users that was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

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According to provisional polling estimate release on Monday evening, the city scored about 54 percent, three percent more than its 2014 feet. The figures are expected to be revised after the final data crunching on Tuesday. In 2014, Mumbai had registered a turnout of 51.6 percent, which was an improvement from a low of 41.4 percent in the 2009 General elections.

Of the city's six segments of varied demography, South Mumbai couldn't match up with its previous mark while Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, and Mumbai South Central performed better. Mumbai North, where actor Urmila Matondkar (Congress) fought against BJP's sitting MP Gopal Shetty, recorded the highest turnout (59.32 percent) in the city with a major spike of 6.25 percent.

Also Read: Elections 2019: No guidance at booths, claim furious citizens

A fierce contest in North Central Mumbai between MP Poonam Mahajan (BJP) and former MP Priya Dutt (Congress) saw a jump of 4.17 percent. Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora and Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant's South Mumbai polled at a percentage similar to that of 2014. However, former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, who was worried about the possibility of a higher turnout, shouldn't be much upset as his North West fight with Sena's sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar raised the bar by a 4.14 percent.

BJP's eleventh-hour candidate from North East, Manoj Kotak, who replaced sitting MP Kirit Somaiyya, claimed a 4.61 percent increase in polling that would possibly benefit Kotak against NCP's sole candidate in the city and ex-MP Sanjay Dina Patil.

Mumbai South Central which had former MP Eknath Gaikwad pitted against incumbent Rahul Shewale crossed the 2014 figure by 2.26 percent. The average voter turnout in the city's six Lok Sabha elections was 41.40 percent (2009), 47.30 percent (2004), 45 percent (1999), 50.40 percent (1998), 45.10 percent (1996) and 41.60 percent (1991). 

Also Read: Elections 2019: Polling booth moved, names missing, faulty EVMs

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

State does better

After the fourth phase of polling, the state's polling average was 60.68 percent, said Chief Electoral Officer Ashwani Kumar. According to CEO, today's average polling in the 17 constituencies, including Mumbai's six, was 57 percent — much less than that recorded in the first (63.46 percent), second (62.88 percent) and third phase (62.36 percent). Gadchiroli (71.98 percent) registered the highest voter turnout in the state while Kalyan that went to polls on Monday had the lowest turnout of 44.27 percent, said Kumar.

Monday marked the last phase of polling in Maharashtra which has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, second highest after Uttar Pradesh. The outcome of the state will have a bearing on the formation of the government at the Centre, as both the BJP-Sena and Congress-NCP are banking heavily for the electoral gains here. In 2014, the BJP-Sena and their other allies had won a record 42 seats in the state while the Congress was reduced to a mere two seats and NCP managed just four.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Physically challenged, elderly, get little help at polling stations

60.68
State's voting percentage across four phases

48
Total no. of constituencies across Maharashtra

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

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A nine-months pregnant woman was turned away from hospitals in Bandra for not having the COVID-19 reports with her. According to her family, 24-year-old Misbah Shaikh was experiencing cramps on Sunday night after which they visited the Holy Family Hospital where she had registered for delivery. The family members alleged that they were made to wait at the hospital for six hours while requesting to admit her, but the staff did not budge, The Times of India reported.

Shaikh said that she had already paid the hospital the deposit for her delivery and was in touch with a gynaecologist for the past four months. She also alleged that the hospital did not tell her to do the test during their previous visits. The family visited the hospital at 9 am on Monday after Shaikh felt cramps, but the staff did not allow them to enter the hospital without the COVID-19 test report. While Shaikh waited in the car and her family in the hospital, at 3 pm, a doctor at the emergency section agreed to see her and prescribed her a COVID-19 test.

The family then went to Bhabha Hospital to get the test done but the staff there asked her to get admitted, which they did not agree upon. "The cramps have reduced but haven't gone. My due date for delivery is close," Shaikh was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The family then took an appointment at a lab Andheri to take the test on Tuesday.

As the newspaper was not able to contact the authorities at the Holy Family Hospital, a staffer at the gynaecology ward was quoted as saying that pregnant women nearing their delivery due date are asked to get admitted here two days in prior. "We carry out a Covid-19 test and if she comes negative, we go ahead with the delivery. If the woman is positive, we refer her to another hospital. We also ask one attendant accompanying the woman to take the test," the staffer was quoted as saying.

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Mumbai on Tuesday reported the highest death toll due to COVID-19 in a single day. There was a significant increase in the number of cases in Aurangabad and Malegaon. State health officials recorded 729 new cases in Maharashtra and 31 deaths, taking the state's total to 400 deaths. Apart from 25 deaths in Mumbai, four were recorded in Jalgaon and two in Pune. Maharashtra now has 9,318 postive cases.

