Author: Asian Lite Newsdesk

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Sport

Its an amazing feeling, says player of the year Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski has won the 2019/20 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I would like to thank the teammates and coaches I work with every day. Obviously I’d like to thank my family as well,” said Lewandowski as per the Bayern’s official website on Thursday. “As a little boy I dreamed of playing in the big stadiums. Standing here now means a lot to me,” continued the 32-year-old.

The Pole scored 55 goals in 47 games on the way to the 2020 treble – he only missed five games – and was the top scorer in the Bundesliga (34 goals), Champions League (15) and the DFB Cup (6). He also provided 10 assists.

Meanwhile, his teammate Manuel Neuer became goalkeeper of the year, Joshua Kimmich was chosen as best defender, while De Bruyne won the prize for the best midfielder.

Bayern coach Hans-Dieter Flick received the UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year 2019/20 award.

The jury was composed of the 80 coaches of the clubs which participated in the group stages of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group from each of UEFA’s member associations.

In women’s category, Pernille Harder, finalist with Wolfsburg, now with Chelsea, won the 2019/20 UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, her second time taking the accolade after her success in 2018.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the late finish to the 2019/20 season, the player awards ceremony took place in Switzerland.

Also Read: ‘Challenging times for Bayern Players’

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-Top News Asia News UAE News

UAE, US, Israel to establish strategic energy partnership

To maximise the global benefits of cooperation, the UAE, the US, and Israel are committed to exploring collective activities in multilateral settings in coordination with financial institutions…Reports Asian Lite News

The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and the State of Israel have affirmed the importance of establishing a joint strategic vision for energy partnership.

Recognising that energy collaboration can be a step toward a more stable, integrated, and prosperous Middle East, Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Cabinet Member and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz, have agreed to the following joint statement supporting the development of a strategic vision for an energy partnership that drives innovation and prosperity:

“The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the State of Israel, acknowledging the benefits of focusing on pragmatic steps that have tangible outcomes, agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies. Together, our dynamic economies will look to leverage world-leading research and development capacities to meet the needs of current and future generations. We will also seek to find solutions to the energy challenges faced by the Palestinian people through the development of energy resources, technologies, and related infrastructure.

“To maximise the global benefits of cooperation, the UAE, the US, and Israel are committed to exploring collective activities in multilateral settings in coordination with financial institutions and the private sector to enhance international investment in research and development and the rapid adoption of new energy technologies.”

Also read:2020 IMD ranking: UAE tops in Arab region

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Sport

Mumbai Indians Dominate the Show

Four-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday cruised to a 48-run win over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Chasing MI’s total of 191/4 wickets in 20 overs, KXIP only managed to reach 143/8 wickets in 20 overs as a clinical MI bowling attack rarely allowed the batsmen any space to score runs freely.

MI separated KXIP’s star opening pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal early on. Jasprit Bumrah accounted for Agarwal in the fifth over. Karun Nair fell for a duck in the very next over while Rahul Chahar outfoxed KXIP captain and top scorer KL Rahul in the ninth.

Nicholas Pooran kept KXIP’s hopes alive, smashing 44 runs off 27 balls and putting up 41 for the fourth wicket with Glenn Maxwell. It also turned out to be KXIP’s highest partnership and the last one that crossed over into two figures as they wilted after Pooran fell to James Pattinson in the 14th over.

Between the start of the 15th and 19th overs, KXIP scored just 18 runs and lost three wickets and the match slipped away from them.

Earlier, a late blitz from Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya helped Mumbai Indians (MI) post 191/4.

Sheldon Cottrell gave KXIP a good start with the wicket of Quinton de Kock in the very first over. While captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav then seemed to be steadying the ship for MI, the latter was run out by Mohammed Shami with a direct hit from short fine leg.

Ishan Kishan, who scored a memorable 99 in the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, struggled to get the run rate for much of his innings. His troubled stay at the crease was eventually ended on 28 off 32 balls by Krishnappa Gowtham, thus ending a 62-run stand between him and Rohit.

Pollard then came in and provided able company as Rohit increased the run rate. The MI captain, who crossed 5,000 runs in the IPL through the course of the innings, looked set for a century but a brilliant piece of teamwork between Glenn Maxwell and James Neesham at the boundary behind the bowler led to his dismissal.

Maxwell ran in from long-off and caught the ball which Rohit was looking to deposit over the ropes off Shami. His momentum however took him over the ropes but he lobed it back towards Neesham who ran in from long on before he touched the ground beyond the boundary.

