A man obsessed with movies along with his boyfriend has been sentenced for&nbsp;killing and eviscerating a woman called Julia Rawson.&nbsp;

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 25, and his boyfriend, David Leesley, 30, were found guilty of murdering Julia Rawson, 42, at their flat in Tipton, near Dudley, in May 2019.

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In picture: Books, including many about serial killers, discovered by police at the home of Nathan Maynard-Ellis and David Leesley (Image:West Midands Police)

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, took Julia Rawson home in the wake of meeting her in a bar in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2019.&nbsp;

He and David Leesley, 25, at that point murdered her and concealed her body parts in undergrowth, the preliminary at Coventry Crown Court was told.&nbsp;

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Maynard-Ellis was additionally seen as liable of assault charges identifying with another lady.&nbsp;

The four assaults, an endeavored assault, and dangers to slaughter were uncovered when a lady approached after his homicide capture.&nbsp;

The two men had conceded distorting the course of equity and hiding a body, yet had denied murder.&nbsp;

Attendants heard Maynard-Ellis had an interest with execution and thrillers and had been dependent on dreams about the "sexualised slaughtering of ladies".&nbsp;

His casualty would have seen blades and insects mounted on the dividers of the Tipton level, reptiles kept in tanks, and "violent face covers" of blood and gore movie characters, Karim Khalil QC, indicting, told legal hearers toward the beginning of the preliminary.&nbsp;

Rawson "couldn't have realised that she was going to enter a level of abhorrences", he said.&nbsp;

"Be that as it may, she probably understood this not long after she went in."&nbsp;

Rawson's body parts, including her, cut off head, hands, and feet, were found on 12 and 29 June 2019 at two distinct areas.&nbsp;

Opening the indictment's case toward the beginning of the preliminary at Coventry Crown Court, Karim Khalil QC asked legal hearers to act impartially given the "particularly abhorrent" charges.&nbsp;

"The arraignment case can be expressed instantly - for a long time Maynard-Ellis has held dull musings that have zeroed in principally on the rape of ladies and their vicious killing," he told the court.&nbsp;

"He has indicated a specific interest in specific subjects including chronic executioners and the dismantling of bodies.

A man obsessed with movies along with his boyfriend has been sentenced for killing and eviscerating a woman called Julia Rawson. Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 25, and his boyfriend, David Leesley, 30, were found guilty of murdering Julia Rawson, 42, at their flat in Tipton, near Dudley, in May 2019.

A man obsessed with movies along with his boyfriend has been sentenced for killing and eviscerating a woman called Julia Rawson. Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 25, and his boyfriend, David Leesley, 30, were found guilty of murdering Julia Rawson, 42, at their flat in Tipton, near Dudley, in May 2019. In picture: Books, including many about serial killers, discovered by police at the home of Nathan Maynard-Ellis and David Leesley (Image:West Midands Police) Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, took Julia Rawson home in the wake of meeting her in a bar in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2019. He and David Leesley, 25, at that point murdered her and concealed her body parts in undergrowth, the preliminary at Coventry Crown Court was told. Maynard-Ellis was additionally seen as liable of assault charges identifying with another lady. The four assaults, an endeavored assault, and dangers to slaughter were uncovered when a lady approached after his homicide capture. The two men had conceded distorting the course of equity and hiding a body, yet had denied murder. Attendants heard Maynard-Ellis had an interest with execution and thrillers and had been dependent on dreams about the "sexualised slaughtering of ladies". His casualty would have seen blades and insects mounted on the dividers of the Tipton level, reptiles kept in tanks, and "violent face covers" of blood and gore movie characters, Karim Khalil QC, indicting, told legal hearers toward the beginning of the preliminary. Rawson "couldn't have realised that she was going to enter a level of abhorrences", he said. "Be that as it may, she probably understood this not long after she went in." Rawson's body parts, including her, cut off head, hands, and feet, were found on 12 and 29 June 2019 at two distinct areas. Opening the indictment's case toward the beginning of the preliminary at Coventry Crown Court, Karim Khalil QC asked legal hearers to act impartially given the "particularly abhorrent" charges. "The arraignment case can be expressed instantly - for a long time Maynard-Ellis has held dull musings that have zeroed in principally on the rape of ladies and their vicious killing," he told the court. "He has indicated a specific interest in specific subjects including chronic executioners and the dismantling of bodies.

'Flat of horrors': Man obsessed with horror films convicted of murdering Julia Rawson

The United States on Monday said it was imposing sanctions on four more Chinese individuals for threatening the peace, security, and autonomy of Hong Kong.

The US&nbsp;Treasury <a href="https://www.state.gov/designations-of-four-prc-and-hong-kong-officials-threatening-the-peace-security-and-autonomy-of-hong-kong/">website</a>&nbsp;named the individuals as Deng Zhonghua, Edwina Lau, Li Jiangzhou and Li Kwai-wah.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hong-kong-pro-democracy-lawmakers-threaten-mass-resignation-against-beijing-341908">Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers threaten mass resignation against Beijing</a>

These individuals will be barred from travelling to the United States and their assets within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the possession or control of US&nbsp;persons will be blocked.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said the sanctions were "absolutely unacceptable, a blatant - and I would use the word 'barbaric' - interference."

"We are not going to be intimidated," Cheung told reporters, speaking at a regular news conference held on Tuesday morning Hong Kong time.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-refuses-to-acknowledge-joe-biden-as-next-president-of-us-341872" hreflang="en">China refuses to acknowledge Joe Biden as next president of US</a>

Washington has called China's enactment of new national security law in Hong Kong this year an unacceptable breach of China's "one country, two systems" commitment.

The designations are the first sanctions imposed on China since Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in last week's US&nbsp;election. Biden is due to take office on January&nbsp;20. Trump so far has refused to concede defeat.

In actions heralding a more authoritarian era for Hong Kong, China opened a new national security office in July, a week after imposing the new national security legislation to punish what it called crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Last month, the US&nbsp;State Department warned international financial institutions doing business with individuals deemed responsible for China's crackdown in Hong Kong that they could soon face tough sanctions.

Washington put sanctions on Carrie Lam, the territory's current and former police chiefs and other top officials in August for what it said was their role in curtailing freedoms in a crackdown on the territory's pro-democracy movement.

Relations between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, plunged to the lowest point in decades in the run-up to last week's US&nbsp;election. The two sides are at odds on a wide range of issues including China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its treatment of Hong Kong.

The United States on Monday said it was imposing sanctions on four more Chinese individuals for threatening the peace, security, and autonomy of Hong Kong. The US Treasury website named the individuals as Deng Zhonghua, Edwina Lau, Li Jiangzhou and Li Kwai-wah.