393 new cases in city
Civic officials said a total of 25 deaths were reported in the city on Tuesday. Of these, five died between April 23-25, and 17 of them were suffering from other ailments. According to the civic body, 393 new infections were confirmed in the city on Tuesday. The patients are admitted in isolation wards and are undergoing treatment.

After a dip in the number of cases, the COVID-19 count rose in G North ward with 42 new cases in Dharavi, five in Mahim and four in Dadar. Four deaths were also reported in Dharavi. Civic officials said two of the patients who died — a 60-year-old man and a 60-year -old woman — had tested positive earlier and died at Sion Hospital while undergoing treatment.

Total 18 deaths in Dharavi so far
Two other patients — a 48-year old man from Kasarwadi and a 55-year-old man from Social Nagar in Dharavi — were confirmed to have contracted the deadly respiratory disease and died at KEM Hospital on Tuesday. As of now, a total of 330 positive cases and 18 deaths have been reported from Dharavi.

Civic officials said that seven of the infected people are residents of 90 feet road, while four others are from Mukund Nagar, and majority of them were aged below 60 years. In Mahim, a 35-year-old female resident of the police colony tested positive and the total number of cases in the area has jumped to 30. In Dadar, two 44 -year-old male residents of the municipal quarters and a 47-year-old woman from the police colony have tested positive.

On Monday, four staffers from the Mantralaya had tested positive. After tracing their contacts, civic officials said that they identified around 25 high-risk contacts and all of them have been tested. Their test results, however, are still awaited. Meanwhile, one COVID-19 patient with severe symptoms was given plasma therapy that will help the patient fight the infection.

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Mumbai continued to record a spike in COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, with the health department confirming 26 casualties, including a first victim in the BMC. The 49-year-old official, who was involved in food distribution in Dharavi — one of the worst hit zones in the city, died on Wednesday.

The civic official was part of the Assessment Department and deputed to the G North ward where he was exposed to the infectious disease. "He had been unwell since April 23 and had stopped coming to work. He had gone to a private practitioner in Borivli where he was treated for pneumonia. He died on his way to Kasturba Hospital from Borivli on Wednesday," said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G North ward.

Dighavkar added that his samples were collected for testing on April 27 and the results came back positive after his demise. He is survived by two sons, and his family members are also being tested, said civic officials.

Across Maharashtra, a total of 597 new infections were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to nearly 10,000, state health department officials said. Of the 597 new cases, 475 were from Mumbai, taking the total count in the city to 6,644.

Total number of deaths due to COVID-19 climbed to 432, with the state recording 32 new fatalities on Wednesday. Besides 26 in Mumbai, one death was confirmed in Panvel, three in Pune and one each in Solapur and Aurangabad. Civic officials said 10 of the 26 deaths took place last week and were confirmed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Dharavi, with 14 new confirmed infections on Wednesday. The total tally in the area now stands at 344. In Mahim, three people, including a 52-year-old male resident of the police colony and a 48-year-old man who lived near the police station, have been found to be COVID-19 positive.

Test reports of 23 high-risk contacts of the four officials from Mantralaya, who had tested positive, have come back negative. At Bombay Hospital, another nurse, 45, has tested positive. An official from the hospital said that the nurse, a resident of Kandivli, was not working in the isolation ward. She has no symptoms of the novel Coronavirus and has been admitted at the hospital, he added.

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India is riding the fashionable wave inspired by Bollywood as 2017 saw movie buffs buying trends inspired by their favourite stars online, says an annual fashion report by e-commerce site Flipkart. The latest findings and trends of 2017 by Flipkart Fashion saw shoppers getting their hands on trendy outfits inspired by Bollywood.

According to the findings, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan starrer "Badrinath Ki Dulhania"; Aditya Roy Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor starrer "Ok Jaanu"; Arjun Kapoor, Shraddha starrer "Half Girlfriend"; Vidya Balan starrer "Tumhari Sulu"; Salman Khan starrer "Tubelight" and Kangana Ranaut starrer "Simran" ruled the fashion sense of the millenials.

According to Flipkart fashion report, Alia Bhatt's latest hit became the fashion guide for Indian outfits in 2017. Her style statement in the movie refreshed shopper's style quotient by purchasing cold shoulder cholis, bandhani lehenga skirts and jhumkas donned by her in the movie, said a statement. Flipkart sold thousands of jhumkas and bandhani skirts within the first month of the movie's release. The first week alone saw the sales of 2,500 plus pairs.

