Author: Newsdesk

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Business Economy

New Job Creation Rate Changed Little In Oct: Report

The US Department of Labour announced that the number of job openings and hirings across the country were only a little changed in October.

On the last business day of October, the number and rate of job openings were little changed at 6.7 million and 4.5 per cent, respectively, Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying in its announcement on Wednesday.

The number of job openings in October decreased over the year to 7.1 million, reflecting the continued impact of the raging Covid-19 pandemic on the labour market.

Job openings decreased in a number of industries with the largest decreases in retail trade, accommodation and food services, and finance and insurance.

The number and rate of hires in October were little changed at 5.8 million and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, hirings increased in a number of industries over the year, with the largest surges in transportation, warehousing, and utilities and in durable goods manufacturing.

Over the month, the number of total separations increased to 5.1 million and the total separations rate was little changed at 3.6 per cent.

Over the 12 months ending in October, hirings totalled 70.4 million and separations totalled 76.1 million, yielding a net employment loss of 5.7 million.

These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

Also Read: Youtube To Take Down False News On US Election

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Tech Lite USA

Youtube To Take Down False News On US Election

YouTube has said that it will now start removing any piece of content that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 US Presidential election.

The move comes after the so-called “safe harbor” deadline for the US presidential election on Tuesday and enough states have certified their election results to determine Joe Biden as the country’s President-elect.

For example, YouTube will remove videos claiming that a Presidential candidate won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors.

“We will begin enforcing this policy today, and will ramp up in the weeks to come. As always, news coverage and commentary on these issues can remain on our site if there’s sufficient education, documentary, scientific or artistic context,” YouTube said on Wednesday.

The move comes at a time when US President Donald Trump is still seeking to overturn the results of the November 3 election.

YouTube said its Community Guidelines prohibit spam, scams, or other manipulated media, coordinated influence operations, and any content that seeks to incite violence.

Since September, the Google-owned platform has terminated over 8,000 channels and thousands of harmful and misleading elections-related videos for violating our existing policies.

Over 77 per cent of those removed videos were taken down before they had 100 views, the company said.

“Our policies prohibit misleading viewers about where and how to vote. We also disallow content alleging widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of a historical US Presidential election,” YouTube said.

Also Read: FB terms US lawsuits ‘revisionist history’

Also Read: US Covid-19 death toll hits record

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-Top News India News

India Daily Digital – December 10, 2020 – NITI AYOG: India Attracted $38 Bn FDIs

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

NITI AYOG: India Attracted $38 Bn FDIs; JAISHANKAR: ‘Beijing’s Dishonesty’ Damaged India-China; US Govt, 48 states Sue Facebook for ‘Predatory’ Conduct; Hasina calls for ‘positive’ global climate coalitions – all in Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read.

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Business USA

Sony Pictures Buy Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced to buy anime streaming service Crunchyroll from US telecom giant AT&T for $1.175 billion.

Crunchyroll is a premier anime direct-to-consumer service within AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment with more than 3 million SVOD (subscription video on demand) subscribers and growing.

It serves 90 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD (ad-based video on demand), mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.

Crunchyroll will become part of Sony’s Funimation, which already licenses several popular shows such as Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, and One Piece, the two companies said in a statement late on Wednesday.

“By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people,” said Tony Goncalves, Chief Revenue Officer, WarnerMedia.

The combination of Crunchyroll and Funimation provides the opportunity to broaden distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers.

“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“Through Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan, we have a deep understanding of this global artform and are well-positioned to deliver outstanding content to audiences around the world”.

Funimation’s streaming services offer a growing catalog of over 700 anime series and more than 13,000 hours of content available on 15 platforms and in 49 countries.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Also Read: Sony witnesses huge growth in PlayStation business

Also Read: Cisco Takes Over UK’s IMImobile for $730 Mn

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Business Economy

GST Compensation: Centre Releases Rs 6K Crores To States

The Ministry of Finance has released the weekly instalment of Rs 6,000 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall.

Out of this, an amount of Rs 5,516.60 crore has been released to 23 states and an amount of Rs 483.40 crore has been released to the three Union Territories (UT) with Legislative Assembly — Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry — who are members of the GST Council, said a Finance Ministry statement.

The remaining five states, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, do not have a gap in revenue on account of GST implementation.

The Centre is borrowing this amount on behalf of the states and UTs through a special borrowing window to meet the estimated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in revenue arising on account of GST implementation.

The amount released this week was the sixth instalment of such funds provided to the states. The amount has been borrowed this week at an interest rate of 4.2089 per cent. So far, an amount of Rs 36,000 crore has been borrowed by the Central government through the special borrowing window at an average interest rate of 4.7106 per cent.