The United States on Monday said it was imposing sanctions on four more Chinese individuals for threatening the peace, security, and autonomy of Hong Kong. The US Treasury website named the individuals as Deng Zhonghua, Edwina Lau, Li Jiangzhou and Li Kwai-wah. Also read: Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers threaten mass resignation against Beijing These individuals will be barred from travelling to the United States and their assets within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the possession or control of US persons will be blocked. Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said the sanctions were "absolutely unacceptable, a blatant - and I would use the word 'barbaric' - interference." "We are not going to be intimidated," Cheung told reporters, speaking at a regular news conference held on Tuesday morning Hong Kong time. Also read: China refuses to acknowledge Joe Biden as next president of US Washington has called China's enactment of new national security law in Hong Kong this year an unacceptable breach of China's "one country, two systems" commitment. The designations are the first sanctions imposed on China since Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in last week's US election. Biden is due to take office on January 20. Trump so far has refused to concede defeat. In actions heralding a more authoritarian era for Hong Kong, China opened a new national security office in July, a week after imposing the new national security legislation to punish what it called crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. Last month, the US State Department warned international financial institutions doing business with individuals deemed responsible for China's crackdown in Hong Kong that they could soon face tough sanctions. Washington put sanctions on Carrie Lam, the territory's current and former police chiefs and other top officials in August for what it said was their role in curtailing freedoms in a crackdown on the territory's pro-democracy movement. Relations between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, plunged to the lowest point in decades in the run-up to last week's US election. The two sides are at odds on a wide range of issues including China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its treatment of Hong Kong.

US announces sanctions on four Chinese nationals over Hong Kong

Lockdown, the noun that has come to characterise endless lives over the world in 2020, has been named expression of the year by Collins Dictionary.&nbsp;

The dictionary defines lockdown as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces.”

The 4.5bn-word Collins Corpus, which contains composed material from sites, books, and papers, just as spoken material from radio, TV, and discussions, enlisted a 6,000 per cent&nbsp;expansion in its use.

In 2019, there were 4,000 recorded examples of the lockdown being utilised. In 2020, this had taken off to in excess of a fourth of 1,000,000.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/gender-neutral-pronoun-they-voted-word-of-the-decade-by-american-dialect-society-272683">Climate, they, or meme? Word of the Decade revealed</a>

Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;

The pandemic has affected the daily use of language in a massive manner, as a result,&nbsp;six of Collins' 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis.&nbsp;

"Coronavirus", "social distancing", "self-isolate" and "furlough" as well as "lockdown" and "key worker" were included in the long list of 10 words of the year.&nbsp;

"Key worker" alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society.&nbsp;

"2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic," Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said.&nbsp;

"Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialise.&nbsp;

"With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world."&nbsp;

Collins defines "lockdown" as "the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces".&nbsp;

According to the dictionary, coronavirus is: "Any one of a group of RNA-containing viruses that can cause infectious illnesses of the respiratory tract, including COVID-19."&nbsp;

Significant social and political developments beyond the virus have also been reflected in the list, which has already made its way into online editions of the English dictionary.&nbsp;

A wave of Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death in US police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd, spread around the world and brought a new awareness of the movement.&nbsp;

The abbreviation "BLM", often used as a hashtag on social media, was widely used in conversations and reporting following the protests, registering an increase in usage of 581 percent by Collins.&nbsp;

Social media regularly throws up new words for the dictionary.

This year, Collins has included "TikToker", which describes someone who shares content on the TikTok social media platform.&nbsp;

"Mukbang", which refers to a South Korean trend of video bloggers eating large quantities of food in videos broadcast to their followers, has also made the list.&nbsp;

The UK royal family influenced the shortlist in 2020.&nbsp;

"Megxit", which refers to the withdrawal of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from royal duties, passed into regular usage.&nbsp;

The word, modelled on "Brexit", which was Collins' word of the year in 2016, illustrates just how firmly established that word now is in the British lexicon.

Lockdown, the noun that has come to characterise endless lives over the world in 2020, has been named expression of the year by Collins Dictionary. The dictionary defines lockdown as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces.

Lockdown, the noun that has come to characterise endless lives over the world in 2020, has been named expression of the year by Collins Dictionary. The dictionary defines lockdown as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces.” The 4.5bn-word Collins Corpus, which contains composed material from sites, books, and papers, just as spoken material from radio, TV, and discussions, enlisted a 6,000 per cent expansion in its use. In 2019, there were 4,000 recorded examples of the lockdown being utilised. In 2020, this had taken off to in excess of a fourth of 1,000,000. Also read: Climate, they, or meme? Word of the Decade revealed Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has affected the daily use of language in a massive manner, as a result, six of Collins' 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis. "Coronavirus", "social distancing", "self-isolate" and "furlough" as well as "lockdown" and "key worker" were included in the long list of 10 words of the year. "Key worker" alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society. "2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic," Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said. "Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialise. "With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world." Collins defines "lockdown" as "the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces". According to the dictionary, coronavirus is: "Any one of a group of RNA-containing viruses that can cause infectious illnesses of the respiratory tract, including COVID-19." Significant social and political developments beyond the virus have also been reflected in the list, which has already made its way into online editions of the English dictionary. A wave of Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death in US police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd, spread around the world and brought a new awareness of the movement. The abbreviation "BLM", often used as a hashtag on social media, was widely used in conversations and reporting following the protests, registering an increase in usage of 581 percent by Collins. Social media regularly throws up new words for the dictionary. This year, Collins has included "TikToker", which describes someone who shares content on the TikTok social media platform. "Mukbang", which refers to a South Korean trend of video bloggers eating large quantities of food in videos broadcast to their followers, has also made the list. The UK royal family influenced the shortlist in 2020. "Megxit", which refers to the withdrawal of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from royal duties, passed into regular usage. The word, modelled on "Brexit", which was Collins' word of the year in 2016, illustrates just how firmly established that word now is in the British lexicon.

'Lockdown' is Collins Dictionary Word of the Year in 2020

November 10 in history: World’s first biker, opening of the Great Wall of China and more

Some 1,000 Sikhs in Pakistan on Monday held rituals at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to mark the first anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor.

In November last year, the two countries threw open the corridor linking Dera Baba Sahib in Gurdaspur in India and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, in a historic people-to-people initiative.

A ceremony, in which no minister of the Imran Khan government participated, was held to mark the occasion at Narowal, according to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

''About 1,000 Sikh devotees and local guests attended the event,''&nbsp;it said.

The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhik Committee (PSGPC) also offered prayers in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the ETPB said in a statement.

The ceremony was held amidst controversy over the Imran Khan government's handing over the administrative control of the corridor to the ETPB. No Sikh is included in the Project Management Unit (PMU), which was recently set up to manage the affairs of the corridor.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the Federal Cabinet recently approved the establishment of PMU Kartarpur Corridor, a self-financing body, for management and maintenance of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib under the administrative control of the ETPB. 
ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi said that the PMU has been established to look after the day-to-day running of affairs like management, accounts and coordinate the efforts of all the stakeholders.

The corridor was temporarily closed on March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but as the religious places started gradually opening up around the world, Pakistan reopened it on June 29.

India says that a decision to re-open the Kartarpur corridor would be taken in accordance with the protocols relating to COVID-19 and easing of restrictions.

Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava last month said: "As you are aware, movement was suspended in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. We remain in touch with all concerned authorities including ministries of home affairs and health and family welfare.

"A decision on re-opening of the corridor would be taken in accordance with the COVID-19 protocols and easing of restrictions". 
The 4 km-long Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. It is the final resting place of the Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev, who had spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur.

The Kartarpur corridor was thrown open on November 9 last year on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in the midst of heightened tension between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue.

The relations between the two countries nosedived after India scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019 and bifurcated it into two union territories

Some 1,000 Sikhs in Pakistan on Monday held rituals at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to mark the first anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor.

