New Delhi: India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu feels the team has moulded itself into a battle-hardened unit but it still needs to find the back of the net consistently to improve its winning ratio in top-flight football.On a high after holding Asian champion Qatar to a goalless draw, a struggling India escaped with a 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Bangladesh in their previous 2022 FIFA World second round qualifying match in Kolkata. “I think, of late, we have turned ourselves into a team which is tough to beat. We just have to add something more to it which is scoring to get the points on the table and we have that quality,” Gurpreet told PTI during a chat.Skipper Sunil Chhetri had promised to put their best foot forward in the upcoming qualifiers against Afghanistan and Oman, Gurpreet also said they will have to get something substantial out of the two matches.”Both games are difficult. Oman are a very good side and have quality players, whereas Afghanistan will be tough to play against in Tajikistan. But we have to go there with a strong approach to get something out of the two games,” the country’s first-choice goalkeeper said.Gurpreet said coach Igor Stimac has been smart in introducing a host of new faces.”We have grown stronger with the introduction of the young players who will improve with time.”While Chhetri felt the team is still far from fully implementing coach Stimac’s vision, Gurpreet said they are gradually getting accustomed to his philosophy.”Yes, the team is getting accustomed with the system but most importantly getting used to each other as well playing with the ball.”India endured a disastrous campaign in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, including a shock loss to tiny Pacific nation Guam, and Gurpreet said the team has come a long way from those days.”I think if we compare it with the 2015 qualifiers that we played, we have come a long way since then. We have two points on the table and have only lost one game which also we could have won. I am happy but not satisfied because I know we have the potential to do more.”Yet to taste a win in the ongoing qualifiers, India are scheduled to play Afghanistan on November 14 and Oman on November 19.Having squandered a one-goal advantage to lose 1-2 to Oman in their opener at home, India held fancied Qatar in Doha before the underwhelming result against Bangladesh in Kolkata. Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox – subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what’s happening in the world around you – in real time. AfghanistanFIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifiersgurpreet singh sandhuIgor Stimac First Published: November 11, 2019, 4:59 PM IST
Yesterday TMZ got its hands on the mug shot of boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., taken moments after he turned himself into police to begin his 87-day jail sentence in Las Vegas stemming from a domestic dispute.Mayweather allegedly beat up the mother of his children while they stood by watching. While incarcerated, Mayweather initially will be kept out of general population to avoid conflicts with other inmates.He was sentenced to 90 days but received credit for three days already served.
KUSI Newsroom, KUSI Newsroom Serious crash on Northbound I-805 Posted: January 1, 2019 January 1, 2019 00:00 00:00 spaceplay / pause qunload | stop ffullscreenshift + ←→slower / faster ↑↓volume mmute ←→seek . seek to previous 12… 6 seek to 10%, 20% … 60% XColor SettingsAaAaAaAaTextBackgroundOpacity SettingsTextOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundSemi-TransparentOpaqueTransparentFont SettingsSize||TypeSerif MonospaceSerifSans Serif MonospaceSans SerifCasualCursiveSmallCapsResetSave SettingsSAN DIEGO (KUSI) – A man is in critical condition after being hit by a car on the 805 north freeway.The accident occurred on the 805 north just south of I-5.Authorities say a man in a blue vehicle was outside of his vehicle when he and his car were struck by a silver Mercedes just after 2 P.M. New Year’s Day.Police are still investigating the crash, the driver’s identity has not been released.No one else was injured. Categories: Local San Diego News, Traffic & Accidents FacebookTwitter
Budget airline SpiceJet got temporary reprieve when the government reportedly gave a 10-day extension on a deadline to pay 194 crore to the Airports Authority of India. AAI. The company was supposed to pay the amount by Monday. SpiceJet (Credit: Reuters)ReutersThe cash-strapped airline sought the extension on Monday at a meeting attended by Sanjiv Kapoor, its chief operating officer and SL Narayanan, the chief financial officer of its parent Sun Group, with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma and aviation regulator. SpiceJet’s executives told the government that the airline could fold “tonight or in 30 days,” unless the Centre allowed the airline to continue flying, without having to pay oil firms and aviation authorities in advance, reported The Times of India.Sharma said, “SpiceJet has requested for relief. We will discuss within the ministry and put whatever decision emerges before seniors in the Government. This will be done in the interest of passengers. No commitment or assurance has been given to SpiceJet.” reported BusinessLine.Recapitalization PlanOn Monday, SpiceJet was to submit a recapitalization plan on how it seeks to continue operations and also a timeline on when the creditors are to be paid.However, the plan submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had no new development. There was also no mention of roping in investors to infuse fresh capital.The beleaguered airline needs 1,400 crore capital infusion immediately, followed by 600 crore later, if it has to continue flying.The airline faced a deadline on Monday to pay the AAI an outstanding sum of 194 crore, else to pay upfront or usage of facilities, starting from Tuesday.On Tuesday, the airline scrip was trading at 11.75, down 1.80 or 13.65% at 10.38 am.
