Now, more than ever, small local charities need our help. This series looks at organisations whose work might otherwise be lost amid the current crisis. First up, we speak to Niranjan Kamatkar, artistic director of the Haringey-based Wise Thoughts.
Small London-based charity with a story to tell? Contact matt@londonist.com.
Sum up Wise Thoughts in two (short) sentences
We're a charity that puts on arts events, with a focus on the LGBTQI+ and BAME communities. We're based in Haringey but our remit and some projects have had reach all over the globe.
Before we get onto your many great arts projects, you also run weekly drop-ins and meetups in Haringey. What can people expect from those?
Our regular drop-in social meet-ups for LGBTQI+ people (16+) offer a safe social meeting space. Come along to chat to other local LGBTQI+ people, watch and discuss short #viralvideos screenings or live performances, or drop into a specialised advice session on subjects such as sexual health, hate crime reporting, and more.
These drop-ins take place in our Wood Green Library base. We also, in partnership with Homes for Haringey, run drop-ins in Tottenham (Sophia House) and Muswell Hill (Hilldene Court). We are currently piloting a new service for young LGBTQI+ people (age 11-19) in Wood Green.
Volunteers who run our sexual health stall offer peer advice on general wellbeing issues to regular visitors every week. Some visitors identify themselves as straight but look forward to the chat and receiving support.
Wise Thoughts is also a key partner at new 'Reach & Connect' initiative that offers free initial help and support to isolated older people (50+) in Haringey, to better meet the needs of LGBTQI+ residents.
[Note: drop-ins and meet-ups are currently (March 2020) suspended owing to the coronavirus outbreak. Check website for updates]
GFEST is your biggest arts event. How did that first come about, and what have been the best highlights over the years?
In 2007 London did not have a proper LGBTQI+ cross-art showcase. GFEST was designed to fill that gap. It's always an eclectic programme, with dance, music, drag, film screenings, art exhibitions, debates, readings, comedy and talks.
GFEST launched in November 2007 at City Hall, and grew pretty quickly. The next three events were launched in the UK parliament, and received cross-party support. It has also enjoyed the backing of all three Mayors of London as well as various Cultural Secretaries, ministers, celebrities and MPs. David Cameron also sent a message of support when he was the Prime Minister. 2010 was the biggest year, when audience numbers reached nearly 10,000.
Mavin Khoo performing at GFEST
GFEST has its roots in the 'Gaywise' initiative, which ran from 2002 to 2007. For this, we organised bi-annual LGBT+ cross-arts workshops and residencies programme (some residencies lasting up to 10 weeks). At the end of each residency, we organised 'sharing events' or showcases. A number of artists approached us for this, and it eventually grew into a fully fledged festival.
We've since held events in venues including Museum of London, Tate Modern, National Gallery, the RSA, V&A, Rich Mix and dozens more.
Does Wise Thoughts operate beyond London?
One of our first projects was sHIVer — a multimedia performance project about HIV and South Asian women. This included video comments and support from Bollywood personalities and eminent Asian women in the UK, and also received support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation. sHIVer led to further new arts programmes and commissions from outside London. Our 'BollyQueen – Asian drag visual art exhibition toured outside London, including a stint of a few weeks at Northampton Museum & Gallery.
We've also worked on international consultancy projects. These included a street theatre programme in Delhi, and workshops for nurses using 'non-verbal' communication to engage with gay/bi men dealing with HIV — projects backed by the Department for International Development and the British Council, respectively.
We also led on a consultancy with the government of Nepal, to develop their media strategy for promoting sexual health. All these projects used arts and cultural interventions to address sexual health and sexualities related issues.
What are you most proud of having achieved with Wise Thoughts?
It's difficult to narrow it down. Obviously, Haringey's 'City Growth' and 'Community Impact' awards for the organisation come high on the list. Running GFEST has provided so many proud moments, as have the international projects outlined above.
Award winning charity. Niranjan Kamatkar is pictured at front.
A lesser known achievement we're proud of was the production of two feature-length films, both dramas focused on diverse LGBTQI+ identities. One was a critically acclaimed, bigger international film project called Yours Emotionally, which was widely distributed across different territories around the world, including the USA.
We also felt proud when Obama was President. His official twitter account followed Wise Thoughts, which is transferred to @WiseThoughts now.
But I must say, the proudest moments materialise after a challenging day's work at this small charitable arts organisation, when a service user or audience member pays a compliment on the work done.
A genuinely positive piece of feedback gives us the biggest kick to carry on and face many more challenges.
How did Wise Thoughts come about in the first place?
It all started when I met my husband Subodh at 1st South Asian gay conference in India (1994). We both had a track record of working in the arts. By then I had three solo and several group shows, and had run a successful advertising and marketing outfit for over five years in South Mumbai. Subodh was an accomplished performer and had managed Wise Thoughts Dance Company since 1990. He became the 1st attached choreographer to the ICA and performed extensively nationally and internationally, among many other accomplishments. His dance work focused on Indian gay, queer identities, or gay and South Asian people living with HIV/AIDS.
We worked together on multimedia arts projects, exploring culture specific themes and LGBTQI+ identities, while managing a long-distance relationship for the first 2 or 3 years. After exchanging what we see as our "marital vows" in April 1995, we eventually moved to the UK. Once here, a few like-minded friends and colleagues helped us to establish and incorporate a charitable organisation under the name Wise Thoughts in 1999, to address the issues of BAME and LGBTQI+ identities via culture-specific arts.
Rosie Wilby at GFEST
Working with groups who are often marginalised and even abused, you must have encountered many people who are living in desperate situations. Can you give any specific examples of how Wise Thoughts has helped to turn lives around or empower people who thought there was no hope?
We hear from a number of LGBTQI+-identified BAME people, or queer people of colour, who are either recent arrivals in the city or visit us first time. Everyone receives a warm welcome, they feel immediately at home at our drop-ins and are able to open up about any troubles and always seek peer-group advice. Generally, they make new friends and feel more integrated (reducing their isolation) and feel more empowered to, for example, come out at their work places.
Our multi-media arts projects such as 'sHIVer', 'Livin' 'ere, and 'Flames' explored issues such as sexual health, HIV, domestic violence and forced marriages. Videos of performances have been used as educational tools in many communities. We know that these films have helped many people from BAME and LGBTQI+ communities to access help and further support. In addition, they also helped to engage non LGBTQI+/BAME people with the issues and helped to build a greater understanding and acceptance of minorities. Our current 'WiseOUT!' programme for schools uses the medium of arts to explore issues of sexuality and gender identity.
We also know of many individuals who have been helped through our projects. For example, a young trans-identifying artist, who came to us on a work placement scheme, was encouraged to submit their work to the GFEST selection panel. The work was selected. The opening was attended by the artist's father (whom we thought was reluctant to accept their gender identity until then) at the exhibition stated "I am the proud father!".
And to offer another example, recently a 70+ year old service user, who has no internet access except in the library walked in (since our office is in Wood Green Library) to chat about tackling isolation, and options during the Covid- 19 crisis. We told them we are carrying on as long as the library building is open, and will keep people updated on our website and via our social media. We are reviewing the situation and will advise via our website, emails and social media if any temporary changes or suspension are expected.
From your perspective, would you say that London has become a more or less inclusive and welcoming place for the LGBTQI+ and BAME communities in recent years?
In the years since we were first established, London opened up and became more inclusive, but over the last 2-3 years it feels like the progress we made is on retreat, at least in pockets of London. I think Brexit is a large part of that. Several reported incidents make us feel somehow less safe than three years ago.
Of course, better legal protection, scope for further creative expression, visibility in media, more social platforms etc have been the biggest improvements. Funding to LGBTQI+ community building, social acceptance (this is why investing in artistic and cultural interventions is the most cost-effective way), and inclusive community building have got worse in some aspects.
Our ethos has always been to promote and present the truly diverse and united face of the LGBTQI+ community. Sometimes, I feel we exist as several communities in the huge city of London rather than a united LGBTQI+ community. The last time I felt this was 'one community' in London was at the vigil in Soho, after the Orlando nightclub shooting, nearly 4 years ago.
In so many ways, we at Wise Thoughts feel blessed and fortunate that London has supported us enormously, loved our offerings, and sometimes forgave us for our shortcoming. So, we are unabashedly 'Londonists' really; I can't think we could live anywhere else now.But the other side of reality is that it has been always a tough, 'survival-of-the-fittest' situation for minority-led organisations.
How can people help Wise Thoughts?
We have a dedicated pool of regular volunteers but, of course, there is always need for more, so we have a volunteering page encouraging people to get in touch.
The best way people can help though, is to talk about us and our work. Get in touch, ask us questions if you want to know more, and tell other people of your experience. Word-of-mouth publicity of our services is the best help you can provide to us, to yourselves, and to the communities around London. And, of course, if possible, any funding that can be offered to sustain our activities during this particularly challenging time.
Brian Vermeer is in love with London's transport network. He's previously created wonderful illustrations of tube train cabs — and now he's done the same with some of his favourite tube stations. Here, he explains what he likes about each of these.
Arsenal
"I really like the simplicity of this, including the station in real life. The big roundel as well as the big white front."
Belsize Park
"Personally one of my favourite Leslie Green stations. I love the different colours of red I could use to represent the terracotta red bricks of the building."
Edgware Road
"Another great Leslie Green building. What I love the most about this is the green 'living' wall on the side of the station building. I tried to implement this too in my design."
Gloucester Road
"My favourite thing about this design and station is the colour of the yellow bricks."
Kensal Green
"What I absolutely love about this design/building is that it almost looks like a barn in the countryside."
Mile End
"I love the blue line on the front. Something very unusual on the London Underground network and Charles Holden buildings."
Mill Hill East
"One of the things I love is the chimney on the roof of the building. No idea if it's still functional."
Morden
"When I was illustrating this station, I was thinking about how the station building used to only be the lower section. The part that Charles Holden designed. Nowadays, there's a residential building build on top. The front, which is the part I decided to illustrate, is my favourite part of the entire building."
Northfields
"The big roof that is the ticket area is my favourite feature. This big block of a structure really stands out from afar."
Oakwood
"Once again, this building has a similar ticket area as Northfields. I also really love the little roundel in the windows."
Osterley
"I love the thing you simply can't miss when walking to and from the station, the big spike. Sort of looks like a telephone antenna."
The military's toughest training challenges have a lot in common with outdoor sufferfests like the Barkley Marathons and the Leadville Trail 100: you have to be fit and motivated to make the starting line, but your mind and spirit are what carry you to the end.
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Here's another unexpected outcome of working from home: sometimes when you're filming live segments in your bathroom, your naked spouse might also be in the shot.
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The New England Journal of Medicine has published a horrifying account of a health care executive going to extraordinary lengths to evade what appear to be mafia tactics by the federal government in order to obtain personal protective equipment.
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Over 100 miles from Reno, 240 miles from Sacramento, and hundreds of miles from anywhere else I'd ever been lies one of the darkest places in the country, tucked away from the bleeding glow of civilization.
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This is life in the time of coronavirus, where a 46-year-old woman from Indiana is stuck self-quarantining with her husband, one month after he asked for a divorce.
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As confirmed COVID-19 deaths surpass 150,000, clinicians and pathologists are struggling to understand the damage wrought by the coronavirus as it tears through the body.
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Jacinda Ardern's leadership style, focused on empathy, isn't just resonating with her people; it's putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus.
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The popularity of orange juice is, surprisingly, a product of clever marketing. But why have Americans fallen out of love with this drink in recent years?
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Antoine Yates spent three years living peacefully inside his NYC apartment with his 'roommate' — a 450-pound Siberian tiger named Ming. Until that is, Ming's animal instincts kicked in, and he mauled Yates in the middle of their kitchen.
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Cafes bustled with customers, parks teemed with sunbathers, and the first Apple store to reopen outside China had lines snaking out the door as many South Koreans — almost all wearing masks — emerged from months of self-isolation.
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It would be interesting to look at locations of the American popular imagination, as seen in movies and TV, mapped against regional tax breaks for the film industry.
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English and a handful of other languages dominate the internet, but this is leaving indigenous cultures without a voice online. Now they are fighting back.
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RimWorld is a calamity simulator, where things can go so wrong so quickly that you’re left with everything on fire and Donald Glover looking confused in the middle of it all. You’re in charge of growing a small colony of newly landed pawns on a hostile planet, and everything from the elements to squirrels can take you down.
It’s great, but that’s not the only way to play. I’ve been looking around for mods that will give you a bit more control in all the chaos. That’s not to say things will be easier, as there are a number of mods that could result in more trying circumstances, but you’ll be playing RimwWrld with just a touch more information about what’s happening, and with some of the busywork dealt with. After a few hundred hours (you can’t play RimWorld for less than that), you deserve to have some help.
A standard run of Doom Eternal might take 15-20 hours, but you can cut that down to under half an hour with a few cheeky glitches and a whole lot of skill. IGN sat four of Doom Eternal’s lead developers down in front of a 27-minute world record speedrun to record their reactions and, well, it involves a whole lot of asking “What just happened?” The run by “Xamide” is impressive to watch in itself, and it’s extra nice with Id talking about the glitches, passing the blame, joshing about, and generally being dead impressed.
So I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: I’m super-proud of this Call Of Duty: Warzone guns & weapons guide. Below you’ll find concise and detailed stats on every weapon in the game, along with screenshots of recoil patterns, damage dropoff graphs, and my opinions on the very best guns to use in Warzone’s Battle Royale mode. And now it’s updated for Season 3 as well!
This Call Of Duty: Warzone best loadouts guide will help you get to grips with the choices surrounding weapons in Season 3 of Warzone. We’ll walk you through some top-tier loadouts, along with my own personal thoughts on the best Perks to use for winning matches in Warzone.
After completing Fallout 76’s Wastelanders quests, you’ll be able to begin trading caps for gold bullion. This is so you can nab some plans and recipes to make a lot more useful things: weapon parts, armor parts; you name it, you can make it as long as you have the gold bullion to trade for the privilege. (more…)
It’s inevitable at this point. Where there are games, there are antics, and a game as big and complicated, and as work-in-progress as Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, there will be slapstick. There will be creativity. There will be gifs. The game’s various subreddits have been buzzing constantly for over two weeks. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights.
I’m pretty good at navigating new cities using a map, where McDonalds and Starbucks act as landmarks on my journey. It’s a lot more difficult when that McDonalds is instead a lonely tree, and the Starbucks is a big rock, as Virtual-O will show you.
You could throw a hell of a lotta buzzwords at Gun Rounds. It is, at once, an indie roguelike (roguelite) bullet-hell deck builder with permadeath mechanics and tactical blah blah blah. You get the picture. But in play, Blabberf’s turn-based shooter brings all those disparate terms together with wonderfully tight gun puzzles, a potent mixture that easily squares up against its genre contemporaries.
Screenshot Saturday Sundays! As the clouds of the past week’s hard work part, developers, hobbyists and curious beginners gather in kind to share their personal projects and would-be masterpieces on the social media site you love to hate. This week: Blasting to the beat, neon-tinted parkour, low-res goblins and a nice trip to the coast.
Checking out a new coffee shop is intimidating enough as-is. Wondering whether the wifi’s good enough for work, checking the prices on the croissants, trying to figure out how “chatty” the baristas are. The last thing I need is one of Doom Eternal‘s cretins judging me for my choice of milk alternative. Until May 14th, Eternal’s Coffee and Camo Series lets you grind out a fresh batch of free cosmetics – one that, unfortunately includes this absolute roaster.
Number of #coronavirus deaths in US rises by 1,997 in the past 24hrs to 40,661, a tally from Johns Hopkins University shows, marginally above the 1,891 which Johns Hopkins data showed for the previous 24hr period to Saturday pic.twitter.com/EO5vcZ8thm
#UPDATES Oil prices collapse to more than two-decade lows as traders concerned storage facilities are reaching limits, while equities are mixed, with some support coming from signs the #coronavirus may have peaked in Europe and US https://t.co/Hs360ByAqypic.twitter.com/POMkCBCe0r
* Iran has acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of over 930 miles * Regime said killer drones can monitor 'enemy movements' from great distance * Aircraft equipped with bombs and missiles and can fly at altitude of 45,000ft * Drones are key element in Iran's border surveillance, especially Gulf waters * The acquisition comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US
Iran has acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of 932 miles as tensions with the US escalate following the killing of General Soleimani.
Defence Minister Amir Hatami said the killer drones can monitor 'enemy movements from a considerable distance' and are capable of combat missions.
Speaking at the delivery ceremony in Tehran, the aircraft were equipped with bombs and missiles, and they can fly at an altitude of up to 45,000ft.
The drones were manufactured by Iran's military industry with the help of local universities, the defence minister proclaimed on state television.
* Since March 30, President Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke four times over the phone as the coronavirus pandemic rages on * Their last call came on Easter Sunday before Trump touted that a historic deal had been made between Russia and Saudi Arabia in their oil war * 'Reaching out to the United States is part of part of Putin's long-term plan to basically undermine the credibility of the United States,' analysts say * Days after their talks a Russian jet flew within 25 feet of a US surveillance plane during an 'unsafe' maneuver at high-speed over the Mediterranean Sea
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been in heavy talks throughout the month as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
In the two weeks from March 30, the world leaders have spoken four times over the phone, with the most recent call on Easter Sunday.
It's an unprecented amount of contact for the two presidents, and CNN reports that Trump and Putin discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil market war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
While they appear to be easing relations between Washington and the Kremlin, political analysts are warning that this is all part of Putin's plan to undermine the United States.
WNU Editor: The pandemic is causing great harm to both countries. so there should be no surprises that they are talking to each other a lot. I am also willing to bet that all the major leaders in the world are talking to each other more than they usually do.
Resolution strongly supported by dozens of countries, human rights groups and charities
The Trump administration and Russia are blocking efforts to win binding UN security council backing for a global ceasefire to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives worldwide.
The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, called for an immediate end to fighting involving governments and armed groups in all conflict areas almost one month ago. "The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war," he said.
Yet despite strong support for a universal truce from dozens of countries, including leading US allies such as Britain, France and Germany, as well as human rights groups, charities and the pope, the Trump administration is refusing to be bound by the measure.
WNU Editor: Both Russia and the U.S. are currently involved in fighting wars. A ceasefire would not work in places like Syria (for Russia), or Afghanistan (for the U.S.).
Mortalities in one province leap from 3,000 to 11,000 in six weeks, with health and mortuary services overwhelmed
New data suggests that Ecuador's coronavirus toll may be much higher than previously indicated, after figures revealed a massive jump in deaths in the province at the centre of the country's devastating outbreak.
