Liverpool FC have confirmed that Spain international midfielder Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently self-isolating according to the necessary guidelines,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The 29-year-old, who missed Monday’s match against Arsenal, has exhibited minor symptoms of the virus but is in good health and is getting better,” it added.
Alcantara had joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich earlier in September and had made his debut against Chelsea eight days ago.
“The club has, and will continue to, follow all protocols relating to Covid-19 and Thiago will remain in self-isolation for the required period of time,” informed the club.
LFC first-team doctor Jim Moxon said: “It is the choice of each individual whether they reveal publicly the outcome of a COVID-19 test. We have followed all the protocols to the letter and Thiago is ok. He will be self-isolating now as per the guidelines and hopefully he’ll be back with us soon.”
Thiago will now miss Spain’s forthcoming international games, which see them play a friendly in Portugal on October 7, and UEFA Nations League games at home to Switzerland on September 10 and away to the Ukraine three days later.
Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, UAE.
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday chaired a joint ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Addressing the meeting which was held via video technology, Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, affirmed the depth of the GCC-Russia relations and the importance of further consolidating them across all fronts, notably at the economic, investment, tourist and cultural levels.
During the meeting, issues of common interest between the GCC and the Russian Federation were reviewed, with specially emphasis on the global fight against COVID-19 and the prospects of setting the stage for enabling the region to move from tension and crises to opportunities, stability and development while building trust.
Trump, Biden trade early jabs in first presidential debate.
“Clown”, “Liar”, “just shush for a minute” and “keep yapping” were the insults that will forever be the highlight of the first Trump-Biden US presidential debate 2020 with Fox News anchor and moderator Chris Wallace coming in for serious flak based on how he allowed American President Donald Trump to aggressively interrupt his Democratic challenger Joe Biden throughout the first US presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
Trump snarled, grimaced and wagged his fingers at Biden repeatedly throughout the 90-minute debate. At one point, he said: “I’ll tell you Joe, you could never have done the job that we did. You don’t have it in your blood.”
“Everything he says here is a lie”, Biden snapped. The wrong guy, wrong night, wrong time.”
“This man doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Biden said several times during the evening.
The US election is 35 days away and it is increasingly likely that in the current Covid-19 situation, the results may not be known for days or weeks after November 3 — the election date.
“I’m 80 per cent sad, and 20 per cent mad as hell”, is how Claire McCaskill, former Senator from Missouri, described her takeaways from the debate.
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson thinks “much of the nation must have been appalled.” “I don’t know what the hell we watched.”
Donald Trump chased the “television audience away” according to veteran Democratic strategist James Carville. “It was unwatchable, 25 minutes in.”
In less than 10 minutes, the debate descended into personal attacks when the moderator failed to keep Trump quiet during Biden’s two minute talk time. Biden shot back at Trump, “Will you shut up, man?”
Reacting to the first debate performance, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said “America was given a very clear choice”. She cast Trump as a man out of his depth and playing defence.
Kamala Devi Harris
“What we saw was a dog whistle through a bullhorn,” she said on late night television.
“That performance tonight is going to convince people Donald Trump is not worthy of another term” David Plouffe, former Barack Obama campaign manager, said in post debate comments.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden skewered each other with angry words over Trump’s coronavirus response, racial justice, the economy and each other’s fitness for the president’s office in their chaotic 90 minute meeting.
“The fact is that everything he’s said so far is simply a lie,” Biden said. “I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he’s a liar.”
Biden tore into Trump within the first five minutes. He told Trump to “get out of your bunker and get out of the sand trap” and “get into his golf cart to the Oval Office and come up with a plan to save people”.
When Trump struggled to answer questions about reports he paid a measly $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, Biden waded in. “Show us your taxes. Show us your taxes,” he pushed, even as Trump claimed he has paid “millions in taxes”.
Recent polling shows Trump’s support among key voter groups has slipped since 2016. Biden stepped onto the stage leading in head to head national polls and by razor thin margins in some battlegrounds.
In the crucial battlegrounds of Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, where Trump was leading at this time in 2016, he is now trailing Biden. A RealClearPolitics poll of polls average puts Biden at about 6 points ahead of Trump nationally.
Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and ended the night refusing to say whether he would accept the election results. Trump’s coronavirus response was at the heart of the first presidential debate.
Biden called Trump a “failure” on the Covid-19 response. “You blew it”.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of India’s most valued firm Reliance Industries, continues to top the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 for the ninth consecutive year, with a total wealth of Rs 6.58 lakh crore.