In addition to providing funds through the special borrowing window to meet the shortfall in revenue on account of GST implementation, the Centre has also granted additional borrowing permission equivalent to 0.5 per cent of states’ GSDP to the states choosing option-I to meet GST compensation shortfall to help them in mobilising additional financial resources.

So far, permission for borrowing an additional amount of Rs 1,06,830 crore has been granted to 28 states under this provision.

Also Read: All states and UTs accept GST compensation formula

Also Read: Twenty seven states opt for centre’s GST Option 1

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Cricket Sport

Kohli the Most Impactful ODI player of the Decade: Gavaskar

Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar during a match presentation ceremony

Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar believes current skipper Virat Kohli has been the most impactful player for India in One-Day Internationals in this decade.

Kohli, who made his international debut in 2008, has so far played 251 ODIs for India in which he has scored 12,040 runs with the help of 43 hundreds.

“I think if you look as an individual then certainly it’s got to be Virat Kohli, because if you look at the number of matches he’s won for India when India has been chasing big scores,” Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar during a match presentation ceremony

“I look at the impact a player has had, and not just the runs or wickets that he has taken, and in that aspect you have got to say that in this decade it really has been Virat Kohli who has had the most impact on the matches that India has won,” he added.

Kohli has been nominated for the International Cricket Councils (ICC) Men’s Player of the Decade award.

Virat Kohli

The 32-year-old, who leads Team India in all three formats, has been nominated for Male Cricketer of the Decade alongside Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root (England), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Steve Smith (Australia), AB de Villiers (South Africa), and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka).

Along with this, Kohli has been nominated for Men’s Test Player of the Decade Award, Men’s ODI Player of the Decade Award, Men’s T20I Player of the Decade Award and Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade.

Also Read: Kohli’s absence an opportunity for youngsters: Ravi Shastri

Also Read: Kohli’s absence will create a big hole: Ian Chappel

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India News Sport

Players Must Stick To Discipline While At Home: Kangujam

Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (R)

Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, experienced midfielder in the Indian men’s hockey team, feels it will be the responsibility of players to ensure they do their best to follow the safety protocols when they return home for a break from the ongoing national coaching camp which concludes on Saturday.

“It is very important we follow safety protocols when we return home for a break. We have been given strict instructions from our coaching staff and Hockey India on SOPs to follow when we return home. We completely understand the risks involved with life outside the camp bubble and we will need to act responsibly to ensure we continue to be covid free,” Chinglensana was quoted as saying by Hockey India.

The experienced midfielder further said that the players will be given a regime to follow that will help them keep up their fitness levels during the break.

Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (R)

“Despite these tough circumstances where we have not been able to compete, we have hit the fitness levels we projected in February this year during the FIH Hockey Pro League. It is very important we don’t drop this level when we go on a break. Hence, like always, Robin Arkel (Scientific Advisor) will give us a regime to follow and a list of do’s and dont’s in terms of food intake etc when we are back home for the holiday season.”

Speaking about his own experience over the last four-and-a-half months, Chinglensana said, “This is probably the first time we have been in national camp for so long without breaking for competitions. It’s no doubt been challenging especially because there is zero interaction with the outside world.”

“But this is a very important year for us and the pandemic demands these small sacrifices in order to remain in training and focused on our goals for the Olympic Games next year,” he added.

Also Read: Italy’s 1982 World Cup Hero Paolo Rossi Dies

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Football Sport

Italy’s 1982 World Cup Hero Paolo Rossi Dies

Paolo Rossi, Italy’s top-scorer in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, has passed away at the age of 64.

Italian TV channel RAI Sport, for whom Rossi had been working as a pundit, announced the news of his demise on Thursday morning.

“A very sad news: Paolo Rossi left us,” RAI Sport presenter Enrico Varriale tweeted. “Unforgettable Pablito, who made us all fall in love in that summer of ’82 and who has been a precious and competent workmate at RAI in recent years. RIP dear Paolo.”

Rossi’s wife, Cappelletti Federica, posted a photo of herself and her husband to her Instagram account along with the words “per sempre” which means “forever” in English.

She, however, did not disclose the cause of his death.

Rossi is widely regarded as one of the best forwards of all time and is most famous for his heroics at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He scored six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goal-scorer, and the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament.

The forward is one of only three players to have won all three awards at a World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962, and Mario Kempes in 1978. Rossi was also awarded the 1982 Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year for his performances. Along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, he is Italy’s top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals in total.

Italy’s Paolo Rossi holding the 1982 World Cup

“We mourn the tragic demise of the legendary Italian footballing icon Paolo Rossi, winning member of the 1982 FIFA World Cup Team. He was one of the three footballers to win the Golden Boot and Golden Ball in a single edition of FIFA WC,” the official handle of Indian football team tweeted.