Since the beginning of March six weeks ago, 10,939 people have died in Guayas province, which includes Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, according to figures released late on Thursday.
The region would usually see about 3,000 deaths in a six-week period, with the new figures suggesting that the local death rate has almost quadrupled.
In Ecuador as a whole, coronavirus has been confirmed as the cause of only 421 deaths, and is suspected in a further 675, but interior minister MarÃa Paula Romo said the true number was probably much higher.
"The number of deaths is totally out of the ordinary," she told the Guardian.
WNU Editor: These statistics are disturbing .... on March 01, 10,939 people have died in Guayas province, which is well above the six-week average of 3,000 deaths, representing a near quadrupling. Most of the deaths are situated in the province's largest city, Guayaquil. The only explanation for this massive jump in recorded deaths must be due to the spread of the covid-19 coronavirus. But John Hopkins is only reporting 9,500 confirmed cases and 474 deaths in the country (see here).
More News On the The Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic In Ecuador
After weeks of "climbing the coronacurve", we finally have some good news - we are now officially over the hump "tipping point." The global infection growth slowed from 90% W/W to just 38% W/W in the last fortnight (total infections: 2,157,108, deaths: 143,844, 6.7% mortality rate), and the number of global new daily cases has dropped to 65.6K, the lowest since the end of March.
This means that according to JPMorgan, most early entrants have now passed or are nearing, the infection peak. The following three charts show the snapshot of the "curve" over the past three weeks.
First, this is what the curve looked like on March 24, when only China was in the recovery phase (at least according to its fabricated data).
Two Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels, some of several to maneuver in what the U.S. Navy says are "unsafe and unprofessional actions against U.S. military ships by crossing the ships' bows and sterns at close range" is seen next to the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton in the Gulf April 15, 2020. /Reuters
Warning comes after a tense encounter in the Gulf between Iranian vessels and US Navy and Coast Guard ships.
Any mistake by the United States in the Gulf will be met with a firm response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) said in a statement published on the Guard's news site Sepah News.
"We advise the Americans to follow international regulations and maritime protocols in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and to refrain from any adventurism and false and fake stories," Sunday's statement from the IRGCN said.
Last week, the US military said 11 small fast boats of the IRGCN came very close to its Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, near Kuwait, calling the moves "dangerous and provocative".
The Revolutionary Guard acknowledged the incident, saying that the US sparked the tense encounter, without providing additional details.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has accused the United States of giving a false account of a recent encounter between the two states' navies in the Persian Gulf, after Washington blamed Iranian vessels for harassing its ships.
"We advise Americans to follow international regulations and maritime protocols in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and avoid any adventurism and false stories," the IRGC said in a statement on its official website on April 19.
The force warned that any "miscalculation will receive a decisive response."
The U.S. Navy had said that 11 vessels from the IRGC made "dangerous and harassing approaches" toward U.S. naval ships in the Gulf on April 15.
GERMANY has rattled China after joining the UK, France and the US in a rare attack, after Berlin called out Beijing's responsibility for the global pandemic and even issued a £130bn invoice.
Germany has sparked outrage in China after a major newspaper put together a £130bn invoice that Beijing "owes" Berlin following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Germany has followed France, the UK and the US in directing its coronavirus anger at China, where the virus originated. Recent attacks come amid findings that Beijing appeared to cover up the true scale of the crisis, as the source of the outbreak remains a mystery.
WNU Editor: Demands that China compensate countries severely impacted by the pandemic are only going to grow with time. And you can take this to the bank. China is going to say no, and they will say that the pandemic is the fault of others.
A media research group on Friday released the transcript of a China-produced Arabic-language news report to show how Beijing's propaganda machine is blaming the coronavirus on America.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which monitors TV and social media in the Arab world, focused on a March 17 broadcast of "China View" on Beijing's Global Television Network Arabic (CGTN), which overall has 14 million viewers.
The Middle East is an increasingly ripe target for China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to build ports, highways and even cities to gain inroads into the oil-rich region and to compete with the U.S.
Scientists say the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan in December. Suspected sources are a wild animal market or a nearby bio lab that has been researching the coronavirus carried by bats.
The TV show host, "Ms. V," takes the Arab world through a number of unproven conspiracy theories that all point to the United States as the source of COVID-19, the disease that has infected and killed thousands global.
"China View's" unfounded, and inaccurate reports, are repeated by Chinese propagandists on social media, including Twitter, reaching millions, analysts say.
Professor of global health at Imperial College, London warns we 'may have to adapt' to virus.
Humanity will have to live with the threat of coronavirus "for the foreseeable future" and adapt accordingly because there is no guarantee that a vaccine can be successfully developed, one of the world's leading experts on the disease has warned.
The stark message was delivered by David Nabarro, professor of global health at Imperial College, London, and an envoy for the World Health Organisation on Covid-19, as the number of UK hospital deaths from the virus passed 15,000.
A further 888 people were reported on Saturday to have lost their lives – a figure described by communities secretary Robert Jenrick as "extremely sobering" – while the total number who have been infected increased by 5,525 to 114,217.
WNU Editor: All the people that I know who are knowledgeable about this are telling me the same thing. Developing, manufacturing, distributing, and training people to administer the vaccine will take a long time. And there is also no guarantee that a vaccine will be found. Another complication that I have been told is that this an RNA based virus, which means it is easy for it to mutate into something else. I understand that presently there are now seven variations of the Covid-19 coronavirus. What this means for policy makers and governments is that if this pandemic continues and economic hardships increase, and a vaccine is not on the horizon, some hard decisions will need to be made on opening the economy. Bottom line. I call this the worse case scenario.
* The US President's warned that China should 'face consequences' if it was 'knowingly responsible' for the Covid-19 outbreak * Observers expect US hostility towards to China to remain and say Beijing will struggle to overcome that if it wants to improve matters
Donald Trump's latest attack on China over the Covid-19 outbreak should serve as a reminder to Beijing of the difficult road that lies ahead if it wants to repair relations, analysts have warned.
In his latest barb at China, the US President said on Saturday that Beijing should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic.
"If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake," Trump said. "But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences," he told reporters at a news briefing at the White House. He did not specify what actions the US might take.
In recent days the two sides have scaled back their rhetoric and stopped pointing the finger at each other over the handling of the crisis.
WNU Editor: It is not only the U.S. that China will have trouble repairing relations. Every country in the world has been severely damaged by this pandemic, a pandemic that many are accusing China of starting. China will need to respond openly and honestly, and sending tokens of medical aid to other countries is not going to give them a pass. Unfortunately. If what I am reading from the Chinese side is true, they are still completely clueless on the role that they have played in producing this pandemic, and are instead claiming that these attacks are racist while at the same time threatening the U.S. (and I presume other countries) that China will retaliate if these accusations continue ....
..... Victor Gao, a vice-president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think-tank, said it was "not meaningful" to guess what Trump would do next, adding there was no justification for "Trump or whichever politician in the United States" to blame China.
"Actions of prejudice and bigotry will be as bad as the coronavirus itself," Gao said. "It will come back to haunt them one day, one way or another".
As Washington's mistrust and hostility towards Beijing increases, calls for China to be more aggressive in hitting back have been growing.
Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of Global Times, a tabloid affiliate of People's Daily, wrote on the Chinese social networks Weibo and WeChat that China should take "necessary actions" that would make life harder for the Trump administration.
My prediction. This type of stupid rhetoric from China is only going to result in a backlash that they are not prepared for. And it will not only come from the U.S., but from almost every country in the world.
Update: The above video is a discussion on the future of US-China relations, featuring the Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) China Power Project Bonnie Glaser; Founder and CEO of CHINADebate and former investment banker, diplomat, lawyer, and CIA spy Malcolm Riddell; Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute and former NSC Senior Director for Strategic Planning Robert Spalding; and Chair of the UC San Diego 21st Century China Center and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Shirk.
President said there should be consequences if Beijing was 'knowingly responsible' for pandemic.
Donald Trump has warned that China should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic, as deaths in Europe from Covid-19 approached 100,000.
"It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn't, and the whole world is suffering because of it," Trump said in his daily White House briefing, as US cases topped 730,000 and fatalities in the country approached 39,000.
"If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences," Trump said. He did not elaborate on what form that might take.
He said the Chinese were "embarrassed" and the question now was whether what happened with the coronavirus was "a mistake that got out of control, or was it done deliberately?"
"There's a big difference between those two," he said.
WNU Editor: Almost 2.4 million Covid-19 cases worldwide and climbing upwards. A death toll approaching 100,000 in Europe, with over 40,000 deaths in the U.S.. There are questions that China needs to answer. Their policy of denial, silencing their own researchers, restricting international specialists, and the destruction of records is not going to endear them to anyone.
More News On President Trump Saying There Should Be Consequences If China Was 'Knowingly Responsible' For The Covid-19 Pandemic
Donald Trump points towards China's deaths per 100,000 people during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House. Photograph: Alexander Drago/Reuters
Watch out for Chinese companies swooping in with buckets of cash to buy strategic stakes, or majority control in U.S. and European companies as asset prices fall due to the pandemic.
NATO sounded the alarm this week, though without naming names.
"The geopolitical effects of the pandemic could be significant," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in web conference of defense ministers on Wednesday. "Some allies (are) more vulnerable for situations where critical infrastructure can be sold out," he said. Of course he meant China. China has been busy buying Greek ports.
It already pretty much runs Italian textiles. It's a wonder Italy even makes an espresso machine anymore.
WNU Editor: Stopping foreign investments is not the priority for governments right now. I also do not think that spending money, especially in foreign countries. is the priority for the Chinese government and its companies right now.
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam protested on Sunday at China saying it had established two administrative units on islands in the South China Sea, in Beijing's latest move to demonstrate its assertiveness in the disputed waters.
China has recently been pushing its presence in the energy-rich waters while other claimants are pre-occupied with tackling the new coronavirus pandemic, prompting the United States to call on China to stop its "bullying behaviour" there.
On Saturday it said it had established an administrative district on the Paracel islands and another on the Spratly islands. The two districts are under the control of China's Sansha city, according to China Global Television Network.
* A delay by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in quickly making coronavirus test kits available was the result of "a glaring scientific breakdown" at the CDA central lab, The Washington Post reported. * The Post reported that CDC facilities that assembled the testing kits "violated sound manufacturing practices, resulting in contamination of one of the three test components used in the highly sensitive detection process." * James Le Duc, a virologist and former CDC officer who now heads the Galveston National Laboratory in Texas, told The Post that the situation was "really a terrible black mark on the CDC, and the impact was devastating to the country."
A delay by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in quickly making coronavirus test kits available was the result of "a glaring scientific breakdown" at the CDC's central lab, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing scientists and federal regulators.
The Post reported that CDC facilities which assembled the testing kits "violated sound manufacturing practices, resulting in contamination of one of the three test components used in the highly sensitive detection process."
And while the part of the test that was compromised was not critical to detecting the coronavirus, CDC officials took more than a month to remove it from the test kits, according to The Post.
WNU Editor: When this is all over and an examination is done on what went right and what went wrong, the failure at the CDC will be on the top of the list on what needs to be corrected. My brother works in the bio-tech field and he is always telling me the problems that he has in his lab due to contamination. It was during one of these conversations (7-8 weeks ago) that he warned me about the CDC and the problems that they were having with contamination on their test kits. I still remember that conversation. He told me that the CDC had one job, and they failed! He blames the Trump administration for the CDC becoming dysfunctional, especially on not installing the proper leadership at the CDC when many were warning about this last year. He may have a point, albeit for different reasons. Because from my vantage point the problems at the CDC have been there for a long time, starting with how screwed up their priorities are .... The CDC was Fighting Racism and Obesity Instead of Stopping Epidemics (Frontpage). But like I said. That debate will occur when this is all over.
Update: This list is going to grow with time (see below).
U.S. Top Ten Surprising Consequences of Covid-19 Hysteria:
1: Democrat governors rediscover federalism. 2: Wanna-be totalitarians can't help but unmask themselves. 3: Trump gets a daily platform to smack the media around (watched by millions). 4: The CDC is exposed as just another dysfunctional gov. agency. 5: FDA, same as above. 6: WHO, same as FDA, CDC. 7: The US media is in China's pocket. 8: "Models" completely useless except to frighten citizens. 9: We now know Nancy Pelosi has a $24,000.00 fridge.
And the 10th most surprising consequence of the Covid-19 hysteria? Donald Trump was right about China the whole time, and everybody who didn't know it before knows it now.
Yeah, pretty much. To be honest, I'm kinda jealous of the fridge.
Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to Iranian Air Force officers and personnel in Tehran [Iran's Religious Leader Press Office/Handout]
Maximum Pressure and Pandemic Pressure Have Consolidated Their Power.
Now is a time of soul-sickening worry for many Iranians, but perhaps not for the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The leader's insouciance may seem perplexing, with Iran reeling from the novel coronavirus, U.S. sanctions, the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani, and the specter of war with the world's leading superpower. But Khamenei and his worldview are on the ascent in both domestic and foreign policy.
The coronavirus crisis has had tragic consequences in Iran, with the number of registered infections skyrocketing to 73,303 as of April 13 and the number of deaths hitting 4,585. And it has simultaneously brought to the fore divergent approaches to governance in the Islamic Republic.
WNU Editor: Iran's theocracy has been in power for 40 years, and I do not see them losing power in my lifetime. In the current crisis they will do what all authoritarian governments facing a crisis will do, consolidate their power and eliminate their opponents. They can do this because their control of the country's security apparatus has not changed, nor has their core support among their supporters in Iran. Where the influence and power of Iran's hardliners has changed is outside their borders. I am old enough to remember when they had tremendous power on influencing the price of oil and global supplies. No more now. They are now like everyone else, running around the world begging countries and customers to buy their oil, and at cut-rate prices. Iran's hardliners are also having trouble in suppressing anti-Iranian sentiment in satellite countries like Iraq, and even more so in Sunni-dominated countries, Syria included. My prediction. Their influence will continue to decline as their main revenue stream .... oil sales .... continue to decline. Iran's hard-liners may want to be the Middle East's regional power, and by being the regional power ensure their status in Iran. But that is not going to happen.
A U.S. Navy MH-60S Knighthawk, U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk, Navy MQ-4C Triton, Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses, and KC-135 Stratotankers stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, perform an 'Elephant Walk' April 13, 2020
* Five B-52H Stratofortresses left the Andersen Air Force Base on Wednesday, just days after the aircrafts participated in a military might 'elephant walk' * No replacement aircraft was seen, bringing an end to the Continuous Bomber Presence Mission * The program started in 2004 * Under the Continuous Bomber Presence Mission, they deployed B-52s, b-1B Bone supersonic bombers and B-2A Spirit stealth bombers for half-year stints * Air Force and Navy flexed military strength with elephant walk in Guam Monday * An elephant walk is a procession of military aircraft taxiing close in formation * Monday's display of force took place at the Andersen Air Force Base, which is about 1,800 miles east of China, with at least a dozen aircraft, including bombers * Procession came after China sent aircraft carrier and fighter jets near Taiwan
The United States Air Force has stopped its uninterrupted rotation of bombers in Guam, ending a more than 15-year presence in the area.
Five B-52H Stratofortresses left the Andersen Air Force Base on Wednesday, just days after the aircrafts participated in a military might 'elephant walk' exercise aimed at China.
The planes' flights were first reported by @AircraftSpots.
No replacement aircraft was seen, bringing an end to the Continuous Bomber Presence Mission, the War Zone reports. The program started in 2004.
Istanbul — Hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have survived nine years of civil war and waves of indiscriminate bombing now face a growing threat from a new, silent, invisible enemy: the coronavirus. The roughly 3 million people who live in Syria's northwest Idlib province have very little to defend themselves against the global pandemic.
Local doctors are urging the international community to step up efforts to help prevent what is already a humanitarian disaster becoming a complete catastrophe.
An outbreak in Idlib could kill 100,000 people in the region, according to health officials there.
The province is the last rebel-held area in Syria, and since December Syrian and Russian airstrikes have forced almost 1 million civilians to flee toward the Turkish border. A fragile ceasefire is currently in place.
President Trump's reelection campaign has two main targets, Joe Biden and China, and plans to tie them together relentlessly until November.
Team Trump is preparing to make the former vice president's remarks and familial ties to the communist country a focal point of its campaign strategy. The political ammunition is extensive, with years of video and recorded speeches reminding people of what the campaign calls Biden's coziness with Beijing.
And it comes at a time when the Trump administration is increasingly pointing fingers at China as the source of the coronavirus pandemic. The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally. More than 2.16 million cases have been reported across 201 countries and territories, resulting in more than 145,000 deaths, including 34,784 in the United States.
Those close to the Trump campaign say internal polling suggests it's one of Biden's biggest weaknesses.
WNU Editor: There are going to be a lot of issues in this year's election, and China will play a huge role. I can easily see President Trump ramping up attention to the terrible harm that China has done to help spread the pandemic that we are all experiencing. The fact that Presidential candidate Joe Biden's has a lot of ties to China as well as having a number of his family members, including his son, get rich from those ties is definitely going to be played up before November.
* The coronavirus has upended US military operations and left the US government struggling to respond to a worldwide public-health crisis. * For the military, the pandemic warrants a change in planning and operations beyond the immediate impact, according to Adm. James Foggo, head of US naval forces in Europe and Africa.
The coronavirus pandemic has scrambled US military operations, halted troop movements and is cutting short major exercises. US troops have also been supporting civilian authorities and in some cases working alongside local health workers.
What has become clear is that the military will in the future have to take into account public-health issues when assessing threats, according to Adm. James Foggo, the commander of US naval forces in Europe and Africa.
Foggo oversaw NATO exercise Trident Juncture, which took place in and around Norway in late 2018. The exercise, the first of its kind in decades, included some 50,000 personnel, tens of thousands of vehicles, and dozens of ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the first US carrier to sail above the Arctic Circle since the 1990s.
WNU Editor: According to Adm. James Foggo, the commander of US naval forces in Europe and Africa. The domains of warfare are .... land, air, sea, space, cyber, and logistics. He believes public-health issues should be the seventh one. Should it be?
IMAGES of broken seals on the doors of fridges housing deadly pathogens have emerged from a high-security Chinese laboratory close to the epi-centre of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, adding to speculation the virus may have leaked from a research facility.
GERMANY has rattled China after joining the UK, France and the US in a rare attack, after Berlin called out Beijing's responsibility for the global pandemic and even issued a £130bn invoice.