Shraddha made a popular fashion statement of embroidered shorts and skirts in the remake of the iconic Rahman classic "Humma Humma" in "Ok Jaanu". She again made fashion trend with skater dresses, off shoulder tops and layered looks in "Half Girlfriend". From silks to Kanjeevarams to georgettes and crepes, Vidya has always shown her love for the sari. In "Tumhari Sulu", the actress created trends again with people buying saris inspired by her looks. Smaller cities like Bhopal, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Indore shopped for the Vidya Balan look.

Another fashion trend that hit the country was the Kangana-inspired red dress from the movie "Simran". Also men's fashion wasn't far behind as Salman Khan's look with the brown shoes hanging around his neck in "Tubelight" created a lot of buzz making fans wanting to get their hands on a pair at the earliest. The brown shoes topped men's footwear search across cities for two weeks on Flipkart after the movie released.

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) has planned to reopen practice facilities in states and municipalities that were easing shutdown restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The states of Texas and Georgia have reopened businesses this weekend and players can return to team facilities for voluntary individual workouts but are still prohibited from holding group workouts or team activities, according to ESPN.

However, this is not an indication of the NBA approaching a new timetable for resuming the season.

The season has been suspended since March 11 due to the pandemic.

The US has reported 939,235 coronavirus cases, with 53,934 deaths, both tallies the highest in the world.

According to ESPN, a few team executives and General Managers have expressed their misgivings about the safety of the move considering the volume of medical opinions against the reopening of businesses, the lack of enough testing and a vaccine.

There are other executives however, who have been clamoring for players to be able to get back to training facilities, which they believed to be the safest places in current circumstances.

In places with more restrictive governance of stay-at-home orders, the NBA is telling teams the league will work with franchises to help find alternative arrangements for their players.

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The Indian economy has suffered a major setback due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the underprivileged section of the society has to be taken care of financially. Amid this catastrophe, it was reported a few days ago that Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan distributed money in wheat bags to help the needy. And there were a lot of reports doing the rounds about his donation.

Additionally, the video mentions that within each packet of flour, there was Rs 15,000 hidden in cash and that the truck was sent by Aamir Khan. However, the actor has taken to his Twitter account to clarify once and for all that he was not the one behind these donations and stated that maybe the real Robin Hood doesn't want to reveal himself.

This is what he wrote- "Guys, I am not the person putting money in wheat bags. Its either a fake story completely, or Robin Hood doesn't want to reveal himself!
Stay safe.
Love.
a." (sic)

Have a look right here:

Guys, I am not the person putting money in wheat bags. Its either a fake story completely, or Robin Hood doesn't want to reveal himself!
Stay safe.
Love.
a.

— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) May 4, 2020

Last night, on May 3, he, however, did participate in the I for India concert to raise money for the unsung heroes who are fighting the pandemic. Accompanying him was his wife Kiran Rao and one of the actor's fan-clubs posted on its Instagram account to share the video of them singing together. Have a look:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Aamir khan ve eÅŸi kiran yapılan baÄŸıÅŸ için ÅŸarkı söylediler... 😍. @_aamirkhan #aamirkhan .#india #covid19 #iforindia #kiranrao . @give_india Very good ! 👌 .MASALLAH HER KONUDA YETENEÄžİ VAR ...😍😍 .#laalsinghchadha #bolywood #zairawasim #katrinakaif #salmankhan #akshaykumar #saraalikhan #aliabhat #hritiroshan #parinetichopra #priyankachopra #kareenakapoor #ranbirkapoor #imrankhan #kajol #sidharthmalhotra #varundhawan #dishapatani #shaidkapoor #shahrukhan #amitabhachan #kritisanon #aliabhat #preityzinta #salmankhan #akshaykumar #love #shradhhakapoor

A post shared by AAMIR KHAN FAN 😍 14 mart 1965 (@aamirkhanfaneda92) onMay 3, 2020 at 10:09am PDT

As soon as the lockdown ends, Khan will get busy with the shooting of Laal Singh Chaddha, which is slated to release this year on Christmas and also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan.

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Compared to the pre-COVID period, television viewership in India increased by 40 per cent as more and more people stay at home due to the restrictions, said a report on Thursday. In the week starting April 11, individuals watching TV for all seven days increased to 48 per cent, according to the latest report by TV viewership monitoring agency BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) and data measurement firm Nielsen.

For the study, the pre-COVID-19 period referred to January 13-February 2. The highest growth in TV viewership was recorded in some of the biggest metros like Delhi and Mumbai, according to the report.

The results showed that viewership growth in the 15-21 age group is driven largely by the urban market. he 15-21 age group contribute to 16 per cent of the total TV viewership in India, said the report.