Some 1,000 Sikhs in Pakistan on Monday held rituals at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to mark the first anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor. In November last year, the two countries threw open the corridor linking Dera Baba Sahib in Gurdaspur in India and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, in a historic people-to-people initiative. A ceremony, in which no minister of the Imran Khan government participated, was held to mark the occasion at Narowal, according to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB). ''About 1,000 Sikh devotees and local guests attended the event,'' it said. The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhik Committee (PSGPC) also offered prayers in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the ETPB said in a statement. The ceremony was held amidst controversy over the Imran Khan government's handing over the administrative control of the corridor to the ETPB. No Sikh is included in the Project Management Unit (PMU), which was recently set up to manage the affairs of the corridor. The Economic Coordination Committee of the Federal Cabinet recently approved the establishment of PMU Kartarpur Corridor, a self-financing body, for management and maintenance of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib under the administrative control of the ETPB. ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi said that the PMU has been established to look after the day-to-day running of affairs like management, accounts and coordinate the efforts of all the stakeholders. The corridor was temporarily closed on March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but as the religious places started gradually opening up around the world, Pakistan reopened it on June 29. India says that a decision to re-open the Kartarpur corridor would be taken in accordance with the protocols relating to COVID-19 and easing of restrictions. Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava last month said: "As you are aware, movement was suspended in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. We remain in touch with all concerned authorities including ministries of home affairs and health and family welfare. "A decision on re-opening of the corridor would be taken in accordance with the COVID-19 protocols and easing of restrictions". The 4 km-long Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. It is the final resting place of the Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev, who had spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur. The Kartarpur corridor was thrown open on November 9 last year on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in the midst of heightened tension between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. The relations between the two countries nosedived after India scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019 and bifurcated it into two union territories

Sikhs in Pakistan mark first anniversary of Kartarpur Corridor

US President Donald Trump on Monday accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer of withholding the announcement on the COVID-19 vaccine before elections to prevent him from getting a "vaccine win".

The US Food and Drug Administration "and the Democrats didn't want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead, it came out five days later? As I've said all along!" Trump said in a tweet.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@US_FDA</a> and the Democrats didn’t want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead it came out five days later – As I’ve said all along!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325962203346972678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Earlier, pharma major Pfizer announced that its vaccine, as per preliminary estimates, has been found to be 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pfizer-biontech-claim-their-coronavirus-vaccine-is-90-effective-341931" hreflang="en">Pfizer, BioNTech claim their coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective</a>

Pfizer said that the vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis. Analysis evaluated 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in trial participants, it said.

Trump alleged, "If Joe Biden were President, you wouldn't have the Vaccine for another four years, nor would the @US_FDA have ever approved it so quickly. The bureaucracy would have destroyed millions of lives!" 
Previously, Trump had said that he worked on removing a large number of bureaucratic obstacles to fast-track development and approval of a vaccine.

"As I have long said, @Pfizer and the others would only announce a Vaccine after the Election, because they didn't have the courage to do it before. Likewise, the @US_FDA should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes, but for saving lives!" he tweeted. 
Earlier in the day, President-elect Joe Biden said the announcement promises the chance to change that next year, but the tasks before them now remain the same.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As I have long said, <a href="https://twitter.com/pfizer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pfizer</a> and the others would only announce a Vaccine after the Election, because they didn’t have the courage to do it before. Likewise, the <a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@US_FDA</a> should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes, but for saving lives!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325961445062938625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope," he said. "At the same time, it is also important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away," Biden said.

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Statement by President-elect Biden on Pfizer's vaccine progress: <a href="https://t.co/eOiLZnqO8N">pic.twitter.com/eOiLZnqO8N</a>
— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) <a href="https://twitter.com/Transition46/status/1325816759690129412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the world welcomes good news about a vaccine that could be a giant leap forward in the fight against the coronavirus.

"We are all praying that this early evidence of extraordinary efficacy and safety holds true so that the vaccine can be approved and distributed soon but not one day sooner or one day later than it is ready," she said.

US President Donald Trump on Monday accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer of withholding the announcement on the COVID-19 vaccine before elections to prevent him from getting a "vaccine win".

US President Donald Trump on Monday accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer of withholding the announcement on the COVID-19 vaccine before elections to prevent him from getting a "vaccine win". The US Food and Drug Administration "and the Democrats didn't want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead, it came out five days later? As I've said all along!" Trump said in a tweet. The @US_FDA and the Democrats didn’t want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead it came out five days later – As I’ve said all along! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2020 × Earlier, pharma major Pfizer announced that its vaccine, as per preliminary estimates, has been found to be 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19. Also read: Pfizer, BioNTech claim their coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective Pfizer said that the vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis. Analysis evaluated 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in trial participants, it said. Trump alleged, "If Joe Biden were President, you wouldn't have the Vaccine for another four years, nor would the @US_FDA have ever approved it so quickly. The bureaucracy would have destroyed millions of lives!" Previously, Trump had said that he worked on removing a large number of bureaucratic obstacles to fast-track development and approval of a vaccine. "As I have long said, @Pfizer and the others would only announce a Vaccine after the Election, because they didn't have the courage to do it before. Likewise, the @US_FDA should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes, but for saving lives!" he tweeted. Earlier in the day, President-elect Joe Biden said the announcement promises the chance to change that next year, but the tasks before them now remain the same. As I have long said, @Pfizer and the others would only announce a Vaccine after the Election, because they didn’t have the courage to do it before. Likewise, the @US_FDA should have announced it earlier, not for political purposes, but for saving lives! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2020 × "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope," he said. "At the same time, it is also important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away," Biden said. Statement by President-elect Biden on Pfizer's vaccine progress: pic.twitter.com/eOiLZnqO8N — Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) November 9, 2020 × House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the world welcomes good news about a vaccine that could be a giant leap forward in the fight against the coronavirus. "We are all praying that this early evidence of extraordinary efficacy and safety holds true so that the vaccine can be approved and distributed soon but not one day sooner or one day later than it is ready," she said.

Trump accuses FDA and Pfizer of withholding COVID-19 vaccine announcement before elections

Merriam-Webster’s defines a time warp as a “discontinuity, suspension or anomaly” in the otherwise normal passage of time; this year all three terms could apply. It seems like March happened 10 years ago; everyday may as well be Wednesday, and still, somehow, here come the holidays — fast, just like every year.

Some bard or novelist may yet come forth to help explain the paradoxes of pandemic time, both its Groundhog Days and the blurs of stress and fear for those on the front lines, or who had infectious people in their household. But brain science also has something to say about the relationship between perceived time and the Greenwich Mean variety, and why the two may slip out of sync.

In a new study, a research team based in Dallas reported the first strong evidence to date of so-called “time cells” in the human brain. The finding, posted by the journal PNAS, was not unexpected: In recent years, several research groups have isolated neurons in rodents that track time intervals. It’s where the scientists look for these cells, and how they identified them, that provide some insight into the subjective experiences of time.

“The first thing to say is that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as ‘time cells’ in the brain,” said Gyorgy Buzsaki, a neuroscientist at New York University who was not involved in the new research. “There is no neural clock. What happens in the brain is neurons change in response to other neurons.”

He added, “Having said that, it’s a useful concept to talk about how this neural substrate represents the passage of what we call time.”