AT LEAST 16 people have died - including the suspected gunman - in a mass shooting that took place over a 12 hour period in Canada on Sunday, in the deadliest attack in the country's history.
The Windows 10 Start Menu introduces a new All Apps section that, by default, lists all of the applications installed on a user’s PC. Although quite similar in name to the “All Programs” list from Windows 7 and earlier, the Windows 10 All Apps list doesn’t function in the same way. It does not allow the user unable to manually add, remove, or rearrange applications directly via the Start Menu. Thankfully, there’s a workaround that brings some of this functionality back to the user, although it includes some important caveats. That said, here’s how to add, remove, and organize the All Apps list in Windows 10.
A Note About Universal Apps
The Windows 10 All Apps list is home to both traditional “desktop” apps as well as “universal” apps from the Windows Store. Unfortunately, the steps described in this tip apply only to desktop apps, and won’t work with universal apps. You can still remove a universal app from your Start Menu’s All Apps list, but you’ll need to uninstall it completely (right-click on the app’s entry in the Start Menu and select Uninstall).
What are Universal Apps?
Microsoft has launched an initiative for all apps across their different platforms to be universal. This implies that apps in your Windows computer will also be compatible with Xbox, Windows phones, and tablets. The software can be primarily downloaded through the Microsoft Store.
Although this limitation is restrictive, the relatively good news is that users can re-download purchased apps from the Windows Store at any time, so the process of getting a universal app back if you regret uninstalling it later shouldn’t be a major issue. When it comes to desktop apps, however, the steps below demonstrate how you can, among other things, remove their icons from your All Apps list while keeping the apps installed and fully functional.
Removing Apps from the All Apps List
To remove a desktop app from the Windows 10 Start Menu’s All Apps list, first head to Start > All Apps and find the app in question. Right-click on its icon and select More > Open File Location.
Of note, you can only right-click on an application itself, and not a folder that the app might reside in. This doesn’t mean that you can’t remove or modify folders in the All Apps list (we’ll show you how in a moment), but you’ll need a specific application icon itself to get to the next step.
After clicking Open File Location, a new File Explorer window will appear showing you the application shortcut. Depending on whether the app is available to all users or limited to your own user account, you’ll be looking at one of the following directories, respectively:
C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
%appdata%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
Changes made to the contents of these directories will be reflected in the All Apps list. For example, we want to remove Microsoft Access 2016 from our All Apps list, but we don’t necessarily want to uninstall the application. Using the steps above, we can locate the Access 2016 shortcut in the corresponding “Programs” folder and delete it. When we open the Start Menu’s All Apps list again, the entry for Access 2016 will not show.
You can remove other applications, including folders, from File Explorer to get rid of any unwanted apps that would otherwise clutter up your All Apps list. Note, however, that there are certain system files and entries that you can see in File Explorer but not in your All Apps list. It’s best to leave any entries that don’t show up in the All Apps list alone in case Windows or other applications rely on them.
Organizing Apps in the All Apps List
Rather than deleting apps from the All Apps list, some users may prefer to organize their apps into folders; thus, reducing desktop clutter and making it look more organized. This can be accomplished by repeating the steps above to find the app’s shortcut location. Instead of deleting any apps, however, you can create a new folder (or use an existing folder) and simply drag and drop the appropriate apps into place.
For example, all of our Adobe Creative Cloud apps are listed in the top-level Programs folder, but we can move them all to an “Adobe” folder to clean up our All Apps list while still maintaining easy access to our Adobe apps.
Folders in the All Apps list don’t need to be limited to certain developers, of course. Users can create custom folders such as “Games” or “Work” and populate them with the desired list of apps. You can also rename apps or folders in File Explorer and have the changes reflected in your All Apps list.
Once you’re done organizing your Start Menu in Windows 10, you’ll be able to search and find content and apps faster than ever before.
Choose Which Apps Show in Your Start Menu
There are apps which your want to be readily available in your Start Menu for easy access. There is a way to customize your Start Menu to show all the available apps or just the ones you use most of the time. To do this, you have to:
Click the Start Menu.
Go to Settings.
Click Personalization, and adjust the settings you want to change.
The number of videos you can watch on Disney+ is endless and diverse, ranging from classics like Short Circuit and The Lion King to the newest movies and TV shows such as Toy Story 3, Star Wars, and Andi Mack. Signing up is easy. Both monthly (Disney+ or the bundle with Hulu and ESPN+) and annual subscriptions (Disney+ only) are reasonable, so Netflix has some serious competition. Device compatibility is increasing, and this list includes the Xbox One. You can play Disney+ anywhere using your Microsoft game console. When you’re not enjoying the latest video games, you can sit back and watch your favorite classic movies or shows, as well as the latest and greatest ones.
Signing Up is The First Step
Before you start streaming your favorite Disney movies on Disney Plus, you’ll need to sign up for an account, which includes a 7-day free trial (Disney+ subscription only). Start by signing up here or get your favorite movies, shows, and sports for one low price by bundling Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus right here!
Not only is Disney Plus available on devices such as iPhone, Android, and Roku, it works on Playstation 4 and Xbox One too!
If you’re a proud Xbox One owner and impatient to start watching your favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and other movies, this article will tell you everything you need to know.
How to Stream Disney Plus on Xbox
To watch Disney Plus on your Xbox One gaming console, you need an Xbox One, Xbox One S, or Xbox One X, which are the models that support the application.
If you have other X-box models, such as Xbox 360, you won’t be able to stream Disney Plus. But, since Disney Plus is available on so many devices, you’re sure to find another way to enjoy all of Disney’s content.
Also, there’s a catch with playing the videos in 4K resolution. If you own an Xbox One, you won’t be able to use it. Only Xbox One X and Xbox One S support 4K. What’s also important here is good connection speed: it needs to be 25Mbps or more for good 4K UHD performance and 5Mbps for HD, as referenced on their website and shown below.
Don’t forget you need to sign up for this streaming service before you download it to your console.
To download Disney Plus and start scrolling through its content, follow these simple steps.
When you turn on your Xbox One, sign in to your profile.
Use the ‘Y’ button to open Search, where you can type in Disney Plus.
Hitting ‘A’ will take you directly to the Microsoft Store where you can download Disney Plus.
Your next step is to select the Get tab, hit ‘A’ again, and wait for the app to start downloading.
You’ll get notified as soon as the download finishes. The message will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Open the Disney Plus app by holding the middle button on your Xbox controller.
Enter the data you used while signing up to sign in.
Once you find the video you want to watch, hit ‘A’ to start playing it.
After following the steps listed above, you’re ready to kickstart the entertainment!
So, What about Disney+ and Xbox 360?
The Xbox 360 is old technology. Most new streaming applications and providers are not focused on making compatible apps or services for older devices. The Disney+ app needs specific coding, third-party add-ons, filters, and device functionality, which get developed for newer technology that carries a broader audience.
Is there any way at all to make Disney+ work on Xbox 360?
No, not within the console. You can try using a browser, but it may not support the plugins or third-party add-ons required for Disney+ to work. You can also try mirroring applications that broadcast your Android’s screen to the Xbox 360. However, most mirroring apps only share files and not screens, or they encounter connection issues, not to mention time delays. Besides, it is perhaps simpler to mirror your Android or iOS smartphone to your TV directly, or mirror to devices like a Blu-Ray player, Roku, or Amazon Fire Stick. Your HDTV or other devices may even support Disney+ out of the box! Roku is one example.
In just a few easy steps, your game console turns into a device that can stream your all-time favorite Disney movies and newer ones too, not to mention films from Marvel and the acquired 20th Century Fox. Don’t forget that you can watch Disney Plus on other devices at the same time, so there’s no need to fight about what to watch with your family members. There’s enough for everyone!
USB drives are cheap, portable, and convenient tools to secure, store, share or back up digital files. They make a great platform for people who work on multiple computers in the course of a day; one drive has all their working files and programs and they can take and use it anywhere they want. It’s no surprise that these drives are so popular with users at every level. However, the advantages of portability raise a legitimate security concern – someone can pluck that USB drive out of a machine and walk away with your life’s work and important documents in their pocket. Thus, one might ask, “How can you secure a USB drive with password protection?”
Fortunately, Windows 10 has made this very easy. In this article, we will show you how to password protect a USB drive using Windows, as well as some other methods for protecting USB drives. There are basically three ways to protect data on a USB drive; all three methods rely on various encryption protocols to secure data. You can either encrypt the entire drive, buy a secure flash drive, or encrypt individual files.
Password Protect the Entire USB drive
Protect the drive using BitLocker
The most straightforward way to protect the drive is to password protect the entire device. That way, everything on the drive is secured, and even if you add new content to the drive at a later date, it will also be protected. There are third-party encryption tools on the market that serve special needs, but for 99% of Windows 10 users, the built-in encryption tool is perfectly adequate. The Windows 10 tool is called BitLocker, and it works on all sorts of drives, not just removable USB drives. It is free and easy to use.
What is BitLocker?
BitLocker is an encryption system for Windows. It can encrypt an entire drive, preventing unauthorized access and protect against unauthorized changes caused by malwares. It is available on Windows computers starting from the Windows Vista version.
Protecting a drive takes only a few seconds with BitLocker.
Navigate to This PC in Windows Explorer and right click the USB drive.
Select Turn BitLocker On.
Select ‘Use a password to unlock the drive’ and enter a password twice.
Select Next.
Select where or how you want to receive your recovery key in the next window and select Next.
Select ‘Encrypt entire drive’ and then Next.
Select ‘Compatible mode’ in the choose which encryption mode screen and then hit Next.
Select Start encrypting.
The Explorer icon for the USB drive will now change to include a padlock. When you want to access the drive, double click it and you will be prompted for a password. Be sure to use a password you can remember, or write it down somewhere safe, because that password (or a stack of supercomputers) you won’t be able to decrypt the drive.
Protect the drive using VeraCrypt
If you want to protect your drive but don’t quite trust Microsoft, you can use VeraCrypt, a similar software package from the software company Idrix. It is open-source and freely available; you can make donations to support the project if you use VeraCrypt. VeraCrypt actually has more features than BitLocker but is still fairly easy to use to protect a USB drive. As of March 2020, it released its latest version the VeraCrypt 1.24-Update 6.
Some of the main features of Veracrypt include entire encryption of storage device (such as USB), automatic and real-time encryption, hard-ware accelerated encryption, and plausible deniability (in case attacker forces you to reveal password).
Protecting a drive is quite a tedious process using VeraCrypt but it isn’t very complex.
Launch the VeraCrypt app by typing “veracrypt” in the search box, selecting the app, and hitting return.
Click on “Create Volume”, select “Encrypt a non-system partition/drive” and click “Next”.
Select “Standard VeraCrypt volume” and click “Next”.
Click “Select Device” and select your USB drive from the list of devices that appears, then click “OK”, then click “Next”.
VERY IMPORTANT: Select “Encrypt partition in place”. If you select the other option and there is data on your drive, the data will be overridden and lost. Click “Next”. If you are protecting an empty drive, select “Create encrypted volume and format it” and click “Next”.
Select the encryption method and hash algorithm you wish to use. This is technical; you can pretty much choose any of these and it will be fine unless the NSA is coming after your data. Click “Next”.
Confirm the volume size and click “Next”.
Enter and confirm your password, and click “Next”.
Decide whether you will have large files on this partition or not, and select appropriately. Click “Next”.
This is a rather fun bit. Move the mouse randomly around in the window while VeraCrypt randomizes the cryptography. Your mouse movements apparently add randomness to the keys the program selects. Move them around until the bar is green, then click “Format”.
Confirm the format command and wait. This process will take a few minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of your drive, the data already on it, and the speed of your computer.
Mount the formatted drive in VeraCrypt (entering the correct password) and your drive will now be encrypted and functional.
Buy a secure USB drive
If you don’t use Windows 10, or would rather buy a USB drive with hardware-based security, there are options available in the market. Some of these USB drives will have physical keys on the casing for protection while others will require a software key to unlock; some require both. The advantage of a secure USB drive is that they can include military grade encryption; however, they much more expensive. Where you would typically pay $10 for a normal 32GB USB drive, you can pay in excess of $130 for the same capacity secure drive.
Unless you need military grade encryption or a specific hardware solution, I would stay away from these secure USB drives. It’s hard to justify the cost when you could buy a standard drive for a few dollars and then use VeraCrypt or BitLocker to provide data security. We would suggest using VeraCrypt if you don’t have the Pro or Enterprise version of Windows for encrypting the entire USB drive.
Password protect files on a USB drive
If the drive itself doesn’t need to be secured but a specific file or directory does, then you can use Windows’ built-in password protection to secure the files, or use a file compression tool to password-protect it. For example, you can password protect most Microsoft Office documents individually.
To do this, follow these easy steps.
Open the document, and select File.
Click Info and Protect Document from the menu options.
Select the option to Encrypt with Password.
Add the password and then save it. From that point onward, every time you try to open the document you will be prompted for that password.
If you don’t have the option to use built-in encryption, you can use WinZip or WinRAR to compress the file and password protect it. Right click the file and select Add to Archive or Send To Compressed folder. Select the option to Set password or password protect, enter and confirm the password and compress the file. Every time you want to access the file, you will be prompted to enter the password before it is decompressed.
Those are three simple but very effective ways to password protect a USB drive in Windows. Your choice depend on which one suits your needs and privacy requirements.
Got any other suggestions? Tell us about them below if you do!
Instagram is one of our favorite social networks, combining the classic photo sharing utilities of older apps like Flickr with modern social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Using photos and videos, you can design posts for your friends and family to like, share, and comment on, helping to bring everyone closer together no matter where you are in the world. But Instagram doesn’t stop there. With their Stories feature, Instagram makes it easy to share moments from your day-to-day life without having to leave them online forever.
The built-in tools for Instagram Stories cover most bases and are enough to help you create engaging Stories. But what if you want more? What if you want more editing tools? Better design tools or effects? That’s where third-party apps come in including this range of free or premium apps for making better Instagram Stories. Each of these apps adds something to an Instagram Story. Whether that’s more design options, different effects, different text options or something else. If you’re into Instagram Stories, you should try one of these!
If you’re subject to HIPAA (i.e. involved in the healthcare sector), then you must know about the HIPAA compliance for the apps you’re using. In that respect, Google Meet is indeed HIPAA compliant. In fact, G Suite in its entirety is compliant. This includes many useful apps such as Google Chat, Google Meet, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and many others.
Read on for a detailed overview and instructions for using Google Meet under HIPAA.
The Requirements
Even though Google Meet is HIPAA compliant, there are rules you need to follow to keep it that way. First, you need to subscribe to Google G Suite and use Google Meet in association with your premium account. Note that the free version of Google Meet isn’t HIPAA compliant.
Second, to protect the PHI (protected health information) of your patients and comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, you must sign a Business Associate Agreement with Google.
Review the BAA thoroughly, and if you agree with the content, you can accept it. You can only do that if you’re the administrator of the G Suite account your company or organization is using. Here’s how to receive the BAA:
Then, tap on Show More, followed by Legal and Compliance.
Select the Review and Accept button regarding the HIPAA BAA.
Answer the questions, accept the BAA. Only proceed if you’re an entity covered by HIPAA.
G Suite HIPAA Compliance Tips
If you meet all the requirements from the previous section, and you have completed everything accordingly, there are still measures you need to make. You should know which parts of G Suite are HIPAA compliant:
Google Meet (previously Hangouts Meet)
Google Drive (Docs, Forms, Sheets, and Slides)
Gmail
Google Sites
Google Keep
Google Calendar
Google Cloud Search
These are the apps that are entirely covered. Some partially covered apps include Google Hangouts, which only has HIPAA compliant text chat, and Google Voice for managed users exclusively. The best place to learn more about HIPAA compliance related to G Suite is from this document.
It’s an official HIPAA implementation guide provided by Google. Read it carefully and share it with your employees, so everyone is on the right track. Signing the BAA and using only the HIPAA compliant app features is just half of the job.
You need to make sure to keep the PHI safe at all times. Use two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and manage the permissions you’re giving to employees. You should never let your guard down and become complacent because that’s when mistakes can happen.
Take Full Advantage of the G Suite
Besides video-conferencing enabled by Google Meet, G Suite brings many other HIPAA covered tools. You’ve got text messaging with Google Hangouts, just make sure not to use its VOIP, video, or SMS features.
Google Keep is there for making quick notes on the go without worries. Gmail is one of the best email clients, but the G Suite version is even better than the free one. With G Suite, you can get up to 30 gigabytes of extra storage. Plus, this version of Gmail is ad-free.
Google Calendar is best used in combination with Google Meet, for seamless meeting scheduling with your team. Google Drive is also HIPAA compliant, and a great storage facility for all sorts of files across many devices. In turn, Google Docs can be used for editing and viewing those files.
The list goes on, but you get the point. G Suite is a package deal, and if you’re a HIPAA covered entity, you can make great use out of it.
HIPAA Compliant Meetings
Online video conferencing with Google Meet is incredibly useful, especially when you’re physically detached from your patients, employees, or customers. For HIPAA covered entities, it’s of utmost importance that the service is fully covered and protects the PHI.
G Suite provides an array of amazing apps, which are all built to work in unison. Which of the apps is your favorite? Did you manage to get everything in order? Let us know in the comments section below.
There are a lot of different chat applications out there, and each usually has its own distinct demographic; the under-30 set seems to pretty much live on Snapchat. The app has become massively popular over the past few years, mainly because it allows users to share photos and videos that automatically disappear after a set amount of time once they’ve been viewed. Though the feature was originally intended to be used for not-safe-for-work photos and videos, over time the way people use the app has moved away from that early focus. Snapchat has become a more open social network for teens and twenty-somethings to share what’s happening in their lives without having to worry about the reactions from family members or future employers, because the images are transient and self-deleting. Instead of placing an emphasis on the “permanence” of the Internet that young people have been taught to fear since the mid-2000s, Snapchat gives its users a place to live out their lives without fear of being punished for what they put online.
Unfortunately for those seeking true privacy, however, all modern smartphones on the market have the capability to capture a screenshot of what’s on your display by hitting a specific key shortcut on your device. The specter of screenshotting has been around for the entire existence of Snapchat. Sure, you could post those photos from the party you’re at on Snapchat—but if someone screenshots them, there’s nothing you can do. You’re effectively out of luck. Now, most Snapchat users don’t worry much about people saving screenshots of their snaps, because Snapchat delivers a notification to the person who’s been screenshotted.
