In January 2014, an endangered plant was taken from Kew Gardens — only a few years after scientists saved it from extinction. Sam Knight investigates what happens when plant obsession turns criminal.
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It's 2020, and millions of Americans — now bound to their homes — still don't have reliable internet access. In a pandemic, that's a public health crisis.
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The food influencers at Chefclub came up with this, er, unconventional way to cook a Crispy Potato Chip Omelette, which is being hailed online as either brilliant or a crime against humanity.
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Florida had 1,413 new reported cases of COVID-19 Friday, the highest number of new cases since the outbreak began more than a month ago, according to the state's Department of Health. It also reported 58 new deaths since Thursday evening.
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More than 20 experts in public health, medicine and history shared their thoughts on the future. Most believed that once the crisis was over, the nation and its economy would revive quickly. But there would be no escaping a period of intense pain.
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The failure by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to quickly produce a test kit for detecting the novel coronavirus was triggered by a glaring scientific breakdown at the CDC's central laboratory complex in Atlanta, according to scientists with knowledge of the matter and a determination by federal regulators.
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The sonic landscape has changed. Even in the biggest, most densely populated cities, amid the uncertainty and suffering of the pandemic, people are beginning to hear something entirely new.
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Republicans increasingly believe that elevating China's culpability for spreading the coronavirus may be the best way to improve their difficult election chances. The president is muddying the message.
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Last weekend, World of Warcraft private server Elysium planted a single, awful seed. Server organisers coated one in-game item with a highly infectious virus. Within 24 hours of first infection, it had spread to over 7,000 players. This was Pandemic in Azeroth, an attempt from one fan project to deliver actionable real-world advice on surviving the Covid-19 pandemic to World of Warcraft’s fantasy denizens.
Sundays are for continuing to continue continuing staying at home. Here’s the best writing about videogames from the past week.
For her blog, Emilie M. Reed took apart Western assumptions about visual novels. It’s a cracking piece, examining the central tenets of the genre in the context of people’s uncharitable interpretations. It’s also a review of Hashihime Of The Old Book Town.
Like the sort of macabre bragging right that has you somewhat proud of your hometown’s staggering crime rates, we’ve sure got a few cheaters over here on PC. At least, that seems to increasingly be the view of the folks stuck playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with us over crossplay. Now, it seems some would rather brave the long queue times of running and gunning on their own platform that risk facing off against PC’s home-grown hackers.
Cosmo D’s Tales From Off-Peak City Volume 1 might as well be a dream. None of the lines make sense, voices are disembodied and audible only as music, with a general sense of being neither somewhere nor elsewhere. The pizza toppings look gross. But even if the developer’s world seems pieced together from half-forgotten memories, it’s all quite real and – as a new trailer this week attests – available to buy come May 17th.
After dabbling in curated Bitsy exhibitions, Pittsburgh indie collective LIKELIKE have brought a new show to their low-res gallery. The Online Museum of Multiplayer Art opened its doors last night, a collection of social experiments and collaborative folk rituals. If the last exhibition captured the feeling of discovering hidden gems on a convention floor, this week’s gallery encourages you to finally strike up a conversation with your fellow visitors.
A map showing the locations of, left to right, the Pentagon, the State Department's headquarters, and the White House. The DUCC would have been located underground somewhere between these buildings underneath the Potomac River. Google Maps
Unlike any fortification on earth, the Deep Underground Command Center was intended to withstand multiple direct hits from giant nukes on Doomsday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the topic of "continuity of government," plans in place to ensure critical elements of the U.S. government can keep functioning in the midst of an extreme crisis, back into the general public consciousness. It has also sparked renewed interest in the hardened, underground facilities where those personnel would work, such as the U.S. military's "underground Pentagon" at Raven Rock, which you can read about more in this past War Zone feature. Had the U.S. government made different decisions during the Cold War, some of these teams might be sheltering inside a massive, very deeply buried bunker unlike any on earth, intended to shrug off direct impacts from nuclear bombs with huge yields of hundreds of megatons.
When Navy SEAL Will Chesney first met a military working dog named Cairo, he didn't know this canine would be The One: a fearless warrior with a soft side, an attack dog who would know the difference between a baby and a bad guy, the lone non-human US soldier to raid Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011.
Nope. Back on that fateful day in 2008, after Chesney decided to become a dog handler, he took his first instruction seriously — these dogs weren't like pets. They were lethal weapons.
Despite that warning, handlers are dog people, and they know how profound this bond is. As Chesney writes in "No Ordinary Dog," his new memoir of life and military service with this storied veteran (co-authored with Joe Layden), "Cairo was not my first choice. Might as well be honest about that."
Cars drive by a billboard of Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside the words "thanks, brother Xi" written in Serbian and Chinese, in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 1, 2020. Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters
* China has been sending medical teams and protective equipment to countries battling the coronavirus, a strategy dubbed "mask diplomacy." * While sending medical help is inherently benign, China seems to have another motive: to win points on the world stage. * Officials at home have been praising China's "helping hand" abroad, and diplomats are reportedly asking foreign officials to praise China in public. * Though China's efforts have borne fruit in a few places, many are still skeptical of Beijing's motives and don't see it as a trustworthy leader in the outbreak.
