Indian technicians and pilots ‘marvellously’ completed their training in France, said Emmanuel Lenain, French Ambassador to India on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Rafale fighter jets.

“Planes are outstanding, Indian technicians and pilots marvellously completed their training in France. They are totally capable to use these planes at their best,” said Emmanuel Lenain.

 The French Envoy stated he is very proud to say that the first batch of Rafale is reaching Indian soil.
 

ALSO READ: IAF Chief Bhadauria to receive 5 Rafale jets at Ambala airbase on Wednesday

“Our partnership is comprehensive. It goes from strategic, military to health. They have one thing in common. It’s for the good of our own people. They take care of their people’s security, their health, that is what matters,” he said.

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Latest news today live updates: The five French Rafale fighter jets touched down at Haryana’s Ambala after covering a distance of nearly 7,000 km to join the Indian Air Force. The jets were given a customary water salute upon their arrival at the airbase, some 220-km from the India-Pakistan border.

The formal induction ceremony of the aircraft would be held later. The aircraft would move out soon to another operational base for operational sorties. The Rafale jets, India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in over two decades, are expected to significantly boost the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities.

In more troubles for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s elder brother Agrasain Gehlot, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned him for questioning in a fertiliser scam case. According to news agency PTI, the ED has asked Agrasain Gehlot to appear before it at its office in New Delhi today.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the new National Education Policy (NEP) and renamed the HRD Ministry as Education Ministry, officials said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a meeting with the chief executives of state-owned and private banks today amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country.

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At present, 25 coronavirus vaccine candidates are in human clinical trials. This raises the hope that a vaccines could contribute to ending the pandemic, which has so far infected over 16.4 million people worldwide and claimed over 650,000 lives. More than 150 possible vaccines are being developed and tested around the world, including in India, Britain, China, the US, Russia and Israel, to try to stop the pandemic. Among the coronavirus vaccine candidates are in human clinical trial stage at present are those of Moderna, AstraZeneca Plc, BioNTech, Novavax, Sinovac, CanSino Biologics and Inovio Pharmaceuticals. Although it is still unclear if any of these vaccines will ultimately prove effective against the virus, Britain and other developed countries are already investing in the vaccines to ensure there is enough manufacturing capacity to deliver any successful candidate.

Why is a coronavirus vaccine important?

The virus spreads easily and the majority of the world’s population is still vulnerable to it. A vaccine would provide some protection by training people’s immune systems to fight the virus so that they do not become sick.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted extensive search operations at the residence and office premises of GVK group Chairman G V K Reddy and his son G V Sanjay Reddy in Mumbai and Hyderabad, in connection with the alleged Rs 705-crore Mumbai airport scam.

The move follows the money laundering case registered against the promoters of the GVK group of companies, officials of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), and a few other entities early this month.

  Confirming the development, an ED official said the searches are underway in about nine locations in Hyderabad and Mumbai, including some entry operators connected to the MIAL.

ALSO READ: Bidvest moves Delhi HC against GVK, investors in airports holding firm

ED had pressed Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which deals with concealing proceeds of a crime where the accused shall be guilty of money laundering.

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Having a tough time recognising your neighbours behind their pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too.

A preliminary study published by a US agency on Monday found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50% when trying to identify masked faces.

  The mask problem is why Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID. It could also be thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology says it is launching an investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered faces. Its preliminary study examined only those algorithms created before the pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are wearing masks.

Some companies, including those that work with law enforcement, have tried to tailor their face-scanning algorithms to focus on people’s eyes and eyebrows.

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Telegram Messenger is getting an app update, which brings ten new features to the cloud-based instant messaging platform. As part of its update, the app brings profile videos, enhanced Photo & Video editor, improved people nearby feature, mini-thumbnails, group stats, animated emoji, multiple accounts on telegram desktop, 2 GB file sharing capabilities, and more. Take a look at Telegram’s new features: 

Profile videos 

Users can now upload a video, instead of static image, to their profile and pick a keyframe from the video for their static profile picture in chats. 

  Enhanced Photo & video editor 

The new photo and video editor lets user manage skin tone through editor on any photo or video taken with the front-facing camera. For Android users, cropping and rotating of the videos in the editor is also available now. 

Improved People Nearby 

Part of app’s privacy and security setting, this feature lets user see the other contact’s exact location. 

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Samsung on Monday launched in India the Galaxy M01 Core smartphone, starting at Rs 5,499. The entry-level smartphone is based on Android Go platform. It is the most affordable phone in the company’s Galaxy M-series line-up, which recently received another two launches, the Galaxy M01 and Galaxy M01s, in sub-Rs 10,000 price band. 

“Galaxy M01 Core reiterates Samsung’s commitment to make technology accessible, affordable and available to consumers across Bharat. Galaxy M01 Core has been designed to deliver value for money with a best–in-class performance and stylish proposition targeting users seeking best performance, experience and price,” said Aditya Babbar, Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India. 

  Aimed at first time smartphone users migrating from feature phones, the Galaxy M01 Core offers a 5.3-inch HD+ display, 8-megapixel camera on the back and 5MP camera on the front. Powered by MediaTek 6739 system-on-chip, the phone ships with Android Go operating system with India-centric enhancements to aid user experience.

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Chinese smartphone brand Realme recently expanded its X-series line-up in India with the launch of the Realme X3 and Realme X3 SuperZoom smartphones. Except for the optics and RAM & storage configurations, the two smartphones are similar in design, specifications and features. However, it is the Realme X3 that makes for an excellent value for money in the midrange smartphone segment. Read on to know why:

Realme X3: Design

There is little novelty here; the Realme X3 looks like any other Realme smartphone — a glass build with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and gradient reflective glass on the back. Sandwiched between the front and back glasses is a plastic frame painted in the colour of the rest of the body.

 The phone’s power key-cum-fingerprint sensor is mounted on the right side of the frame, and the volume rocker keys are on the left. The top of the frame has a slightly pressed design with a secondary microphone opening. The bottom has a pressed design, too, and it features the SIM slot, primary microphone opening, USB type-C port for charging and data transfer, and the phone’s mono speaker.

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Women’s participation in workforce could get a boost with enterprises embracing the work from home (WFH) model as they will get flexibility in managing both their homes and work, Salesforce India CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2020, Bhattacharya said the Covid-19 pandemic has not only changed the perception of WFH not being effective but is also re-shaping the workplace.

She said the workforce participation of women in India is actually falling but the country has a large number of well-trained women who are sitting at home, not able to work because they can’t get out of the house as they are the primary caregivers.

“Imagine the flexibility which these women can then get because this can be the primary caregiver and work.”

  The former SBI chairperson said that when women quit their jobs to be caregivers, it is often difficult for them to get back in and even when they re-join the workforce, they join at lower levels than their peers who have moved up in careers by then.

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The equation for the third and final Test of the ongoing three-match series at the Old Trafford starting Friday is simple — hosts England need a win to clinch the Wisden Trophy while West Indies need just a draw to retain the title.

Jason Holder’s troops had famously beaten England during the two teams’ last meeting in the Caribbean Islands, so they will get to keep the trophy it they manage to eke out a positive result from the final Test.

However, things aren’t going to be easy for the visitors as momentum is on England’s side following their 113-run victory in the second Test. The hosts will also be boosted by the return of fast-bowler Jofra Archer, who was axed for the second Test for breaking bio-secure bubble protocols.

A bio-secure environment is planned to prevent the spread of coronavirus. With bio-secure venues for cricket matches, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is aiming to minimise the risk of transmission of the virus from one person to another.

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