However, it turns out that there are several workarounds for avoiding detection when screenshotting. If you’re curious in learning how these methods work—either to use them on others or so you know what to expect from other, possibly-malicious users—you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re using Android or iOS, we’ve developed a guide to learn just how to covertly screenshot all of your friends’—or enemies’—snaps. Let’s take a look.
Screenshotting Snaps on Android
It’s no secret that Android is a bit more open of a platform than what we’ve seen from Apple. Android allows for apps to be installed from outside sources rather than just the Play Store, while also giving those apps a bit more wiggle room in permissions and information. Since Android has these liberties, it can be a lot easier to bypass restrictions placed on certain apps, including the ability to discreetly screenshot a snap on Snapchat without notifying the original poster. Here are our favorite methods for screenshotting on Android.
Screen Recording Method (Recommended)
This is probably the most foolproof way to save a snap on Android. Using a screen recording application doesn’t require any hacking knowledge, additional tools, or risks. As long as you have the app running in the background of your phone when you access your snaps, you’ll be able to save photos and videos onto your device without anyone being the wiser. Currently, only Android phones can easily record screens without using an external source to record what’s happening on the screen, so if you happen to be the owner of something like the Google Pixel 3 or Samsung Galaxy S10, today’s your lucky day. Let’s take a look at how to save your snaps inside Snapchat through a screen recorder.
To get started, we’ll need a really great screen recording app to use on Android. Google Play has a dozen great recording apps, including AZ Screen Recorder and Mobizen Screen Recorder. While we’d typically recommend looking through the Google Play listings to find a screen recorder that fits your needs, instead we’re going to recommend our favorite app: DU Recorder. We’ve mentioned DU Recorder on the site before, but as a general rule, we find it to be our favorite overall recorder on Android. It’s fast, easy to use, and completely free of both in-app purchases and advertisements. We’ll be using DU Recorder for the rest of the demo below.
After you’ve installed DU Recorder onto your phone, launch the app from your app drawer. The main display will appear blank, because you haven’t recorded a video yet, but once you’ve recorded a video, you’ll be able to find it here. There are four individual tabs along the top of the screen here, which will display your videos, photos, an editor for your recordings, and a settings and preferences tab all the way to the left. Before we record a snap, head into settings here so we can update a few settings.
First, change your recording resolution to match your device’s resolution. For context, most mid-range and some high-end phones use a 1080p screen resolution (the Moto G6 and G7, the OnePlus 6T etc.), while most flagship devices use a resolution of 1440p. We suggest setting your device’s recording resolution at around 1080p or higher. Set your video recording setting to about 6Mbps or better, and make sure your FPS is set to “Auto.” Finally, make sure DU Recorder has permission to record audio through your phone’s microphone for any video snaps you might want to capture. Once you’ve changed these settings and you feel acclimated to the app, you can head back to your home screen. All we needed to do for now was have the app launch for the first time.
On your home screen, you’ll find a small, translucent-orange icon sitting on the right of your display. Tapping on this icon will open the quick-launch menu for DU Recorder. Depending on what type of snap you’re looking to save—either a photo or a video—the tool you want will be here. At the top of the wheel, you’ll find a red “Record” button that will automatically start recording your display once pressed. At the bottom of this wheel, you’ll see a red “Camera” icon, which will allow you to take a screenshot of your display. While you can theoretically use that screenshot button to take a screenshot of your display, we recommend using the screen record option instead, for photos and for videos. Though it may take a bit more work to save your photo than using the screenshot shortcut, we prefer the extra security provided by DU Recorder’s screen recording.
Make sure you’ve changed the settings on your device as we outlined above and hit the record button on DU Recorder’s quick-launch menu. After a countdown, your phone will begin recording. From here, dive right into Snapchat. Open any snap or story you’re looking to capture permanently. Don’t use the hardware screenshot keys—just view the snap for a few seconds and close. Repeat this for as many snaps as you’re looking to save. For video snaps, let the video play out in its entirety. Don’t worry about stopping the video recording to start a new one—we can edit these later. After you’ve captured what you need, leave the app and use the quick-launch menu to stop recording.
Okay, you’ve saved your snaps! Here’s the easy part: open DU Recorder again and you’ll find your video saved on the main display of the app. You can use this video to do a few things:
Watch the video back on your phone. As the video plays back, screenshot any snap you wanted to save as a photo, effectively copying the video as a still and saving the snap to your phone’s internal storage.
If you’re looking to save a video snap from this recording, you can use the included editor inside of DU to cut out and crop any parts of the video you don’t need, all while saving the file as a new copy. You can use the editor to trim the video’s ends and beginnings, remove any middle sections you don’t need, and even crop or rotate your newly-saved snap. If you aren’t clear on how the editor works, check out our full How-To guide for DU Recorder here, where we go much deeper into the included editor.
Once you’ve saved what you need from your recorded video, you can delete the original recording from the app and from your phone, removing any evidence you previously had of your Snap-saving while keeping your own copy and skipping the alert notification sent to other users. If you need to record a new snap, simply start a new recording before viewing your content.
No Data Method (Unverified)
We’re not going to lie—this is a difficult method to test. It definitely doesn’t work on iOS, and on Android it’s a bit of a toss-up on whether Snapchat has completely removed the capability from the app. Essentially, the thinking behind this method involves screenshotting the app while your phone is on Airplane mode. Since the phone isn’t able to connect to a network, it can’t send a notification to the other user. In theory, this is totally true. In fact, if you screenshot a snap while in Airplane mode, your phone won’t be able to send a notification to that user at all, and you might be able to get away with it. However, you’ll probably have to reconnect to data eventually, either over mobile networks or WiFi, and as soon as you reconnect your device to a network, that notification will be sent. In theory, you could use this as a method to delay the notification getting sent, but for better or worse, that user is still going to know.
While this method has been debunked on iOS, it’s a little less clear on Android devices. While we’ve seen notifications sent after getting reconnected to a network, we’ve also seen this occasionally not notify other users at all. We’d argue that, should you decide to try this method, you should proceed with caution, as the method seems to only work some of the time on Android phones. At worst, you should be able to at least delay the notification to other users, so give this one a shot if that’s something that interests you. Let’s take a look at how this works.
The first thing you’ll want to do is ensure Snapchat hasn’t been set in Travel Mode within your settings. Typically, we advise most users to keep Snapchat in Travel Mode. It prevents the app from loading snaps on mobile data in the background, saving both data usage and your battery life in the process. That said, you’ll want to make sure the app loads in the background, so dive into Settings by opening the camera interface on Snapchat and sliding your finger down the display, then hit the Settings cog icon in the upper-right hand corner of your display. From here, search through your settings menu until you find the “Data Saver” option. Click this and ensure this is turned on.
When you receive a new snap, don’t open it right away. First glance to see if the snap has been loaded by the application in the background. Underneath the snap, you’ll see text that either reads “Tap to view” or “Tap to load.” If the Snap reads “Tap to load,” tap the icon once and don’t tap it again. Wait for the snap to load in the background, at which point the icon will return to normal and then read “Tap to view.” Once the text has switched to “Tap to view,” don’t open the snap. Place your phone in Airplane mode to disable connections from your phone, then head back into Snapchat. Despite being in an offline-mode, you’ll still be able to open the snap you already loaded. Open the snap, grab a screenshot using your device’s predetermined button combination or shortcut (typically Power+Vol Down, though some Samsung devices user Power+Home) and exit the app.
As we mentioned, there’s a pretty strong chance Snapchat will report the notification to the other user as soon as your phone is connected to a new network, so do be careful here. We have a couple recommendations for avoiding this notification being sent once reconnected to a network, but everything here seems to be pretty inconsistent.
Wait several hours before reconnecting your device to a network. Time seems to have a correlation between whether or not the app reports the screenshot.
Open Snapchat’s app management screen within your phone’ settings menu by hitting “Apps,” “Snapchat,” then “Storage.” From here, hit the “Clear Cache” button to remove recent memory storage of Snapchat’s own application data.
Uninstall Snapchat from your device. The app can’t send a notification to the other user if it isn’t active. Wait some time, then reinstall the app on your phone to get the best experience before logging back in.
We also don’t necessarily recommend this strategy because Snapchat can, at any time, update the app to create an environment where this solution simply doesn’t work. So if you do decide to try to practice this method, proceed with caution. Otherwise, we recommend using one of the other methods on this list.
Screenshotting Snaps on iOS
iOS has had a built-in screen recorder since iOS 11, but unfortunately, you won’t be able to use it on iOS without alerting Snapchat to your activity. Unlike on Android, where a built-in screen recorder doesn’t currently exist (though you can expect it in the upcoming Android Q release this year), iOS will record your screen without an external app , but any time you do it, you’ll find yourself alerting your recording to the other person within the app. These restrictions make is a bit more difficult to capture screenshots without using an outside source, most typically a computer. Still, let’s take a look.
QuickTime (Mac Only)
While we’re all excited to have native screen recording on Apple’s own mobile platform, things are a bit more complicated right now. As it stands, you can’t record your display on iOS 10 unless you’ve jailbroken your phone, a process we don’t recommend due to stability, battery, and security concerns. Instead, you’ll be relying on an external recording device to grab your screenshots, and the easiest method of doing so—using Apple’s own QuickTime application—only works on Mac. Still, if you have a Mac, you’ll be happy to know recording your display is accessible in only a few steps. Let’s take a look.
Start by connecting your iPhone to your Mac using your Lightning cable. Open QuickTime Player on your computer, either from your apps folder or by using Launchpad to select the app. When QuickTime has loaded, hit ‘File’ in the menu bar and click “New Movie Recording.” A recording menu will load on your display, using the webcam on your Mac as its default video source. From here, click the arrow next to the record button, which will produce a drop-down menu for selecting the source for your recording. You should then select your iPhone, as well as your iPhone’s microphone for the sound recording options. Once you’ve entered your new video and audio sources for your QuickTime recording, it’s time to take a screen recording of your phone.
Now, click the record button. From here, you should be able to use your phone as you normally would—which includes opening and viewing snaps. Once you’ve viewed your snaps (as we outlined earlier in the article), you can stop your recording with QuickTime by tapping the stop button on your Mac. And of course, QuickTime will allow you to trim your video within the app. Hit the edit button on the menu bar above the app and select ‘Trim.’ Drag the playhead using the yellow handles to select the part of the video you want to keep, while leaving the other parts of the video out of your selection. Once you’ve made your selection, click the trim button to save your cut.
Once that’s done, you can save and exit QuickTime, with your newly edited screen capture from Snapchat saved on your Mac. Unfortunately, we’ve heard that the addition of a screen recorder in iOS 11 made this method detectable in Snapchat, so you might want to test the app on a non-important snap before using it regularly.
Apowersoft (Win/Mac)
Never ones to leave out the iPhone-owning Windows users, we’ve found Apowersoft to be our favorite screen recording app for most Windows users. The app has a few distinct advantages over using something like QuickTime. In addition to the obvious platform-agnostic approach, Apowersoft’s screen recording software essentially uses Airplay to gather the screen, meaning the app is totally wireless. As long as your phone and home computer share a network, you won’t run into any difficulties using the app on your device. Let’s take a look at how this works.
You’ll have to head over to Apowersoft’s website and grab the iPhone/iPad Recorder. It’s a totally free download, so don’t worry about having to pay for the app upfront. Once the app is installed and running, just like any other application on Airplay, you’ll swipe up into Control Center on your iPhone to access and connect through Airplay. Once your two devices are synced, you’ll see your iPhone’s display mirrored on your computer monitor.
With your device mirrored, all you have to do to use the Apowersoft app to record your screen is tap the red circle icon in the top-left corner. As soon as this button is pressed, you’ll begin recording your screen right to your Mac or PC. In our testing, this actually prompted a smoother and better recording than using QuickTime, so long as your network is fast and stable-enough to handle broadcasting over wireless internet. Once you’ve recorded the snap you wanted to save secretly, tap the recording icon again to stop. Your recording will pop up in a brand-new window on your desktop. You can then save or delete the video as you see fit.
Obviously, there are some upsides and downsides to recording with Apowersoft over QuickTime. The quality is a bit better, with less skips and stutters in the recording, and we always prefer wireless recording where we can. But otherwise, it typically seems to be about equal to QuickTime in recording. Transferring files over to your phone can be a bit obnoxious, and you have to find a separate app to edit and change how the recording starts and ends. But it’s worth a download, if only to try it out for yourself.
Snapchat has become much more than the simplistic instant photo-sharing app it once was. In addition to refining the already-groundbreaking service it offered—temporary photos and videos for sharing the world around you with your friends—Snapchat has built in some incredible visual technology that you should make sure you’re using to create the best Snap masterpieces for your friends and followers. In addition to classic filters that have been there since the beginning of the app, we all know the dog, Snapchat included geofilters (based on your location), context-based filters (like time or temperature), and AR, or augmented reality, filters (also called lenses). The lenses take the world around you and digitally enhance it, placing animated lifeforms and fun designs within your display.
If you’re a Snapchat regular, you might be familiar with a lot of the tweaks and tips in this guide. But for those new to Snapchat, it can be a difficult app to use. The mor advanced features come with a steep learning curve. Luckily, once you know what you’re doing inside the app, it’s easy to take advantage of their filters, features, Snap maps, and everything else the app offers. Until then, let’s take a look at how to use filters—and how to get even more filters than you can intitally see. Here we go.
Enable Filters
The first thing we need to do is enable filters on Snapchat if they aren’t already. We’ll be using the redesigned Snapchat app launched in December 2017 on Android, though if you don’t have the new version of the app yet, don’t fret. This is a fairly simple process, and no matter whether you’re an Android or iOS user enabling filters (or ensuring they are enabled) is a simple task once you know where to look.
Open up your settings menu inside Snapchat by either sliding down from the top of the camera interface or, on the newer versions of the application, by tapping on the Bitmoji icon in the top-left corner. If you haven’t created a Bitmoji for your Snapchat yet, the redesign will feature a silhouette portrait here. Once you’re on the profile page you’ll see the settings link in the top-right corner of your display. Tap it.
Inside settings, scroll down through the menu until you reach the “Additional Services” category. Tap “Manage Preferences” to open up your Snap preferences. There’s a bunch of stuff in here, but the option we want specifically right now is “Filters.” Make sure it’s enabled with a check next to it. If you do not see the option in here, it means your filters are enabled by default and cannot be disabled; Snapchat has been testing a fully-automated version of Snapchat where the filters are always enabled. While you’re here, consider turning on “Travel Mode” below it. It won’t have an impact on your filters, but it will save your phone some battery life and data usage by not loading snaps in the background while you’re on mobile data. It’s a good option to keep checked for regular Snapchat users.
Using Filters
With Snapchat filters enabled, it’s time to learn exactly how to use filters effectively. With Snapchat, some filters are permanent. Others—specifically the geofilters which are based on your location and AR filters—will cycle and change based on what Snapchat’s offering at a specific time. You can cycle through filters by swiping left and right once you’ve taken an image or a video. Let’s take a look at each of these:
Color filters: The most basic type of filter, these are always enabled inside Snapchat. You’ll find four different filters for changing the visual appearance of your photo. The first smooths out your skin tone, artificially removing blemishes and acne while also brightening your photo. The second is a sepia-styled filter, placing a sun-baked look on your photo. The third boosts the blue levels of your image while also over-saturating specific colors to create a unique look. The fourth is a simple black and white filter.
Overlay filters: For years, these overlay filters gave some contextual information for your snap based on your location and activity. While they’re still able to be activated, every overlay filter has been translated into a sticker for easier use. We’ll describe why in a moment, but first, a short description of each one.
The time filter actively displays the time you took your photo, without changing once the photo was taken.
The temperature filter will display the temperature of your area based on your current location.
The speed filter detects how fast you’re moving as you take a snap.
Depending on your altitude, an altitude filter will appear occasionally to display your current height from sea level, and if your battery is fully charged or about to die, you’ll have a happy or sad battery icon available for use. These have been moved from their original filter location to the sticker tab (accessible by tapping on the small post-it note icon to the right) in order to be more flexible. With a sticker, you can now move the temperature or time around as opposed to having it stuck permanently in the middle of the screen. It’s a small change, but a smart one. So if you’re wondering where your filters went, they’ve been moved to the sticker menu.
Geofilters: These are entirely based on your current location, and work for towns and cities large and small. Not every town has a local geofilter, and certain towns may default to the city they’re near. Other cities, like New York’s individual boroughs or Los Angeles, have multiple geofilters for tracking your location depending on the part of the city you find yourself in.
Day of the Week filters: These are really similar to the overlay filters, but they’re all uniquely designed and, depending on your location, will change to say your town or city’s name below. Unlike the plain white design of the clock or temperature, these are cartoonish and fun in design.
Sponsored filters: You might also see some sponsored filters for everything from movies to stores like Walmart to any other products made to be sold to mass audiences. Advertising is how Snapchat makes the majority of their cash and you can bet those filters show up in your feed on a regular basis. If you’re curious if a filter is sponsored—beyond the fact that it’s typically pretty obvious—just look for the word “Sponsored” somewhere in the snap. This won’t be on your snap when you send it, and fades away after a few seconds, but Snapchat does make it clear and obvious what is and isn’t a sponsored filter.
Bitmoji filters: Though Bitmoji originally began life as an independent company called Bitstrips (you may remember the customizable comics; they were incredibly popular on Facebook), Snapchat finally acquired the company in 2016 following a year of integration within the app itself. If you haven’t already made a Bitmoji on your Android or iOS device you won’t see these options appear until your accounts are linked. That said, once you’ve created your digital avatar there’s a ton of fun to be had with Bitmoji inside of Snapchat. Most Bitmoji usage comes from stickers within the app but there are, on occasion, Bitmoji filters that feature your own avatar placed into the filter. Likewise, when you’re replying to a friend you also gain access to a Bitmoji filter that has the two Bitmojis featured together.
Those are the basics when it comes to filters on Snapchat, but we still have to talk about a few more things. For that, let’s move onto the real meat of this article: how to get additional Snapchat filters on your snap.
Additional Filter Options
Alright, so we’ve covered the basic filters and what they do, but Snapchat offers so much more for filters and effects that what we’ve covered above. There is no tutorial built in so it’s no surprise that some users have the hardest time getting these tips and tricks to work. A lot of this stuff spreads purely on word of mouth, and if you’re unfamiliar with Snapchat’s inner workings or you haven’t had a friend explain this stuff to you, it can be confusing at best and impossible to learn at worst.
So, we’re going to break this down into three categories: expanded filter usage, AR filters, and custom geofilter options. All three of these give you brand new creative options for expanding your Snapchat world. So get creative, and let’s begin.
