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In today’s match of ICC cricket World Cup 2019 (CWC), the Pakistan cricket team, led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, will lock horns with Jason Holder’s Windies cricket team at Trent Bridge stadium in Nottingham. Pakistan will look to draw inspiration from the 2017 Champions Trophy win in England two years ago. However, Pakistan’s record in One Day Internationals (ODI) since then has not been very awe-inspiring: They have lost 21 of the 32 ODIs since their Champions Trophy triumph, and won only nine. While Pakistan at present has a losing streak of 10 which they would like to break today, West Indies have been in good form in recent times. The latter held England to a stalemate at home earlier this year. They also boast some big power hitters like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shai Hope in their batting line-up,. which can tear apart any opposition and make a mockery of their bowling attack. Head to head, too, Windies have an edge. They have won 70 of their 133 matches against Pakistan, whil...

Since the earliest days of virtual chess and solitaire, video games have been a playing field for developing artificial intelligence (AI). Each victory of machine against human has helped make algorithms smarter and more efficient. But in order to tackle real world problems – such as automating complex tasks including driving and negotiation – these algorithms must navigate more complex environments than board games, and learn teamwork. Teaching AI how to work and interact with other players to succeed had been an insurmountable task – until now. In a new study, researchers detailed a way to train AI algorithms to reach human levels of performance in a popular 3D multiplayer game – a modified version of Quake III Arena in Capture the Flag mode. Even though the task of this game is straightforward – two opposing teams compete to capture each other’s flags by navigating a map – winning demands complex decision-making and an ability to predict and respond to the actions of other p...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday surprised markets by naming Nirmala Sitharaman , formerly the country’s defence minister, as the next finance minister at a time when Asia’s third-largest economy is stuttering. Sitharaman, 59, will become the senior most woman minister in Modi’s cabinet and the second woman to head the finance department after late former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Amit Shah, chief of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was appointed as the minister of home affairs, giving him responsibility for internal security with a control over the federal police. Regarded as the architect of Modi’s landslide victory in the recently concluded general election, Shah replaces senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who will now be defence minister. Shah had been tipped as a possible candidate for the finance ministry in recent days, but the job went to Sitharaman, who has an economics background and was briefly the junior finance minister in Modi’s first t...

EPFO recruitment 2019: Employees Provident Fund Organisation has come out with a notice inviting interested and eligible candidates to apply for 280 vacancies for the post of Assistant section officer. Candidates can apply online from May 30, 2019 to June 25, 2019 through the official website https://www.epfindia.gov.in . EPFO will conduct an online exam for the posts on July 30 and July 31. The entry level pay for the posts is Rs 44,900 How to apply Candidates can apply online upto 25.06.2019 and no other mode of application will be accepted. IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE NOTED BY CANDIDATES BEFORE APPLYING ONLINE (i) Before applying online, candidates should scan their: photograph (4.5cm × 3.5cm) signature (with black ink) left thumb impression (on white paper with black or blue ink) a hand written declaration (on a white paper with black ink) ensuring that the all these scanned documents adhere to the required specifications as given in Para 4.II of this Notice. (ii) Signatur...

In today’s match of ICC cricket World Cup 2019 (CWC 2019), the Eoin Morgan’s England cricket team will lock horns with South Africa cricket team led by Faf du Plessis at The Kennington Oval in London. An embarrassing first round exit in cricket world cup 2015 prompted them to rethink of their approach towards the 50-over cricket. The transformation has been remarkable, with England national cricket team climbing to the top of the one-day international (ODI) rankings and twice setting a new record for the highest ODI total, which now stands at 481 for six. On the other hand, South Africa have suffered plenty of cricket World Cup heartache which earned them the title of ‘chokers’. However, they are coming into the ICC CWC 2019 as an underdog with most of their players are expected to retire after the show-piece event. Head to head, South Africa have an advantage as they won 29 out of 59 matches while one match ended in a tie and 3 matches ended with no result. ALSO READ : These gor...

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar will make his debut as an on-air expert in the ICC ODI World Cup, starting Thursday in the United Kingdom. The Master Blaster will take his place in the commentary box ahead of the tournament opener between hosts England and South Africa. Tendulkar joins an illustrious panel of experts in the pre-show on Star Sports. He will have his own segment 'Sachin Opens Again'. The 46-year-old, who has represented India in six World Cups, holds the record for scoring the highest number of runs in a single edition of the World Cup, scoring 673 in 2003. India opens its campaign on June 5 against South Africa .

On February 1, two experienced Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots died when their newly upgraded Mirage 2000-I fighter crashed while taking-off in Bengaluru. A Court of Inquiry (CoI) investigating the accident is now confronting the worrying possibility of a glitch in the Mirage 2000’s flight computer that kicks in without warning, causing the aircraft to behave unpredictably. IAF flight records examined by the CoI have revealed at least four such incidents in the past. In each of these, a flying Mirage 2000 has, suddenly and without command from the pilot, jerked its nose towards the ground. Then, as spontaneously, the nose was jerked upwards. Each time, the aircraft has continued this up-and-down jerking — termed “pitch oscillations” — for several seconds before resuming normal flight. Members of the CoI from the IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), the National Aeronautics Laboratory (NAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) are veering round to the belief that such an inc...

Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo is set to bring its recently introduced Reno smartphone series to India with the launch of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom and the Oppo Reno on May 28. The two phones and will go on sale exclusively on home-grown e-commerce platform Flipkart . Oppo Reno 10x Zoom specifications, features, camera, and more The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, as the name suggests, is a camera-centric smartphone with a 13-megapixel periscope telephoto lens on the back, capable of up to 10x hybrid lossless zoom. The phone sports two more optics on the back – a 48MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens. Another key feature of the device is shark fin shaped selfie camera (16MP) module, which comes out from the top. The phone sports a 6.6-inch AMOLED screen with no notch, thanks to mechanical pop-up selfie camera module. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip (SoC), mated with up to 8GB of RAM. The phone has a 4,065 mAh battery, supported by VOOC 3.0 fast cha...

Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo is set to bring its recently introduced Reno smartphone series to India with the launch of the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom and the  Oppo Reno  on May 28. The two phones and will go on sale exclusively on home-grown e-commerce platform  Flipkart . Oppo Reno 10x Zoom specifications, features, camera, and more The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom, as the name suggests, is a camera-centric smartphone with a 13-megapixel periscope telephoto lens on the back, capable of up to 10x hybrid lossless zoom. The phone sports two more optics on the back – a 48MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens. Another key feature of the device is shark fin shaped selfie camera (16MP) module, which comes out from the top. The phone sports a 6.6-inch AMOLED screen with no notch, thanks to mechanical pop-up selfie camera module. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip (SoC), mated with up to 8GB of RAM. The phone has a 4,065 mAh battery, supported by V...

Aimed at niche gamers, performance-centric gaming smartphones are making inroads in India. After the launch of Asus ROG (review) and Nubia Red Magic (review), Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi’s sub-brand Black Shark is set to bring to India its flagship smartphone on Monday (May 27). Named Black Shark 2 , the phone was unveiled in March in the company’s home country China. The Flipkart-exclusive smartphone will be unveiled at 1 PM and goes on sale at the e-commerce platform soon. Being a gaming smartphone, the Black Shark 2 boasts flagship hardware, including Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip (SoC), up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, multilayer liquid cooling system and gaming-centric content and services. The phone sports a 6.39-inch AMOLED screen of fullHD+ resolution, stretched in tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display supports 100 per cent DCI-P3 colour gamut. Imaging is covered by a dual camera module on the back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor...

It seems chowkidaar would not be guarding BJP’s interest on the back of which it won its massive mandate. The tagline has been dropped from the Twitter handle of the PM. And other leaders, sources said, might follow suit. “The time has come to take the chowkidaar spirit to the next level. The word chowkidaar goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!” Modi tweeted on Thursday evening. According to sources in Bharatiya Janata Party , the party is going to coin a new term that would replace chowkidaar. This term would portray how the government would function over the next five years. “The people of India became chowkidaars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidaar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption and cronyism,” the PM said in another tweet. Read Complete Article

Film: India's Most Wanted ; Starring: Arjun Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma; Writer and Director Rajkumar Gupta; Rating: ****(4 stars) In a milieu of bustling violence, terrorism has been reduced to a formula in our cinema. A pretext to show larger-than-life villains with heroes to match. But what about those real terrorists and those unsung heroes who have apprehended dreaded terrorists not for fame recognition or, God forbid, money. But simply because to them, that seems the right thing to do. India's Most Wanted is that rare film on counter-terrorism which seems to show no inclination to overplay its cards, Rajkumar Gupta's target here is to not show his hero indulging in scene-stealing heroics (the kind Akshay Kumar would be seen doing), but to put the protagonist, a docile humble unostentatious man Prabhat who never smiles because...well, what is there to smile about? Have you seen the number of bomb blasts that have occurred in the last two decades? Read Complete Artic...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro's) workhorse PSLV-C46 , carrying RISAT-2B, a radar-imaging earth observation satellite, took off successfully from the Sriharikota space port. The satellite will beef up India’s surveillance capabilities in the sky. After a successful countdown that started at 04:30 a.m. (IST) on Tuesday, the rocket was launched at 05:30 a.m. on Wednesday early morning as scheduled from the the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, near Chennai. About 15 minutes into flight, the rocket placed RISAT-2B into an orbit of about 555 km. Stating that he was extremely happy to announce that PSLV-C46 has successfully injected RISAT-2B in precise orbit, Isro chairman K Sivan said with this mission, the PSLV rocket had crossed the landmark of lofting of 50 tonnes since it started flying. Adding that the PSLV satellite has put into orbit 350 satellites, he said, “The rocket had a piggy back payload, the indigenously developed Vikram computer chip that w...

Skullcandy Set is a pair of wired earphones for sports and fitness enthusiasts. Priced at Rs 2,999, the earphones are sweat resistant that makes them a suitable pair for people with active lifestyle. Besides, the pair also have a microphone and a call controller, which also doubles up as a track controller, that makes it easy to take calls, change audio tracks, play/pause music, etc. on the go -- when connected with a smartphone. Being budget earphones, the Skullcandy Set come in a generous package, which includes three different sizes of earbuds – small, medium and large – a pair of gels, and the main unit. The earphones come with two-year warranty that make these pairs a good play in the budget segment. Design The Skullcandy Set have an in-ear design with changeable ear buds that are neither too hard nor too soft, making them comfortable to use while providing good noise isolation as well. For sports enthusiasts, the earphones also have hook-shaped elongated removable gel...

The Redmi Y3 , a selfie camera-centric smartphone from Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, is a successor to the Redmi Y2 (review), with more than just a few cosmetic upgrades. Its front camera has higher megapixels, and the phone boasts a new design, mid-tier processor, and decent battery capacity. The sum of its features and specifications makes the smartphone an all-rounder in its segment, at least on paper. Let us take a look at how it fares in real life: Design and display The Xiaomi Redmi Y3 takes design cues from the Redmi Note 7-series. It has a metallic chassis and glass on the front and back. The glass body makes it prone to fingerprints which dulls it reflective properties and requires regular cleaning to maintain the sheen. The phone’s front is covered with a 6.26-inch screen and has a dot shaped notch on top to house the front camera. Though bright and vivid, the screen is not the sharpest in the segment due to its HD+ resolution. It also lacks the Widevine L1 certification...