E-commerce behemoth Amazon has reported better-than-expected Q3 results in the pandemic times when people tend to shop more online, as net sales increased 37 per cent to $96.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $70 billion in the third quarter 2019.
Amazon said that the sales in the fourth quarter will be between $112 billion and $121 billion – a healthy growth from a year earlier.
Net income increased to $6.3 billion in the third quarter, compared with net income of $2.1 billion in third quarter 2019.
“We’re seeing more customers than ever shopping early for their holiday gifts, which is just one of the signs that this is going to be an unprecedented holiday season,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.
“Offering jobs with industry-leading pay and great healthcare, including to entry-level and front-line employees, is even more meaningful in a time like this, and we’re proud to have created over 400,000 jobs this year alone,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
The company’s cloud arm Amazon Web Services (AWS), generated sales of $11.6 billion for the quarter, up 29 per cent. The operating income $3.54 billion for AWS topped estimates of $3.45 billion.
AWS in September quarter announced significant customer momentum with new commitments and migrations, including leading payments technology company Global Payments, to manage issuer processing and handling of their approximately 27 billion transactions processed annually.
Amazon’s “other” category, primarily its advertising business, saw revenue rise 51 per cent to $5.4 billion.
Subscription services, including revenue from Prime memberships, jumped 33 per cent to $6.58 billion.
Amazon now has more than 1.12 million full-time employees across the globe, an increase of 50 per cent year over year.
Washington, July. 21 (Xinhua) -- Donald Trump takes the stage on the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States, July 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu/IANS)
Yes, Biden will win the popular vote. Perhaps by an even bigger majority than Hilary Clinton. But in the crucial states I fear Trump may still prevail even if by smaller margins than he did in 2016. His voters seem glued to him….writes Mihir Bose
In the spring of 2016 my wife and I were in a restaurant in Rome waiting to dine with my daughter who was working there then. At the next table was an American couple and with the Republican primaries having just started I asked them how they would vote when the elections came. I particularly wanted to know what they thought of Trump who had emerged as the most astonishing candidate to ever seek office for one of the two major parties of America. It was like nothing seen before. The almost unanimous opinion of the pundits was he was a joke candidate a bit like the Monster Raving Looney party in this country. He had never run for office, had no experience in politics and the view was that he would soon be eliminated in the primaries and become an amusing footnote in American electoral politics.
The man at first hesitant said he would vote for Trump. I could not believe what I was hearing and asked him why. His answer was Trump was a businessman who knew how to run business and when he got to the White House he would appoint the right people and America would prosper. The answer struck me. That Americans could believe what mattered was not that he had no experience in politics but that the business of running the American nation needed his hand on the tiller.
The other thing that struck me about the conversation was that when I asked the man the question about Trump the man’s wife did not want him to answer, which suggested that while they wanted Trump they did not want the world to know that. That was for the secrecy of the ballot box. The classical definition of the shy Trump voter.
After that while everyone said Trump could not win the Republican nominee and then could not defeat Hilary Clinton I had this feeling that he might win. For all Clinton’s qualities she just did not come across as a candidate who you could warm to. Watching her campaigning I was reminded how in 2005 she had come to Singapore to support New York’s bid to stage the 2012 Olympics. She was the New York senator and clearly the ideal person to make the case for the city. London, Paris, Moscow and Madrid were also bidding. We in the British media wanting London to win the bid were keen to see how Clinton would help New York. We were told she would be available for interview but we had to wait two hours after her plane landed before she arrived at the press conference looking immaculate but making no real impression that she really cared for New York winning the bid. There was something very wooden in her performance. In contrast Tony Blair flew in to campaign for London and wowed everyone in Singapore. At that time Blair’s standing at home had dropped dramatically because of the Iraq war but in Singapore crowds gathered round him hailing him as a hero. The members of the International Olympic Committee were dazzled by him and one IOC member told me, “Your Prime Minister talked to me. He knew my name.” I could see how taken he was that the British Prime Minister cared so much for him. Clinton made no such impression. New York was eliminated early and London won beating Paris in the final round.