His total wealth has surged by 73 per cent in the last 12 months, propelling him to become the richest individual in Asia and fourth richest person in the world.
Indians with more than Rs 1,000 crore wealth cross the 828-mark in the 2020 edition of the rich list.
London-based Hinduja brothers (SP Hinduja, along with his three brothers) with a joint wealth of Rs 1.43 lakh crore bagged the second position. HCL Founder Shiv Nadar with a wealth of Rs 1.41 lakh crore ranked third, followed by Gautam Adani and family at fourth spot and Azim Premji at fifth spot. Radhakishan Damani, the founder of Avenue Supermarts, debuted in the top 10 wealthiest individuals ranking in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020.
“A 28 per cent of the upswing in wealth on the list has been bestowed by Mukesh Ambani, bespeaking Ambani’s meteoric success post diversifying from oil to telecom and retail. A further 21 per cent of the additional wealth has been generated by pharma, mainly on the back of the rise in healthcare spends and a realigned priority towards personal healthcare stimulated by the Covid-19,” Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India said.
With rising new wealth creators such as innovative startups, family businesses with strong professional management, investors who believe in the India story, and a demographic advantage that is inferior to none, the India’s wealth creation story is still yet to reach the half-way mark, the report said.
“Assuming that for every one Hurun rich lister we have found, we have probably missed two, it is likely that India today has 2,000 individuals with Rs 1,000 crore,” continued Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.
The cut-off for the top 10 rose by 6 per cent to Rs 76,000 crore this year, a 10 per cent increase compared to the previous year. The cumulative wealth of IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich Listers have increased by 20 per cent compared to that of last year. 84 individuals have migrated from India and are NRIs. 19 saw their wealth double year on year.
All three of Udaan founders became the highest gainers in terms of wealth as compared to the 2019 edition — with increase of 274 per cent in each of their wealth.
Chigurupati Krishna Prasad of Granules India, also registered a 218 per cent jump in the wealth to Rs 3,500 crore. With a wealth of Rs 4,500 crore, Ritesh Agarwal (26) of Oyo Rooms is the youngest person on the list and with a wealth of Rs 5,400 Crore, Dharam Pal Gulati (96) of MDH is the oldest on the list. Nearly 5 per cent of the list (40 individuals) is comprised of women. 10 out of these 40 women are self-made.
The richest woman in the list is Smita V Crishna, of Godrej with Rs 32,400 crore, followed by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, of Biocon with a wealth of Rs 31,600 crore.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has downgraded the traffic forecast for 2020 to reflect a weaker-than-expected recovery.
“IATA now expects full-year 2020 traffic to be down 66 per cent compared to 2019. The previous estimate was for a 63 per cent decline,” the association said in a statement.
According to IATA, August passenger demand continued to be hugely depressed against normal levels, with revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) down 75.3 per cent compared to August 2019.
“This was only slightly improved compared to the 79.5 per cent annual contraction in July. Domestic markets continued to outperform international markets in terms of recovery, although most remained substantially down on a year ago,” the statement said.
“August capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) was down 63.8 per cent, compared to a year ago, and load factor plunged 27.2 points to an all-time low for August of 58.5 per cent. Based on flight data, the recovery in air passenger services was brought to a halt in mid-August by a return of government restrictions in the face of new COVID-19 outbreaks in a number of key markets.”
As per the data furnished by IATA, India’s domestic air passenger traffic de-grew by 73.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The de-growth in India’s domestic air passenger volume — measured in revenue passenger kilometres — was the second highest amongst major aviation markets such as Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and the US.
The country’s domestic available passenger capacity – measured in ASKs – declined 66 per cent on a YoY basis.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ripped into US president Trump’s Calling a “liar” and a man who “doesn’t know what he’s talking about”, in a response to the coronavirus pandemic which has killed more than 200,000 Americans, plunged the economy and upended life across the country.
President Trump and Biden waded into their first debate Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio with exactly 35 days until the 2020 US election.
In the 90 minute long schedule, Trump’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to remain front and center in this first 2020 presidential debate. The debate began with the hot button issue of Trump’s recent Supreme Court pick.
Trump picked Amy Coney Barrett days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sparking fears among Democrats that Trump is pushing through his agenda to move the country’s highest court to a 6-3 conservative majority.
US President Donald Trump formallt accepts Republican nomination.
“And we just, we won the election and therefore we have the right to choose her and very few people knowingly would say otherwise,” Trump said on his choice of Barrett.