Compared to the pre-COVID period, average time spent on TV in Mumbai grew by one hour and 42 minutes. In Delhi, the time spent rose by around an hour and 26 minutes. In Mumbai and Delhi, where COVID-19 cases are among the highest in the country, news consumption on TV grew by 251 per cent and 177 per cent respectively.

Growth in movie viewership is coming largely from pay platforms across urban and rural markets - 82 per cent and 69 per cent respectively. News stays strong in the Hindi speaking market with over 200 per cent growth in week 15 over the pre-COVID period, said the report.

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New Delhi: With 1,211 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country has reached 10,363 including 339 deaths, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Tuesday.

As many as 1,036 people have recovered from the disease so far, said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus. "In one day, 179 people were diagnosed and found cured," he added.

"A total of 10,363 confirmed cases have been reported in India including 339 deaths and 1,036 people, who were COVID-19 positive have recovered. Out of the total deaths, 31 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours," said Aggarwal.

Aggarwal said that an evaluation of each district and city will be done till April 20.

"An evaluation of each district and city will be done till April 20 in which it will be evaluated what measures did that authorities take in these cities and districts to combat COVID-19," he said.

"Based on the results of this litmus test approach, permission will be granted for some selective activities to those districts and cities which controlled the situation effectively. Detailed guidelines will be issued soon," he added.

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With 1,076 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 11,439, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday. Out of the total tally, 9,756 cases are active while 1,306 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated. With 38 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 377.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 2,687 cases of which 259 patients have recovered/discharged while 178 patients have lost their lives due to the virus. Delhi comes in at the second position with 1,561 cases of which 30 patients have recovered while 30 patients have succumbed to the virus.

Tamil Nadu is the third state with over 1,000 cases at 1,204 cases of which 81 have recovered and 12 have died due to the deadly virus. Rajasthan is nearing the 1,000 mark with 969 cases of which 147 people have recovered while 3 patients are dead. Madhya Pradesh reported 730 cases including 51 patients recovered and 50 patients dead.

On Tuesday, in an address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the 21-day national lockdown has been extended till May 3.

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With 1,334 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India has reached 15,712 including 507 deaths, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Sunday. As many as 2,231 people have recovered from the disease so far, said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus. "This equals 14.1 per cent of the total cases," he added.

1334 new #COVID19 cases & 27 deaths have been reported in last 24 hours, taking total cases to 15712 & deaths to 507 in India. No new case reported in Mahe in Puducherry & Karnataka's Kodagu in the last 28 days. Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/YsaMPJOnx5

— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2020

A total of 15,712 confirmed cases have been reported in India including 507 deaths and 2,231 people, who were COVID-19 positive, have recovered. Out of the total deaths, 27 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours," said Aggarwal. The Joint Secretary said that no new case was reported in Mahe in Puducherry and Karnataka's Kodagu in the last 28 days.

"A total of 54 other districts beside these two in 23 States/Union Territories did not report any cases in the last 14 days," he said. He informed that there are 755 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and 1,389 dedicated health care centres in the country, which takes the total dedicated facilities where severe or critical patients can be treated to 2,144.

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With 1,553 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India has reached 17,265, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Monday.

Since yesterday there have been 1553 additional confirmed #COVID19 cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 17265. 36 more deaths also reported in the last 24 hours: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/6EKGeIOWOe

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020

As many as 2,546 people have recovered from the disease so far, said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus. "This takes the cure percentage to 14.75 per cent," he added. "A total of 17,265 confirmed cases have been reported in India including 2,546 people have recovered. A total of 36 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours," said Aggarwal.

Mahe in Puducherry, Kodagu in Karnataka and Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand have not reported any COVID-19 case in the last 28 days. "The number of districts where no case has been reported in the last 14 days has increased to 59. Goa is now COVID-19 free," he added.

Aggarwal said that the Health Ministry has expressed its views that India wants to work with G20 nations to develop the vaccine to combat COVID-19. He further said that ministry has also issued guidelines regarding precautionary measures to be adhered to in government offices.

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With 466 new COVID-19 cases reported, the total number of positive coronavirus cases have risen to 4,666, said Public Health Department, Maharashtra on Monday.

Of the total tally, 572 patients have been cured and recovered as 65 patients were discharged from hospitals today. With nine new deaths in the state, the death toll rose to 232. The total number of coronavirus positive cases on Monday rose to 17,656 in India, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of these, 14,255 patients are active cases and 2,842 cases have been cured or discharged and migrated. The COVID-19 (/topic/covid-19) toll now stands at 559.

