In 2019, director Abhishek Chaubey and producer Ronnie Scewvala had teamed up for Sonchiriya which starred Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. Though the film received positive reviews, it was a flop at the box office.
Now, Abhishek and Ronnie have collaborated once again and this time it’s a biopic on hockey player Dhyan Chand. Ronnie’s production company RSVP Movies took to Instagram to make an announcement about the film.
They posted, “1500+ goals, 3 Olympic Gold medals & a story of India’s pride... It gives us immense pleasure to announce our next with the ace filmmaker #AbhishekChaubey - a biopic on the Hockey wizard of India, #DHYANCHAND #RonnieScrewvala @premnathrajagopalan @pashanjal @shivahereon @hasanainhooda @bluemonkey_film @macguffinpictures.”
While the makers have announced the film, they have not yet announced the lead actor’s name. Well, it will be interesting to see which actor will be roped in to play the role of Dhyan Chand on the big screen.
Chaubey is known for his movies like Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya and Udta Punjab. Apart from being critically acclaim, these films also did quite well at the box office.
A couple of years ago, there were reports that Varun Dhawan will be seen playing the role of Dhyan Chand in the hockey player’s biopic and the film will be produced by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, later there was no development on it.
MOHAMMED SIRAJ said he "loved the challenge" of leading India's attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah after taking a six-wicket haul in the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Friday (4).
There was widespread criticism when India, who lost last week's series opener at Headingley, omitted outstanding spearhead quick Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, from their team in Birmingham.
But they could yet draw level at 1-1 in a five-match campaign after fellow paceman Siraj took 6-70 on Friday, despite England's Harry Brook and Jamie Smith sharing a mammoth sixth-wicket partnership of 303.
The 31-year-old Siraj dismissed star batsman Joe Root and England captain Ben Stokes with successive balls early in the third day's play to reduce the hosts to 84-5.
And he returned to clean up the tail as England were dismissed for 407 in reply to India's first-innings 587 built upon skipper Shubman Gill's exceptional 269.
By stumps, India had extended their overall lead to 244 runs at 64-1 in their second innings.
"I have been bowling well but not getting wickets, so getting six here is very special," said Siraj after the close. "When you are asked to lead the attack I love responsibility, I love the challenge.
"My mindset was to keep it tight and not give away runs," added Siraj, well-supported by 4-88 from Akash Deep after the paceman was given the unenviable task of standing-in for Bumrah.
Brook and Smith staged a remarkable fightback after they joined forces with England more than 500 runs behind.
The 24-year-old Smith survived Siraj's hat-trick ball with a straight drive for four and went to make a breathtaking 184 not out, the highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper, surpassing Surrey mentor Alec Stewart's 173 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1997.
Brook was alongside Smith for much of this innings as the Yorkshireman made 158 -- his ninth Test century and fifth in excess of 150.
"It was good fun being out there with 'Smudge' (Smith)," Brook told reporters. "He's a phenomenal player and it felt good to be out there, putting on 300 with him.
"The way that he came out of the blocks and put the pressure back on their bowlers was awesome. He tried to change the momentum back in our favour and it worked for a long period of time."
Brook added: "It was so good to watch from the other end, I felt like he could hit four or six every ball and I was just trying to get him on strike. He just leans on it and it goes to the boundary. He has a long England career ahead of him."
England may be behind in this game but having chased down 378 to beat India at Edgbaston three years ago and made light of a target of 371 in the first Test at Headingley, they haven't given up hope of leaving Birmingham with a 2-0 lead.
"I think everybody in the world knows that we're going to try and chase whatever they set us," said Brook.
"We've obviously got a big task at hand but we'll try and get a couple of wickets early on and try and put them under pressure. You never know how this game can go."
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Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)
TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.
Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.
Bedi was sentenced on July 4 by judge Griffiths sitting at Southwark Crown Court to five years and four months, while Mavanga was sentenced to six years and six months.