In the new study, a team led by Dr. Bradley Lega, a neurosurgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center, analyzed the firing of cells in the medial temporal area, a region deep in the brain that is essential for memory formation and retrieval. It’s a natural place to look: Memories must be somehow “time-stamped” to retain some semblance of sequence, or chronological order.

The team took recordings from 27 people with epilepsy, who were being monitored for surgery; the monitoring requires a few weeks’ stay in the hospital, with electrodes implanted through the skull and into the brain, to get a reading on where seizures originate. And the medial temporal lobes, located about an inch in from the ears, are almost always monitored, as they are a common source of those seizures.

These patients played computer games that test thinking and memory, while researchers watched what happened to the firing patterns of cells. In this experiment, the subjects tried to memorize lists of words, presented one at a time, a second or so apart. The subjects then had 30 seconds to freely recall as many as they could.

The researchers found that certain neurons fired during a specific window of the free-recall period — from two to five seconds in, depending on the person. This firing was related only to time, not to anything else, such as the kinds of words being memorized and retrieved. And when those particular cells fired more precisely in a person’s temporal sweet spot, he or she did well on the recall, and remembered words in close to the order in which they were originally presented.

“These cells are encoding information related to time, and this information is clearly important for memory,” Lega said.

In effect, Lega said, the cells representing time fired to support an activity, in this case to track the passage of the 30-second interval. There is no constant rhythm or background beat; the time signal is conjured as needed. “There’s no internal metronome, or clock,” he said. The time cells are “firing to support what you’re doing.”

That is, time cells adjust to the demands being made on the brain, in real time, moment to moment. Another group of nearby neurons, called ramping cells, accelerates its firing as a task begins and decelerates or decays as the job winds down, marking off chunks of time. “As these cells are sensitive to contextual changes during experience, they could represent the slowly evolving nature of contextual information,” the authors write.

The coordinated activity of time cells and ramping cells, on its own, is far too basic to encompass the weirdness of pandemic time. This mechanism counts out time in seconds and minutes, not days and weeks. Our perception of those longer intervals seems to be shaped much more by the quantity and content of the memories that fill them, and by the emotions that help imprint them.

Starting in March, people had to absorb an enormous amount of news and information about the virus, the symptoms and various interventions, on top of work and child demands. But with stay-at-home orders, the context flattened. Each day looked a whole lot like the last, and the next, and the next. Like being lost at sea, we have floated in place while the Earth turned underfoot.

Pandemic time, the subjective kind, will likely feel warped for a while — until we make landfall, however that comes to pass.

Merriam-Webster’s defines a time warp as a “discontinuity, suspension or anomaly” in the otherwise normal passage of time; this year all three terms could apply.

Merriam-Webster’s defines a time warp as a “discontinuity, suspension or anomaly” in the otherwise normal passage of time; this year all three terms could apply. It seems like March happened 10 years ago; everyday may as well be Wednesday, and still, somehow, here come the holidays — fast, just like every year. Some bard or novelist may yet come forth to help explain the paradoxes of pandemic time, both its Groundhog Days and the blurs of stress and fear for those on the front lines, or who had infectious people in their household. But brain science also has something to say about the relationship between perceived time and the Greenwich Mean variety, and why the two may slip out of sync. In a new study, a research team based in Dallas reported the first strong evidence to date of so-called “time cells” in the human brain. The finding, posted by the journal PNAS, was not unexpected: In recent years, several research groups have isolated neurons in rodents that track time intervals. It’s where the scientists look for these cells, and how they identified them, that provide some insight into the subjective experiences of time. “The first thing to say is that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as ‘time cells’ in the brain,” said Gyorgy Buzsaki, a neuroscientist at New York University who was not involved in the new research. “There is no neural clock. What happens in the brain is neurons change in response to other neurons.” He added, “Having said that, it’s a useful concept to talk about how this neural substrate represents the passage of what we call time.” In the new study, a team led by Dr. Bradley Lega, a neurosurgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center, analyzed the firing of cells in the medial temporal area, a region deep in the brain that is essential for memory formation and retrieval. It’s a natural place to look: Memories must be somehow “time-stamped” to retain some semblance of sequence, or chronological order. The team took recordings from 27 people with epilepsy, who were being monitored for surgery; the monitoring requires a few weeks’ stay in the hospital, with electrodes implanted through the skull and into the brain, to get a reading on where seizures originate. And the medial temporal lobes, located about an inch in from the ears, are almost always monitored, as they are a common source of those seizures. These patients played computer games that test thinking and memory, while researchers watched what happened to the firing patterns of cells. In this experiment, the subjects tried to memorize lists of words, presented one at a time, a second or so apart. The subjects then had 30 seconds to freely recall as many as they could. The researchers found that certain neurons fired during a specific window of the free-recall period — from two to five seconds in, depending on the person. This firing was related only to time, not to anything else, such as the kinds of words being memorized and retrieved. And when those particular cells fired more precisely in a person’s temporal sweet spot, he or she did well on the recall, and remembered words in close to the order in which they were originally presented. “These cells are encoding information related to time, and this information is clearly important for memory,” Lega said. In effect, Lega said, the cells representing time fired to support an activity, in this case to track the passage of the 30-second interval. There is no constant rhythm or background beat; the time signal is conjured as needed. “There’s no internal metronome, or clock,” he said. The time cells are “firing to support what you’re doing.” That is, time cells adjust to the demands being made on the brain, in real time, moment to moment. Another group of nearby neurons, called ramping cells, accelerates its firing as a task begins and decelerates or decays as the job winds down, marking off chunks of time. “As these cells are sensitive to contextual changes during experience, they could represent the slowly evolving nature of contextual information,” the authors write. The coordinated activity of time cells and ramping cells, on its own, is far too basic to encompass the weirdness of pandemic time. This mechanism counts out time in seconds and minutes, not days and weeks. Our perception of those longer intervals seems to be shaped much more by the quantity and content of the memories that fill them, and by the emotions that help imprint them. Starting in March, people had to absorb an enormous amount of news and information about the virus, the symptoms and various interventions, on top of work and child demands. But with stay-at-home orders, the context flattened. Each day looked a whole lot like the last, and the next, and the next. Like being lost at sea, we have floated in place while the Earth turned underfoot. Pandemic time, the subjective kind, will likely feel warped for a while — until we make landfall, however that comes to pass.

Brain scientists explore the how of when

Nepal&nbsp;will provide free COVID-19 tests and treatment, an aide to the prime minister said on Tuesday, as the total number of infections was set to cross the 200,000 mark.

The move follows a Supreme Court order for free treatment last week after the Communist government asked citizens who could afford to pay to do so, limiting free testing and care to only those who couldn't.

Surya Thapa, an aide to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, said all government hospitals would provide testing and treatment to COVID-19 patients for free.

“Those who want fast services and wish to pay can continue to go to private hospitals,” Thapa told Reuters.

Experts say many COVID-19 patients stayed home in isolation rather than pay up to 150,000&nbsp;Nepali rupees ($1,266.57) in deposits before admission to a hospital.

“This also led to fewer people turning up for testing and less contact tracing, causing a rapid increase in infections,” Rabindra Pandey, a public health expert, told Reuters.

Nepal&nbsp;has so far reported 197,024 coronavirus cases and 1,126 deaths, according to government data. There were 2,571 cases and 18 deaths on Monday.