But Pollard and Hardik came in and smashed 44 runs off the last overs to take MI beyond the 190-run mark.

Brief scores: MI 191/4 wkts in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 70, Kieron Pollard 47; Sheldon Cottrell 1/20) beat KXIP 143/8 wkts in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 44, Mayank Agarwal 25; Jasprit Bumrah 2/18) by 48 runs

Also Read: Royals’ guns go silent before the Knight Riders

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Arts & Culture Books Lite Blogs

Young Authors Speak On Pandemic Insights

Authors find a teacher in pandemic upheaval.(Photo: Unsplash)
“One Action: Towards Women’s Dreams and Ambitions”

Inspiration amid the ongoing global pandemic can be hard to come by. Taking on these bleak times as a challenge and opportunity for self-discovery, emerging or first-time authors are refining how they think, write and imagine…writes Siddhi Jain.
Young author Sanya Khurana, a Tedx speaker and author of “One Action: Towards Women’s Dreams and Ambitions” finds philosophy in chaos. She told: “History has shown that pandemics have always inspired artists to create art, musicians to write songs, and authors to write more books. Even today, as the world is going through difficult times, authors are using this opportunity to either express and vent out their feelings or escape into their world of imagination through writing. Some writers are also using the gift of time that this pandemic has given all of us to complete their books or start a new one. We all have gone through our own struggles during the pandemic and each one of us has a story to tell”.

‘Jean Angel’ author Atul Mohite explains how the lockdown allowed him the time and mind space to finally put pen to paper: “The pandemic allowed us all to have a lot of leisure time which helped in exploring the creativity which we had and I was no exception to that. The idea for ‘Jean Angel’ was on my mind for quite a long time yet never imagine that I will come up with a book about it someday. Lockdown gave me that opportunity and I am so glad I could write the book in such difficult times. I’ve been fortunate to have a job of my liking and busy routine associated with it. Being in a bank, I worked despite the pandemic.”

“Talking about reimagining their lives and getting inspired, Roopesh Bhole, author of ‘In Love You Fall, In Love You Rise’ says that it is not them who keep the writing alive, it is the writing that keeps them alive. Writing brings in the feeling of being liberated. It is a place where there were no rules, where the characters could be developed as per our own will, without bothering about the repercussions that otherwise could be so depressing in real life”. He also adds how creativity can bring sanity in life during pandemic, adding how he is already penning his next book.

For some authors the pandemic in itself is an inspiration. Author Sabarna Roy, author of ‘Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020’, feels that the pandemic has brought forward a plethora of subjects to the notice of Indian authors in a more acute manner: “Job losses, pay-cuts, shrinkage of economy and its social consequences, people restricted to homes in unrelenting fear, a sudden and critical switchover to the digital world in every form of human interaction and the very ingress of the disease to nooks and corners of the country”. To his mind, the chaos provides authors with a newer context to think in and write about.

Authors like Karan Puri discovered a new side to them. Author of ‘#Me Too’, Puri feels that the lockdown helped him discover the writer within. “It had been a long hiatus but I kept the passion of writing going through my journey as a blogger, now finally, I got ample time to step up and complete my second book. #Metoo Movement and the Nirbhaya case shook something inside me and I wanted to share short stories of these sexual abuse survivors in a positive light. To give hope to the women who still feel unsafe traveling at night or even at home”.

Ravi Valluri, Author of ‘Heartbreaks at Coffee Shops – An Array of Tales’, who juggles his writing with a job in North Central Railway, says he had a ringside view of transportation of migrant labour. “I was to witness stories of human suffering and valour. Some of these touching and heart rending incidents, I penned down for an anthology of articles to be published by an Australian author and IIM Bangalore. Some others found their way into a collection of short stories recently published in form of a book – ‘Heartbreak at Coffee Shop’.”

Rajendra Sarilla, an educator who wrote ‘Scarlet – Lost in the Five Lands’ concurs that the pandemic has been food for thought – and imagination. “The pandemic has shown us many things that we never imagined would happen. We are actually living in a science fiction story, all of us. Just soaking in information flowing in from all parts of the world and processing it is helping me evolve as a writer. It’s rich food for thought. The pandemic has taught us about things that truly matter and things that don’t. It’s teaching us about human tenacity, kindness, patience. It’s all education. What else does a writer need?”