Expanded Filter Usage
We have covered every standard filter you can use on Snapchat, but this creates a problem: what if you want more than one filter placed on your snap? Color filters and geofilters, for example, don’t interfere with each other, but what about swiping through filters changes the appearance one at a time. Is it possible to use more than one filter?
Yes but you can only use two at a time. Snapchat doesn’t make this incredibly clear, but filters can be swiped through while maintaining an existing filter by swiping through them while holding a finger down on your screen. So, use one finger to select a filter, then press and hold your thumb on the screen while using your finger to swipe through additional unused filters without changing the first filter. Want a black and white filter that also shows the time? No problem. A smoothing skin filter that shows the day of the week? Absolutely.
There are a couple of limitations to this. Filters that take up the same space—like time and temperature, for example, won’t all work together because they use the same spot. Other filters though, like the battery and day of week filters, will overlap, despite using the same general area. As a rule, your second filter is a bit more limited than your first. You can only use one overlay filter or one color filter on a snap at a time. Overall, however, the app allows you to customize the snap as you’d like.
And don’t bother trying to add a third filter using three fingers. With the exception of AR filters, Snapchat’s a two-filter-at-a-time game.
There is one other filter trick Snapchat hides from users though, and it’s arguably even cooler than the ability to use two filters at a time. Those standard overlay stickers we talked about above—time, temperature, and speed? Each of them have brand new filters if you tap them, providing new or additional information, or changing the format of the filter itself.
Time: The time filter can also become the date in two separate styles (04/16/2019 or April 16th, 2019, for example), making it useful if you’re trying to save a snap with the specific date of your event rather than the time.
Weather: This one has a bunch of options. Tap it once to get an hourly forecast for your area, and again to get a three-day forecast. Tapping it a third time will change the unit of measurement for the temperature from fahrenheit to celsius or celsius to fahrenheit, depending on your location and the standard setting for your country (as a general rule, fahrenheit for the US, celsius nearly everywhere else). Once you’ve switched to the other measurement, you can then use the hourly and three-day forecasts in the alternate unit of measurement.
Speed: Like with weather, tapping speed will change your unit of measurement from miles/hour to kilometers/hour, or vice versa, depending on your location in the world. Tapping the speed filter again will change it back.
We also haven’t mentioned the additional text and drawing-based effects you can use on Snapchat, but those are options listed in the top-right corner of your display. You can also use emojis, stickers, and bitmojis (an avatar you build with an outside app) inside Snapchat, but these function less as filters and more as effects or decorations.
AR Filters
Lately—over the past year or two, in fact—Snapchat’s main focus has been on augmented reality, or AR filters (called “lenses” by Snapchat). The phrase “augmented reality” has become a bit of a buzzword over the past year or so, starting with Snapchat’s usage of AR inside their filters and exploding with the release and popularity of Pokemon Go last summer, which used AR to show Pokemon on your camera in the “real world” (though most serious players turned this feature off nearly immediately). Augmented reality has also become something of a competitor to virtual reality machines like the Oculus or Valve and Vive from HTC. Augmented reality refers to using a camera, along with location and sensor information, to place a digital object on your screen that “appears” to be in the real world, without actually being there.
Unlike virtual reality, goggles or a headset aren’t needed to accomplish augmented reality—you just need a phone with a good camera and the proper sensor support. And while companies like Samsung and Google are investing in mobile virtual reality headsets, Apple is preparing to go all-in with augmented reality, announcing AR Kit at their developer conference in June 2017 for developers to take advantage of up and coming technologies in this segment of the market. Meanwhile, Google slowly rolled out their augmented reality support, ARCore, throughout 2018 to flagship devices like the Pixel and Galaxy S-series.
If you’ve used Snapchat for any extended amount of time, you probably know exactly what AR filters are. From the rise and fall in popularity of the dog filter to the absolute ubiquity of the “face swap,” Snapchat users have become accustomed to using AR filters constantly, and Snapchat knows this. Just as we saw with standard filters above, Snapchat offers users “sponsored” filters for every product from drinks to movies to shopping centers, all based on whatever product is being pushed at a certain time.
If you’re new to Snapchat, AR filters may seem out of your league or impossible to learn how to use, but this simply isn’t the case. Augmented reality is actually incredibly easy to learn how to use, and just as we saw with standard filters above, there are a ton of options here for us to fool around with. First, the basics. Activating an AR filter is just as easy as using standard filters, but with two big differences: AR filters are applied before you take the shot, not after, and instead of sliding through options, you tap on the camera display to activate AR mode. Once you’ve done this, you’ll see plenty of different options to pick from. To preview and use these AR filters, simply slide your finger between the options along the bottom of your screen, with each filter represented by a circle icon.
Most filters are made to be used with the front-facing camera, but there are some alternate versions. Let’s take a look at some examples of filters. Since Snapchat adds and removes new filters everyday, we’ll just be listing some sample filters instead of focusing entirely on what each filter looks like.
Sponsored filters: These don’t always appear, but when they do, they’ll typically be among the first filters you’ll see within the app upon activating AR mode. Despite their sponsorships, these can sometimes be a bit fun to play around with—for example, the film 47 Meters Down, a shark attack movie, used a sponsored filter showing the area around you being attacked by swimming sharks.
Animal filters: Hot off the success of the dog filter, Snapchat’s added (and regularly adds) new animals for you to play around with. Typically these include a nose change, some form of animal ears, and even virtual glasses. These can be really cute, though your mileage may vary depending on the variation chosen on the app at a specific time.
Face modifiers: Obviously, most of these AR filters modify how your face looks, but some of them can really do a number. The classic example of this is the big-mouth filter, which magnifies your mouth so it takes over half of your face, but there’s plenty of other options that rotate in and out while you’re using the app.
Friend filters: These can vary from animal filters to face-modifiers, but Snapchat almost always has a filter than can support two people in the shot at once. They can sometimes be used solo as well, but they’re definitely more fun with a buddy, so grab a friend and try them out.
Action filters: These require you to perform some form of movement to activate an action within the filter. Typically, the reaction involves opening your mouth, raising your eyebrows, or blinking. This can trigger everything from the dog tongue licking the screen on the dog filter to magic cards flying everywhere as you’re wrapped in a Harry Potter-inspired scarf. These are a ton of fun, though you’ll want to record the filter instead of taking a simple photo snap for sending to others.
World filters: These are the newest additions to Snapchat, and they’re built a bit differently from what you’re probably used to regarding AR filters. Instead of using your front-facing camera, these use the world around you to put cartoon characters and other words and creative phrases into a background, similar to how Pokemon function in Pokemon Go. You can move and resize these characters, making it easy to modify and change how your snap looks right from inside the app.
3D Bitmoji lenses: Like the standard Bitmoji filters listed above, you’ll have to first create and sync a Bitmoji avatar with your Snapchat account to gain access to these lenses. Basically, your app will create a 3D version of your standard Bitmoji, creating a virtual “you” that you can place anywhere in the world around you. There are typically two or three different animations available at a time, and you can find them in the same menu for AR filters as the rest of your content. The circle icons are typically highlighted in blue or green to designate that they’re a 3D Bitmoji filter, and the work relatively the same as the World filters we mentioned above.
It’s worth noting that some of these filters typically have a secondary function if you move from your front-facing camera to your rear camera, though the effects typically put a matching pattern on the environment around you.
Finally, the standard guidelines for these lenses: most Android phones running Android 4.3 or above should support them. For iOS devices, lenses are supported on the iPhone 4S and above, iPod 5th generation, iPad 2nd generation and above, and Original iPad Mini devices and above.
Custom Geofilters
Creating a custom geo filter on Snapchat is probably a bit out-there for most users, but we think a select few will really love them. Above we mentioned Snapchat’s reliance on advertisers placing ads within Snapchat, saying it’s the majority of how Snapchat makes their money, and this is absolutely true. That said, there is another revenue generator for Snapchat, and it is custom geofilters. These on-demand filters allow you to create your own filter for a limited area for events, weddings, businesses, announcements and more. It’s a really interesting idea and, as long as you’re sensible about how large you are making the filter’s area, it’s pretty affordable too.
There are two separate ways to do this, and it really depends on how much energy and time you want to put into designing and creating a filter. If you know a lot about graphic design, or you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of designing a filter you’re better off with our second option. For most users, follow our first direction to quickly and easily create a custom filter for your friends and family to use at an event, or to hype your business.
The easier method: start by heading into the settings menu inside Snapchat we mentioned earlier. Find “Custom Geofilters” inside your settings menu and tap the option, then tap “Continue.” Snapchat will give you a bunch of different options for what the occasion you’re looking to design is. These range from standard, always-there options (wedding, birthdays) to time-based holidays (at the time of writing, 4th of July and graduation are at the top of the list, as are summer vibes”). Choose your category to load a list of standard templates to pick from for geofilters. Tapping on an option will give you a sample photo of your filter, and you can do one of three things from here: go back to the options menu, select the geofilter, or customize it with your own text and drawings.
After you’ve designed your filter, hit the green check mark in the corner to move on. You’ll have to name your filter, and select between a personal or business filter. Tap continue, and you’ll be able to view the options for when your filter activates. By default, this gives you about a six-hour window; extending it will make the filter cost more, and reducing it will cost less. When you select the next icon, Snapchat will load into a map interface, where you can type in an address and drag a shape around the area you want to cover. The current cost of your filter—which rises as you expand your filter beyond the basic scope of your outreach. Your filter can only be so big, so if you go too large, you’ll get a warning to make your filter smaller. Though standard prices start around $5.99 or so, making the area larger can cost as much as $169.
Once you’ve selected your area, tap “Continue” and you’ll be able to review your order. From here, you hit submit and then head over to payment options. Most filters with a reasonable, house-and-yard-sized area shouldn’t cost more than $10 to $15, making it perfect for parties, reunions, and vacation spots.
All of this can be easily accomplished right from your phone, but if you’re into the idea of customizing your filter with your own graphics, or you want the freedom and usability of designing a filter with a keyboard and mouse, you’ll want to turn to using Snapchat’s own on-demand geofilter website here. The website allows you to design similar filters to what we’ve seen on the mobile app, but you’ll also be able to upload your own designs from Photoshop or Illustrator. In general, even if you’re using the “standard” recommended designs, the desktop web application gives you a lot more freedom in terms of customizing your image with various colors and other designs.
There are some guidelines you should follow when designing a geofilter, and we’ll quickly cover theme here for those users looking to design your own filter either within the app or on your computer:
Personal geofilters don’t use any sort of branding or promotion. Business geofilters do, and both have separate guidelines for rules that you can find in more detail here.
You can’t use hashtags, photographs of people, phone numbers, email addresses, and other similar information. The link above has a full list of do’s and don’ts.
If you’re looking to design your own custom filter in Photoshop or Illustrator, you’ll want to know these design guidelines: files should be 1080×1920, under 300kb in size, and should be careful not to take up too much room on the screen, otherwise you’ll risk being turned down for your design.
Overall, designing and submitting a filter is easiest from your phone, where every filter is basically guaranteed to be approved and accepted by Snapchat. But the web-based designer definitely allows for more creative freedom, and if you really want to get interesting, you’ll want to submit your geofilter design through their client. It’s a really neat feature that definitely doesn’t get enough use, and for most events, it’s fairly affordable.
Lens Studio: Custom Lenses from Around the World
In December of 2017, Snapchat quietly announced one of the biggest changes we’ve seen from the platform yet. Lens Studio is a new piece of software from the company that allows anyone with some spare time and a computer to download the program and create AR filters for their friends and strangers all over the world quickly and easily. If you haven’t previously heard of it, you aren’t alone. The software gained some attention by the tech press in December, but it was released so close to the holidays that it didn’t really start to grow in popularity and notoriety until into the new year. But by now, during the time of writing (early February), you’ve likely seen the filters filling up your Stories from all over the world with memes and other online references, and if you’re like the writers at TechJunkie, caught yourself wondering: where can I get one of those?
Wonder no more! Adding Lens Studio lenses to your Snapchat account is as easy as adding a friend using your Snapcode; all it requires is a link to the existing AR lens and your phone running the newest version of Snapchat possible. Though current custom lenses are limited to “world lenses,” or those that change the world around you, instead of face lenses that change your appearance. Still, the good news is you won’t even need to install Lens Studio yourself to use the lenses, unless you’re interested in creating your own custom lenses for you and your friends. Instead, you’ll need to know how to gain access to these links online, how to discover new ones, and how to share them with your friends. Let’s take a look.
Finding New Custom Lenses
Since exporting a lens only requires a Snapcode to share with the world, it’s pretty easy to find people sharing their creations with the world online. We have four sources to recommend if you’re looking for custom lenses to try out:
Snapchat’s Community Lenses tab: Yes, after months of waiting, Snapchat finally did what its fans had been asking to see since third-party lenses were developed: gave them their own tab right within the app. If you’re looking to grab a quick lens for your story or to send a funny Snap to your friends, looking through the Community tab is a great place to start. To access the tab, just tap on your face in the camera viewfinder to load the standard lens selection screen, then tap the icon in the lower-right corner of the app next to the X button.
SnapLenses Subreddit: Reddit is a fantastic source of crowdsourced content on the internet, and that goes double for finding new custom lenses made inside of Lens Studio. SnapLenses is a subreddit that started following the release of Lens Studio to allow users to upload their Snapcodes for all of their favorite custom lenses. The community does post a ton of memes and other videos unrelated to new lenses, but by using the filter options on the right of the page, you can navigate to both 2D and 3D lenses submitted through the community. You can also search for specific references using the search bar on the right side of the subreddit, which allows you to find specifically-named content.
Snap Lenses (Twitter): A Twitter account linked to the subreddit we mentioned above, Snap Lenses on Twitter cuts through all of the nonsense from the subreddit page and simply shared a description of the lens with a Snapcode for you to add (more on that below). The subreddit can be a fun place to see the lenses in action by their users, but if you’d rather just add the content to your page, you can do that by simply using the Twitter account.
If Snapchat adds a centralized area to browse these uploaded lenses through their own service, we’ll update this page with information on it. Still, everything listed above makes it really easy to find new Snapchat lenses, and it’s really exciting that adding new lenses to your device is finally a possibility.
Finally, it’s also worth noting that a Story or snap from your friends using special custom lenses might also have the option to view more content by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. If your friends have posted a Story using a strange, unfamiliar lens, check the bottom of the display to see if the word “More” appears.” Swiping up on these snaps will allow you to add the content straight to your device from their snaps or Stories without having to add the link manually.
Using Custom Lenses
Once you’ve found the lens you want to add to your device, have Snapchat open on your phone and get ready to scan the Snapcode. Snapcodes were traditionally used to easily add friends to your account, but you can now use these custom-QR codes to add Snap content to your device. With the camera interface open, take a photo of your computer’s display with the Snapcode filling up as much of your phone screen as you can. Smaller Snapcodes might not properly scan on your device, so get as close to the screen as you can while keeping the code in focus. Then, just snap a photo using the shutter button on the bottom of your display. Your device will vibrate, and a pop-up message will display the name of the lens, the creator of the lens, a Share icon in the upper-right hand corner, a button to unlock the lens, and the option to send to friends.
You might notice that the button says “Unlock for 24 Hours” when you add the lens. Lenses aren’t permanent additions to your Snapchat accounts; rather, you can hold onto a specific lens for up to 24 hours before it disappears from your account. This helps you manage a one-time lens use with lenses you might want to use more, and stops your app from being overburdened with additions that stop you from being able to scroll through the list of usable lenses. You can also report an inappropriate Snapchat lens that you’ve added to your account at any time by tapping on the Information icon and tapping on the flag icon in the upper-left hand corner.
If you happen to find a lens that you really like, you’ll still lose it after a full 24 hours (we’ve also seen filters disappear far sooner than that, but it’s unclear if that’s related to a bug with the beta version of the app we’re using on our test device). However, the good news is that it’s incredibly easy to add back a lens once it’s disappeared. There’s no limits on how often you can add a custom lens from Lens Studio back to your account either, so you don’t have to worry about losing your favorite content in the long run.
To use the lens, open the camera interface and ensure that your app is using the back camera. Some of the lenses work with your front-facing camera, but for the most part, they’re designed to be used with the camera on the back of your device. Tap on the center of your camera interface to focus the lens, and to open the AR filters and lenses in your device. This will load the standard list of your applicable filters and lenses.
Unsurprisingly, Snapchat puts at least a single sponsored lens first, but following that, you’ll find your added lens available on your device with the icon you saw while adding it to your account. Select that lens as you would any other, and you’ll see the word “Tap!” appear on your screen. Most lenses are video related, so begin recording your video and then tap on the display with your other hand to activate the lens (don’t forget to keep recording or you’ll stop the effect before it’s over!).
Sharing Custom Lenses with Friends
Inevitably, once you begin to use your custom lenses, your friends and followers will begin to wonder how you were able to create that content. You might get a couple inquisitive messages or reply-Snaps asking how you did it, or users trying to recreate the Snap magic without having the actual lens required to make your effect happen. Thankfully, Snapchat thought ahead and made it easy to share these custom lenses with anyone on your account, even if you weren’t the person who made the lens to begin with.
To share with friends on Snapchat, simply tap on the small information icon we mentioned above and tap “Send to Friends.” This will open the option to send it as a chat option, which allows you to send it to any number of friends you want on the platform as a URL link that adds to their app automatically, eliminating the need to add a Snapcode on your display. You can also use the system share icon to send links outside of Snapchat, though you’ll want to keep in mind that your friends need to have Snapchat installed on their devices to properly use the link. Finally, keep in mind that your friends can add the lenses you use in your snaps by swiping up from More at the bottom of the display.
iPhone Exclusive Lenses
In 2017, Apple reinvented the iPhone with the iPhone X, removing the home button and the large bezels along the frame of the device to give users a larger display in a smaller package. Since then, we’ve seen Apple refresh the design in 2018 and 2019, all while keeping the same front-facing technology along the way. As is usual for Apple, all of the devices have sold well, and has fueled all sorts of industry design choices, from notch-adoption to gesture controls If you’ve managed to scrape up the cash to buy a new iPhone, you know that the device is an excellent smartphone, gorgeous hardware combined with the evolution of iOS to create a redesign of the iPhone not seen since the days of the iPhone 4.
If there’s one thing that’s especially impressive about the iPhone X design, it’s the front-facing camera that you can find hidden inside the infamous notch at the top of the screen. The camera technology in the iPhone X’s front-facing camera is pretty high-tech stuff. It tracks your facial movements using invisible lasers, making a fully 3D mesh of your face in real-time. It’s how the phone is able to track face to unlock your phone, and how it can create Animoji in real-time to send to your friends. And thanks to a partnership with Snapchat, it can now create some iPhone X-exclusive (X-clusive?) filters.