“Everything he says here is a lie,” Biden snapped. “The wrong guy at the wrong time.”
“This man doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Biden said in response to many of Trump’s claims.
Biden also mocked Trump for his controversial remarks on using bleach as a possible remedy for the coronavirus.
For Trump, this pivotal moment in his re-election campaign comes days after a New York Times investigation revealed shocking details on Trump’s taxes. Trump, the Times said, paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House. Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.
Recent polling shows Trump’s support among key voter groups has slipped since 2016. Biden stepped onto the stage holding leading in head to head national polls and by razor thin margins in some battlegrounds.
In the crucial battlegrounds of Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan where Trump was leading at this time in 2016, he is now trailing Biden. A Real Clear Politics poll of average puts Biden at about 6 points ahead of Trump nationally.
Trump spent a good part of the day in debate prep, with many of his close aides in tow. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, son-in-law Jared Kushner and former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway were in the mix.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on network television that she is watching the debate with “great interest”.
She had a piece of pre-debate advice for Biden. “Don’t get pulled into all the craziness”, she said and said Biden must just tell his story to the American people.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace is moderating the showdown and has broken up the debate into six parts: the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court, Trump’s and Biden’s records, the economy, the integrity of the election and “race and violence in our cities.”
Trump has been drumming up the notion that he is preparing an “all-out” assault on Biden. Trump will try, as he has done before, to paint Biden’s four decades in Washington as proof that he is incapable of closure and that his son Hunter Biden benefited from corruption.
Two more debates are coming up next month, on October 15 at Miami, Florida and October 22, at Nashville, Tennessee.
Just a few weeks, ago that filmmaker Shekhar Kapur shared that he was impressed with the amazing new acting talents that the OTT space has been introducing to the world. The audience is with him on this. Take a look at actors who have grabbed maximum eyeballs in the digital space, emerging as the new OTT stars:
AMIT SADH
The former “Bigg Boss” contestant began as a television actor in 2002 and later entered Bollywood with “Phoonk 2” in 2010. “Kai Po Che” brought him fame and he went on to feature in films like “Sultan” and “Gold”. Now, he is one of the favourites in the digital space as he got a thumbs up for his role as Inspector Kabir Sawant over two seasons of the web series “Breathe”. He was then seen as an army officer in the web series “Avrodh: The Siege Within”. For him, it seems like the thrill to do a web series is still on as he is currently giving his all for the upcoming web series, “Zidd”.
Indian OTT develops its star system .
PANKAJ TRIPATHI
The actor, who has a theatre background, is commonly seen in Bollywood films. Be it comic or villainous roles in films like “Stree”, “Bareilly Ki Barfi” and “Gangs Of Wasseypur”, he has done it all. But it’s his role of power-hungry Guruji in the web series “Sacred Games” that made him talk of the town. The audience also loved him as gangster Kaleen Bhaiyya in the web series, “Mirzapur”. He is now set to reprise the role in the season two of series. In the digital space, the “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl” actor had also played a lawyer in “Criminal Justice”.
Indian OTT develops its star system .
AKSHAY OBEROI
The actor, who was seen in some interesting films like “Pizza” and “Gurgaon”, is currently being lauded for playing a menacing dark character in the web series, “Flesh”. The actor will also be seen as the main antagonist in the web series “7th Sense”. The “Illegal” actor has another series titled “Magic” in his kitty, apart from films like “KTina” and the Hindi remake of “Thiruttu Payale 2”.
Indian OTT develops its star system .
NAMIT DAS
He was the cute college friend of Ranbir Kapoor in the film “Wake Up Sid”, but it was the digital platform that brought out his versatility. Namit, who started his journey on TV with the show “Pancham”, and got noticed with the TV series “Sumit Sambhal Lega”, has utilised the web space to step out of ‘the good guy’ zone, notably the show, “Mafia”. He played Jawahar, a character with grey shades with aplomb in the web series “Aarya”, which starred Sushmita Sen. He also featured in the crime thriller of “Abhay”.
TANUJ VIRWANI
He is one actor who has been shooting for web series back-to-back. After making his debut in 2013 with the film “Luv U Soniyo”, he appeared in films like “Purani Jeans” and “One Night Stand”. But Tanuj really became a household name once he ventured into OTT zone. The first season of the cricket-based drama “Inside Edge” released in 2017. Following this, he got flooded with digital projects and his presence in the web world has only grown. He got to play integral roles in “Code M” and “Poison”. He also has “Kamathipura”, “7th Sense” and “Line Of Fire”. In addition, he has “Inside Edge 3” coming up, where he will be seen revisiting his character of a star cricketer from the earlier seasons.