Judge Griffiths said Bedi and Mavanga “were both leading players in a conspiracy whereby the victims of the fraud were persuaded to invest in crypto currency consultancy” and “you conspired to drive a coach and horses through the regulatory system”, according to the FCA.
It said anyone scammed by Bedi and Mavanga and who had not yet heard from the FCA should call 0800 111 6768 or email operationhickory@fca.org.uk.
Bedi on May 2, 2023, pleaded guilty to four charges – conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and money laundering offences at an earlier hearing.
Mavanga pleaded guilty to three charges – conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and possession of false identification documents with an improper intention – on June 9, 2023. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice on November 7, 2024, for the deletion of phone call recordings following the arrest of Bedi in March 2019.
A GROUP of young footballers from Bengaluru trained at Tottenham Hotspur’s facilities in London this week as part of the club’s partnership with Kickstart FC.
The visit included technical training sessions delivered by Tottenham's Global Football Development coaches, health and nutrition workshops, and matches against grassroots teams in the UK. Former Spurs captain Ledley King conducted a coaching masterclass during the programme.
Ledley King said: “The first time I went out to India, with Ossie, you could see how passionate this group were about football and their development. There are some very good players, so it’s just about reinforcing the small details that make a big difference, making sure they move away before receiving the ball and keeping their concentrations levels high, for example.
Ledley King talks to Kickstart players.
“It’s always great to speak to a few of the players about different aspects of their game, and they’re eager to learn, so I am sure coming over here, to these world class facilities, and working with our coaches is going to bring their game to another level.”
The club announced its partnership with Kickstart FC during a visit to Bengaluru by Ledley King and Ossie Ardiles in November 2023. The initiative is aimed at supporting the development of local players and coaches in India by sharing training methods used at the Spurs Academy.
Among the visiting players was 16-year-old Vivek, who is preparing for a series of college football trials in the USA.
Vivek said: “I started playing football when I was 11 years old and have played for Kickstart for many years. It’s been a long journey, a tough journey, but I have worked very hard to get to where I am now.
“When I heard Tottenham Hotspur were our partners, I was literally jumping up and down on my bed, as I knew I would get the opportunity to train at these amazing facilities! When I visited the training ground last year it really sparked something in my brain, to motivate me to work harder, in order to improve my level.”
Laxman Bhattarai, CEO and Co-Founder at Kickstart FC, said: “This is the second year that Vivek has come to Tottenham Hotspur, last year he was keen to make an impact in front of Ledley and the other coaches. This year, he arrived in the UK with a lot more maturity, and these sessions have really helped him ahead of his trials in the USA.
“It has been an amazing journey with Tottenham Hotspur since we signed the partnership, which is all about bringing Indian football to another level and how we can bring a group of talented young footballers to a global platform. We are very thankful to the global football development team at Tottenham Hotspur for their support. We look forward to returning very soon.”
Danny Mitchell, Head of Global Coaching for Tottenham Hotspur, said: “It has been a real privilege for the Club to host representatives from Kickstart FC at our Training Centre again this year. Our partnership with Kickstart aims to provide a lasting impact on the Indian football landscape and we are particularly proud of the progress of Vivek, who will be undertaking college trials in the USA, serving as an example of the impact the programme can have on developing young players in the region.”
Kickstart FC’s women’s team recently finished runners-up in the Indian Women’s League. The partnership also focuses on developing women’s football in Karnataka.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Global Football Development team works with around 45,000 players and coaches every year.
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Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain
A new Covid strain known as Stratus is spreading across the UK
The variant is marked by a distinctive symptom: a hoarse or raspy voice
Sub-variants XFG and XFG.3 now account for 30% of cases in England
Experts say there is no evidence of more severe disease
Lower immunity levels may make more people vulnerable to infection
Covid variant Stratus on the rise in the UK
A new strain of Covid-19, known as Stratus, is spreading across the UK and drawing attention for its unusual symptom — a hoarse or raspy voice. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Stratus and its two sub-variants, XFG and XFG.3, are responsible for around 30 per cent of Covid cases in England.