In 2016 Clinton did have hurdles to jump. Glass ceilings to break. America may claim to be the world’s greatest democracy but change in America takes time. When in 1960 John Kennedy stood for election he had to make it clear that as a Catholic the Pope would have no control over him. At that stage America had never had a Catholic President. The country that advertised separation of church and state had stuck to white male Protestants. Decades previously other countries had elected women leaders, Indira Gandhi being one of the first, but neither major party in America had ever nominated a woman. But despite this huge opportunity to get a woman in the White House, many women still voted for Trump. They were not bothered that he had been caught on camera saying, “You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” In the Presidential debate with Clinton he dismissed it as locker room talk and these women Trump voters accepted that explanation.
All this made me think Trump might win. This was further reinforced by talking to Americans in London who seemed to be sure of a Clinton victory. One young man who was a lifeguard at the pool in my gym told me even a monkey standing against Trump would win. Such arrogance is always dangerous. The other fact that made me think that Trump might win was because American elections are not decided by the popular vote. The electoral college system means a person who loses the popular vote can win as George Bush junior did against Al Gore in 2000. Although I did not want him to win I put some money on Trump.
His victory showed he had persuaded enough, largely white voters, that they had lost their country and that a New York property developer, who had inherited a lot of money and had been nothing like the business success he claimed to be, was their man. Even Christian evangelical voters who form a strong and influential lobby in America supported him despite the fact that he has had a number of wives and many affairs.
And this time I have also put some money on Trump. I know the coronavirus and the fact that Joe Biden is very different to Clinton makes a difference. Also, four years of Tump has galvanised the majority of American people who have always been against Trump. Remember Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by under 3 million. Yet in the crucial states, the so-called ‘blue firewall’ which would guarantee her victory, she failed. In the electoral College Trump had a very comfortable margin of 304 to 227.
Yes, Biden will win the popular vote. Perhaps by an even bigger majority than Hilary Clinton. But in the crucial states I fear Trump may still prevail even if by smaller margins than he did in 2016. His voters seem glued to him. I was particularly made aware of this last summer when travelling to Scotland on the train. I sat next to an American family visiting this country. They were farmers from Wisconsin. My friend in Wisconsin who is a very well-known academic cannot stand Trump and was sure he would be defeated. But for this family Trump could do no wrong and every time I mentioned something Trump had done which was outrageous they dismissed it as fake news.
On election night I would love to hear this dreadful President has been shown to be the fake he is. But I have a feeling he will back for another four years.
Israeli farmers and companies have received permission to export agricultural produce to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to an official statement.
“Following a concerted effort that included talks, exchanges of correspondence and coordination with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Israel has received official approval from the UAE authorities to export fresh agricultural produce and propagating material, including seeds,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Agriculture’s statement as saying on Thursday.
The Ministry noted that export costs to the UAE will be low due to the geographical proximity between the two countries and the logistical options for transportation.
Minister of Agriculture Alon Schuster said that “the agreement will move us forward toward a future of cooperation in agriculture, not only in knowledge and technology, but also in the direct trade of agricultural produce”.
The development comes after the UAE signed normalization deal with Israel at the White House on September 15.
It is the first Arab nation in 26 years to establish formal ties with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
On October 25, the Israeli cabinet ratified the normalisation agreement the two nations.
Intercultural arts hub Kala Sangam at Bradford’s Arts Centre has launched a new scheme to provide dance and physical theatre artists with studio time and living expenses so they can restart their creative practice following the lockdown.
The Back to the Studio Packages, which have been made possible by the security provided by the emergency funding Kala Sangam received from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, will give 20 artists a week of no-pressure studio time along with £1000 to pay for living expenses. Artists will be under no obligation to produce anything specific and will also benefit from developmental support during (and after) their time at the city centre venue.
Kala Sangam reflects the diversity of contemporary Britain through the work it presents, the artists it supports and the communities it engages. In addition to the company’s two performance programmes a year, Kala Sangam delivers outreach activity in schools and communities across Bradford and throughout the country, as well as delivering classes and workshops in a number of art forms.