First announced back in September 2017, Apple and Snapchat took until April 2018 to roll out the filters, seven months after they were detailed on-stage at the Steve Jobs Theater. While typical face-based AR filters through Snapchat modify your face in some shape and form, these iPhone X-exclusive filters are a bit more detailed. The best example of what these filters can do with the iPhone X technology and the AR tech built with ARKit from Apple is building a realistic mask that sticks to your face perfectly while allowing for lighting changes. It’s impressive stuff, though the exclusivity means that most people won’t get to see this sort of stuff on Snapchat for a long time to come.
If you’re looking for more information on these lenses in the future, pay close attention to the name “True-Depth,” the tech behind these new lenses. Snapchat is only the first third-party app to take advantage of this, and we expect to see more apps do this in the future.
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Snapchat is one of those apps that holds a ton of hidden functionality, especially when it comes to filters and AR-enabled lenses. From simple features like the ability to to enable multiple filters and lenses at once, to adding additional weather, time and speed filters within Snapchat, the app does a good job keeping some of its best functionality hidden from its users. AR lenses and filters are a great way to customize your snaps on Snapchat, and some of them even contain hidden functionality when you switch to the rear-mounted camera on your phone.
And while custom geofilters were a fun way to waste time, we have to say the new addition of custom lenses created by people all around the world is one of our favorite features of the app thus far. Snapchat’s an app that keeps you on your toes, always adding new functionality without much explanation. Hopefully this guide—and future updates—will help you make the most out of your Snapchat filters and lenses.
Fun and innovative, Snapchat Cameos are like meme versions of movie cameos. But sometimes they don’t show up. If this is happening to you, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
In this article, we’ll show you how to both update and reinstall the app, and help you solve any other cameo-related problems you might experience.
The App Solutions
Before you start blaming your device, make sure that the problem isn’t app-related. The first thing you should do if cameos aren’t showing up is to update your Snapchat app. Here are the direct download links for the App Store (iPhone and iPad) and the Google Play Store (Android phones and tablets).
Follow the links to download and install the update on your device.
Additionally, you can try clearing the Snapchat cache (data saved on your phone or tablet.) Here’s how:
Launch Snapchat on your device.
Select the Settings from the My Profile screen.
Find and select the Clear Cache option.
Choose to Continue on Android devices, or Clear All or iPhone and iPad.
For Android Devices
If the update doesn’t help, you can try uninstalling Snapchat from your Android device:
Find Snapchat on the app menu and long-press it,
Then, tap on App Info.
Next, choose Uninstall and confirm.
Use the Play Store link from the previous section to install the latest version of Snapchat again.
Are Snapchat Cameos showing up sometimes, but not other times? In this scenario, you should restart Snapchat. Force stop it if it doesn’t close normally:
Long-press the Snapchat icon.
Select App Info.
Then choose Force Stop, and confirm.
For iOS Devices
You can force shut down Snapchat on iOS as well. Here are the instructions for the latest iOS devices:
With Snapchat running on your device, go back to your home screen.
Swipe up (from the bottom) to the middle part of your screen.
Find Snapchat in the preview of the running app. Swipe up on it, and it should force stop.
If you’re on a slightly older iOS device, follow these steps instead:
With Snapchat running in the background, open your home screen menu.
Tap the Home button two times and see the preview of running apps.
Find Snapchat, and swipe up to shut it down.
You can try reinstalling Snapchat on iOS too. Follow the steps do it:
Start the Settings app.
Choose the General tab.
Then, select iPhone (or iPad) Storage.
Next, locate Snapchat and press Delete App next to it.
Confirm that you want to delete the app.
Then, you should download the latest version of Snapchat again using the appropriate link provided above.
The Device Solutions
If you’ve tried all of these solutions and none of them worked, the problem may be lying within your device. The first, and easiest device trick for any sort of app malfunction is to restart your device. You can use the restart or power off option.
The power-off method counts as a soft reset – if you turn it back on after a minute. The hard reset option would be a factory reset of your device. Only use that as a final resort, as you’ll lose all your data. Don’t reset your device before creating a backup or transferring important files over to a computer or a Cloud storage service (such as Google Drive).
Here’s how to hard reset an iOS device:
Open the Settings app.
Select the General tab.
Then, choose Reset.
Next, tap on Reset All Settings.
Enter your password if necessary.
Confirm to reset everything to factory settings.
On Android devices, factory reset is different:
Launch the Settings app.
Open the System menu.
Then, select the Advanced option.
Next, select the Reset Options.
Finally, select Erase All Data (Factory Reset). Scroll down and tap on Reset Phone (or Reset Tablet).
Enter your PIN and confirm that you want everything to reset to default settings.
Make Snapchat Cameos Again
Hopefully, you’re able to use this feature again after following our advice. If you still can’t get cameos to show up in Snapchat, contact the official support team.
Do you have a favorite cameo? Have you tried co-starring in a cameo with your friends? Share your answers and related questions in the comments section below.
Wondering how to ask a girl to be your girlfriend? Sometimes, it’s just so hard to find the right words to say, eh?Asking a girl to be your girlfriend or asking her on a date can be very stressful. It would be great if we had some universal formulas or techniques that prove to work 100%. But every girl is unique, every situation is unique, and so is every relationship. However, there’s no need to despair! We have some some cool, romantic and creative ways and tips to help you ask a girl out and to be your girlfriend. If you think that simple “will you be my girlfriend” is not enough, well, we definitely have something interesting for you. Let’s take a look.
How to ask a girl on a date?
Before asking her to be your girlfriend, you’ll have to ask her out. Sometimes, the more you like a girl, the harder it is for you to find the perfect words to crack the question. Understandable, but there’s not time to waste either. It’s like the spacecrafts — you wait for too long, the launch window closes and you lose it all. If you bide your time waiting for the perfect moment to come, you can easily lose this moment.
Now that we’re clear on when, let’s talk about how. The tips and suggestions that we have here are not foolproof. They’ll improve your chances, yes. But it’s important to remember to consider the uniqueness of your situation; take it into context. In time when everything is casual, be casual! Choose the right time to ask a girl out, and be confident. Asking her out at the awkward moment will lead to awkward results, no exceptions. For instance, you shouldn’t do it when she’s talking with her friends or when your conversation is running dry. However, when she laughs during your conversation or when you see she’s enjoying spending time with you, you can try.
The last idea is about the date itself. It should be very simple — you probably have some fantastic ideas like an air-balloon ride or a laser tag, but the first date shouldn’t be too complicated. Sit, talk, eat and drink — get to know each other. It’s vital to make a good first impression on your first date.
Asking her out face-to-face might not always be possible, so these cool ways we have compiled for you are also applicable if you are sending her a text.
Cool Ways to Ask a Girl Out Over Text
We should grab a drink or a bite some time this week.
Wednesday night. Dinner. Be early.
Generic compliments, playful teases and emoticons aside— drink Wednesday? (Or any day that suits you really.)
Surely a bad day today for any adventurous outdoor dates—so how about I loan you a towel whilst I make us hot chocolate?
Are you free Friday night? There’s this really cool bar/restaurant I’ve been wanting to check out. Let’s grab a bite and a couple of drinks.
Hey, I think you’re great and I’d like to get to know you better. How does coffee at 7 o’clock tomorrow sound?
You seem fun – we should go out! What are you doing this Saturday?
Ok cool. Let’s meet in person to discuss, Wednesday or Thursday night best for you?
What are your plans for later this week? Let’s grab a drink or coffee after work if you’re free.
Cute and clever ways to ask a girl to be your GF
We’ve also found some amazing ways to ask a girl to be your girlfriend here. If you want to find a more romantic way to say “would you be my girlfriend”, we have something for you.
Before you crack the question, we have some important advice for you:
Be simple, and go straight to the point.
Don’t be vague. Let her know exactly what you are thinking.
Say it sincerely. No words can suffice for honesty and sincerity.
Saying it face-to-face is the best option.
Compliment her, then give her a simple gift.
Surprise her. (In a good way!) Perfect timing is the key here.
Create the perfect ambiance for her before you ask the important question. Make her feel that she’s the most special girl in the world. Now, let’s go to the words you need to say. Again, you can make some changes to better suit the situation.
Give her a heart (jewelry, or drawn, or folded paper) and say, “Now that I’ve given you my heart, will you be my girlfriend?
I have fallen so in love with you.
So, are we together now?
There is something I wanted to tell you since many, many days. I tried to give you hints, in many different ways. Just looking at you takes my breath away. I like you, is what I really want to say. Would you like to be my girlfriend?
I want you to know that I have a massive crush on you. I don’t fear rejection because my heart believes that you won’t say no. Will you be my gf?
You make me feel incredible. Will you be my girlfriend?
I can feel it, maybe you can feel it, too. I like you, I hope you like me too — so would you be my girlfriend?
When to ask a girl to be your girlfriend?
Some people say that it’s always better to know a girl longer if you want her to be your gf. The others say that, like, the longer you hanging out with her, the higher are the chances of being friendzoned, and you should do it as soon as possible. They all are right, because it’s all about balance — so all you have to do is to choose a moment that is not too early and not too late. We personally believe that you can do it anytime. If you feel that it’s time to ask her to be yours, do it right now. If you think the feelings are mutual, do it right now. But please, don’t wait for too long — it’s basically the main rule.
Listen, I’ve liked you for a bit and I think we would make a great couple. Will you be my girlfriend?
I wanna be with you how, would you like to be with me?
Actually, I was hoping we might be able to be something more than ‘just friends. I like you a lot, and I’d really like the chance to date you.
I really enjoy the time I spend with you and consider you an important part of my life. I can’t help but have feelings for you past those of friendship, though. If you feel the same way, or think you could see me as a boyfriend, then I’d like to go out with you.
We’ve got a great friendship going here, but I have some feelings I’d like to explore. If you feel the same way, could we try a date? If not, it’s cool and we can still be friends.
I think you are really beautiful. I love being around you. I was wondering of you would like to be my girlfriend?
You know, I always have a lot of fun talking to you like this. It seems like we have a lot in common. We get along pretty well, don’t you think?
Slip her a “secret admirer” note. This is just a little note to let you know you have a secret admirer—me! Of course, you probably don’t know who I am yet, but still. You’re a sweet girl. I admire your kindness and your wit, and I thought I should let you know that there’s someone who really appreciates you.
These are just a few ideas of how to ask a girl to be your girlfriend. They are quite simple, so we hope you won’t mess anything up. However, don’t get disappointed, if something doesn’t work from the start. As we already said, every girl is unique so there’s no a universal way to win a girl’s heart.
Watching movies with subtitles on does not only apply to movies in foreign language. More and more people opt to turn their subtitles on even when watching English movies. This way, you wouldn’t have to miss out on what the characters say. It’s annoying to miss an important word in the dialog, and having to replay the part. This feature is also helpful for those who have hearing difficulties, so that they get the utmost of their movie experience. To some extent, subtitles are indeed beneficial to make us understand the story even better.
Streaming services like Disney+ offers this feature so that viewers could have a more enjoyable experience. Disney+ debuted in November 2019. Although relatively young compared to other movie streaming services, it has quickly gained popularity because of its massive selection of movies. Disney+’s library consists of movies from Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios, National Geographic, and Star Wars.
Disney+ Subtitles and Various Platforms
Disney+ is available on a wide range of devices and here’s how to turn subtitles on and off on some of them.
Amazon Fire
In case you can’t turn on Disney+ subtitles on your Amazon Fire TV, here’s what you have to do:
Play the video you want to watch.
Use your Fire TV remote or Fire TV App. Press the “Menu” button.
Choose “Subtitles and Audio.”
Then choose the “On” option under “Subtitles and Captions.”
If you want to turn off the subtitles, go back to the “Subtitles and Audio” and after you select the subtitles you’re currently using, select “Off”. The menu also allows you to customize the subtitles language, as well as text size and numerous other options.
Roku
Here’s how Roku users can toggle subtitles on and off:
Press the asterisk (*) button on your Roku remote.
The Options menu will appear on the left side of your screen.
Select “Closed captioning” and use the directional pad to alternate between On/Off/Always On/On Replay options.
Android
To turn on subtitles on the Disney+ App in your Android device, follow these simple steps:
Open your Disney+ app.
Select the movie you want to watch, and play it.
Tap the subtitle button (rectangular icon) at the top right of your screen.
Then, select the language that you want you subtitles to be in.
Your subtitles will then start to appear in your screen.
If you want to turn the subtitles off, you can tap the subtitle button again, and select Off.
LG Smart TVs
LG Smart TV users should follow these steps:
Grab your remote and press the Home button.
Click on the cog icon in the top-right corner.
You’re in “Settings,” now choose “Accessibility” and then “Subtitle.”
Highlight the “Subtitles” section and select “On.”
PlayStation 4
Unfortunately, PlayStation 4 users have reported that there were a lot of issues with subtitles and captions, such as them being slow and delayed. Others complained about the lack of options for text size and background opacity, as well as the subtitles often floating on top of the screen.
Some even said that they couldn’t change the subtitles at all. Even after they did so on their PC, the changes wouldn’t appear in PS4.
One of the suggested fixes for subtitles/captions problems on PS4 looks like this:
Launch the “Settings.”
Navigate to the “Accessibility” section.
Then, go to “Closed Captions.”
Enable closed captions there.
Disable the option that says “Show Closed Captions as Specified by Content.”
Let us know in the comments below if this fix worked for you and enabled you to customize your subtitles and captions.
Why Should You Be Using Subtitles
For a lot of people who stream content on a daily basis, having the option to turn on subtitles essential. Native speakers or not, a lot of people find that subtitles make them understand so much better.
Give them a try and odds are, once you start using them, you won’t go back. Here are some of the reasons why you won’t stop using subtitles even when watching content in English.
Noise Will Bother You Less
By noise, we mean all the unnecessary sounds around, like the crunching sounds of your chips and popcorn. Not to mention the chewing sounds of the friend sitting next to you. You won’t have to “shush” them, and then get annoyed about the dialogue that you’ve missed.
You’ll Understand More
Yes, you speak English, but accents differ and some people talk too fast, while others are too quiet. You’re constantly straining your ears, trying to catch everything. Plus, there’s no way you picked up or understood every word.
Finally, you’ll get the lyrics of every song on the screen so that you can sing along. Just think about “I Can Show You the World” from Aladdin.
Learning Languages
Not only watching a foreign film will get you introduced to a new language and maybe inspire you to learn more of it, but you can also do it the other way around. For example, play an episode of The Mandalorian and turn on foreign language subtitles to learn the language faster and challenge yourself.
Subtitles on, Subtitles off
If you watch a movie or a TV show with subtitles, there is a greater chance that you’ll remember the names of characters and places. However, subtitles will always be completely unnecessary and even annoying to some. But, for others, they’ll be a major discovery.
Let us know what you think about how Disney+ handled subtitles on your platform. Also, we’d like to know your opinion on subtitles on English movies and TV shows.
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Tripura Police Previous Papers is here for free download in pdf form. Interested candidates can check the Tripura Police Riflemen Previous Papers here. You can download the sample papers for free here. You will also get preparation tips, admit card and syllabus along with the Tripura Police Model Papers. Get complete information about the Tripura Police Sample Papers before starting to prepare for the exams.
Tripura Police Previous Papers with Answers
Download the Tripura Police Riflemen Old Question papers pdf from our site. We have provided the Tripura Police Riflemen sample question papers in the Pdf format. The applicants can download the Tripura Police Riflemen Exam previous papers quickly here. All you have to do is click on the links given below to get the Tripura Police Riflemen Sample Papers pdf. You can also check the exam pattern and syllabus given below. We have provided the previous papers below subject wise. Check these previous papers to prepare well for the Tripura Police Exam.
Tripura Police Riflemen Model Papers Pdf
Interested candidates who have applied for Tripura Police Riflemen Recruitment can find all the model question papers provided here. Check them and download them for free for Tripura Police Riflemen exam 2020. This will help you to prepare well for the exam and score good marks. We have provided a list of previous year question papers for you to start practicing. It will also help you to understand the structure of the exam, all the important topics, types of questions asked and other details that are important from the Tripura Police Riflemen exam point of view. For more details, read the sections in this article. You can also visit the official portal of Tripura Police for more details.
Tripura Police Riflemen and Instrument Mechanic Exam Practice Papers – Details
Description
Details
Organization Name
Tripura Police
Posts Name
Riflemen (General Duty) and Riflemen (Tradesmen – Water Carriers, Sweepers, Cook, Dhobi, Barber (Male & Female))
Category
Previous Papers
Job Location
Tripura
Official website
tripurapolice.gov.in
Selection Process:
Physical Standard Test (PST)/ Physical Efficiency Test (PET)
Written Examination
Personal Interview
Tripura Police Riflemen Exam Pattern 2020
The entire details of the Tripura Police Riflemen exam 2020 is given under this topic. It includes all the details that the candidates need to know.
Tripura Police Riflemen Exam Pattern
The Tripura Police Riflemen exam pattern is given in detail below. There will be a written test conducted. The exam will be divided in four parts. Each part will be for 15 one mark questions. The total marks of the exam will be 60 marks. The exam will be conducted for 2 hours. The subjects in these parts are General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Elementary Mathematics and English/ Hindi/ Bengali/ Kokborok Comprehension. Check the details below for more detailed information. The direct links for Tripura Police Riflemen sample papers are given for you to download for free and prepare well. Practice well for these exams to score well in the exam.
Tripura Police Riflemen Exam Pattern 2020
Part and Subject Name
Total Marks and Total Number of Questions
Total Duration
PART A – General Intelligence and Reasoning
15 Questions (1 Mark Each) 15 Marks
2 Hours
PART B – General Knowledge and General Awareness
15 Questions (1 Mark Each) 15 Marks
PART C – Elementary Mathematics
15 Questions (1 Mark Each) 15 Marks
PART D – English/ Hindi/ Bengali/ Kokborok Comprehension
15 Questions (1 Mark Each) 15 Marks
Total
60 Marks
Download Tripura Police Riflemen Previous Year Question Papers Pdf
Here we have provided the Tripura Police Previous Papers for candidates who want to prepare for the exam. By preparing well you can secure very good marks in the exam. You can find the direct link here to download the Tripura Police Riflemen model papers. These papers are as per the exam pattern making it easier for candidates to prepare. Download the part wise old question papers of Tripura Police Riflemen exam below.