A Reuters tally showed the average number of daily infections was higher than any of&nbsp;Nepal's regional neighbours except India.

Prime Minister Oli has been criticised for the government's poor handling of the pandemic and for playing down the risks initially.

In June, protesters demanding more tests and better care for the coronavirus clashed with police, who used water cannons to break up the demonstrations.

Nepal, which has poor health infrastructure, says it has testing facilities for 23,000 samples, but on an average fewer than 15,000 tests are conducted daily.

Nepal will provide free COVID-19 tests and treatment, an aide to the prime minister said on Tuesday, as the total number of infections was set to cross the 200,000 mark.

Nepal will provide free COVID-19 tests and treatment, an aide to the prime minister said on Tuesday, as the total number of infections was set to cross the 200,000 mark. The move follows a Supreme Court order for free treatment last week after the Communist government asked citizens who could afford to pay to do so, limiting free testing and care to only those who couldn't. Surya Thapa, an aide to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, said all government hospitals would provide testing and treatment to COVID-19 patients for free. “Those who want fast services and wish to pay can continue to go to private hospitals,” Thapa told Reuters. Experts say many COVID-19 patients stayed home in isolation rather than pay up to 150,000 Nepali rupees ($1,266.57) in deposits before admission to a hospital. “This also led to fewer people turning up for testing and less contact tracing, causing a rapid increase in infections,” Rabindra Pandey, a public health expert, told Reuters. Nepal has so far reported 197,024 coronavirus cases and 1,126 deaths, according to government data. There were 2,571 cases and 18 deaths on Monday. A Reuters tally showed the average number of daily infections was higher than any of Nepal's regional neighbours except India. Prime Minister Oli has been criticised for the government's poor handling of the pandemic and for playing down the risks initially. In June, protesters demanding more tests and better care for the coronavirus clashed with police, who used water cannons to break up the demonstrations. Nepal, which has poor health infrastructure, says it has testing facilities for 23,000 samples, but on an average fewer than 15,000 tests are conducted daily.

Nepal to provide free COVID-19 tests and treatment as cases surge

Burger chain McDonald's Corp revealed on Monday that&nbsp;it's making plant-based 'meat' for the 'McPlant' menu.

McDonald's said under its McPlant line, it could offer products including burgers, chicken substitutes, and breakfast sandwiches, which it expects to test in some markets in 2021.

Despite it being a serious move by the fast-food giant, the online response seemed primarily focused on the project’s name.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/McDonalds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@McDonalds</a> lame burger name, McPlant, is so bad it made BYND drop $20. 😭
— Sherdes Leona 🇯🇲🇺🇸 (@sherdesleona) <a href="https://twitter.com/sherdesleona/status/1325833416932167702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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McPlant is the laziest name someone could’ve came up with lmao
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Really curious about the naming conventions for the McPlant meals 
 
Big McPlant 
Quarter Pounder (featuring McPlant) 
McDoublePlant
— Jake (@JakeOfOnline) <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeOfOnline/status/1325852599912968200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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While other chains have started offering plant-based meat options, including Restaurant Brands International Inc's&nbsp;Burger King, White Castle, and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc, a McDonald's contract could be the biggest and would put the plant-based meat movement front and center in mainstream America.

Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/friend-in-need-burger-king-urges-customers-to-order-from-mcdonalds-340030">Friend in need: Burger King urges customers to order from McDonald's</a>

Ian Borden, the president of the company's international business said&nbsp;"McPlant is crafted exclusively for McDonald's, by McDonald's.''

Shares of Beyond Meat initially fell as much as 8 per cent&nbsp;after McDonald's announcement but recovered to end 4&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;lower after the plant-based meat company said it had a role in creating the McPlant patty. It did not provide additional details.

McDonald's, which reported market-beating profit and revenue for the third quarter earlier in the day, declined to say which suppliers it would use in crafting its own line of veggie products.

Beyond Meat was the front runner for a contract as it had conducted tests of a so-called "P.L.T." burger at nearly 100 McDonald's locations in Ontario, Canada, earlier this year.

"Plant-based products are an ongoing consumer trend. It's not a matter of if McDonald's will get into plant-based, it's a matter of when," McDonald's Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said on a call with analysts.

Analysts, rival fast-food companies, and plant-based protein producers have been closely watching McDonald's plans as it is one of the few national chains yet to sell plant-based meat burgers on a permanent basis.

Burger chain McDonald's Corp revealed on Monday that it's making plant-based 'meat' for the 'McPlant' menu. McDonald's said under its McPlant line, it could offer products including burgers, chicken substitutes, and breakfast sandwiches, which it expects to test in some markets in 2021.

Burger chain McDonald's Corp revealed on Monday that it's making plant-based 'meat' for the 'McPlant' menu. McDonald's said under its McPlant line, it could offer products including burgers, chicken substitutes, and breakfast sandwiches, which it expects to test in some markets in 2021. Despite it being a serious move by the fast-food giant, the online response seemed primarily focused on the project’s name. @McDonalds lame burger name, McPlant, is so bad it made BYND drop $20. 😭 — Sherdes Leona 🇯🇲🇺🇸 (@sherdesleona) November 9, 2020 × McPlant is the laziest name someone could’ve came up with lmao — Hec (@TechnoPoser) November 9, 2020 × Really curious about the naming conventions for the McPlant meals Big McPlant Quarter Pounder (featuring McPlant) McDoublePlant — Jake (@JakeOfOnline) November 9, 2020 × While other chains have started offering plant-based meat options, including Restaurant Brands International Inc's Burger King, White Castle, and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc, a McDonald's contract could be the biggest and would put the plant-based meat movement front and center in mainstream America. Also read| Friend in need: Burger King urges customers to order from McDonald's Ian Borden, the president of the company's international business said "McPlant is crafted exclusively for McDonald's, by McDonald's.'' Shares of Beyond Meat initially fell as much as 8 per cent after McDonald's announcement but recovered to end 4 per cent lower after the plant-based meat company said it had a role in creating the McPlant patty. It did not provide additional details. McDonald's, which reported market-beating profit and revenue for the third quarter earlier in the day, declined to say which suppliers it would use in crafting its own line of veggie products. Beyond Meat was the front runner for a contract as it had conducted tests of a so-called "P.L.T." burger at nearly 100 McDonald's locations in Ontario, Canada, earlier this year. "Plant-based products are an ongoing consumer trend. It's not a matter of if McDonald's will get into plant-based, it's a matter of when," McDonald's Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said on a call with analysts. Analysts, rival fast-food companies, and plant-based protein producers have been closely watching McDonald's plans as it is one of the few national chains yet to sell plant-based meat burgers on a permanent basis.

McDonald's announces it's making plant-based 'meat' for 'McPlant' menu

Netizens have expressed anger at e-commerce giant Amazon for&nbsp;selling 'Om' printed doormats on its website in the United States and the United Kingdom.

A US retailer recorded an item 'Yoga Lotus mat' on an unfamiliar site of Amazon, valued at $18.67 (15.78 euros). The image additionally had an image 'Om' imprinted on it which incensed Indians.

This isn't the first run through Amazon has confronted such kickback. Recently, the Internet was irritated over Amazon for selling mats and restroom carpets with pictures of Lord Ganesha, the otherworldly image Om, and the Indian banner. In January, one of the mats highlighting Lord Ganesha was being sold by the vender Saety Bathroom Rugs with shading alternatives, for example, 'Brilliant Mandala Hindu Lord Baby Mat Sets' worth $21.99.