Alex Croft, Creative Director said, ‘Since we started to reopen our studio spaces, we’ve been listening to artists coming through our doors, and it’s clear that just being in a dance studio again is a significant, emotional, and often overwhelming experience for many people. We want to make sure that when artists finally get that Project Grant or DYCP funding, they’re able to hit the ground running – so we’ve created Back to the Studio. When we say no pressure, we mean it. We want to give artists the time and space needed to find and nurture their creativity’
10 of the packages are going to artists that Kala Sangam already has a working relationship with, but they are making an open call for the other 10. Anyone is welcome to apply but they will be prioritising supporting dancers and physical theatre performers from the Bradford District and/or professional South Asian dance practitioners.
Studio space is available between November and the end of March 2021. Applicants should send a short video explaining who they are, what they would like to do and how their work aligns with at least one of Kala Sangam’s three programming strands (which can be found here: http://www.kalasangam.org/about-us/mission-and-vision/ ) To apply, please WeTransfer your videos to Alex Corwin – a.corwin@kalsangam.org. The closing date for applications is 5 pm Friday 6th November.
In a free-wheeling conversation internationally acclaimed London based artiste Chandra Chakraborty talks to Arundhati Mukherjee from Asian Lite news desk about classical music, its tradition and artistes and art today.
Rishi Vashista, Sri Parasuram, Karna, Arjun, Ekalavya are some of the names that surround our mind, the moment we hear the phrase – ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’. Not only the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, but this tradition of imparting knowledge from the teacher to the disciple also stands tall in almost all Vedic Culture. It is fascinating how ITC Sangeet Research Academy is keeping up this purest form of schooling even in today’s time. Their disciples never fail to showcase brilliant results of this most devoted form of learning.
Chandra Chakraborty, founder-director of Kalakar Arts, UK is a renowned name in Indian classical and Semi Classical music, all over the world. Only at the age of ten, when most kids were enjoying the Mahabharata tv-series sitting with their parents, Chandra left her home to live with her Guru and Guruma until she got married. In the vast campus of Sangeet Research Academy, from that tender age, her spirits got focused on classical music under the very able guidance of her Guruji, the late Pandit A. Kanan, and Guruma, late Vidushi Malabika Kanan.
Chandra Chakraborty with Ghazal maestro Ustad Ghulam Ali
“My Guruji and Guruma’s place in my heart is nothing less than that of my parents. Perhaps greater. I was nothing less than their daughter. Even my parents always considered that my Guruji’s claim over me is ultimate. Their decisions regarding my life surpassed everything else”, says Chandra.
Throughout her student life, her daily schedule was tightly knitted with rigorous music lessons and riaz, and lessons on languages like Urdu, English and Hindi. Along with this, she has continued pursuing general academic degrees. A common teenager’s life when is laced with Bollywood, street foods, and hanging out with friends, Chandra’s idea of entertainment and fun was to be able to socialise with the then Classical music maestros under the same roof.
While the journey of her own life is so interesting, it is only fitting that she would be drawn towards the very dramatic and tragic life of the ghazal queen Begum Akhtar. Just before the pandemic driven lockdown, Chandra Chakraborty scripted, directed, and performed the musical ‘Akhtari’ at the SSAI International Women’s Day concert, on 8th March 2020. The musical theatre comprised of singing, live music, Kathak dance, and acting by Chandra’s students and other internationally acclaimed artists. Chandra’s first production on Begum Akhtar in 2019 had wowed the audience of the UK. Not only the acting prowess and musical charisma of the queen of Ghazal but also her personal life, her ability to overcome obstacles, and her perseverance influenced Indian Classical and Semi Classical vocalist Chandra Chakraborty to work on her life, time and again.
Before this Chandra had curated and performed on similar life inspiring yesteryear artists like Badi Moti Bai and Saraswati, daughter of Tansen. Incidentally, Padmabibhushan Smt Girija Devi, another queen of Thumri had also been Chandra’s teacher for some time. Chandra’s melodious portrayal of the unknown and untapped sides of such enigmatic stars has often been greeted by a hall full of awestruck audience and standing ovations.
“Since Kalakar is born, every year we try to present something equally unique to the audience. This year is the birth centenary of my Guruji. I wished to do a production on Guru Shishya Parampara. However, due to the pandemic this year, we are conducting the event in a virtual medium. The series so far has garnered immense appreciation from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, India, and Europe,” said Chandra.