Explore further The REF will come into effect in 2012 to replace the current system of assessment, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The scheme will allocate the 1.76 billion British pounds (approximately $2.7 billion US) spent annually on university research according to three main elements — outputs, impact, and environment — which are considered to be indicative of excellence in research. The first factor the REF will consider is outputs, which will be reviewed by a panel of experts who take into account factors such as citations to the work. The second is the impact of the work; research that demonstrably benefits the economy, public policy, society, culture or quality of life, will attract the greatest funding. The impact will be assessed by a case study approach. The third factor is environment, which will consider the research department’s ability to support continuous excellent research and disseminate the results. This will look at factors such as the department’s staff, training for postgraduates, research strategies, and public relations.The new system aims to put an end to research the government has criticized in the past, such as “David Beckham studies” and “surf studies”, and to stop the practice of hiring “star” academics to boost results. The scheme is also intended to steer universities towards research that will have economic, social and cultural benefits, since these projects will receive the greatest funding.The director of research at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), David Sweeney, said the new system is designed to ensure public funds are used effectively. The scheme would apply to research in humanities and arts as well as in science, and aims to develop internationally recognized and competitive research that contributes to the nation’s prosperity and wellbeing.Academics have warned the new system will mean an end to speculative research, for which the economic or other benefits are unknown until the research has been done. The University and College Union (UCU) is also concerned the emphasis on citations will distort academic activity and could threaten academic freedom. UCU’s General Secretary Sally Hunt also pointed out that some of the biggest scientific advances have arisen from speculative research. Research should never be measured in purely economic terms, Hunt said.The HEFCE is currently running a pilot exercise to test their proposed method of assessing the impact of research. It is also continuing consultations on the REF until mid December, and invites responses from universities and interested organizations affected by or using the results of research.&2009 PhysOrg.com This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Citation: UK Research Funding to Reward Economic Benefits (2009, September 25) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2009-09-uk-funding-reward-economic-benefits.html
(PhysOrg.com) — The UK government is developing a new scheme, the Research Excellence Framework (REF), to assess university research proposals and allocate public funds for research. The scheme is being developed in collaboration with higher education bodies in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, and will make much greater use of quantitative information (bibliometrics) than its predecessor. Madoff scandal’s impact on the life sciences
Explore further © 2014 Phys.org More information: Carbon Storage in Basalt, Science 25 April 2014: Vol. 344 no. 6182 pp. 373-374. DOI: 10.1126/science.1250828AbstractAll the carbon in the atmosphere, living creatures, and dissolved in the oceans is derived from rocks and will eventually end up in rocks, the largest carbon reservoir on Earth. The carbon moves from one reservoir to another in what is called the carbon cycle. Humans have accelerated this cycle by mining and burning fossil fuel since the beginning of the industrial revolution, causing rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations that are the main cause of global warming. One option for mitigating high levels of global warming is to capture CO2 and safely store it for thousands of years or longer in subsurface rocks. By accelerating carbonate mineral formation in these rocks, it is possible to rebalance the global carbon cycle, providing a long-term carbon storage solution. However, this approach is both technically challenging and economically expensive. CO2 source at the Hellisheidi power plant. Credit: Sigurdur R. Gislason Regardless of the problems, it appears likely that the cost of storing carbon dioxide in such fashion (or others like it) will likely become relatively smaller as the costs of dealing with rising temperatures and sea levels increases, which hopefully, will cause more such efforts to come about. As the planet continues to warm due to greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) captured in the atmosphere, scientists focus on two main approaches to solving the problem: stopping (or at least slowing) the addition of new gasses into the atmosphere, or devising techniques to remove the gasses already there. In this new effort, the researchers are focused on the latter approach.Most of the press dedicated to global warming to date has been