<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BoycottAmazon&amp;src=trend_click&amp;vertical=trends">#BoycottAmazon</a> is trending on Twitter in India for allegedly demeaning the Hindu religion and hurting sentiments of the people belonging to the religion.

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We too have religious sentiments. Don't violate Section 295A. 
 
The section says that any person deliberatly and maliciously intended to outrage reli­gious feelings can be punished for the term prescribed or extended upto 3 years.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> <a href="https://t.co/gnV7F0L2qd">pic.twitter.com/gnV7F0L2qd</a>
— Piyush 🇮🇳// Navya Stan (@SfMaverick) <a href="https://twitter.com/SfMaverick/status/1326059971885195264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Just cancelled my Diwali orders and gave my strong feedback against this all to them. They have assured to remove all such products but till then let's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> <a href="https://t.co/7ldcgbusAF">pic.twitter.com/7ldcgbusAF</a>
— Apoorvaa Shrivastava (@Its_Apoorvaa) <a href="https://twitter.com/Its_Apoorvaa/status/1326067518402818048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> 
My first step <a href="https://t.co/Tx8iHl8YoQ">pic.twitter.com/Tx8iHl8YoQ</a>
— RAJA PAVAN (@RAJAPAVAN20) <a href="https://twitter.com/RAJAPAVAN20/status/1326062786712047617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> for Demeaning Hinduism. <a href="https://twitter.com/AmazonUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmazonUK</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/amazon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amazon</a> have deliberately sold products that hurts <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hindus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hindus</a>. It is not business but mockery <a href="https://twitter.com/naomi2009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@naomi2009</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Mahna5G?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mahna5G</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KhajuriaManu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KhajuriaManu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rana1_n?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rana1_n</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/deepduttajourno?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@deepduttajourno</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/loveenatandon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@loveenatandon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RecorderElle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RecorderElle</a> <a href="https://t.co/ND1G3ObuUE">pic.twitter.com/ND1G3ObuUE</a> <a href="https://t.co/fBFsB5DAmL">pic.twitter.com/fBFsB5DAmL</a>
— Videsi Desi (@rana1_n) <a href="https://twitter.com/rana1_n/status/1325896730144071682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Several netizens also compared the offensive measure to the controversial advertisement by jewellery brand Tanishq.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/tanishq-pulls-down-new-advertisement-after-being-accused-of-promoting-love-jihad-334914">Tanishq pulls down new advertisement after being accused of promoting 'Love Jihad'</a>

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottAmazon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoycottAmazon</a> 
Tanishq to Amazon <a href="https://t.co/5Ark5p6n0B">pic.twitter.com/5Ark5p6n0B</a>
— ROHIT CHHAVDI🇮🇳 (@rohit_chhavdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/rohit_chhavdi/status/1326020497142804481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Tanishq's advertisement depicting an inter-faith marriage had received&nbsp;a sharp backlash on social media with many accusing the company of 'love jihad' and 'fake secularism'.

Calls for blacklist of brands, films, items, and missions have become a week by week pattern via online media in the past few months.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Netizens have expressed anger at e-commerce giant Amazon for selling 'Om' printed doormats on its website in the United States and the United Kingdom. A US retailer recorded an item 'Yoga Lotus mat' on an unfamiliar site of Amazon, valued at $18.

Netizens have expressed anger at e-commerce giant Amazon for selling 'Om' printed doormats on its website in the United States and the United Kingdom. A US retailer recorded an item 'Yoga Lotus mat' on an unfamiliar site of Amazon, valued at $18.67 (15.78 euros). The image additionally had an image 'Om' imprinted on it which incensed Indians. This isn't the first run through Amazon has confronted such kickback. Recently, the Internet was irritated over Amazon for selling mats and restroom carpets with pictures of Lord Ganesha, the otherworldly image Om, and the Indian banner. In January, one of the mats highlighting Lord Ganesha was being sold by the vender Saety Bathroom Rugs with shading alternatives, for example, 'Brilliant Mandala Hindu Lord Baby Mat Sets' worth $21.99. #BoycottAmazon is trending on Twitter in India for allegedly demeaning the Hindu religion and hurting sentiments of the people belonging to the religion. We too have religious sentiments. Don't violate Section 295A. The section says that any person deliberatly and maliciously intended to outrage religious feelings can be punished for the term prescribed or extended upto 3 years.#BoycottAmazon pic.twitter.com/gnV7F0L2qd — Piyush 🇮🇳// Navya Stan (@SfMaverick) November 10, 2020 × Just cancelled my Diwali orders and gave my strong feedback against this all to them. They have assured to remove all such products but till then let's #BoycottAmazon pic.twitter.com/7ldcgbusAF — Apoorvaa Shrivastava (@Its_Apoorvaa) November 10, 2020 × #BoycottAmazon My first step pic.twitter.com/Tx8iHl8YoQ — RAJA PAVAN (@RAJAPAVAN20) November 10, 2020 × #BoycottAmazon for Demeaning Hinduism. @AmazonUK and @amazon have deliberately sold products that hurts #Hindus. It is not business but mockery @naomi2009 @Mahna5G @KhajuriaManu @rana1_n @deepduttajourno @loveenatandon @RecorderElle pic.twitter.com/ND1G3ObuUE pic.twitter.com/fBFsB5DAmL — Videsi Desi (@rana1_n) November 9, 2020 × Several netizens also compared the offensive measure to the controversial advertisement by jewellery brand Tanishq. Also read: Tanishq pulls down new advertisement after being accused of promoting 'Love Jihad' #BoycottAmazon #BoycottAmazon Tanishq to Amazon pic.twitter.com/5Ark5p6n0B — ROHIT CHHAVDI🇮🇳 (@rohit_chhavdi) November 10, 2020 × Tanishq's advertisement depicting an inter-faith marriage had received a sharp backlash on social media with many accusing the company of 'love jihad' and 'fake secularism'. Calls for blacklist of brands, films, items, and missions have become a week by week pattern via online media in the past few months.

#BoycottAmazon trending in India for selling 'Om' printed doormats

When protests swept Hong Kong last year, Alexandra Wong, better known as “Grandma Wong,” always seemed to be there. Day after day, she stood out among the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators as a small woman with short gray hair waving a large British flag.

Then, during a few tumultuous days in August when the police fired tear gas in a subway station and protesters shut down the city’s airport, Wong, 64, suddenly vanished.

Her friends in the movement quickly had their suspicions. They believed she had disappeared into China’s opaque legal system, an alarming outcome for protesters that has become all the more chilling after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong this year. When Wong finally reemerged last month, she confirmed that she had been detained by the Chinese authorities.

“I worried that I would die in China,” she said.

For many in Hong Kong, her detention was a reminder of what had brought them to the streets in the first place: an extradition bill to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party. Her arrest was confirmation that Beijing’s creeping authoritarianism had hardly been curbed by the bill’s failure to pass and that the protesters had been right to sound the alarm when they did.

In August, 12 activists were detained by Chinese officials while trying to flee Hong Kong by speedboat. They still haven’t been allowed to see their lawyers.

“Her experience shows that the whole anti-extradition bill movement was correct,” said Fernando Cheung, a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong who helped Wong during her detention. “It shows that the worries we had about the extradition bill were true. Look at how they execute the law in the mainland.”