RADHIKA APTE
Indian OTT develops its star system .
Although she said that while choosing projects, the platform does not matter, she is famously called the “Netflix girl” by netizens due to her association with the OTT platform. Radhika, who has acted in films such as “Badlapur”, “Phobia”, “Pad Man” and “Andhadhun”, had starred in three Netflix projects — the anthology film “Lust Stories”, the series “Sacred Games” and the limited series “Ghoul” — all released in 2018. The platform’s love for Radhika continued this year too. Before the release of her film, “Raat Akeli Hai” in July, Netflix India tweeted: “Crying happy tears because Radhika Apte is going to be in a Netflix original again.”
MITHILA PALKAR
The actress with curly locks is popular for her lead role in the web series “Little Things”. Now, known as a digital sensation, Mithila was also loved for featuring in the online video “Confusing Things A Girl Says”. The “Karwaan” actress also starred in the series “Girl In The City”.
SHWETA TRIPATHI SHARMA
She gained prominence for playing an upper caste girl in the 2015 film “Masaan”. She went on to do a couple of films, but caught attention of fans with her act in the series “Mirzapur”. In fact, she will be reprising her role as Golu in the much-awaited “Mirzapur 2”. She also showed her versatility in web series like “Made in Heaven” and “The Gone Game”, and the web movie, “Cargo”.
RASIKA DUGAL
Indian OTT develops its star system .
She has featured in critically acclaimed films such as “Qissa”, “Manto” and “Hamid”, but what made her a household name was the web series “Mirzapur”, in which she played the bold Beena Tripathi. Her role of a young cop in “Delhi Crime” added to her popularity. She also starred in “Out Of Love”, which revolved around marriage, infidelity and insecurity. She will soon start shooting for its second season.
SHRIYA PILGAONKAR
Shriya began her movie career with the 2013 Marathi film “Ekulti Ek”. After “Un plus une”, she was seen in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Fan”. But it was her role of Sweety in the web series “Mirzapur” that put the spotlight on her. Her latest digital series “Crackdown” has just released, and she was more than happy to do it as it let her explore the action genre. Apart from this, she also shot from home for the digital thriller series “The Gone Game” during lockdown.
New Delhi: A model walks the ramp during Bata Fashion Show in New Delhi on May 2017. (Photo: IANS)
Covid-19 has changed consumer buying patterns across segments, ranging from FMCG, personal care, apparel to footwear. The change has also led manufacturers to take innovative strategies and widen certain product portfolio ranges to attract consumers and gain a competitive edge…writes Siddhi Jain.
According to recent reports, the Indian footwear market is growing at a CAGR of 4.5 percent in India; however, owing to the current pandemic, 2020 witnessed changing consumer needs. India’s homegrown e-commerce player Flipkart, observed some interesting trends on the platform. With people placed a greater focus on being fit and healthy, the demand for athletic shoes has grown. Running shoes emerged as the top searched items under the sports footwear category. The platform also witnessed a spike of 1.5X times in the sale of sports footwear compared to pre-Covid times and the revenue of this category saw a spike of 20 percent from July to August. Additionally, running and walking shoes searches for women marked a 2X growth.
The Sneaker Edit.
With people continuing to stay indoors at most times, the preference for comfortable footwear is at an all-time high. Sandals and Slippers now constitute the top 5 searched queries under Men’s footwear – a trend that has never been seen in the recent past. Additionally, slippers have taken precedence over heels on the platform, becoming the most searched vertical under the women’s footwear category.
“To fulfill these ever-evolving demands of consumers, Flipkart is continuously working with brands and sellers to ensure they are able to benefit from the opportunities that e-commerce presents. During the pandemic, we’ve been working closely with a growing number of national, international, and regionally-renowned fashion brands and sellers, in different ways,” Nishit Garg, Vice President – Flipkart Fashion told .
Bengaluru: An interior view of newly inaugurated Flipkart premises, in Bengaluru, on Aug 22, 2018. (Photo: IANS)
Adding, “This includes identifying opportunities for them to connect them with consumers across India through our online marketplace, scale their online presence and diversify existing product portfolios. This is being facilitated through an insightful collaboration which is based on a very deep consumer understanding. This approach has enabled our partners to strengthen their business, while reaping the benefits of e-commerce in a fair online marketplace.”