focused on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sadly, that approach hasn’t had the desired impact. Because of that governments and organizations are increasingly turning to CCS technology. Just this past week the U.N. issued a climate report which highlighted the necessity of putting more effort into removing gasses to slow the massive costs of the expected average rise in global temperatures in the near future. The problem with pulling carbon out of the air is where to put it—pushing it into the ground is both expensive and risky—geologic activity, such as earthquakes could cause fissures allowing the gas to seep back out into the atmosphere. This is where the researchers in Iceland come in—they’ve been dissolving carbon dioxide into water (from a geothermal plant) and pumping the mixture into basalt formations (that came about due to volcanic activity) underground. Over time, the carbon reacts with calcium, magnesium and iron in the basalt and forms carbonate minerals such as limestone. Scientists have known about this process for some time, but until now, didn’t realize it could happen so quickly. The researchers report that approximately 80 percent of the carbon became embedded in the minerals over the span of just one year. The down side is that it takes a lot of water—up to twenty times as much as the carbon dioxide. Another problem could be pulling the carbon dioxide out of the air, and perhaps having to transport it to a sequestration site. There is also the difficulty of finding the right kind of basalt—it has to be porous. Citation: Researchers find carbon reactions with basalt can form carbonate minerals faster than thought (2014, April 25) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2014-04-carbon-reactions-basalt-carbonate-minerals.html
Journal information: Science This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Storing carbon dioxide deep underground in rock form The CarbFix injection site, March 2011. Credit: Sigurdur R. Gislason] (Phys.org) —A pair of researchers, one with the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, the other with University College in London, has found that mixing carbon dioxide with water and pumping it into underground basalt formations in Iceland has resulted in 80 percent of the carbon being sequestered into carbonate materials within one year’s time. In their paper published in the journal Science, Sigurdur Gislason and Eric Oelkers suggest their method of carbon sequestering may prove a feasible approach to carbon capture and storage (CCS).
With Navratras finally over, it is the time to gorge. So this food marathon organised by a south Delhi mall along with a food-based website couldn’t have happened at a better time. In all, there will be eight teams comprising three foodies each who will compete with each other in challenges that revolve around food. Food Sprint, as the festival is being called, will have some fun foodie games to whip up your appetite. There will be an ‘eating obstacle race’ which will give you a chance to win goodies and sweet hampers from food joints and restaurants. So foodies of the Capital, it is time to unite. Team up and get gorging! DETAILAt: Select Citywalk, SaketWhen: 26 October
Kolkata: Italy is seeking Indian mechanical engineering students for their fast growing automobile Industry, especially in Lombardy. This was announced by Prof. Gianpiero Mastinu, Secretary General cum Cluster Manager of Lombardy Mobility Cluster at the sidelines of the Bengal Global Business Summit on Friday.”We are in the process of visiting IITs here in India and we hope to see students from India who will choose Italy as their destination for higher learning,” Mastinu said. Also Read – Bose & Gandhi: More similar than apart, says Sugata BoseHe is a full-time professor of Ground Vehicle Engineering at the department of mechanical engineering, who was a part of the 28-member delegation that visited the BGBS, thanks to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Italy in September last year, with an aim to push for developing relationship from province to province. “We have an excellent institute – Politecnico Milano 1863, which is number one in Italy and ranked 17th among 4,000 similar universities in the world. There are about 42,000 students and it’s a centre of high standards that invites application from final year students of mechanical engineering from India,” he maintained. Also Read – Rs 13,000 crore investment to provide 2 lakh jobs: MamataAs a follow-up of BGBS, the Lombardy Mobility Cluster will consider the many projects in connection with which they can collaborate with the state government in areas like logistics, intelligent transport systems, etc. Fabrizio Sala, Deputy Chief Minister of Lombardy region, said that they can work with Bengal in the area of green technology. “We want to promote research innovation together with Bengal. We have a National Research centre in Lombardy. We feel research has to be initiated as a joint effort to benefit both sides. We have found that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is very decisive and a very active person,” he said, adding that research in life science, smart cities and aerospace can be taken up.