Wong has never married and has no children. She grew up in Hong Kong and worked in the city as an accountant. But in 2006, as the cost of living ballooned, she moved to Shenzhen, a neighboring city in the Chinese mainland with more affordable housing.

She had long written to Hong Kong officials with suggestions on how to address the city’s growing income inequality — a higher minimum wage, stipends to support artists — but felt she had been ignored. Her activism grew more serious about a decade ago. She participated in some of the city’s biggest demonstrations, like the annual vigil to remember those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and marches calling for direct elections in Hong Kong.

During the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, she spent weeks sleeping on the streets. After the protest encampments were removed by the authorities, she returned and stayed outside the government headquarters for more than a month, lining the sidewalks with umbrellas.

The playful yellow toy ducks she carried became her mascots.

In Shenzhen, where the police have more leeway to prosecute political dissent, Wong would often complain about excessive security checks. But unlike in Hong Kong, few of her friends would join her in protest. When she disappeared, many assumed she had been stopped by the mainland police on her way home from protesting.

Wong said she had been detained while crossing the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on Aug. 14, and spent 15 days in administrative detention without being told of her crimes. Investigators grilled her about the protests, the British flag and whether she used violence, she said. They showed her photos of protesters and asked her if she knew them.

They showed her news photos of herself: “Is that you?”

She was then sent to a second detention center and kept in a small cell with 15 other people. “It was very difficult for an old woman,” she said. The authorities also took her on a five-day trip from Shenzhen to Shaanxi Province in northwest China. She had visited there years before as a volunteer for a Christian charity organization.

The return trip with the authorities was meant to show her how quickly the area had been developed under Communist Party rule, and to instill a sense of patriotism. While there, she said she had been asked to take photos with the Chinese flag and to sing the national anthem. She was eventually released on a form of bail that prevented her from leaving Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen police did not respond to requests for comment, but Wong provided documentation on her bail and a receipt for items that were held while she was in detention. Before she was released, she said, she was forced to say on video that she had not been abused while in custody, that she would not talk to the news media about her experience and that she would never protest again.

Last month, one full year after the initial bail period began, she was given the necessary paperwork allowing her to leave Shenzhen and return to Hong Kong. She now stays in a small hotel room in Hong Kong’s New Territories, but the city she has returned to is much different from the one she remembers.

The streets are no longer filled with protesters and police officers. The government has banned gatherings of more than four people, a measure meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has also proved useful against the protests.

And the national security law has been used to target dissidents for what the authorities have called secession and terrorism. Activist Tony Chung, 19, was charged with secession and conspiracy to publish seditious material. He was arrested last month near the United States Consulate, where, an advocacy group said, he had planned to seek shelter. Tim Luk, another activist, was arrested Monday and accused of aiding Chung.

The United States has criticized the growing crackdown in Hong Kong and sanctioned key officials. On Monday, it added four more Chinese and Hong Kong officials to its list, barring them from traveling to the U.S. and freezing any assets they might have in the country.

For Wong, protesting now comes with greater risks. Waving a Union Jack — in her mind a symbol of the rights protected by the British government, not an endorsement of colonialism — has become “very dangerous,” she said. But detention has only strengthened her resolve for democracy.

Despite the pledges she made under duress, she continues to protest, and recently took the subway for an hour to the northeast corner of Hong Kong Island, where a trial is scheduled to begin for six young demonstrators charged with illegal assembly.

She walked to the courthouse carrying a handwritten sign: “Save HK Youths.”

The police officers at the courthouse paid little attention to her, and when she spoke to reporters, her voice barely carried over the breeze. “I have to continue so that we will be victorious one day,” she said. “I am sure we will overcome.”

The ducks have also returned with Wong.

She held them in a short video she sent to supporters last month.

“We are safe and sound because we are here on Hong Kong soil,” she said. But the city, she added, “has already changed.”

When protests swept Hong Kong last year, Alexandra Wong, better known as “Grandma Wong,” always seemed to be there. Day after day, she stood out among the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators as a small woman with short gray hair waving a large British flag.

When protests swept Hong Kong last year, Alexandra Wong, better known as “Grandma Wong,” always seemed to be there. Day after day, she stood out among the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators as a small woman with short gray hair waving a large British flag. Then, during a few tumultuous days in August when the police fired tear gas in a subway station and protesters shut down the city’s airport, Wong, 64, suddenly vanished. Her friends in the movement quickly had their suspicions. They believed she had disappeared into China’s opaque legal system, an alarming outcome for protesters that has become all the more chilling after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong this year. When Wong finally reemerged last month, she confirmed that she had been detained by the Chinese authorities. “I worried that I would die in China,” she said. For many in Hong Kong, her detention was a reminder of what had brought them to the streets in the first place: an extradition bill to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party. Her arrest was confirmation that Beijing’s creeping authoritarianism had hardly been curbed by the bill’s failure to pass and that the protesters had been right to sound the alarm when they did. In August, 12 activists were detained by Chinese officials while trying to flee Hong Kong by speedboat. They still haven’t been allowed to see their lawyers. “Her experience shows that the whole anti-extradition bill movement was correct,” said Fernando Cheung, a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong who helped Wong during her detention. “It shows that the worries we had about the extradition bill were true. Look at how they execute the law in the mainland.” Wong has never married and has no children. She grew up in Hong Kong and worked in the city as an accountant. But in 2006, as the cost of living ballooned, she moved to Shenzhen, a neighboring city in the Chinese mainland with more affordable housing. She had long written to Hong Kong officials with suggestions on how to address the city’s growing income inequality — a higher minimum wage, stipends to support artists — but felt she had been ignored. Her activism grew more serious about a decade ago. She participated in some of the city’s biggest demonstrations, like the annual vigil to remember those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and marches calling for direct elections in Hong Kong. During the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, she spent weeks sleeping on the streets. After the protest encampments were removed by the authorities, she returned and stayed outside the government headquarters for more than a month, lining the sidewalks with umbrellas. The playful yellow toy ducks she carried became her mascots. In Shenzhen, where the police have more leeway to prosecute political dissent, Wong would often complain about excessive security checks. But unlike in Hong Kong, few of her friends would join her in protest. When she disappeared, many assumed she had been stopped by the mainland police on her way home from protesting. Wong said she had been detained while crossing the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on Aug. 14, and spent 15 days in administrative detention without being told of her crimes. Investigators grilled her about the protests, the British flag and whether she used violence, she said. They showed her photos of protesters and asked her if she knew them. They showed her news photos of herself: “Is that you?” She was then sent to a second detention center and kept in a small cell with 15 other people. “It was very difficult for an old woman,” she said. The authorities also took her on a five-day trip from Shenzhen to Shaanxi Province in northwest China. She had visited there years before as a volunteer for a Christian charity organization. The return trip with the authorities was meant to show her how quickly the area had been developed under Communist Party rule, and to instill a sense of patriotism. While there, she said she had been asked to take photos with the Chinese flag and to sing the national anthem. She was eventually released on a form of bail that prevented her from leaving Shenzhen. The Shenzhen police did not respond to requests for comment, but Wong provided documentation on her bail and a receipt for items that were held while she was in detention. Before she was released, she said, she was forced to say on video that she had not been abused while in custody, that she would not talk to the news media about her experience and that she would never protest again. Last month, one full year after the initial bail period began, she was given the necessary paperwork allowing her to leave Shenzhen and return to Hong Kong. She now stays in a small hotel room in Hong Kong’s New Territories, but the city she has returned to is much different from the one she remembers. The streets are no longer filled with protesters and police officers. The government has banned gatherings of more than four people, a measure meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has also proved useful against the protests. And the national security law has been used to target dissidents for what the authorities have called secession and terrorism. Activist Tony Chung, 19, was charged with secession and conspiracy to publish seditious material. He was arrested last month near the United States Consulate, where, an advocacy group said, he had planned to seek shelter. Tim Luk, another activist, was arrested Monday and accused of aiding Chung. The United States has criticized the growing crackdown in Hong Kong and sanctioned key officials. On Monday, it added four more Chinese and Hong Kong officials to its list, barring them from traveling to the U.S. and freezing any assets they might have in the country. For Wong, protesting now comes with greater risks. Waving a Union Jack — in her mind a symbol of the rights protected by the British government, not an endorsement of colonialism — has become “very dangerous,” she said. But detention has only strengthened her resolve for democracy. Despite the pledges she made under duress, she continues to protest, and recently took the subway for an hour to the northeast corner of Hong Kong Island, where a trial is scheduled to begin for six young demonstrators charged with illegal assembly. She walked to the courthouse carrying a handwritten sign: “Save HK Youths.” The police officers at the courthouse paid little attention to her, and when she spoke to reporters, her voice barely carried over the breeze. “I have to continue so that we will be victorious one day,” she said. “I am sure we will overcome.” The ducks have also returned with Wong. She held them in a short video she sent to supporters last month. “We are safe and sound because we are here on Hong Kong soil,” she said. But the city, she added, “has already changed.”

