Four-storey building collapses in Mumbai’s Dongri, 12 killed

At least 12 people were killed and many feared trapped under debris after a four-storey building that collapsed in Mumbai’s Dongri.

The building collapsed at around 11.40 am on Tuesday. Fire tenders and three teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) are carrying out rescue operations — looking for survivors. Five people, including three children, have been rescued so far.

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As per Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell, the four-storey Kesarbai building collapsed at Tandel street in Dongri, Mumbai.

Two teams of the NDRF are currently at the site of the building collapse and are carrying out rescue operations.

An aerial shot of the spot showed that the collapsed four-storey building was situated in a congested, crowded neighbourhood with structures on all four sides.

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Realme X brings pop-up selfie camera, in-display fingerprint at Rs 16,999

Chinese electronics maker BKK Electronics’ smartphone brand Realme on July 15 launched in India the Realme X. The Flipkart-exclusive smartphone comes in 4GB and 8GB RAM variants, priced at Rs 16,999 and Rs 19,999, respecively. Both the RAM variants come with 128 GB of internal storage, with no provision for a microSD card to expand storage.

The phone comes in two colours – blue and white – and two limited editions, Spiderman and Master (inspired by Onion and Garlic). The Spiderman edition comes bundled with a Spiderman-inspired protective case and theme. The Master edition has a disctinctive design inspired from Onion and Garlic. Both these limited-edition devices come only in 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration, priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 20,999, respectively.

In terms of specifications, the Realme X has a 16-megapixel motorised pop-up selfie camera, 48MP + 5MP dual camera set-up on the rear, AMOLED screen, in-display fingerprint sensor and Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 system-on-chip. The phone has a 6.53-inch screen, with no notch or punch-hole, stretched in a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio and protected by a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Powering the phone is a 3,765 mAh battery, which supports OPPO’s proprietary VOOC 3.0 20W fast charging through bundled USB type-C charger. The phone boots the Android Pie operating system-based ColorOS 6 user interface.Read more about Realme X brings pop-up selfie camera, in-display fingerprint at Rs 16,999 on Business Standard.

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Google Maps gets 3 India-first features, to show dining offers and more

Google Maps has launched three new, more personalised features for Indian users that will enable them to get better recommendations for dining experiences, and other attractions in and near the location they are in.

The Google Maps app will have an “Explore” tab, “For You” feature, and “Offers”. While the Explore tab has existed for some time, the idea is to provide more personalised suggestions based on search history. “We’ve heard that Indian Maps users prefer a more assertive and visual browsing experience that is easy to access. To reflect this, we have a redesigned, India-focused Explore tab, the For You feature, and dining Offers. This will help Google Maps users discover a new side to their city, whether looking for things to do around town, getting offers on dining out, or getting recommendations that are personalised to their unique tastes,” said Krish Vitaldevara, director, Google Maps.

As part of this update, seven new tabs have been added to the “Explore” tab — restaurants, petrol pumps, ATMs, offers, shopping, hotels and chemists. Google said that 20 million users were engaging with the Explore feature in Maps on a monthly basis. The “Offers” feature will allow users to find deals and discounts at restaurants in 11 Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad.

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When will we finally learn we cannot predict people’s character from face?

Researchers recently learned that the US Immigrationand Customs Enforcement used facial recognition on millions of driver’s licence photographs without the licence-holders’ knowledge, the latest revelation about governments employing the technology in ways that threaten civil liberties.

But the surveillance potential of facial recognition — its ability to create a “perpetual lineup” — isn’t the only cause for concern. The technological frontiers being explored by questionable researchers and unscrupulous start-ups recall the discredited pseudosciences of physiognomy and phrenology, which purport to use facial structure and head shape to assess character and mental capacity.

Artificial intelligence and modern computing are giving new life and a veneer of objectivity to these debunked theories, which were once used to legitimise slavery and perpetuate Nazi race “science”. Those who wish to spread essentialist theories of racial hierarchy are paying attention. In one blog, for example, a contemporary white nationalist claimed that “physiognomy is real” and “needs to come back as a legitimate field of scientific inquiry”.

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Amazon Prime Day sale begins today: The best deals and what’s on offer

E-commerce giant Amazon has launched Prime Day salefor its Prime customers. The sale on the website will last for 2 days, beginning July 15. According to the website, over 1,000 products across the categories have been launched. For early access to the special deals, Amazon is allowing Echo device owners to shop with Alexa starting today. Simply ask, “Alexa, what are my deals?” to know the best deals across categories, the official release notes.

Amazon has provided various coupons. These discount coupons are available across categories. Buyers can collect the coupons and avail of the discount at checkout. More than 33,000 coupons are available for customers.