Renowned vocalist Girija Devi with Chandra Chakraborty
The weekly interactive sessions and performances have taken place since April this year with Maestros and living legends like Pandit Vijay Kichlu, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Rashid Khan, Ustad Shujat Khan, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pandit Gaurav Mazumdar, Pandit Shubhankar Banerjee, Pandit Tanmoy Bose, Murad Ali Khan, Sanju Sahai, Pandit Kumar Bose, Pandit Jayanta Bose and many more performers paying a tribute to the stalwart, Pandit A Kanan. The sessions which are profoundly conducted by Chakraborty brings about the various shades of the teacher-student dynamics. The latest sessions of the Guru- Shishya Parampara series with Padmashree Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Nilan Chaudhuri, and also with Pandit Kumar Bose and his disciples P Sudatta Kumari and Chiranjit Mukherjee has been widely appreciated, with live viewership at times reaching past seventy thousand.
Gifted, mellifluous, extremely talented Chandra Chakraborty was considered as a child prodigy in India by many of the doyens of Indian Classical Music. Chandra started singing at the tender age of 3. Her first teacher was her mother Smt Manju Chakraborty. Chandra is also a Gold Medalist in Thumri from All India Radio and a National Scholar of Music and Dance. Before coming to England, she continued her passion for teaching Indian Classical music at Indian Consulate and at Witwatersrand University (as lecturer of Music in the history and society for advanced students) Johannesburg, South Africa.
After coming to London in 2000, Chandra started performing under the banner of well-known organisations such as Milap Fest, Art Asia, Saz-O-Awaz, Darbar and performed few times for Her Majesty the Queen of England. She was also invited to perform at the inaugural ceremony of Commonwealth Games, went to Pakistan to perform and was also invited to perform for Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar at his London residence. In 2011, Chandra Chakraborty co-founded Saudha- the society of poetry and Indian Music with Poet TM Ahmed Kaysher. Saudha organised many concerts including a few at House Of Commons. Presently she is focussing on taking Kalakar Arts into new heights in Indian Classical Music to an international audience. Kalakar Arts UK has a great line up of maestros supporting the journey. The NEDs are Dr Sid Kargupta, Dr Sanjukta Ghosh (artistic director of SOAS South Asia Institute), Dr Imtiaz Ahmed (renowned oncologist and director of Anandadhara Arts), Pandit Vijay Kichlu, Smt Meena Banerjee (author and music critic), Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Gaurav Mazumdar and Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan. Kalakar wants to support and encourage young talents by inviting them to perform on this prestigious platform. Kalakar also supports UNICEF by organising charity events performed by young members of Kalakar.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in Washington D.C (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua/IANS)
The Donald Trump administration informally notified Congress of its plan to sell advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel on Thursday said in a statement that Congress must analyze all of the ramifications of the export of F-35. “Rushing these sales is not in anyone’s interest.”
The Democratic congressman noted that the potential F-35 sale to the UAE would change the military balance in the Gulf and affect Israel’s military edge. He also expressed concerns about the possible leaks of F-35’s sensitive technology, and the sale might generate demands from other Arab states for advanced weapons in exchange for normalization with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.
“In the coming days, I invite members of Congress who share my concerns to join me in introducing legislation to ensure that the sale of these types of weapons adhere to our most important national security goals,” Engel said.
The proposed sale needs to be approved by Congress.
According to media reports, the deal would include up to 50 of the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 jets at the cost of US $10.4 billion. If the sale is completed, the UAE will become only the second country in the region to fly these stealth fighter jets after Israel.
Reports said that the F-35 deal was a part of the US-brokered agreement to normalize ties between the UAE and Israel, which was signed last month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially opposed the UAE’s purchase of the F-35, but Israel’s position changed after the United States pledged to ensure Israel’s military edge in the region.
A joint statement by Netanyahu and his Minister of Defence Benny Gantz last Friday said that Israel would not oppose the sale of “certain weapon systems” to the UAE in light of a promise by the United States to upgrade Israel’s military edge in the Middle East.
The “certain weapon systems” is an apparent reference to the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, reported Israeli media.
The joint statement was published upon Gantz’s return from Washington, where he met with Pentagon chief Mark Esper and signed a deal “to secure Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge.”
