Tag: channel

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Social Media

WhatsApp set to introduce new Channel Alerts feature

The ‘channel alerts’ function aims to improve the channel managers’ overall experience…reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned WhatsApp is all set to introduce new features for Android users that allow users to search messages by date, access hidden navigation labels, and receive channel alerts.

WhatsApp has introduced the new Channel Alerts feature with the WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.23.26.6 update and will be rolling it out to all users in the coming days, according to the Mashable website.

According to a report from WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is rolling out a feature to search messages by date, channel alerts, and hidden navigation labels, and they are available to some beta testers.

The new features are currently accessible to a select group of beta testers, with plans to gradually expand availability to additional users in the near future, as per the WABetaInfo report.

The ‘channel alerts’ function aims to improve the channel managers’ overall experience. Provided that administrators are provided with up-to-date information about channel suspensions, any problems can be resolved quickly.

Administrators can also use this feature to send a direct WhatsApp request for the restoration of their channels. According to the report, channel owners are advised to access the “channel alerts” option in the channel info screen to ensure compliance and identify any potential violations, as quoted by Mashable website.

The addition of channel alerts gives the platform an additional level of transparency.

Moreover, the communication platform is introducing two new capabilities following the installation of the most recent app update. These enhancements include an automatic hiding of navigation labels and the top app bar while scrolling down the screen, as well as the ability to search messages by date. The latter feature will provide users with an efficient and convenient method to navigate their chat history. This functionality will assist in retrieving specific messages from a particular date, ultimately saving users valuable time, as stated in the report.

An additional feature added to WhatsApp is the ability to transmit voice messages that can only be heard once before disappearing. Similar to the ‘View Once’ option for images and videos, this feature further protects the privacy of your messages and was added in 2021. (ANI)

ALSO READ-WhatsApp to roll out automatic album feature for channels

Categories
-Top News Asia News Sri Lanka

Rajapakse Rejects Allegations in Channel 4 Documentary

Rajapaksa also said from January to November 2019, intelligence head was in India following a course at India’s National Defence College…reports Asian Lite News

Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa responding to newest UK’s Channel 4 TV documentary which allegedly connected him to IS-affiliated local Islamic extremists’ 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, has said that the allegations were “absurd”.

A day after the release of the controversial TV documentary titled “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings” by Channel 4 which alleged coordinated explosions of six suicide bomb attacks killing over 270 and injuring over 500 both locals and foreigners at three churches and three star-class hotels intended to create insecurity and instability in the country to bring Rajapaksa to power at the 2019 elections.

Based on a series of interviews by whistleblowers and former security officials, Channel 4 claimed that the current head of Sri Lanka’s Military Intelligence Maj Gen Suresh Sallay allegedly hatched a plot with the IS-affiliated group of Sri Lankan Islamic extremists to prove that the country’s security was in tatters.

Interviewed by Channel 4, Azad Maulana, identified as a whistleblower and who was also the former spokesman of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, a leader of a breakaway group of the LTTE Tamil rebel and later joined Sri Lankan government forces, said he arranged the meeting with intelligence head and the suicide bombers without knowing their final plan. 

On April 21, 2019 , the morning of the Easter Sunday attacks, Sallay contacted him and asked to meet a person at the leading Indian hotel in Colombo, Taj Samudra, whom he later realised as the suicide bomber whose bomb did not detonate.

Defending the military head, Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated on Thursday that Sallay was serving as a diplomat in Malaysia from 2016 to 2018, during the period the whistleblower claimed Sallay plotted the bombings. 

Rajapaksa also said from January to November 2019, intelligence head was in India following a course at India’s National Defence College. 

The former president claimed that 2015-2019 government ignored the Muslim extremism that was building up in the country.

In his statement, Gotabaya also said that he sought the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assistance for the investigation after he became the President and he was communicated by Christopher A. Landberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, US Department of State, that the FBI had worked closely with Sri Lankan law enforcement, and in the week after the attacks, the US deployed around 33 personnel to Colombo to assist Sri Lanka’s investigation.

Ahead of planned major elections next year, Channel 4 revelations had created stir in Sri Lanka’s political circle and opposition parties and the Catholic Church were demanding an international probe and punish those responsible for the attacks.

Following the suicide attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected with a thumping majority but two years later in 2022 he was forced to flee the country amid public agitation. 

With the support of pro-Rajapaksa majority Parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President by a Parliamentary vote. 

ALSO READ-Sri Lanka Fully Aware Of India’s Security Concerns: Envoy

Categories
Tech Lite Technology

YouTube testing improvements to channel page layout

Another experimental feature the company announced provides bigger previews to users while seeking. This feature will be helpful as it makes it easier for users to find the exact moment in the video that they want to watch…reports Asian Lite News

Google-owned YouTube has announced that it is testing improvements to the channel page layout. “We’re starting to test changes to creator channel pages where tabs like ‘Playlists’ won’t be shown in cases where those tabs have no content,” the company said on the ‘YouTube test features and experiments’ page.

