His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian Minister of External Affairs.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed discussed with the Indian Minister strategic and friendship relations between the two countries and ways of furthering bilateral cooperation and partnerships, particularly in political, investment and economic fields.
The meeting also touched on the latest developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of the two countries’ cooperation in the fields of pandemic containment, prevention and control of its spread.
The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Jaishankar conveyed to Sheikh Mohamed greetings of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his wishes of further progress and prosperity to the UAE.
Sheikh Mohamed reciprocated greetings to the Indian Prime Minister and his best wishes to the people of India. He noted that the relations between the two countries have witnessed remarkable growth, thanks to the keenness of the leaderships of the two nations.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, EAA, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under-secretary of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and members of the delegation accompanying the Indian Minister of External Affairs.
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South Korea’s information watchdog on Wednesday fined Facebook Inc. 6.7 billion won (US$6 million) for passing information of at least 3.3 million South Koreans to other companies in its first crackdown on the U.S. tech giant.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said Facebook violated the country’s personal information law by providing personal information of at least 3.3 million of the country’s total 18 million local users from May 2012 to June 2018 to other companies without their consent.
It marked the commission’s first punishment against Facebook since it was launched in August this year, reports Yonhap news agency.
The commission said that when users logged into other company’s services using their Facebook accounts, the personal information of their Facebook friends was also shared to such service providers without consent.
The personal information that was shared with other companies included users’ names, their addresses, dates of birth, work experience, hometowns and relationship statuses.
The watchdog said the exact amount of the shared information is unclear as Facebook did not provide relevant documentation.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. (File Photo: IANS)
Considering the information could be provided to at most 10,000 other companies, the watchdog said a considerable amount of personal information could have been shared.
The commission said it will refer Facebook Ireland Ltd — which was in charge of Facebook operations in South Korea from May 2012 to June 2018 — to the prosecution for a criminal investigation.
Facebook Ireland’s director in charge of user privacy could face up to five years in prison or a maximum of 50 million won in fines if convicted of violating South Korea’s relevant personal information law.
It added that Facebook was uncooperative in its investigation as it submitted incomplete or false documents.
The commission also levied Facebook with a separate penalty of 66 million won for the false documentation.
Facebook expressed regret at the commission’s move.
“We cooperated with the investigation in its entirety,” Facebook said in a statement. “We have yet to closely review PIPC’s measure.”
In 2018, the Korea Communications Commission, South Korea’s telecommunications regulator, started investigations into Facebook before handing it off to the commission.
India’s national carrier Air India is set to connect Bengaluru and San Francisco via a non-stop flight from 2021, the Kempegowda International Airport said on Wednesday.
The airline is expected to launch a twice weekly service, scheduled to commence from January 11, 2021.
“This would be the first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and the United States, connecting the world’s two tech hubs — the original Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley of India.
“The first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and San Francisco is a significant milestone for BLR Airport and will transform it as the new gateway to India. This will tremendously help passengers, enabling faster and easier access to cities on the West Coast of the United States.”
As per the statement, the new non-stop service is expected to meet the demand of corporate customers for travel to San Fracisco and adjoining areas in the US.
“Air India plans to operate a 238-seater Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, to serve the largest unserved international origin/ destination (O/D) market for BLR Airport. Bengaluru and San Francisco are ranked first and second, respectively, among the world’s top 45 digitally advanced cities.”
“The new route sets two records — it would be Air India’s longest route at 14,000+ km (8,698 miles) and longest flight to and from India (over 16 hours). The national carrier has opened ticket booking from November 25.”
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Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce risk of infection from particles by over 70%
The film is part of the Hands. Face. Space. campaign which urges public to adopt simple health behaviours to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading
A new public information campaign launched by the Government to highlight how letting fresh air into indoor spaces can reduce the risk of infection from coronavirus by over 70%.
The campaign, which forms part of wider ‘Hands. Face. Space’ guidance, sees the release of a new short film created with scientists and an engineer at Leeds University.
Dr Amir Khan
The film illustrates how coronavirus lingers in the air in spaces with no fresh air, increasing the risk of people breathing in infected particles, and how the risk can be reduced significantly by regularly ventilating enclosed areas.
As we spend more time indoors, experts are recommending that the public open windows for short, sharp bursts of 10 -15 minutes regularly throughout the day, or leave windows open a small amount continuously, to remove any infected particles lingering in the room.
Additionally, it is advised that any household systems that use outdoor air, including kitchen or bathroom extractor fans, are used correctly and regularly as an additional method to remove infected particles.
Airing indoor spaces is particularly important when:
1. People have visitors (when permitted) or tradespeople in their home, for example for construction or emergencies;
2. Someone from a support bubble is meeting with another household indoors;
3. A care worker is seeing a patient indoors; or
4. If someone in the household has the virus, as this can help prevent transmission to other household members
Coronavirus.
Professor Catherine Noakes, from Leeds University who advised on the film, said:
“When a room does not have any fresh air, and where people are generating large amounts of aerosol through activities such as singing and loud speech, that is when transmission of coronavirus is most likely. Fresh air must come from outdoors – recirculating air just means the aerosols containing the virus move around the same room rather than being extracted outdoors.
Coronavirus is spread through the air bydroplets andsmaller particles (known asaerosols) that are exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person as they breathe, speak or cough[2]. They behave in a similar way to smoke but are invisible. The majority of virus transmissions happen indoors. Being indoors, with no fresh air, the particles can remain suspended in the air for hours and build up over time[3].