Independent Indian dance and music organisation named Srishti, run by Nina Rajarani MBE has been awarded a grant as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future, the Culture Secretary has announced.
“I am overwhelmed, relieved and grateful for this result. The trust and belief placed by Arts Council England in my company’s work has given me renewed strength to continue forging ahead, come what may, ”Nina Rajarani responded.
Nina Rajarani
Srishti – Nina Rajarani Dance Creations is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support. £257 million of investment has been announced as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.
“This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country. This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden commented.
“Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages. This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences. Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”, Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said.
Srishti is a resident company of Harrow Arts Centre. Since its formation in 1991 the company has regularly created and toured work nationally and internationally. Artistic Director Nina Rajarani MBE creates authentic classical Indian dance with a present-day flavour, always featuring live musicians who become part of the story, so that her work reaches people who haven’t experienced classical dance before. Nina was awarded an MBE for Services to South Asian dance in 2009 and received the prestigious choreography Place Prize for her choreography of ‘QUICK!’.
Nina Rajarani
As well as the professional touring dance company, Nina runs a successful dance and music school in Harrow Arts Centre. Srishti has many projects in the pipeline and the grant from The Culture Recovery Fund means that Srishti will be able to continue to develop these projects instead of having to close down whilst unable to perform to live audiences. The company will be able to provide paid work to freelance dancers as they develop new work to be shared either online or to live audiences when current restrictions ease.
With a fresh spike of 48,648 coronavirus infections and 563 deaths in 24 hours, India’s tally on Friday rose to 80,88,851. The national capital too continued to witness a rise in the number of daily infections.
Out of the total Covid-19 cases, 5,94,386 are currently active, 73,73,375 have been discharged, while 1,21,090 lost the battle against the pandemic.
While the recovery rate stands at 91.15 per cent, the fatality rate is 1.50 per cent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed.
“India has exponentially scaled up its testing capacity from one in January to more than 10.65 crore at present. The very high testing has resulted in the continuously falling positivity rate. It is 7.54 per cent presently,” the ministry stated.
Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the coronavirus of those overall who have been tested.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with a total of 16,66,668 cases, including 43,710 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Delhi continues to witness an unprecedented rise in the number of daily infections. According to a health department bulletin on Thursday, the national capital recorded 5,739 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike till date, taking the total caseload to over 3.75 lakh with 27 new fatalities pushing the death count in the national capital to 6,423.
This was the highest single-day figure Delhi reported since pandemic struck the country. The national capital, which has been battling the third wave of infections, has been logging over 5,000 cases daily for the past two days while the daily tally has remained above 4,000 since October 23.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted 11,64,648 sample tests in a single day on Thursday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 10,77,28,088.
Why we may be stuck with Trump; Pakistan Admits Its Role in Pulwama Attack UK; Europe Tightens Covid Measures – Asian Lite Daily Digital WEEKEND – Oct 30-Nov 1, 2020 – please click here to Read the full edition – https://bit.ly/31Xbfjv
InterGlobe Aviation, which runs airline major IndiGo, on Thursday posted a quarterly net loss of Rs 1,194.8 crore for the second quarter of 2020-21.
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 1,062 crore in the like period of the previous fiscal.
According to the company, its total income for the quarter declined to Rs 3,029.2 crore, down 64.5 per cent over the same period last year.
In the quarter, passenger ticket revenues declined to Rs 2,208.2 crore, a decrease of 68.9 per cent and ancillary revenues went down to Rs 506.6 crore, a reduction of 45.5 per cent compared to the same period last year
Total expenses for the quarter also declined to Rs 4,224.1 crore, a decrease of 55.9 per cent over the same quarter last year.
Besides, IndiGo said that it had a total cash balance of Rs 17,931.8 crore as on the September 30, comprising Rs 6,973.4 crore of free cash and Rs 10,958.4 crore of restricted cash.
“We are pleased that we are slowly but surely stair-stepping our way back to normal capacity. While we are very much focused on managing the crisis of the present, we are also reimagining the promise of the future,” CEO Ronojoy Dutta said.
“Once we are back at 100 per cent capacity, we will have lower unit costs, a stronger product, a more efficient fleet and a robust network. We are impatient for the arrival of the future.”