Let a robot replace you. For years, this was iRobot’s pitch for the Roomba, its robotic vacuum cleaner. And for years it worked well, generating strong annual sales growth for the Massachusetts firm. There was only one problem: A sizable cohort of potential consumers didn’t believe it. These were people who valued an immaculate home. They worked hard at it. They didn’t think a robot could replace them. And they were right. It probably couldn’t.Related: How to Make the Right Sales PitchDwight Brown, senior VP of global marketing at iRobot, had been here before. His previous employer, Keurig, had a similar pitch: “‘You need a single-serve coffeemaker because it’s an easier way to make coffee,’” Brown recalls. This made technology the centerpiece of the pitch. Which made a certain sense — the tech was cool, and people who loved gadgets were into it. The thing was: Not everyone loves gadgets. “We very quickly learned that when you try to convince the consumer by starting the dialogue with the technology, you certainly attract some early adopters who are technically oriented,” Brown says of the initial approach, “but you may be missing the vast majority of consumers who are much more interested in hearing about the benefit.” Some people, after all, just weren’t looking for a new coffeemaker. But they were looking for a better coffee-making experience. So Keurig tweaked the pitch: “Great coffee, made simply.” It paid off. Keurig boomed.Related: The Surprising Online Marketing Method Most Consumers PreferWhen Brown joined iRobot three years ago, he saw a similar opening. “My initial hypothesis was that if we start focusing communication on the benefit, and not force the consumer to think about the robot as a replacement, we might open the doors to opportunity,” he says. Working with the Cambridge Group in Chicago, iRobot surveyed existing and prospective customers and discovered two things: 1. Existing customers were satisfied with the performance of the product. And 2. Prospective customers were aware of it but didn’t think it would work well enough to meet their standards.That meant that winning converts wasn’t about changing the product; it was about recalibrating expectations. “It’s not a technical issue; it’s a marketing issue,” Brown says. But to do that, iRobot had to better understand what the holdouts wanted. So it asked. The consumers it was targeting said that while they weren’t looking for a robot vacuum per se, they did want a cleaner home. And in an ideal world, they wanted their home to be cleaned every day; they were just too busy to do it themselves.That was the opening iRobot was looking for. It crafted a new pitch, “Cleaner floors every day — all at the push of a button,” and repositioned the product not as something that cleans for you but as something that cleans with you. Something that reliably frees you up from some mundane work and increases the baseline cleanliness in your home, without any additional effort on your part. In that formulation, Brown says, “the customer doesn’t even need to think about purchasing a robot.”Related: 3 Ways to Avoid Mediocre Marketing ContentThe initial feedback on this new approach was positive, and in the spring of 2015 iRobot launched a marketing campaign around it, including redesigned packaging, online and TV ads and in-store video displays. The early results were promising, and iRobot doubled down on the strategy for the holiday season — leading to a 46 percent bump in sales in the final quarter compared with the previous year. Three years in, the new message continues to resonate. Sales were up 17 percent in 2016 (propelled in part by the Roomba 650, which became the top-grossing vacuum cleaner in the U.S.), and, Brown says, “our early 2017 results appear very promising.” Growing a business sometimes requires thinking outside the box. This story appears in the July 2017 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe » August 2, 2017 Register Now » Free Webinar | Sept. 9: The Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Going Global 4 min read