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New Delhi: Director-General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), SN Pradhan, on Friday refuted reports of a second gas leak at LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam district and clarified that it was some fumes which released during the neutralisation process.

"There are rumours in some section of media about a second gas leakage, let me categorically place on record that there is no such second leakage in Vizag. Some fumes get released during the process of neutralising. It happens during the neutralisation process. It is a technical process. That process will continue," Pradhan told ANI.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) responded to reports of another gas leak at LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam and clarified that it was a "minuscule technical leak" and the situation is under control.

"There are media reports that there was another leak. This is clarified that this was a minuscule technical leak. It is required to bring the container in control. It is been controlled and the process of neutralisation is already in process. The situation is under control," the MHA said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Pradhan said, "Few fumes get released during the neutralisation process. These fumes do not go out and mostly remain in the vicinity of the company only, but that does not mean that it's secondary leakage happened there. The smell of this gas can passes through the air little bit outside, but assessing it as a second leak is utterly wrong."

The NDRF DG appealed to the media to not to run fake news on the gas leak without cross-checking so that people do not get panic.

"The neutraliser chemical has reached the spot in good quantity and it is being used in the process. Rumour mongering must be avoided in the interest of people," he said.

Pradhan informed that experts from Pune and Nagpur, including scientists are monitoring the situation on the ground since last night.

"We are preparing a roadmap with the local administration. This work is being done jointly by the state, Centre and local administration. Tourism minister of the state also visited the spot. We are also present at the spot. Since last night, the experts from Pune and Nagpur including scientists are monitoring the situation on the ground. At the moment, our two commandants and three scientists are camping there," he explained.

"Two teams of 5th battalion of NDRF are on the ground. The situation is under control. The NDRF teams will stay back in the area until the situation is absolutely under control," Pradhan said.

On Thursday, styrene gas had leaked in the gas plant of LG Polymers in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam district on Thursday morning, which claimed 11 lives.

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino is suspected of having intervened with Switzerland's attorney general to try to get an investigation dropped, a Swiss newspaper alleged on Monday. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) launched an investigation in 2016, shortly after Infantino was elected president of world football's governing body, about his awarding of a TV rights contract to an offshore company in his previous role as UEFA's legal affairs director.

Friendly request

According to the Tribune de Geneve newspaper, Infantino was worried about this investigation and wrote to his childhood friend, Rinaldo Arnold, who had become a senior prosecutor in Switzerland's Haut-Valais region where they grew up. "I will try to explain to the OAG that it is in my interests that everything should be cleared up as soon as possible, that it be clearly stated that I have nothing to do with this matter," he wrote in an email cited by the newspaper. Arnold, who had helped to set up a first meeting between Infantino and Attorney General Michael Lauber, replied: "What is important is the meeting in two weeks' time. If you like, I can come with you again."

The meeting took place on April 22, 2016, the newspaper said, adding that what happened during it remains a mystery, and the OAG "refuses to speak about it". The OAG declined to comment when contacted by AFP. FIFA said later on Monday "the email referred to in the article was obviously obtained by hacking, which is an illegal and criminal act."

'No reason to lie'

"Not only Mr Infantino had no reason to lie in that email, the email never said Mr Infantino wanted to 'clear his name'," FIFA added. The Zurich-based federation has always indicated that the meetings between Infantino and the OAG were intended to show that FIFA was ready to engage with the Swiss justice system.

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Brazilian footballer Neymar is reportedly ready to take a 50 per cent pay cut on his existing Paris St. Germain deal to force through a move back to former club Barcelona.

After spending four trophy-laden years in Spain, Neymar joined PSG in 2017 for an eye-watering sum of 198 million pounds.

Reports have time and again surfaced that the star forward is unsettled in France and wants a Barca return in order to once again link-up with close friend Lionel Messi.

According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Neymar is ready to sacrifice half of his 600,000 pounds per week salary at PSG in order to make a sensational return to Barcelona.

Barcelona was Neymar's first club in Europe and he won two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Reys and the Champions League once with the Catalan giants.

Barcelona stars have also spoken about their admiration for Neymar and aren't against his return despite his unceremonious exit from the club few years ago.

"Everybody knows 'Ney', we all know the affection we have for him in the dressing room," Suarez was quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo last month.

"His ability is indisputable and he still has so much to show. He will always be welcome in the changing room, we appreciate him a lot."

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After killing off apps used by a minority of its userbase including the "Twitter for Mac", the micro-blogging site is shutting down its TV apps on Roku, Android TV and Xbox from May 24.

"On Thursday, May 24, Twitter for Roku, Twitter for Android TV and Twitter for Xbox will no longer be available. To get the full Twitter experience, visit https://twitter.com on your device or desktop," the microblogging website tweeted.