In total, Rossi scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for Italy.

At club level, Rossi was also a prolific goal-scorer for Vicenza. In 1976, he was signed to Juventus from Vicenza in a co-ownership deal for a world record transfer fee. Vicenza retained his services, and he was top goalscorer in Serie B in 1977, leading his team to promotion to Serie A.

The following season, Rossi scored 24 goals, to become the first player to top the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A in consecutive seasons. In 1981, Rossi made his debut for Juventus, and went on to win two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the European Cup.

The news of Rossi’s passing comes two weeks after the death of Argentina football legend Diego Maradona, winner of the 1986 World Cup.

Also Read: Former Argentina Coach Alejandro Sabella Dies

Also Read: OBIT: Diego Maradona

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-Top News Africa News

Sudan calls for further talks on Nile Dam

Sudan has called for continuing negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile river until a satisfactory binding agreement was reached.

The call was made on Wednesday by Sudan’s Foreign Ministry during a briefing it held for the ambassadors of the European Union (EU) and North and South America to Sudan on the latest developments of the GERD negotiation and Khartoum’s position on the issue, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Sudan will be the most affected of all parties in case a binding deal is not reached over the filling and operation processes,” Mohammed Sharif Abdalla, Under-Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Noting the risks posed by the GERD to Sudan’s citizens and strategic facilities on the Blue Nile course, especially the Roseires Dam, Abdalla reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the mediation of the African Union.

Sudan decided not to participate in a ministerial meeting regarding the GERD convened on November 21.

The country demands the GERD talks go beyond the level of irrigation ministers to the leaders of the three countries and the African Union and US observers be given a status of mediators, changes in which Egypt and Ethiopia find no interest.

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have been negotiating under the African Union over technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.

Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the project.

Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile Basin countries that rely on the river for its fresh water, are concerned that the dam might affect their water resources.

Meanwhile, Egypt looks forward to taking part in the next round of trilateral talks with Ethiopia and Sudan on an Ethiopian dam built on their shared Nile river, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry’s statement came after the foreign and water ministers of the three countries concluded a virtual meeting, Xinhua reported.

Egypt wants to reach “a binding legal agreement” on how to operate the Ethiopian giant dam as soon as possible, the ministry said.

It also highlighted the necessity of reaching “a fair and balanced agreement that achieves the common interests of the three countries and preserves their water rights.”

During the last round of trilateral talks held earlier this month, Egypt voiced its discontent as no progress was made in the negotiations.

Ethiopia started building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011, which prompted concerns from downstream countries like Sudan and Egypt.

Over the past few years, the tripartite talks on the rules of filling and operating the GERD, including those recently brokered by the United States and the African Union, have been fruitless.

Also Read: GERD talks gather steam

Also Read: Nile dam row: Egypt calls for ‘binding legal agreement

Categories
Economy India News

Mumbai, Delhi lead India’s ‘return to office’ trend: Survey

Led by women workers, India is showing a strong return-to-office trend and the number of people returning to work in November has risen to 10 per cent of pre-COVID levels, a new report revealed on Thursday.

Overall, 375 per cent more people returned to office in November as compared to April in the country.

Based on the data collected from more than 4 lakh employees across the country, the report by hybrid workplace solutions provider WorkInSync and employee transport solutions service MoveInSync said that Mumbai and Delhi-NCR lead the ‘return-to-office’ trends, currently at greater than 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Bengaluru and Hyderabad are currently at less than 5 per cent of pre-COVID levels among the metro cities.

However, 20 per cent workforce in the rest of India has returned to offices compared to 10 per cent in Metros to pre-COVID levels.

The data suggested that women employees are way ahead of their male counterparts in the effort to get back to office.

While the rate of return to office is faster for women than men, overall ratio of women vs men remains low at 0.53 vs 0.72 pre-Covid.

“The data clearly shows that India wants to get back to business as usual very quickly. The index is also indicating the fact that with the hope of a vaccine in 2021, return-to-office levels in IT, ITeS & BPO sector could potentially reach 50 per cent of pre-COVID levels by May 2021 and up to 80 per cent by September,” said Deepesh Agarwal, CEO of WorkInSync.

Companies in Pharma sector (27 per cent) and IT, ITeS and BPO sector (16 per cent) are returning to office at a faster rate, compared to pure-play software product companies (3 per cent).

“Since the phase II of re-opening, there has been a consistent upward shift in the way employees have returned back to work and that trend will pick up pace in the next few months,” Agarwal said.

Also Read: Fitch narrows India’s GDP fall forecast

Also Read: Fitch narrows India’s GDP fall forecast