Hong Kong protest icon mysteriously vanished. Then she returned unbowed

Tech giant&nbsp;Microsoft Corp&nbsp;on Tuesday launched two models of its Xbox gaming console,&nbsp;kicking off a holiday season battle with Sony's latest PlayStation model.

The Xbox Series X, which the company has described as the "world's most powerful console", will retail for $499.99 (379.1 pounds) and a lower-priced Xbox Series S will sell for $299.99.

The strategy offers consumers greater choice but the compact Series S faces criticism for being less powerful than the Series X, with less storage capacity and lacking advanced "ray tracing" graphics for titles like Capcom's "Devil May Cry 5."

Xbox will compete with Sony Corp's PlayStation 5, scheduled to launch on Thursday. PS5 is widely viewed as leading the console race due to its bigger fan base and a broader range of exclusive gaming titles available at launch.

The launches are well-placed to capitalise on a massive spike in demand for gaming. Rising numbers of people around the world are seeking distraction during a pandemic that has killed 1.25 million people and left at least 3 billion more in some form of lockdown since the virus appeared in late December.

But while lockdowns and restrictions may have boosted sales, they have also forced companies to move their launch events online.

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service with more than 100 titles including brand new games, is seen as the company's greatest weapon for cutting in to PlayStation's dominance. Game Pass has grown rapidly to more than 15 million users since its launch.

However, Xbox is seen as lacking killer launch titles, with the latest "Halo" game in the flagship series pushed back to next year as the pandemic hit development.

"Each studio is facing unique challenges and constraints depending on its particular location, and many of our external development partners around the world are similarly affected," said Ryan Cameron, director at Xbox, EMEA.

Phil Spencer, executive vice-president of gaming at&nbsp;Microsoft, told gamers on a Facebook live event that they were taking "the first step into the next generation of gaming."

"And you will be the first in the world to experience it."

The pandemic also means no long lines of customers camped outside stores, with the pre-orders snapped up online instead more likely to be delivered to gamers' homes.

Swan song for physical consoles?

Microsoft&nbsp;is hoping its next-generation offering will help close the gap with Sony, whose PlayStation 4 sold twice as well as the Xbox One since they both were released in 2013.

Unlike the PlayStation 5, whose release will be staggered in different countries from Thursday, the Xbox Series X hit the shelves worldwide on Tuesday.

Both Sony and&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;have lined up a roster of eagerly awaited games -- headlined by the latest edition of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, an open-world Viking epic -- to launch with the consoles, which will offer much more powerful central and graphics processors than their predecessors.

In a competitive industry where focus is shifting to online play, this could be a swan song for physical consoles, with both firms betting on cloud servers to do the heavy processing lifting in the future.

Tech giant Microsoft Corp on Tuesday launched two models of its Xbox gaming console, kicking off a holiday season battle with Sony's latest PlayStation model. The Xbox Series X, which the company has described as the "world's most powerful console", will retail for $499.

Tech giant Microsoft Corp on Tuesday launched two models of its Xbox gaming console, kicking off a holiday season battle with Sony's latest PlayStation model. The Xbox Series X, which the company has described as the "world's most powerful console", will retail for $499.99 (379.1 pounds) and a lower-priced Xbox Series S will sell for $299.99. The strategy offers consumers greater choice but the compact Series S faces criticism for being less powerful than the Series X, with less storage capacity and lacking advanced "ray tracing" graphics for titles like Capcom's "Devil May Cry 5." Xbox will compete with Sony Corp's PlayStation 5, scheduled to launch on Thursday. PS5 is widely viewed as leading the console race due to its bigger fan base and a broader range of exclusive gaming titles available at launch. The launches are well-placed to capitalise on a massive spike in demand for gaming. Rising numbers of people around the world are seeking distraction during a pandemic that has killed 1.25 million people and left at least 3 billion more in some form of lockdown since the virus appeared in late December. But while lockdowns and restrictions may have boosted sales, they have also forced companies to move their launch events online. Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service with more than 100 titles including brand new games, is seen as the company's greatest weapon for cutting in to PlayStation's dominance. Game Pass has grown rapidly to more than 15 million users since its launch. However, Xbox is seen as lacking killer launch titles, with the latest "Halo" game in the flagship series pushed back to next year as the pandemic hit development. "Each studio is facing unique challenges and constraints depending on its particular location, and many of our external development partners around the world are similarly affected," said Ryan Cameron, director at Xbox, EMEA. Phil Spencer, executive vice-president of gaming at Microsoft, told gamers on a Facebook live event that they were taking "the first step into the next generation of gaming." "And you will be the first in the world to experience it." The pandemic also means no long lines of customers camped outside stores, with the pre-orders snapped up online instead more likely to be delivered to gamers' homes. Swan song for physical consoles? Microsoft is hoping its next-generation offering will help close the gap with Sony, whose PlayStation 4 sold twice as well as the Xbox One since they both were released in 2013. Unlike the PlayStation 5, whose release will be staggered in different countries from Thursday, the Xbox Series X hit the shelves worldwide on Tuesday. Both Sony and Microsoft have lined up a roster of eagerly awaited games -- headlined by the latest edition of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, an open-world Viking epic -- to launch with the consoles, which will offer much more powerful central and graphics processors than their predecessors. In a competitive industry where focus is shifting to online play, this could be a swan song for physical consoles, with both firms betting on cloud servers to do the heavy processing lifting in the future.

Microsoft launches 'world's most powerful' next-generation Xbox gaming console

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Zee News Rajasthan

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Vyomica Berry

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