The longer people spend in the same room as these particles, the more likely they are to become infected.
GP, Dr Amir Khan said:
“As we approach winter, and inevitably spend more time indoors, fresh air is extremely beneficial. For COVID-19, it is important to ventilate indoor spaces if someone in your home has the virus as this can help prevent transmission to other household members.
“You should also let fresh air into your home when you have any visitors and just after they leave in case they are infected. Remember, opening windows alongside washing your hands, covering your face and making space is also essential in reducing your risk of COVID-19.”
Ventilation to provide fresh air in enclosed spaces is just as important as the other actions, so remember this as well as Hands, Face, Space. These are the most effective ways we can all control the spread of the virus. Visit gov.uk/coronavirus for more information.
The public are encouraged to continue to be vigilant of coronavirus symptoms which include a new continuous cough, high temperature, or a loss or change in your sense of taste or smell. If you or someone you know, displays any symptoms please get a free test by calling 119 or visiting NHS.uk.
Greg Barclay, an Auckland-based commercial lawyer and director of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) since 2012, has been elected as the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“It is an honour to be elected as the chair of the International Cricket Council and I would like to thank my fellow ICC Directors for their support. I hope we can come together to lead the sport and emerge from the global pandemic in a strong position and poised for growth,” said Barclay as per an ICC media release.
Barclay, who is currently NZC’s representative on the board of the ICC, succeeds Shashank Manohar who stepped down earlier this year. He will step down from his position at NZC to replace Imran Khawaja at the helm, who had stepped in as the interim chairman when Manohar’s two-year term ended in July this year.
Barclay was a director of 2015 World Cup and is a former board member and chairman of the Northern Districts Cricket Association. He is also an experienced company director holding board positions with various New Zealand and Australian companies.
“I look forward to working in partnership with our Members to strengthen the game in our core markets as well as grow it beyond that ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket. I take my position as a custodian of the game very seriously and am committed to working on behalf of all 104 ICC Members to create a sustainable future for our sport,” said Barclay.
“I’d like to thank Imran Khwaja for his leadership as acting ICC Chair during a difficult period for the game and I look forward to continuing a close working relationship with him in the future,” he added.
Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has opened up about her time during pregnancy and how she felt she could never return to the court again.
Sania, who married to Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik in 2010, gave birth to baby boy Izhaan in October 2018. After that in January 2020, she made a return to tennis circuit and won the doubles title at the WTA Hobart International 2020 with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok.
“Pregnancy and having a baby made me a better person,” said Sania in an open letter – ‘An Ode to All Mothers’ after watching ‘Being Serena’ on Discovery Plus.
“Pregnancy is something that I had experienced for the first time in my life. I thought about it and I think we all have a certain picture about it but once you experience it, you really understand what it means. It absolutely changes you as a human being,” she added.
Later came the part to overcome the physical obstacles and get back to her earlier self to make a comeback to the court.
“Getting back to shape and form after pregnancy can be a challenge and I can relate to Serena and every other woman on that. I think it’s normal for everyone because you don’t know how your body is going to react post-pregnancy and during pregnancy,” said the 34-year-old.
Lastly, the Indian tennis star — while depicting her transformation journey and the sheer joy of being on the court — said, “Having put-on around 23kg during my pregnancy, I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get back to being fit and playing tennis again.”
“However, I lost around 26 kilos with a lot of workout regimes and very strict diets and came back to tennis because that’s what I know, love and do. Finally, when I won at Hobart after coming back it was pretty amazing. I was honestly very proud of myself to have been able to put myself to compete at the highest level again and I think that’s where I was mentally,” she added.
Restocking activity ahead of the festive season to satisfy pent-up demand had exaggerated the pace of improvement recorded by many lead economic indicators in October 2020, said ratings agency ICRA.
According to the agency, prominent base effects also muddied the trends in certain sectors, related to a later onset of the festive season in October 2020, relative to 2019, which has affected the number of working days and the concentration of festive sales.
Besides, the ratings agency said that available trends for early November 2020, suggested some moderation in spike during the ongoing month.
“We now expect a stronger rebound in economic activity in H2 FY2021, compared to our earlier assessment (-3.5 per cent),” said Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA.
“However, we caution that the spikes in production seen in the various sectors in October 2020, are an exaggeration of the true recovery on the ground, as they have been driven by a large component of pent-up demand that may not sustain after the festive period is over.”
Furthermore, ICRA pointed out the potential re-imposition of restrictions in one or more states, on account of a fresh surge in Covid-19 infections, may temper the momentum of recovery in the coming months.
In ICRA’s set of 17 high frequency indicators, the YoY performance of 10 sectors recorded a pick-up in October 2020.
“This sub-set includes the sharp spikes in the output of automobiles and generation of GST e-way bills, as well as the relatively moderate improvements in electricity generation, ports cargo traffic, domestic airlines’ passenger traffic, as well as fuel consumption,” the ratings agecy said in a report.
“However, the YoY performance of six indicators deteriorated in October 2020, relative to the previous month, including the output of Coal India Limited (CIL), vehicle registrations and non-oil merchandise exports.”
In addition, the growth in non-food bank credit remained unchanged at a modest 5.1 per cent in YoY terms on October 23, in line with the growth recorded as on September 25.
“Five indicators continued to display a YoY contraction in October 2020, reinforcing the unevenness in the recovery that is playing out in the different sectors of the economy,” the report added.