Reynu Taandon's twist to traditional wedding weaves.
Reynu Taandon’s twist to traditional wedding weaves.
Designer Reynu Taandon’s latest couture collection “Surkh” draws inspiration from contemporary Indian brides who like to mix modern and minimalistic designs with old world charm…writes Puja Gupta
The designer held a virtual launch of wedding wear on Monday (Day 4) of the ongoing digital India Couture Week (ICW), organised by the Fashion Design Council of India.
“I want my brides to look elegant and maintain the old world wedding charm in a contemporary way and thus I have named my collection,Surkh’,” says Taandon.
Reynu Taandon’s twist to traditional wedding weaves.
She adds: “Surkh is an expression of keeping your values in this contemporary world, where every bride wants, the collection comprises tone-on-tone lehengas, anarkalis, sarees, sharara and gharara in hand-woven chanderi fabric, heavily embellished with zari, block printing, gota patti, patch and zardozi work in floral and geometrical motifs that give it all the bling required for traditional evening celebrations. The colour palate ranged between baby pinks, fuchsia to reds.
Reynu Taandon’s twist to traditional wedding weaves.
“The collection is a mix of four ever merging yet distinct colours. They have been selected keeping in mind every part of the day and how best it would suit the bride in these wedding times be it a morning, sundowner or an evening wedding,” she says.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has announced the launch of the Emirates Lunar Mission, the first Emirati and Arab mission to explore the moon. The mission supports the UAE’s efforts to enhance the region’s space industry and contribute to its future built by innovative Emirati minds.
The Emirates Lunar Mission is part of the new 2021-2031 strategy launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, MBRSC, which includes the development and launch of the first Emirati lunar rover named “Rashid”, after the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, builder of modern Dubai.
The explorer will be designed and built in the UAE by 100 percent Emirati team of engineers, experts, and researchers. If successful, the UAE will become the first Arab country and the fourth country in the world to land on the lunar surface after the United States, Soviet Union, and China. MBRSC will partner with an international entity to assist in landing the Rashid Lunar Rover on the Moon.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said, “By exploring the Moon, we are drafting a new inspiring chapter in the UAE’s growing list of achievements in space and beyond.”
“We chose to name the Lunar Rover ‘Rashid’, after the builder of the modern renaissance of Dubai and one of the founders of the UAE. This project is the largest national and humanitarian project in the region.”
“We have a large-scale space programme combined with an unwavering will, strategic governance and an ambitious cadre of scientists, researchers and engineers. The future awaiting us is full of achievements and innovations. What lies ahead is even more promising,” he added.
Scientific objectives
The mission aims to conduct tests to study various aspects of the lunar surface, including the lunar soil and its formation and components, thermal properties of the surface including thermal amplitude and conduction characteristics. It will carry out a series of measurements and tests that will expand human understanding of the Moon-plasma, photoelectrons and dust particles located over the illuminated part of the lunar surface. A range of materials will also be tested and their interaction with the Moon will be studied.
During its mission period, the Lunar Rover will capture multiple images and relay it back to the control room in Dubai. The Emirates Lunar Mission will also test new technologies in material science, robotics, mobility, navigation, and communications, specially designed to survive and function in the harsh lunar environment.
Ideal platform
The Emirati lunar rover will land on an area of the Moon’s surface that has not been explored by any of the previous lunar exploration missions. Therefore, it will provide novel and highly valued data, images, and insights. During its mission, the lunar rover will collect scientific data on matters relating the origin of the solar system, our planet and life.
The Moon is considered an ideal platform to test new technologies and equipment that can be used in future space exploration missions, including Mars. Landing on the Moon also allows for long-term exposure of sensors and other technologies to the space environment. The Lunar Rover will further test new exploration techniques on the Moon, which will help test the UAE’s capabilities before embarking on manned missions to Mars.
Technical specifications
The Lunar Rover will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies including a 3D camera, advanced motion system, sensors, communication system and be powered using solar panels.
It will include four cameras that move vertically and horizontally, including two main cameras, a microscope camera, and a thermal imaging camera. Additionally, it will be equipped with sensors and systems to analyse the properties of soil, dust, radioactivity, electrical activities, and rocks on the surface of the Moon. The explorer will also include an advanced motion system to enhance the efficiency of the Lunar Rover’s wheels’ movement on the Moon and facilitate the process to overcome natural barriers, along with a robust structure to protect devices and machinery from changing temperatures.