Amazon has listed a range of products and offered discounts on them as well. Home appliances, electronics, home decor, and several other categories have various launches and discounted products. In the mobile segment, several new launches are lined up. OnePlus 7 is available on the website priced at Rs 32,999. Also, Oppo F11 Pro is being launched for Rs 23,990.

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The car industry is actually reinventing the wheel to keep up with robocars

The car industry is reinventing the wheel to prepare for autonomous vehicles.

Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., whose roots stretch back to when Henry Ford was building his Model T, is developing a “smart tire” that can monitor its own air pressure and temperature, and eventually respond by itself to changes in road conditions.

Yet it’s more than just tires that are being changed. Koito Manufacturing Co., AGC Inc. and Lear Corp. are putting semiconductors and sensors inside headlights, glass and seats to make them as intelligent as the cars driving themselves.

Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC, Intel Corp.’s Mobileye NV and Baidu Inc. dominate the core technology for autonomous driving, yet suppliers still count on finding their own space in the business. Parts for advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving are expected to become a $57 billion market within a decade, according to BIS Research, and old-school companies born during the early days of the automobile know they must either adapt or risk extinction.

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PAN not linked to Aadhaar card will become invalid from September

The government will invalidate all PAN cardsthat are not linked to Aadhaar by September 1. At the moment 180 out of the existing 400 million PAN cards are not linked to Aadhaar.

To validate and continue using the existing PAN cards, citizens will have to link them to Aadhaar. Or else, they will be permitted to use Aadhaar instead for filing returns and while making other high-value transactions, specified under the Income Tax Act. Those who cite an Aadhaar number, which is not already linked to a PAN number, for tax returns and other specified transactions after September 1, will get a fresh one from the Income Tax Department. This is how the Aadhaar-PAN linkage, proposed in the Finance Bill, 2019 will be rolled out.

The Budget fine print also reveals the amended I-T Act would put the onus on the person receiving any document relating to specified high-value transactions or tax returns, to ensure that the PAN or the Aadhaar number are duly quoted, and as importantly “authenticated”.

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Vivo Z1Pro first sale today on Flipkart: Price, discount details, specs

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo’s smartphone the Vivo Z1Pro goes on sale today (July 11), exclusively on Flipkart and the Vivo e-store. The phone comes in three RAM and storage variants – 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB – priced at Rs 14,990, Rs 16,990 and Rs 17,990, respectively. The phone comes in three colour designs – sonic black, sonic blue and mirror black. As part of its launch offer, the Vivo Z1Pro gets a discount of Rs 750 on ICICI debit and credit cards.

The Vivo Z1Pro has a triple camera module on the back and an in-display camera on the front. The triple camera module on the back features a 16-megapixel primary sensor, an 8MP ultra wide-angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor. The camera module supports artificial intelligence-based auto scene recognition, which detects the scene automatically and adjusts the setting best suited for objects in frame. The camera also has multiple modes such as backlight HDR, portrait bokeh, portrait light effects, AR stickers, slow motion, time-lapse photography, AI Beauty, etc. The selfie camera has a 32MP sensor.

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Railways on recruitment drive, to fill up 294,000 vacancies: Goyal tells LS

More than 298,000 positions were vacant at Railways as on June 1 this year and recruitment process is going on for over 294,000 employees, according to the government. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that more than 461,000 lakh people were recruited in Railways over the last decade.

Noting that filling up of vacancies is an ongoing process, Goyal said cadre strength is decided after taking into consideration various factors, including leave reserves and trainee reserves.

“The number of employees were 16,54,985 in 1991 and 12,48,101 in 2019. However, this has not affected the service of Railways,” Goyal said in a written reply.

Vacancies are filled through Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and Railway Recruitment Cells (RRCs).

As per data provided in the written reply, there were 2,98,574 vacancies across A, B, C and erstwhile D categories at the Railways as on June 1, 2019.

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LG W10, W30 go on sale with cashback offers from Yes Bank, Jio: Know more

South Korean electronics major LG’s recently launched affordable smartphones, the LG W10 and the LG W30, go on sale on July 10, exclusively on Amazon India. Part of the company’s India-centric W-series smartphones, the LG W10 and LG W30 are priced at Rs 8,999 and Rs 9,999, respectively. The LG W10 comes in tulip purple and smoky grey colours. The LG W30 comes in thunder blue, platinum grey and aurora green colours.

As a part of the launch offers, both devices have a 10 per cent instant cashback on equated monthly instalment (EMI) transaction made through Yes Bank credit cards. Reliance Jio customers can also avail Rs 4,950 cashback offer, which is valid on recharge of Rs 299. In this offer, Jio customers get Rs 1,700 cashback in the form of recharge vouchers and Rs 3,250 discount coupon redeemable at ClearTrip portal to book flights, hotels, etc.

LG W10 specifications and features