Also Read-Sleep Apnea The Potential Cause Of Depression

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Sport

Shafali, Smriti and Jemimah retains T20 top rankings

Shafali Verma

Indian batters Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues have been able to remain in the top 10 of the ICC T20I rankings for batswomen. While Verma is the highest ranked Indian batter at the third spot, Mandhana and Rodrigues have also been able to hold their respective seventh and ninth places in the list led by Australias Beth Mooney.

In the bowlers’ rankings, Deepti Sharma remains the highest ranked Indian, currently occupying the sixth spot. She is followed by Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav at seventh and eighth places respectively.

Among all-rounders, Deepti remains the only Indian in top 10, currently placed at the fourth spot.

Meanwhile, Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and Captain Meg Lanning have advanced in the batters’ rankings after finishing as the leading run-scorers in their three-match home series against New Zealand that they won 2-1.

Gardner’s series-topping 90 runs, which came in only two innings, won her the player of the series award and lifted her seven places to a career best-equalling 18th position among batters. Lanning, who has been top-ranked in both ODIs and T20Is in the past, has advanced one spot to take fifth position after aggregating 71 runs in the series.

For White Ferns, former captain Suzie Bates and present captain Sophie Devine have retained their second and fourth positions, respectively, while another former captain, left-hander Amy Satterthwaite, has re-entered the rankings in 35th position after finishing as the highest scorer from her side with 69 runs. Satterthwaite was on maternity leave for 18 months, during which she missed this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

Australia leg-spinner Georgia Wareham has reached a career best-equalling 10th position after her five wickets in the series helped her advance five places, while left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux (up two places to 13th) and seam bowler Delissa Kimmince (up eight places to 22nd) have also progressed in the bowlers’ list.

Also Read: Thirteen years pass since India’s incredible T20 WC win

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Business India News

Manufacturing Up, Payrolls Down In September

Higher demand accelerated India’s manufacturing sector growth in September.

Additionally, the IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report released on Thursday cited a renewed expansion in export sales and input stocks as well as an improvement in business confidence during September. Even with an increase in manufacturing, the producers continue to cut down the payrolls, according to the report.

Consequently, reading of the headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI showed a rise from 52 in August to 56.8 in September. The latest reading was the highest in over eight-and-a-half years.

“Amid reports of loosened coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid- 19) restrictions and higher demand, Indian manufacturers lifted output for the second straight month in September,” the report said.

“The increase was sharp and the third-quickest in the history of the survey. Similarly, there were back-to-back increases in new business inflows.” As per the report, the upturn in total sales was supported by a renewed expansion in new export orders, the first since prior to the escalation of the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, despite strong growth of order book volumes, the report pointed out those Indian goods producers signalled another reduction in payroll numbers. “In many cases, this was attributed to efforts to observe social distancing guidelines. Employment has now decreased for six consecutive months,” it said.

Also Read: September becomes India’s worst pandemic month

Also Read: India extends Int’l flight ban till Oct 31

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-Top News

Asian Lite Weekend – EU Takes Legal Action Against UK Over Brexit Breach

EU Takes Legal Action Against UK Over Brexit Breach; Global Covid Cases Top 34 Million; NASA Needs Citizen Scientists; Advanced Arms Sales as US Committed to India’s Security; ‘Pakistan Deathtrap For Human Rights Defenders’ – all in Asian Lite Weekend – please click here to read

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Uncategorized

Sonakshi-Dad Combo In New Music Video

Mumbai: Actress Sonakshi Sinha, actors Shatrughan Sinha and Kapil Sharma during Indian Idol Junior Grand Finale in Mumbai, on Sep 6, 2015. (Photo: IANS)
Mumbai: Actress Sonakshi Sinha, actors Shatrughan Sinha (Photo: IANS)

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha and his daughter, actress Sonakshi Sinha, appear together on screen for the first time, in new music video…reports Asian Lite News.

Titled “Zaroorat”, the song also has personalities such as Kiran Bedi, Sonal Mansingh, Laxmi Agarwal, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and Ani Choying Drolma featuring in the video.

“The song gives expression to the pain of the people and how it can be eased. I am positive that we will tide through these difficult times and I am happy to have offered my voice to such a perceptive and creative initiative,” Shatrughan Sinha said.

Sonakshi

Added Sonakshi: “We are tackling big problems right now – economic slowdown, internal conflicts and tension at our borders. Now more than ever, it has become pertinent to lend a helping hand or a kind word or even a smile.”