Of the two, XFG.3 is currently the more dominant. The UKHSA confirmed that monitoring of all circulating Covid-19 variants is ongoing as part of regular surveillance.
Mutations help Stratus spread despite immunity
Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain. Dr Kaywaan Khan, a Harley Street GP and founder of Hannah London Clinic, noted that certain mutations in the spike protein could help the virus bypass antibodies generated by previous infection or vaccination.
“Unlike other variants, Stratus has certain mutations in the spike protein which could help it evade antibodies developed from prior infections or vaccinations,” said Dr Khan. However, the symptoms tend to remain mild to moderate, with hoarseness being one of the most noticeable.
Dr Alex Allen, Consultant Epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said, “It is normal for viruses to mutate and change over time,” adding that there is currently no evidence that the XFG or XFG.3 variants cause more severe disease than previous strains.
Waning immunity raises infection risk
According to Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, the reduction in Covid-19 infections in recent months, along with lower booster jab uptake, could increase the risk of infection.
“Given that immunity to Covid is waning in the population due to a decline in uptake of the spring booster jab and the reduction of Covid infections in recent months, more people will be susceptible to infection with XFG and XFG.3,” he told MailOnline.
He warned that this could lead to a new wave of infections, though the scale remains uncertain.
Global monitoring of the strain
Globally, Stratus accounted for 22.7 per cent of Covid cases as of 22 June, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The strain has been designated as a “variant under monitoring”, with WHO currently assessing its public health impact as low risk.
The emergence of Stratus follows the spread of another recent variant called Nimbus (NB.1.8.1), first detected in China and Hong Kong in January and now present in parts of the US and Australia. Nimbus has been associated with more severe sore throat symptoms.
Reduced testing levels since the pandemic’s peak make it difficult to track the true spread of these new variants, health officials have noted.
Which companies need business analytics and why? What problems does it solve? How does it differ from business analysis?
Business analytics is primarily about working with data and studying a company's performance indicators.
It is carried out by specially trained specialists called business analysts.
Using data analysis, they help managers identify business problems and find opportunities for sustainable development.
How business analytics differs from business analysis
Experts still argue about what business analytics is: whether it is identical to business analysis or represents a separate field of knowledge. To figure this out, let's look at the main goals of business analysis and business analytics.
Business analysis is studying a company's activities in a broad sense: analyzing its development strategy, business processes, organizational structure, and information systems, and designing and setting up how all of this interacts with the business environment and the outside world.
The main goal of business analysis is to think through and implement organizational changes that would allow the company to achieve its main goals in the best possible way.
The main goal of business analytics is to support management decisions and organizational changes with high-quality, relevant, and objective data.
Here are the three main tasks of business analytics:
obtain data on the company's performance in the form of figures;
process and structure this data — make it suitable for further analysis;
analyze the data — find patterns in the company's activities and model forecasts for its development under certain conditions.
Thus, business analytics is part of business analysis, which involves the collection, processing, and analysis of data. It is the first and necessary step in the effective management of organizational change.
Which companies need business analytics and why
Business analytics is necessary for all companies that want to make high-quality management decisions. Only decisions based on facts can be high-quality. Business analysts are responsible for collecting and processing these facts.
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It is important not only to collect data on the company's activities, but also to prepare it for managers:
structure it;
analyze it — identify trends and tendencies that influence factors;
present the results of the analysis in a clear form;
prepare recommendations on how to use this data to improve the company's activities.
The recommendations of business analysts provide company management with up-to-date and reliable information about what is happening within the company and beyond. This approach helps to make informed business decisions.
A simple example: a company sells seasonal goods — bicycles or skis. Business analysts will accurately determine the product demand curve, taking into account seasonal factors, present it to managers in an understandable way, and provide detailed recommendations on what needs to be done to maximize sales revenue.
Without business analytics, such decisions are made blindly, which leads to the company missing out on profits.