This is due to the dismal feedback that users gave because these Twitter apps did not allow them to tweet from their account or fully interact with the Twittersphere in general, The Verge reported.

A report in Tech Crunch, however, said that Twitter has made the decision to kill off these apps as the micro-blogging platform works towards GDPR compliance.

"In addition, neither Xbox or Roku support a standard regularly supported video player, which made them more difficult to maintain. That also came into play with this decision," the report said.

As compared to other TV apps like Netflix, Twitter lacked on the "exclusive video content" front as well.

Twitter for tvOS (Apple TV) and Twitter for Amazon Fire TV will continue to be available.

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BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has released a report into the rapidly growing issue businesses and governments face with fraud, including tax fraud.

The threat of online corrupt approaches does not cause much anxiety to BCCI's head of Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) Ajit Singh, who says Indian players are well aware of the modus operandi of fixers and are quick to report anything suspect. The ICC ACU head Alex Marshall, in an interview to 'The Guardian', said that prolonged lockdown and players using various social media platform could lead to corrupt approaches being made and people need to tread carefully. Singh said BCCI ACU is in control. "...we have made our players aware about the way people approach you and modus operandi through social media. We have told them 'look this is how they (potential fixers and bookies) would approach you'," the veteran IPS officer told PTI in an interaction. "(They will) try and behave like a fan and then try to meet you through someone who may be your acquaintance," he added. "Somehow these elements try and touch base with players. Most of them (India players), whenever it happens, they do report to us that I have got a contact."

Most of the top players, with millions of followers, have been very active online with Q and A sessions on twitter, interactive chats on instagram and Facebook live. So is the BCCI's ACU team tracking the online content? "Whatever can be tracked online, we do that. But obviously the physical verification part of going out and checking locations is out of question in times of a lockdown," he spoke about practical problems. "But if something comes to our notice, it automatically goes into our database and once lockdown is over, we will verify those if the need arises." Singh said the easiest aspect of tracking social media content is that it doesn't require too much manpower. "A few men who know their jobs can do it pretty well," the former DGP of Rajasthan said. But Singh said that, in his two year stint, all current India players have been honest and upright, very aware about their responsibilities. "We are not adversaries of players. The players and ACU are one team. It's the people who are trying to corrupt the games, they are the ones we need to track down." He said that both tracking social media and physical verification of corrupt approaches has its own set of challenges.

"Those who were trying to corrupt the players with physical presence and those using fake IDs on social media handles, converge at some point," he said. "Either it's the same person with a fake ID who tries to approach the player or uses someone on his behalf. So there is a pattern of convergence. One has to follow both the lines," he added. Singh said even former players have approached the ACU when they have found something unusual. "There have been things coming from current players and also retired players. There has been information coming from them. Things that they doubted, which look suspicious. "Any information is useful. Even if it's a false alarm, it raises the awareness level of the players as well as the skills of the team investigating it," the retired top cop said. There are some structural plans for the BCCI's ACU which will only materialise once normalcy returns after the COVID-19 pandemic. "Every zone will have a zonal head as it had been said earlier. A few zones don't have zonal heads, so we will fill those posts," he said.

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Temperamental Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal was on Monday banned for three years by the PCB for failing to report corrupt approaches ahead of the country's premier T20 league this year. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had suspended the 29-year-old in February pending an anti-corruption investigation by its disciplinary panel.

The PCB charged him for two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of its Anti-Corruption Code in two unrelated incidents in February this year ahead of the Pakistan Super League -- a T20 event also featuring international cricketers. Akmal had decided against appealing against the charges last month. "Umar Akmal handed three-year ban from all cricket by Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel Mr Justice (retired) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan," read a tweet from the official handle of the PCB's media department.

Akmal was suspended hours before his PSL team Quetta Gladiators was to take on Islamabad in the opening match of the 2020 edition. Reacting to the ban imposed on him, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said time has come to criminalise match-fixing. "So Umar Akmal officially makes it to the list of idiots! Banned for 3 years. What a waste of a talent! It's high time that Pakistan moved towards passing a legislative law against match fixing. Behind bars is where such jack asses belong! Otherwise brave for more!!"

Raja tweeted. Akmal is the younger brother of former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who played 53 Tests, 58 T20s, and 157 ODIs for Pakistan, and cousin of current captain Babar Azam. Akmal, who last played for Pakistan in October, has featured in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20s, scoring 1003, 3194 and 1690 runs respectively. Akmal promised a lot after making a hundred in New Zealand on his Test debut, but failed to live up to the high expectations that came with some fine performances early in his career. Constant run-ins with the authorities also marred his stop-start career. Akmal had earlier escaped a PCB ban in February for allegedly making crude remarks to a trainer during a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

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Seoul: The US is looking into intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "in grave danger after a surgery", a media report said on Tuesday.