“Zaroorat” has been penned by Shravan Pundirr and rendered by artistes including Simran Choudhary, Ajay Keswani, Shruti Unwind and rappers Muhfaad and Violina.

Also Read-Sleep Apnea The Potential Cause Of Depression

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

Trump, Melania Test Covid-19 Positive

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump depart the White House in Washington D.C. (Xinhua/Ting Shen/IANS)

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this together,” he said in a tweet.

The next course of action for the President and the First Lady was not immediately clear as he has events scheduled for Friday in Florida and Saturday in Wisconsin.

The announcement came after White House adviser Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest aide, was confirmed to have tested positive for the virus on Thursday.

She had travelled with the President on Air Force One earlier this week, an informed source told The Hill news website.

After the revelation, Trump had tweeted: “Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible.

“The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process.”

Also in a statement, a White House official said contact tracing has been done, “and the appropriate notifications and recommendations have been made”, The Hill news website reported.

Hicks is the latest White House aide to test positive for the virus which has so far infected 7,277,352 people in the US and killed 207,791 others, making it the worst-hit country in the world.

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien had tested positive, as well as a White House valet who serves the President.

Katie Miller, the Vice President’s communications director and the wife of Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, were also infected.

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Health Lifestyle Lite Blogs

Sleep Apnea The Potential Cause Of Depression

All you need to know about perimenopause. (Photo Courtesy: pixabay)
Sleep apnea and depression – Is there a correlation?

Depression is often also connected with sleep-disordered breathing, and not only by conventional wisdom but by increasing clinical evidence day after day. ..writes Puja Gupta.

As the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) in the United States puts it, “depression may cause sleep problems and sleep problems may cause or contribute to depressive disorders,” noting that symptoms of depression seem to come before sleep problems just as frequently as the other way around…writes Puja Gupta.

Conversations around the subject only focus on insomnia but there are other sleep issues as well that are equally significant is disturbing our mental health. Issues like Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and sleep apnea have been gaining attention to be potential causes of depression.

(Photo Courtesy: pixabay)

So, what exactly is sleep apnea? What is it association with depression and what are the potential ways to manage it? Dr. Sibasish Dey, Head – Medical Affairs, India & South Asia, ResMed shares the 10 things about sleep apnea and its relation to depression that you need to know:

Sleep apnea is a sleep-disordered breathing condition where an individual may stop breathing for a few seconds during sleep. This phenomenon may occur multiple times while sleeping.

Due to repeated hypoxia and arousals, there is inflammation, oxidative stress and this results in imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. This imbalance may result in different neuropsychiatric symptoms and depression.

Sleep.

National Sleep Foundation (NSF) points out to a study published by the National Library of Medicine that says that people suffering from depression are five times most likely to suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) – the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing.

It is to be noted that several studies have observed that patients suffering from depression also have issues related to sleep. In OSA, disturbed sleep leading to disturbances in neurotransmitters levels are believed to be the cause for its association with depression.

Sleep apnea manifests with symptoms like fatigue, lack of energy, morning headache, difficulty concentrating, irritability and sexual dysfunction, all of which may lead to depression.

In simpler words, sleep apnea disturbs sleep, causing micro-arousal all throughout the night. This disturbance in the sleep cycle is potentially harmful. So, such an individual will wake up tired in the morning and experience excessive daytime sleepiness

In addition, sleep apnea may also lead to road traffic accidents, loss of productivity at workplaces, difficulty in concentrating and accomplishing tasks and generally decreased psychomotor performance. All these may alter the work-life balance.

Now coming to solutions to deal with the issue – Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device is a gold standard treatment for people who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing, such as OSA. It is also one of the most commonly used treatment method for OSA.

(Photo Courtesy: Pixabay)

Other non-pharmacological methods to reduce OSA includes quitting smoking and alcohol, reducing weight and following sleep hygiene tips.

The takeaway? If you’ve found yourself suffering from the effects of depression and sleep apnea, it is prudent to take sleep apnea into consideration. Adequate sleep apnea management may help alleviate the problems of both, and bring you closer to experiencing a healthier, more energetic lifestyle. Talk to your doctor about whether taking a sleep test may be a good option for you. ResMed’s home sleep tests have proven to be an effective tool for testing sleep apnea in the times of the pandemic as well because they can be undertaken at the comfort of your homes without having to visit a clinic/sleep lab.

Also Read-Crafting Pieces Into Modern Heirlooms