Part and Subject Name
Previous Papers Link
Get Tripura Police Riflemen Part -A (General Intelligence & Reasoning) Model Papers
Candidates, please remember that the papers that are given above for Tripura Police Riflemen are Previous Papers/ sample papers only. They are only for reference use. All interested candidates can download the subject wise exam papers for free. Prepare well for the exams by practising these papers and referring to the Tripura Police Riflemen Syllabus also. This will help you score better marks in the exam.
Preparation Tips:
All the applicants who are attending the Written Exam can start preparing as soon as possible. It is necessary for those candidates to refer the Tripura Police Riflemen Previous Papers PDF of Recruitment Tests. Also, follow Tripura Police Exam Syllabus along with the exam pattern. Moreover, for the better results, applicants can attempt various Tripura Police Riflemen Mock Test from the links given above.
Syllabus:
The candidates applied for the Tripura Police Riflemen Exam 2020 can check the Tripura Police Riflemen Syllabus here. Refer to the Tripura Police Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2020. Referring these can help the candidates with the structure of Tripura Police Riflemen Written Examination 2020. Hence, click on the following link and download the Tripura Police Exam Syllabus 2020 in the Pdf format.
GET TRIPURA POLICE SYLLABUS HERE
Admit Card:
The applied aspirants can check the Tripura Police Admit Card from our website recruitment.guru. In this article, we have given the step by step instructions to download the Tripura Police Riflemen Admit Card 2020. Therefore, click on the link mentioned below and download the Tripura Police Riflemen Hall Ticket 2020.
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How to talk about new reports in the IELTS Speaking Test
Audio for IELTS Speaking Practice Test 17
CUE CARD
Describe a news report that you have recently heard or read about.
You should say:
What the story was
How you heard about this story
When you heard the news
and explain your reaction when you heard the news.
Just today I read a story online about a Beijing vice mayor getting fired for taking bribes involving construction in the lead-lip to the 2008 Olympic Games.
I found the story’ on the International Herald Tribune website. 1 found the story because it is one of the websites I check out every day, trying to stay informed of world events.
I was happy when I heard the news. From what I’ve seen, China has a massive problem with corruption, and I think it's about time they started doing something about it. It seems like there is an enormous amount of money wasted every year because officials are either taking bribes or skimming off the top. and it docs a major amount of damage to the Chinese people. If the government halts ibis trend, I think it will be a great thing for us. Money will be spent in places where it can do some good rather than lining the pockets of people who don't need it. There have been quite a few stories of this nature lately, and it shows an extremely positive development. I’m not sure if the government is going after all the corrupted officials or just some of them, hut either way, it is a step in the right direction.
Mass Media
1. How do most people in China get their news?
Most Chinese people get their news from various newspapers. Everyday, I see people reading newspapers on the bus, on the subway, or on the street. Also many people get their news from the Internet and TV.
2. Are most people in China more interested in local news or international news?
I think most Chinese people are more concerned with local news and domestic news, which I’d imagine is the same across the world. Unless there are huge stories going on elsewhere, local news has more of an impact on the average citizen. Also, it is easier to understand news that is about areas that you know as opposed to some town in a country you might not even have heard of.
3. Compare newspapers and TV as sources of news.
I think if you are looking lo gel a general idea about the day’s news, TV is a perfect way. You can get the basics from TV. If you want 10 get in-depth information, however, newspapers arc the way to go. They can dedicate more time to each individual story, so you can learn more about different subjects.
4. How do you think the news media will change in the future?
News in the future, I think, will come from many more directions. With the creation of blogs, more people are able to report on many different things, so you will see a lot more news and a lot more analysis. I don't think there is any way that newspapers will be able to compete with this. If people have to choose between getting more news for free online and to pay, they are going to choose lo go online.
5. Are young and old people interested in the same news content?
I think this question partially depends on how old young people are. If they are in their twenties, I think for the most part, the news they are interested in is the same. Younger people do seem to be more interested in tilings like celebrities and pop culture than older people, but 1 think they stay pretty educated about the more important news. Older people are less concerned with the pop culture news, and are more concerned with the news that matters more to the world and their country.
Children and Reading
6. Do you think it's a good idea to teach children to read before they start school?
Yes, I think it's important to try to teach children how to read at as early an age as possible. The earlier they know how to read, the sooner they can start learning other things. Also, if you teach them early, it may instill a desire in them to keep learning throughout their lives, which would be extremely valuable. I know my parents started me reading very young, and today I think I am better off because of it.
7. What kinds of things do children like to read?
I think kids all over the world like to read books that are either based in the same world they are in (school) or in a world that isn't like this one at all (fantasy/Harry Potter). Everything else, I think, fails to hold their attention. Unless it has a good, entertaining story, kids will not be interested, and I think these kinds of books kids can either identify with or can get.
8. Do you think the Internet will influence the way people read in the future? (How?)
Yes, I think the Internet will have an impact, though I’m not sure what that will be. I imagine that sometime, someone will invent something that is the size of a book, so people can download books onto it, and it will be easier to read than a computer screen. Then, from there, through the Internet, it will be extremely easy for people to read any book they could possibly imagine. Also, I think the Internet will give people the ability to read stuff that they are interested in. There is so much content that people will be able to find anything, so people’s tastes will get highly specific.
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This post contains useful links to the best IELTS speaking lessons/tips/books/practice tests/actual tests/sample answers, etc to help you improve your IELTS speaking skills
What is your full name? Can I see your ID? Where are you from? Do you work or study? What is your job? How long have you been doing your job? How was your first day at work? Which job do you prefer in the future?
Alone
Do you like to be alone?
Definitely not. As I live alone in a studio apartment, I sometimes get lonely, so I take every opportunity to have social interactions to avoid sitting at home alone. I would consider myself a mixture between introvert and extrovert, but definitely leaning more towards extrovert. Although I definitely appreciate my time alone, I certainly don’t crave (have an an urge to do) anymore.
When was the last time you were alone?
Last night. I had come from a stressful day of work so I decided to stay in for the entire evening with some Netflix and hot tea. Although I'm kind of a social butterfly (a social person), I have come to enjoy nights in by myself from time to time. I think all of us need that as a balance.
What do you like to do when you are alone?
As I'm a tea addict, that's my number one activity to do alone. Furthermore, I enjoy reading a book or a series on Netflix. I tend to get lost in (to become fully involved in) those two activities. Moreover, I enjoy taking a walk alone around town and people watching (observing strangers).
Sunglasses
Do you like to wear sunglasses?
Why yes of course, especially when I feel that I look tired. Moreover, I like that they can tie a whole outfit together (make the outfit look better). Moreover, when I drive on sunny days, sunglasses are a must.
Do you often wear sunglasses?
Not too often actually because of the climate here. I'd say I have to wear them a couple times a month on the rare occasion that the sun comes out (appears). As I mentioned before, I feel I need them most when I drive on sunny days or when I go on holiday to the beach.
Where do you buy sunglasses?
I'm not one to splurge on (spend a lot of money; luxury) sunglasses since I have the tendency to lose or break them, so I usually just buy knock-off (copy) brands from street vendors. I've bought and lost several pairs of knock-off Ray Bans which were just fine for me. I feel that the shape of them suits my round face shape.
Part 2
Describe a good law in your country
You should say:
What the law is
How you first learned about this law
Who benefits from this law (who is affected by this law)
And explain why you think this is a good law
Model Answer
I'm going to tell you about Singapore's littering laws which I firmly believe are a great idea. As you know, Singapore is one of the cleanest countries in the world which I feel extremely proud of, considering many other countries in Asia have enormous pollution issues. Unfortunately, I think people need strict laws enforced to have the incentive not to do it. Either way, I'm glad it benefits our planet and those who reside on it.
In Singapore, a first time offender who is caught littering is subject to a max fine of $2,000, a second time offender $4,000 and third time $10,000. However, this is only if a police sees you. I wonder how many people can sneak past (do something without being caught) this! However, there is a strong police presence in Singapore, so I hope this isn’t the case.
I would say the entire country benefits from this. By having a cleaner environment, we all have uncountable health benefits. For example, we could have healthier lungs, skin, animals have improved habitats, etc. Furthermore, we attract more tourists, as many people are drawn to clean places. With this said, I know that some people financially profit from this.
Sadly, humans have a tendency to choose to see only what they want. None of us want to believe the gravity of (how serious something is) just how much we are harming the planet and cannot always directly see it in front of us; we live just for today. With this said, people usually don't take initiative to protect the environment unless there are laws. So, I think this law is critical to give people incentive to not litter. As the fine is drastically high, it will scare people into making sure their trash goes into the bins. Although it must go hand in hand with education, I think it's impossible to keep a clean country without strict laws. I wish more countries enforced laws like these.
Part 3
Is there any situation people disobey the law?
To be honest, I've never actually seen anyone litter. I'm sure it must still exist to some low extent, but I genuinely think people are afraid to do so because of the fines and police presence. However, I know that no country is perfect and that there are always people who will disobey the law. On another note, I think that perhaps people who come to Singapore are more likely to throw their trash on the ground if it isn’t something enforced in their home country.
Do people like being a policeman in your country?
I would say so. Actually, my father is a police officer and he seems to enjoy it quite a bit, although it is a tough job. Since Singapore has a reputation to maintain, the police force strives their utmost(works extremely hard) to give their all to make sure that Singapore remains among the safest countries. With this said, some police officers feel quite a lot of pressure, which makes it a challenging yet rewarding job.
What qualities should a police officer have?
Firstly, I believe that a police officer must have a high sense of integrity. As corruption is a problem in many countries which prevents progress in a place, it is important that the police officer has a sense of integrity along with morality, honesty, and a genuine concern to make the country safer. Furthermore, they must be hard-working and not too relaxed as there are always people trying to slip through the cracks (do something without being caught) of the law. All in all, they must be a strict, no tolerance sort of individual to be efficient.
Why some people want to become a lawyer?
To be honest, I think some people choose it for the money, as it is a high paid job in many countries. Secondly, some people feel quite passionate about the law and want to dedicate their life to it. Thirdly, there are many different branches of law, such as international, geriatric, criminal, etc., so there are many different opportunities within this career path. As with other jobs, people know in their heart which career is for them!
It is mostly about different characters in the Klondike region of Alaska during the Gold Rush, but also tells about people's struggles in different situations. I was given the book as a present, and I was immediately fascinated by the raw, beautiful but very real world. The writer experienced and wrote about one story in particular. “The Sen Wolf” is about a man who was born into a comfortable life and is suddenly thrust into a dangerous, harsh and pitiless environment aboard a seal hunting ship under a cruel, despotic yet charismatic and intriguing captain. He is faced with a moral dilemma: whether he should light to survive without regard for others, or hold on to values he grew up with in easy circumstances, such as altruism and self sacrifice. In the end he finds strength to stand against the merciless captain.
When I first read the book I was most impressed with the exciting action and imagery in the stories, but as I grew older and read them again the most striking features to me were instead the deeper qualities of character hard to find and to define. It caused me to look further into people, both in books and in real life, for the qualities that made them truly interesting and enduring.
Reading in China
1. Do Chinese people like to read?
Like most countries it depends on individual preference, but I would say it is not so popular an activity as in countries where the pace of life is slower. Most readers in China are students who have to read technical subjects. But reading is becoming more common especially among the young. 1 imagine that as books find a wider audience, reading will become more common.
2. Do young and old people like to read the same books?
No. The interests of young and old vary’ greatly. Young people mostly like fantasy and fiction best. Older people often prefer serious or historical works.
3. What kinds of books are most popular in China?
I think martial arts stories are favorites. Some Chinese classics arc famous and widely read as well. Of course, knowing what is the favorite of many people is difficult.
4. Compare reading habits today to those of the past.
Today education is widely available so many people can read. Also, these days, printing is faster than it once was so many books of different kinds can be printed. In the past fewer people could read and there were fewer books so people enjoyed and appreciated reading more. Modern inventions have also made more time for reading.
5. How do von think reading habits will change in the future?
I am not sure. Maybe reading will become more widespread. Maybe it will become less common as new technology, such as virtual reality, becomes more readily available. Of course people who like to read simply because they can get along with their thoughts will continue to read.
Children and reading
6. Do you think it’s a good idea to teach children to read when they are very young?
Yes. They can learn more. Also they may he able to enjoy a new pastime. Many children, instead of playing games which develop social skills or doing things which promote good values such as reading good books, play computer games and watch TV, which often causes anti-social behavior, anti-social behavior.
7. What do children like to read?
Children especially enjoy reading stones. They also like reading books about nature. If a book has pictures, children will really enjoy it. Many children like reading stories with silly themes often because they were never given anything else. If parents or teachers introduce their children to a wider variety of choices, children will enjoy a broader range of books.
8. Do parents read stories to their children in China?
Some do and some do not. My parents read to me when I was a child, they were teachers. Some of my friends' parents did not read to them. In poor families the parents may not be able to read at all. Of course with their parents being so busy, to even have the time to read is a real challenge in this day and age.
9. How do you think these stories influence children?
Children are very much affected by the stories their parents read to them. These stories arc sometimes the first education a child receives. 1 can remember many of the stories my parents first read to me. Values found in children's books will often affect the young readers. Because their parents are reading the stories, the children will listen more.
10. Why do you think people sometimes idealize characters in stories?
People need to have heroes they can look up to and learn from. Role models are very important in life, as many teachers can tell us. Children often imitate what their heroes or older people do. Idealistic characters in stories have a great effect on individuals; even whole societies have changed to imitate a famous character in a story.
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Describe a meal you would like to invite your friends to
You should say:
who you would invite where you would eat this meal what you would eat and explain why you would choose to eat this food.
I would like to invite my friends to a hot pot meal. I would invite my closest friends, the ones that I hang out with and have the most in common with. I would of course invite my girlfriend so that she could meet my friends. That is important to me. I think my girlfriend should know what I am like when I am with my friends.
I would find a nice restaurant with a good atmosphere where the waiters are friendly and the owners are working to give you the best experience you can have. I would not choose a big monstrous place where everything would seem so impersonal, but instead a restaurant that has a family ambiance.
I would order hot pot with lots of meal, lamb, pork, beef, fish, tofu…mmm…I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I would also order some nice vegetables and noodles, and to top it off, some ice cold beer to wash it down.
I really like hot pot because of the atmosphere it creates of everyone eating together and pulling things from the pot and dipping it in their favorite sauce, just relaxing and enjoying the food and the friendship.
PART 3
Diet
What kinds of food do Chinese people like to eat?
Many Chinese like to eat their vegetables cooked. They enjoy eating food that is fried, steamed, and sometimes boiled, but rarely eat baked food. The only time they will eat bake food is when they have cakes from the store. Most Chinese food is cut in bite-sized pieces before being cooked and served.
How important is eating a healthy diet?
I think eating healthy is a very important part of life. If you don't give your body what it needs then it won't be able to function well. This is why what you eat is so important to how well you are able to do things. Eating well even improves study.
Are there many vegetarians in China?
I believe there are a fair amount of vegetarians. Most Chinese already eat very little meat, so without even trying they are almost vegetarians. However, I think if they had the chance, many Chinese would eat more meat than they do now. Though as health awareness increases I believe there will be a rise in the number of vegetarians in China.
Is the food that people eat today in China different to the food that people used to eat in the past?
I think that in many ways it is quite the same. I do know that in recent years there has been a rise in the number of fast-food restaurant. Many people especially of the younger generation, enjoy going to these restaurants. The actual Chinese food, though, has not seen much change over the years.
How do you think the way we cut will change in the future?
Our eating habits will of course affect the way we will live in the future because of the effect it has on our health. If we eat well then we will have better health as we get older. I believe, though, that as time goes by fast food will become more popular. We will be entering a time in history where going fast will mean the difference between success and failure, so the food industry will change to accommodate the population's demand.
Is fast food popular in China?
Yes, fast food is very popular here in China. I believe the main reason the taste is very different from that of Chinese food. This appeals to the youth of China. Also the advertisements of most fast food restaurants portray their food as cool or western food.
Eating Habits
Who do most Chinese people usually eat with?
Chinese will usually eat with (their family, classmates, or colleagues. Most couples eat together as often as they can. When eating out you will often see groups of friends out together You can also see families sharing some time together over a nice meal.
Do you think it’s important for people to eat with their family?
I think that when you eat with your family it strengthens the family bonds. It helps you get to know each other better and learn more about what each are doing in their lives. It’s very sad when families don't see each other often. Often in China mealtimes are the only time a family spends together.
Do Chinese people often eat out?
I think most family rarely eat out. Usually either the mother or the grandmother of the family will cook and prepare the food It is more common for young singles and professionals to eat out, either alone or with classmates or colleagues. Other married or dating couples will spend a dinner together for special occasions or to get know each other more.
What kind of restaurants do young people in China prefer?
I think they prefer fast-food or western restaurants. Often it's because if s considered cool to eat or take people out to these kinds of restaurants. Or, they enjoy the food because it tastes different from Chinese food. They also may want to accustom themselves to western food and culture, because they want to be comfortable around foreigners or they would like to travel abroad.
How do you think restaurants have changed, over the past few years?
Before, The restaurants did not cater for foreigners at all. The menus were all in Chinese and had no pictures. Now more restaurants, especially in areas with many foreigners, will have menus in English and pictures for those who are not familiar with Chinese dishes
How do you think restaurants will change in the future?
I think that in the future all or nearly all restaurants will have food to eater to different nationalities and food preferences. I think that the standard of both food and service will also improve. They will also probably be more sanitary.