The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency quoted a CNN report which cited an unidentified "US official with direct knowledge" as saying, but offered no further details.

The report came after a South Korean internet news outlet reported that Kim has been receiving medical treatment at a villa in the resort county of Hyangsan, outside of Pyongyang, following a cardiovascular procedure.

Speculation has increased about what happened to Kim since he apparently skipped an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.

Kim was last seen on April 11 in state media reports presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus".

Kim took over as leader after his father and late leader Kim Jong-il died in late 2011.

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Keeping calm and focused towards the task in hand is a recommended recipe for success. A journalist from US is being lauded for doing the same. News reporter Kirsten Welker was reporting a live event and remained unfazed even after dodging two light stands that fell near her becuase of strong windy conditions.

Welker wearing a mask was reporting live from Washington DC on a windy day when two tall lighting fixtures fell near her. However, she calmly dodged the falling stands and continued with her reporting, which has impressed netizens across the globe. Ever since the clip went viral, Welker is being hailed as a legend and received several appreciating comments for her commitment.

With many people sharing the clip, even Welker responded to comments she received in a witty manner. When a sports news website shared the clip saying, “First-round pocket presence”, here’s how she responded:

Put me in, coach!

cc: @Eagles https://t.co/OF3IaULCv2

— Kristen Welker (@kwelkernbc) April 22, 2020

The clip that has received more than 1.4 million views and over 23,600 likes on Twitter was retweeted more than 3,600 times. Users commenting on the video posted about how Welker handle the situation with presence of mind.

“If you can dodge a light stand you can dodge a ball”

— Robert Kurhajetz (@rkurhajetz) April 22, 2020

Legend!

— Jesse Jones (@JesseKIRO7) April 23, 2020

That looks like a scene from a supernatural thriller! Bravo Kristen!

— Roger Clark (@RogerClark41) April 22, 2020

Handled like a BOSS! Booyah!

— SRH (@Bijouxforu) April 23, 2020

She didn’t miss a beat. 👍🌟

— C Colcombe (@ColcombeL) April 22, 2020

pic.twitter.com/FYs4vXJVqV

— Watch Dog (@Usefulnotes_) April 22, 2020

What do you think about the video?

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In what appears to be an adorable working from home blunder, a video of a weatherman’s pet dog adorably interrupting his weather report has been making rounds of social media.

Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto was presenting the weather report from his home in Florida when his dog Brody entered the room, knocking into his computer and sat on his lap for a brief moment after which he went to find the cameraman, the New York Post reported.

Dellegatto can be heard playfully scolding Brody in the video saying, "This is not very smart," while the pooch begs him for some snacks and pets. Then after letting out a yawn, Brody runs off to look for the cameraman, who was filming the section from Dellegatto’s porch while maintaining social distance. He is heard saying, "Now he can't see Craig, so he's gone crazy trying to find Craig..."

The viral video posted by Andrew Fienberg on Twitter on Thursday managed to garner more than 3.4 million views with over 162,200 likes and was retweeted more than 35,700 times. The caption reads, "This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news."

This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020

Users commenting on the video resonated that this is the best content on Twitter right now, with some pointing out a cute-little detail in the video –a framed picture of Brody on Dellegatto’s desk.

This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020

"Sorry to keep you up" lmao 🤣

— jenjavitis (@jenjavitis) May 1, 2020

Things that are awesome about this: 1. He clearly loves Brody even when the dog is disruptive. 2. Physical distancing with Craig via the window. 3. Craig knows what content we want and focuses on the dog.

— Sara Leiste (@SaraFeistiness) April 30, 2020

So many reasons to love this including the framed photo of the pup placed prominently on his desk.

— Jasmin Ramsey (@JasminRamsey) April 30, 2020

This is weirdly my favorite part of the video.

You don't truly love your pets if you don't have prominently displayed, framed pictures of them in your house pic.twitter.com/WptDYfPRIQ

— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) April 30, 2020

What do you think about this video?

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China, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged in December last, reported just one COVID-19 case, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. The death toll remained at 4,633 with no new fatality. As of Friday, the total confirmed cases on the mainland were 82,875. As many as 77,685 patients have been recovered, the NHC said.

One new imported coronavirus case was reported on Friday with no new local infection, it said. China has reported a total of 1,671 imported COVID-19 cases, including seven in critical condition. The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, have not reported any coronavirus case for 28 consecutive days since April 4, local health commission said on Saturday. Hubei also lowered its COVID-19 emergency response from the highest level to the second-highest on Saturday.

