News Analysis India

Tag: Challenges

  • Gamers got new toys with PS5, Xbox Series X, new Nvidia and AMD cards but left waiting for deliveries

    You are in the middle of a pandemic. The schools are shut down. There are no exams. You can’t go out and meet friends. What do you do for entertainment? Pick up your PlayStation, computer, smartphone and, play games. In the past year, this applied to people from every walk of life. 2020 was a crucial year for the gaming industry. Both Microsoft and Sony introduced their new-gen gaming consoles and there was an increased demand for computer hardware as well.

    Several announcements were made. How many of them were fulfilled is a different story altogether, especially in India. The affected distribution chains, economic challenges and even company goof-ups, made 2020 a promising, yet frustrating year for gamers.

    The industry remains hopeful and see these issues as no different than those faced by other sectors. Manvendra Shukul, CEO of Lakshya, one of India’s leading game art creation company compares the delays and disruptions to those seen by Hollywood films.

  • Hate Speech On Facebook Is ‘most Acute Challenges To Human Dignity’, Says UN Expert

    An independent United Nations (UN) human rights expert on December 23 called for Facebook’s Oversight Board to enhance the consideration of the minorities before making rules over controversial content including hate speech online. Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues welcomed the recent move by the social media network’s Oversight Board for accepting its first six cases appealing against the decision to take content down from the platform. However, the independent UN expert also noted that it is the minorities that are most impacted by the hate content online and even said that it is “one of today’s most acute challenges to human dignity and life”.

    Even though the UN expert raised concerns over the management of hate speech, he also hailed the Oversight Board. Fernand de Varennes called the board “innovative and ambitious” which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has compared to the social media platform’s own Supreme Court and a body that reviews the decision made by the platform for moderating content. The UN expert noted its role in regulating “hate speech” which is also important for the effective protection of all the vulnerable communities. As per the UN report, he also commended the fact that the Board consists of prominent experts that are devoted to human rights as well as freedom of expression. Fernand de Varennes even noted the efforts that the board has made in order to ensure the impartiality.

  • It’s Ajinkya Rahane’s time to step up, says Virat Kohli

    Team India displayed clarity of mind ahead of what is expected to be a tough pink-ball challenge by naming their XI a day ahead of the first Test in Adelaide, even as Australia decided to keep their line-up “in-house” until the game.
    India didn’t fall for the most talked-about swap, deciding to stick with Prithvi Shaw at the top of the order to partner Mayank Agarwal instead of handing a Test cap to Shubman Gill.

    India also chose to persist with offie Ashwin, shelving the idea of an all-pace line-up, and opted for the more skilled Wriddhiman Saha as wicketkeeper.

    Whether this advance announcement will set a trend for the series is unknown, since the team’s real challenges may begin after this Test with ‘bedrock’ Virat Kohli leaving for home. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side but it will be hard to replace both Kohli’s constant leadership presence and ability as batsman.
    Kohli, however, gave the impression that India’s plans for the series had largely been set, and Rahane merely had to execute those plans.

  • Returns due to players’ morale: Ricky Ponting

    Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has said that the players maintained morale even after four consecutive defeats to the team which helped the team win the last league match and finish second in the IPL table.

    Ponting said – after four consecutive defeats the team had to ensure in the last one week that the morale of the team remains. Whenever you lose a few matches in the final phase of the tournament, it becomes difficult to get into rhythm, but the players are credited for their outstanding performance. Different energy was seen inside the players, which kept the rhythm throughout the match.

    He said, it was not the best match, but it was really a praiseworthy performance that we needed to complete. RCB is a strong team and we have won the match one over which is a big difference in terms of T20. Now we face Mumbai Indians who have defeated us twice in this tournament. Delhi Capitals won their first match on Monday at Abu Dhabi ground.

    Talking about the record of the team on the ground of Abu Dhabi, Ponting said – it is quite fun because we did not discuss about the ground or the ground. I mean that the first initial match that we played was based on the belief that we cannot win in Abu Dhabi but if we talk about this match then it was another ground for us. His wicket was very good and according to me it was the most spectacular wicket of the tournament so far.

    He said – It was a do or die contest for us and the players competed in a very positive manner. We have two more matches to play now and this will help us win the first final. This will understand how our future will be. On the challenges of playing in the biosafety environment, Ponting said – I think we had many challenges in this tournament and due to all these reasons, all the teams were a little lower in the points table at some stage. Now that we have won the match, our morale has increased and the eight days ahead are crucial for us.