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: India's top startup unicorns — including Paytm, Zomato, BigBasket and Dream11— that count Chinese investors among their largest backers are likely to face delays in raising capital after the government said all foreign direct investments from the world's second-largest economy would be subject to its approval first.A slew of growth and early-stage companies, too, which were in talks with Chinese investors for new investment rounds, will likely face difficulties, while follow-on rounds from existing backers may become increasingly complex to execute, according to investors, lawyers and startup founders."Companies like mine, where they (Chinese investors) already hold a 33% strategic position, are in a tough spot. No one will touch us in this environment," the founder of a unicorn told ET, requesting anonymity. The latest missive could potentially put future funding rounds on hold or at least take longer to execute, he added.Chinese investors — both strategic and financial — have pumped in $3.9 billion in 2019, up from $2 billion in 2018, ET reported earlier. In the process, they have emerged as the biggest backers of the country's fast-growing digital economy, supplanting the United States.China's internet giant Alibaba Group and its affiliate Ant Financial, Tencent Holdings and Fosun RZ Capital have poured in several hundred million dollars into a large number of Indian startups, including unicorns such as Paytm, Zomato, Delhivery, BigBasket, PolicyBazaar, Udaan, Oyo Hotels & Homes, Ola and Dream11.Dream11 officially declined to participate in the story, while Paytm, Big-Basket and Zomato did not respond to emails till press time Sunday.For now, the startup ecosystem is waiting for detailed notifications under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and from the Reserve Bank of India, expected in the next two weeks."It will spook Chinese investors, even those that are looking to invest in sectors that come under the automatic route, such as e-commerce, fintech, digital services and logistics, which aren't perceived as sensitive sectors," Atul Pandey, partner at leading law firm Khaitan & Co, told ET.According to Pandey, a Chinese investor participating in an upcoming funding round in its existing portfolio companies will also need to get necessary approvals from the government before continuing to chip in money.India's FDI policy review is the latest after a number of countries globally, particularly in Europe, issued warnings related to predatory capital investments by Beijing, following their respective markets go into a tailspin at a time of downbeat valuations during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 75241870Investors and startup founders sharply criticised the government's move. "We're a capital-deficient country. There isn't enough domestic capital to sustain economic growth. Yet we continue scoring own goals like retrospective taxation, transfer pricing, super-rich surcharge and now FDI approval. We're not hurting the investors, we're hurting our economy," Ritesh Banglani, partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, wrote on microblogging platform Twitter.Legal experts also said that enforcing the notification would be "close to impossible.""The impracticality of making small investments/cheques in startups subject to government approvals is overwhelming. Implementing it is almost next to impossible," said Santosh Pai, partner at Link Legal India Law Services, which advises a number of leading Chinese investors in India.Pai pointed to a recent FDI law enacted by China that came into effect in January, which has a reciprocal principle stating that it would take retaliatory action against companies that operate in China but which originate from a country that has discriminated against its investors."One can keep searching in every direction, but will keep coming up against these questions, which will hopefully be accounted for in the forthcoming notifications to implement this press note," Pai said.Till then, legal representatives of the Chinese investors in India are advising them to close deals over the next two weeks before the anticipated FEMA notification.They have also begun to evaluate alternative investment structures from the ones in use currently."With regard to all transactions that are currently in the pipeline, the advice will be to try and close it before the FEMA notification is issued. The finer points can be discussed at a later stage," Pandey of Khaitan & Co said.
The government's move to screen foreign direct investment (FDI) from China will also cover overseas transactions in other nations that involve the country.For instance, if a Chinese company invests in an entity overseas that has in turn invested in India, this will need to be approved as per the government press note issued on Saturday.The measure is wide enough to apply to additional investment in existing ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries of multinationals. It will cover cases in which the direct investor may be from a country not covered but the ultimate investor is from China.The Indian entity receiving the investment will have to report and seek approval for such investments executed overseas or indirect investments where the beneficial ownership is in the seven countries covered under the notification – China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Afghanistan. 75241213Multi-layered Transactions"If a company that has invested here sees any Chinese investment overseas in an entity that has indirectly invested in India, (it) will need to take approval," said a government official.The guideline will also be applicable to multi-layered transactions where there is Chinese investment at any level.Private equity investors and venture capital funds that have investments from China will also need prior approval before they make any investment, even ones that have already been pledged.The new rule announced on Saturday via Press Note 3 of 2021 has made prior government clearance mandatory for any investment coming from countries that share a land border with India even if it's in sectors that are on the automatic route."In the event of the transfer of ownership of any existing or future FDI in an entity in India, directly or indirectly, resulting in the beneficial ownership falling within the restriction/ purview," it said."The underlying idea to cover the beneficial ownership, under the said guidelines, is to ensure that both direct and indirect investments are covered and go through the regulatory scrutiny," said Vikas Vasal, national leader, tax, Grant Thornton in India. This will ensure that the intent of the regulation is not circumvented through multi-layered structures, such as routing it through a country not covered, he said.Further clarification is required on the reporting mechanism and identification of beneficial ownership structures such as the percentage of holding to ensure full compliance with the rules in both letter and spirit, Vasal said."This move of the government is in line and consonance with the global sentiments and concerns raised globally on possible acquisition/ takeover attempt by Chinese companies," said Rakesh Nangia, chairman, Nangia Andersen Consulting. "Similar steps have been taken by a few other counties also."Nangia said the Indian government has not prohibited such investments but only seeks to regulate them, directly or indirectly.
NEW DELHI: The government, keen to prevent job cuts, may soon pay both the employer and employee's share of provident fund contributions at more companies.An announcement on this could be part of an economic package that is in the works, a top government official told ET.As part of a ₹1.7 lakh crore package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26, the government had said it would pay the entire provident fund contribution of those who earn less than ₹15,000 per month in companies that employ up to 100 people, where 90% draw salaries of less than ₹15,000 per month.This was for three months and entailed a total estimated cost of ₹4,800 crore. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has six crore subscribers. 75239313The current proposal will seek to relax the 100 workers' limit and the stipulation that 90% of workers should have drawn a salary of ₹15,000 per month, the official said."…this cap of 100 employees may go altogether or substantially raised to cover more and more establishments," the official, aware of the deliberations, told ET.The usual PF contribution is 24% of a worker's basic pay, of which 12% comes from the employee and the rest from the employer."The government is working out the additional financial implication under the two scenarios – doing away with the cap altogether or raising it substantially, based on which a decision would be taken," the official said, requesting anonymity.The initial strict ceiling on government contributions was because it was targeted at giving relief to MSMEs that have been hit the hardest due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 virus outbreak.There is now pressure on the government to raise it to cover all establishments to ease the burden on employers and prevent job losses and salary cuts.The labour ministry has already asked the EPFO to carry out a ground level assessment on job losses or salary cuts and prepare a report that can be placed before top policymakers.
Mumbai: Here's some good news on jobs in times of Covid-19 — over 200,000 jobs have been advertised by a range of employers in the past four weeks, and over 25% of these were posted last week, according to job postings data tracked and curated from companies' official job pages on LinkedIn and direct postings on top job boards.Some of the top employers are Amazon, Google, Tech Mahindra, Walmart Labs, VMWare, IBM, Capgemini, Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase, Flipkart, Byju's, Grofers and BigBasket, as per data collated for ET by search firm Xpheno.Around 80,000 of the openings are entry-level positions, which is good news for fresh graduates. Junior and mid-senior level openings account for a sizeable 40%, showing that opportunities for cross-company movements at these levels are available.Xpheno's analysis shows over 91% of these are full-time openings and the remaining are a mix of contractual and part-time. IT and ITeS account for over 79% of the total openings, while ecommerce and BFSI account for about 15%.Among the most advertised jobs are those for senior software engineers, software engineers, programmers and full-stack developers. Sales executives top the list of non-technical job roles.HR heads said companies have kept job application channels active to ensure the supply of talent and a smooth return to hiring once the lockdown is lifted and work resumes, they said.75241262'No Stop on Hiring'SV Nathan, chief talent officer at Deloitte, said: "We have not put a stop on hiring. In uncertain times companies will slow down hiring, but for positions that have clear visibility, one has to continue the search.""Organisations have to prepare themselves for tomorrow," he added. "We will continue to hire as per plan and client requirements," said a Capgemini spokesperson. "The hiring will be split between freshers and laterals," the spokesperson added.Harshvendra Soin, chief people officer at Tech Mahindra, said: "We are looking at our internal talent, and hiring externally for niche skills."Marquee startups are also keeping their job postings regularly published and refreshed. Although startup job openings are down 50%, large players are scouting for talent. Online grocer Big-Basket has about 10,000 openings for its logistics roles, while Grofers has about 5,000. "Gaming, edutech, digital content and OTT players are just announcing hiring numbers. The lockdown has meant higher consumption of digital content such as eLearning and eTutoring… also, the school season is coming," said Kamal Karanth, cofounder, Xpheno.
MUMBAI: Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, has mandated Sunil D'Souza, the new chief of its consumer products arm, to make the company nimble and chase sales growth that eluded the company in the past.D'souza, who took charge as CEO of Tata Consumer Products early this month due to the ongoing Covid 19-led lockdown, has to build a scalable FMCG business both through acquisitions and organic growth to create shareholder value. The company's former head Ajoy Misra, who retired in March, will be an advisor for a short period of time, officials said.Speaking exclusively to ET, D'souza said he is reviewing the business structure to break hierarchy, focus on action bias and ensure faster decision making to create a future ready organisation."Simplification is a "mantra" that we are planning to drive across the organisation" he said.Tata Chemicals de-merged its consumer product business into Tata Global Beverages to create a combined entity - Tata Consumer Products - with revenues of ?9,099 crore and EBITDA of over ?1,150 crore. India remains its largest business, accounting for 61% of the overall sales followed by the US and UK at 18% and 12% each.D'souza is currently integrating the businesses to unlock synergies and create a common execution platform in terms of organisation structure, go-to-market and supply chain."There are significant opportunities for the company to move up the value chain into more value added and premium products in the food and beverage space. This is part of the growth strategy work stream that we are working on currently," said D'souza, who worked previously with Whirlpool and is known to be a hands on executive, decisive with the ability to take people along and build strong teams.To begin with, the new management team will initially tweak the business strategy by region and also create profitable distributors of scale to expand active reach in market. "While we have brought two businesses together, the key is to now take an outside-in view, a clean sheet start and build a business for the future, almost like building a start up," said D'souza.Tata Consumer Products will also focus on multiplying distribution, focused and faster innovation and stronger cash flows to invest in growth.Tea is its largest segment for the company and accounts for 57% of its overall business. In India, where tea is consumed in nearly 94% of all households, Tata is the second largest player by value and the market leader in volume terms. However, regional companies control more than half the segment, an opportunity it can cash in The company's sales and profit growth have largely remained flat in recent years and its business is more prone to global commodity price volatility. Also, the coffee business in the US is sluggish and the black tea market in the UK has been declining. The company has been exiting non-performing international operations in Russia, Sri Lanka and China.IIFL, in a recent investor note, said exposure to a largely-staple category and consumer up-stocking in international geographies makes Tata Consumer one of the best performers within FMCG universe during Jan-March quarter.
After logging gains for two consecutive weeks on global cues and government stimulus hopes, the domestic equity market is going to have a reality check in the coming week as the earnings season is going to gather pace. This, along with developments on the coronavirus front, will be among the key factors guiding investors in the week ahead.Coronavirus cases continued to mount across the world, including India, raising worries. However, possible resumption of economic activities for select sectors from Monday will provide some relief."There is not much expectation from the quarter earnings and the market seems to have already price in that disappointment. Nonetheless, investors will be watching out for management commentaries regarding the business outlook and earnings guidance," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.Going by the buzz on Dalal Street, here are the key factors that will be steering the market in the days ahead:Q4 earnings: Infy, ACCMarch quarter earnings season is picking up speed. After TCS and Wipro announced their numbers last week, Infosys and Tata Elxsi will come out with their numbers on April 20; ACC, CRISIL, Den Networks, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Tejas Networks will follow suit on April 21. MindTree will announce its numbers on April 24 and Persistent Systems on April 25.RBI's liquidity boosterMarket participants were left disappointed as the central bank did not announce fresh open market operations to buy dated securities that could have led to a fall in bond yields and increased liquidity in the market. However, RBI did announce TLTRO 2.0 (targeted long-term repo operation), aiming to inject Rs 50,000 crore in the market, targeted mainly at NBFCs and microfinance institutions.Output cut impact on crude priceDespite an agreement among the oil producing nations globally to cut crude oil production from May, the prices have slumped amid falling demand. As many countries and regions are under a lockdown, transportation has come to a standstill, hitting demand and leading to a supply glut. Brent oil futures fell over 10 per cent to Rs 28.08 last week.Rupee at record lowsConcerns over coronavirus and the consequent economic distress are weighing on the rupee, which along with outflows from local equities may push the rupee to sub-77 levels soon. A lower rupee will make imports more expensive for India."There is renewed strength in the Dollar Index, which has pressured the domestic unit further to a new record low of 76.86 mark. Market participants are looking forward to a second round of stimulus from the federal government, and that could trigger some gains. The domestic unit is likely to trade in the 75.30 – 78.00 band over the next two weeks," said Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking.FII outflow dropsForeign institutional investors (FII) outflows have come down and the total exits last week stood at just Rs 857 crore and April outflow so far at Rs 3,808 crore. Overseas portfolio managers were earlier selling in hordes as they faced redemption pressures from clients. In 2020 till now, they have pulled out Rs 1,20,408 crore from Indian markets as per NSDL data.Coronavirus count risingDespite harsh measures to contain coronavirus, the number of cases in India has neared 15,000 and total deaths topped 500. Globally, confirmed Covid cases have crossed the 22.5 lakh market with nearly 1.6 lakh people dead. However, many countries and regions have reported plateauing of cases and plans to open their economies gradually.Factories, construction to resumeMany agriculture-related and 'essential' factories and businesses are set to resume operations from April 20 after the government decided to relax lockdown in the less-affected areas. Construction work, which employs a large number of labourers, will resume. If India is successful in reopening the economic engines without any health hazards, it would give hope for others as well.Economic stimulus awaitedDalal Street is speculating on an economic stimulus package for businesses which, if announced during the next week, may soothe the nerves of investors. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday reiterated India would soon announce fresh relief measures and economic stimulus. However, she did not provide any timeline for the same.Covid drug found?With reports claiming possible breakthrough in drug development for Covid-19 – Gilead's remdesivir and a vaccine developed by an Oxford scientist – hopes of mitigating the pandemic are also rising. More drug trials are on across the world, and any further development on that front can help lift the morale of market participants in the days ahead.Technical outlook weakNifty50 formed a Hammer pattern on the weekly chart, indicating subtle weakness. Such Hammer patterns are bullish when made near bottoms and bearish when made after rallies. "Nifty50 will face stiff resistance at 9,300, which is a 38% retracement of the entire fall. Any weakness below 9,000 level will trigger another round of selloff. Going ahead, the market is likely to consolidate and face selling pressure at higher levels. Selling on weakness is advisable for traders with weekly highs as stops," said Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote.
NEW DELHI: Cement maker ACC is expected to report a double-digit drop in sales, and lower single-digit fall in March quarter profit. Analysts said healthy cement prices during the quarter will restrict profits from falling much in the wake of production halt towards the fag-end of the quarter.Emkay Global projects profit to fall 2.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 232.20 crore from Rs 238.90 crore a year-ago. Brokerage Elara Capital sees a 3.8 per cent de-growth in profit at Rs 258 crore.The cement producer will report March quarter earnings on Monday.Centrum sees sales dropping 14.6 per cent YoY to Rs 3,289 crore from Rs 3,849 crore, thanks to a 13.9 per cent drop in sales volumes. Emkay expects sales to fall 10.6 per cent YoY to Rs 3,504 crore while Elara Capital sees a 10.8 per cent fall at Rs 3,432 crore.Centrum said realisation will stay almost flat at Rs 4,789 per tonne compared with Rs 4,783 a year ago. The brokerage expects Ebitda margin to rise to 17.2 per cent from 13.5 per cent in the year-ago quarter.Emkay does not see any material rise in Ebitda margin, which it sees at 13.6 per cent. It projectes Ebitda per tonne at Rs 721 vs Rs 700 YoY.The cement industry witnessed a gradual uptick in demand and prices during Q4FY20. However, the government's efforts to contain coronavirus outbreak have led to closing of cement factories since March 22-23, which has resulting in an abrupt halt to production and sales."Cement firms are likely to report a YoY fall in volumes, while healthy cement prices will limit YoY fall in earnings," Elara said.
Tata Consultancy Services chief executive Rajesh Gopinathan discussed how the deal landscape is shaping up for the IT services provider and the underlying assumptions that provide confidence for a recovery following the Covid-19 virus outbreak, in an exclusive interaction with ET's Anandi Chandrasekhar and Raghu Krishnan. Edited Excerpts:You seem to be more optimistic than others about a faster recovery?During the global financial crisis (in 2008), the regulators and the world discovered that a large segment of the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) market actually had a very weak foundation. When banks became inoperative because of the structural meltdown it actually cascaded into the real economy. Whereas, if you look at the current situation, no industry has suddenly discovered a structural problem. There is (now) an actual pause in demand, but in no industry – even the most impacted ones like travel and hospitality – has there been a structural problem. This situation has a very 'zero or one' kind of nature. We need a solution on the medical side and on the health side, but it is not as if the actual economy is spiralling out of control. That's the basic operating model and the assumptions on which we are basing it. The question is really not whether it (recovery) is (in) Q3 or Q4, the point is that the recovery should be fairly fast.You mentioned secure borderless workspaces. How will its capabilities impact what offices of TCS will look like in future?We have been working on that for the last couple of years, what we call, open agile delivery centres. The secure borderless workspace is actually taking this further and saying not just do a co-locate… do this in a much more distributed and virtualised manner. Hundred percent of our people were working hundred percent of the time from offices. Now, we are almost at 0/0. We don't think this is stable, but definitely we're not going to go back to 100/100. It doesn't really matter whether it is 25 or 50. The point is, it'll never be 100/100. And, that is the way in which we build out our future capacity and infrastructure.75241635Last year, you won over $25 billion worth new contracts. Are clients continuing to spend on large deals?To predict both the volume and the nature of large deals is going to be very difficult. Enough customers are actually going ahead and closing on some of the conversations. One of our key customers in Germany signed a contract in the last week of March. Another customer in mortgage insurance in the US wanted to get the transition through because they didn't want to lose the momentum.
Interview: Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate digitalisation, says Anjali Bansal, founder, Avaana Capital Startups must maintain their financial health by conserving cash, cutting down on costs and renegotiating their existing contracts.
Basic customs duty on solar modules being planned: MNRE secy India currently has solar modules manufacturing capacity of 7-8 gigawatts (GW). This includes the units of players like Adani Solar, Tata Solar, Waaree Energies and Vikram Solar.
Easing of curbs: Mandi arrivals pick up, but harvesting hit by labour shortage Truck drivers, traders, retailers, transporters and other stakeholders, who were facing problems in inter-state movement of any commodities, have been asked to seek help from the call centre.
Direct Benefit Transfer of Rs 36,659 crore since beginning of lockdown DBT ensures that the cash benefit is directly credited into the account of the beneficiary, eliminating the risk of leakage as well as improving efficiency.
Power demand: Forecasts wide off the mark, PLFs seen falling further During FY12-17, a cumulative generation capacity of 99,209 MW was added against a target of 88,537 MW, outpacing the growth in demand and resulting in a declining trend of PLFs.
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