“We’re also testing improved access to the information from the ‘About’ and ‘Channels’ tab by updating the look and feel of the channel page.”  The company is currently testing this with a limited number of viewers.

Last month, the platform had introduced an experimental feature that allows users to easily watch videos at 2x speed. With this feature, users can long press anywhere on the player while watching a video to automatically bump the playback speed to 2x.

Another experimental feature the company announced provides bigger previews to users while seeking. This feature will be helpful as it makes it easier for users to find the exact moment in the video that they want to watch.

The company also tested a lock screen feature, which allowed testers to disable touch input while watching a video on Android and iOS. Last week, the video-sharing platform had announced that it was testing artificial intelligence (AI) auto-generated summaries.

This feature will make it easier for users to read a quick summary about a video and decide whether it is the right fit for them. The company noted that these summaries do not replace video descriptions which are written by creators.

ALSO READ-YouTube testing viewer-created Shorts featuring comments

Categories
-Top News Europe UK News

UK calls Russian channel RT as tool of Kremlin’s disinformation

Vladimir Putin during a visit to the new RT broadcasting centre (Wikipedia)

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread “harmful disinformation” about the Russia-Ukraine crisis…reports Asian Lite News

Britain accused Russian news channel RT on Wednesday of being a tool of a Kremlin disinformation campaign and asked the UK media regulator to take action if needed after Russia recognised two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.

Russian officials say RT is a way for Moscow to compete with the dominance of global media companies based in the United States and Britain that Moscow says offer a partial view of the world.

Critics say RT, which broadcasts news in English, Arabic, Spanish and German, is the propaganda arm of the Russian state and aims to undermine confidence in Western institutions.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread “harmful disinformation” about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“While respecting Ofcom’s regulatory independence, I call on you to ensure your actions are timely and transparent to reassure the British public,” the letter said.

Asked in parliament whether he would request Ofcom review RT’s licence, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believed Dorries had asked the regulator to review that matter.

Johnson’s spokesman, asked later if the government was looking to ban the channel, sought to clarify the prime minister’s remarks. “All the culture secretary is asking Ofcom (is to) take any appropriate action should there be any attempt to use Russia Today to spread disinformation,” he said.

The Conservative prime minister had also said the regulator should make its own decisions.

“We live in a country that believes in free speech,” Johnson told parliament. “And I think it’s important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than to politicians to decide which media organisations to ban – that’s what Russia does.”

RT said British politicians seemed to be trying to meddle in the affairs of a regulator, undermining its independence.

“The UK culture minister is now clearly directly interfering in institutions touted as supposedly wholly free from political pressure and influence,” Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor in chief, told Reuters.

Belkina said despite political pressure Ofcom had found no breaches of the Broadcasting Code by RT in the past four years.

ALSO READ-UK announces visa concessions for Ukrainians

Categories
-Top News Europe

UK, France vow to protect passengers on Channel ferries

In a statement, Home Secretary Priti Patel, said: “As Home Secretary, the protection of the public and our citizens is paramount…reports Asian Lite News.

UK emergency responders will have more power to deal with terrorist incidents in the Channel thanks to a new treaty which the Foreign Secretary signed in Paris on Monday.

The UK-France Maritime Security Treaty, negotiated between the UK Home Office and French Secrétariat général de la Défense et de la Sécurité nationale, aims at a seamless joint and coordinated action to be taken by UK and French forces in response to an incident, such as a terrorist attack on board a ferry or other large vessel in the Channel.

 “As close allies it is vital the UK and France work together to protect our citizens and values,” Dominic Raab said in a statement. “Today’s signing of the UK-France Maritime Security Treaty will reinforce our ability to jointly respond swiftly and effectively to terrorist threats in the Channel.”

Government said the treaty strengthens UK security by fully equipping law enforcement and emergency responders to respond to terrorist incidents, no matter where they occur.

In a statement, Home Secretary Priti Patel, said: “As Home Secretary, the protection of the public and our citizens is paramount. The intelligence and security tools this new cooperation provides will give law enforcement and our emergency responders the additional support they need to protect us all. In an uncertain world we must continue to work effectively with international partners to prevent and disable serious security threats.”

The Treaty includes provisions which will enable the UK and France to: share security information concerning potential security threats; mount swifter and stronger initial responses to serious security incidents; coordinate more efficient joint responses, and cooperate more effectively in the aftermath of an attack or incident.

On Monday, Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary met their French counterparts for joint discussions. The meeting covered key security and foreign policy issues including new fields of co-operation on emerging technologies, European security, security in Africa and the Levant, and our joint work concerning China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and the Indo Pacific.

ALSO READ-France and UK Come to Terms on Channel

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