The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei's prevention and control against the coronavirus, Hubei Vice-Governor Yang Yunyan told media. Meanwhile, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of such patients to 989. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

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Russia reported more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus infections on Sunday, the first time the country's daily tally reached five figures."More than half of the 10,633 new cases reported were in Moscow, where concern is rising about whether the capital's medical facilities will be overwhelmed. Russia has recorded more than 1,34,000 coronavirus infections overall and 1,420 deaths."

150 test positive in Kabul
Afghanistan's public health ministry announced Sunday that 500 random Coronavirus tests in the capital revealed more than 150 positive results, raising fears that the virus may be spreading faster than originally thought.

Ministry spokesman Wahid Mayar called the results from Kabul "concerning" and said people must remain in their homes to slow the spread. He said the country's actual infection rate would likely increase as testing becomes more available. Afghanistan has thus far taken close to 12,000 samples, of which over 2,700 have been positive, and 85 have died.

Kabul and most other cities are in lockdown. Afghanistan has also received more than 250,000 refugees who have returned from Iran, the country hardest hit by coronavirus in the region. There are growing fears that the country's health care system, devastated by four decades of war, will be woefully unprepared for a major outbreak.

Pakistan's COVID-19 tally crosses 19,000

Pakistan's COVID-19 tally crossed 19,000 on Sunday after 989 new patients were diagnosed in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of National Health Services said 23 patients died in this period, taking the total toll to 440. The authorities so far have conducted 2,03,025 tests, including 8,716 in the last 24 hours. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he was not sure when the anti-COVID-19 vaccine will be available and expressed fears that "we may have to live with the virus for six months or (even) a year". He said the war against the pandemic can be won by wisdom and not by using force to shut down the masses.

657 more infected in Singapore

Singapore on Sunday recorded 657 new cases, over 600 of whom are foreign workers, taking the total number of COVID-19 infections to 18,205. "The number of cases among migrant workers has been fluctuating in recent days due to clearance of backlogged cases by one laboratory," the Health Ministry said. Singapore will allow some businesses to reopen from May 12.

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The Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued a statement to defer the filing obligation on surrogate parent entities with regards to country-by-country reporting.

The Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council has released a report calling for the Government to expand its tax treaty network, in particular with countries that have growing aviation industries.

A new study by PwC has concluded that abolishing Germany's flight ticket tax would provide a substantial boost to the German economy.

On September 13, the OECD launched a substantial report on the tax policy reforms implemented last year by advanced nations.

African countries are steadily improving their tax revenue collections, according to Revenue Statistics in Africa 2017, a new report released recently at a meeting of tax and finance officials from 21 African countries.

The South African Revenue Service has released the 2017 edition of its Tax Statistics report, looking at the agency's performance over the 2013 to 2016 tax years.

The South African Revenue Service has announced that it will temporarily permit taxpayers to report information on controlled foreign corporations under the old filing rules, which were replaced in February.

Shares of Asian Paints closed 1.01 per cent lower at 1,577against previous close of Rs 1593 on BSE

Financial institutions in Singapore are required to file information required under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act starting April 16 by May 31, 2018.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has reported that revenues increased by 4.4 percent in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, in its annual report for the year.

Higher tax receipts helped Switzerland to another surplus in 2019, with withholding tax and direct federal tax performing particularly well.

Daily Mail reported that British experts are growing human body parts like nose and ears in laboratory. "This is a nose we're growing for a patient

In 2015, as many as 15,867 cases of dengue were reported in Delhi. A case of dengue has been reported from Okhla area of the national capital, reported an official.

Dengue fever is a vector-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. 39 dengue cases have been reported in Delhi so far, a civic body report said.

Three more patients were confirmed infected with dengue in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Authorities there are gearing up to tackle the rising cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

Delhi has reported 220 new cases of dengue in the last one week while the total number of new chikungunya cases for the same period stands at 628. A

Nearly 550 dengue cases have been reported in Himachal Pradesh, India and especially in Bilaspur, which is Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda's hometown.

According to a municipal report released on Monday, around 285 cases of dengue were reported in the National capital in the end of the week on November 3, compared to 290 cases in the previous week.

The European Union statistics agency, Eurostat, has released new figures concerning member states' tax revenue collections and their tax mixes for 2015.

The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31.

The European Commission has released the 2017 edition of its survey of Tax Policies in the European Union, looking at the reforms undertaken by EU member states during the year.

BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has released a report into the rapidly growing issue businesses and governments face with fraud, including tax fraud.