Over the past few weeks, China has been sending medics, masks, ventilators, and shipments of other precious protective equipment to countries in the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak.
While the care packages will surely help those who receive them — the US, Spain, Italy, France, and Britain have all reported more than 10,000 deaths — they are likely underpinned by hard-nosed calculation.
The shipments are part of a broad effort — dubbed "mask diplomacy" to win goodwill around the world, and help establish the in the role of global leadership it has long aspired to take on.
WNU Editor: Country's are now focused on combating the Covid-19 coronavirus, and will take whatever China (or any other country) can offer. But I expect that when this pandemic is over, countries around the world are going to ask hard questions on how did this pandemic start, and who should be held accountable. Here is an easy prediction. When this is over, all eyes will be on China.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) regional office in Europe on Tuesday published a report calling for people to limit their alcohol intake during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the WHO, an increase of alcohol consumption while countries around the world are on lockdown to prevent further spread of the disease can lead to "health vulnerability, risk-taking behaviours, mental health issues and violence."
The organization notes that alcohol "compromises the body's immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes."
A pandemic myth that claims consuming high-strength alcohol can kill the virus is false and can lead to fatal health consequences, the WHO says.
Both the United States and Canada have sent money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese lab that multiple sources tell Fox News is suspected of being the likely source of the coronavirus pandemic -- with the Canadian funding coming as recently as last month.
Fox News reported Wednesday that, according to sources, there is increasing confidence the novel coronavirus likely escaped from the Wuhan laboratory, where it was being studied, with a worker spreading it to the larger population.
In a news release from early March, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research announced millions in funding to research and develop tools such as vaccines and tests to combat the coronavirus. One project that got $828,046 from the agency was aimed at developing a rapid coronavirus test "using isothermal amplification and CRISPR technology." Among the organizations on the project was the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
WNU Editor: The U.S. gave funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic broke out .... Wuhan lab was performing coronavirus experiments on bats from the caves where the disease is believed to have originated - with a £3m grant from the US (Daily Mail). But Canada gave its money only last month, money that was given directly to the scientists who are working at this lab?!?!?!? WTF!?!?!?! There is no reason why anyone should trust anything come out from China right now, especially from a government that has deliberately destroyed public records pertaining to the outbreak from December/January, as well as silencing those in China who are investigating the origins of this pandemic. I hope at his next press conference a reporter will ask the Prime Minister on why was this money given, and is there any oversight on what will happen to these funds. Since the Wuhan Institute of Virology is now closed to foreigners, I am willing to bet that there is no oversight. Details on this Canadian contribution are here .... Government of Canada invests $27M in coronavirus research – Details of the funded projects (Government of Canada).
WNU Editor: Join Global Citizen, the World Health Organization, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and many more artists and healthcare experts as we raise funds for global COVID-19 response efforts. Learn more at GlobalCitizen.org/TogetherAtHome.
ARTIST Lineup
Hours 1 & 2 Adam Lambert Andra Day Black Coffee Charlie Puth Eason Chan Hozier & Maren Morris Hussain Al Jassmi Jennifer Hudson Jessie Reyez Kesha Lang Lang Liam Payne Lisa Mishra Luis Fonsi Milky Chance Niall Horan Picture This Rita Ora Sofi Tukker The Killers Vishal Mishra
Hours 3 & 4 Adam Lambert Annie Lennox Ben Platt Cassper Nyovest Christine And The Queens Common Delta Goodrem Ellie Goulding Finneas Jack Johnson Jacky Cheung Jess Glynne Jessie J Juanes Kesha Michael Bublé Rita Ora Sebastián Yatra Sheryl Crow Sho Madjozi Sofi Tukker The Killers Zucchero
Hours 5 & 6 Angèle Annie Lennox Ben Platt Billy Ray Cyrus Charlie Puth Christine And The Queens Common Eason Chan Ellie Goulding Hozier Jennifer Hudson Jessie J John Legend Juanes Lady Antebellum Leslie Odom Jr. Luis Fonsi Niall Horan Picture This Sebastián Yatra Sheryl Crow SuperM
Beijing has spent billions to win friends and influence politics in Africa. But the virus is threatening to upend years of careful work.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Africa was supposed to be China's new stomping grounds. Instead, the novel coronavirus has spawned a growing backlash that threatens to unwind the ties Beijing has carefully cultivated over decades.
The trigger for the burgeoning diplomatic crisis: Anger over the treatment of African citizens living in China and frustration at Beijing's position on granting debt relief to fight against the outbreak.
China has spent untold billions in Africa since its emergence as a global power, investing in its natural resources, underwriting massive infrastructure projects and wooing its leaders. The campaign has bought China friends and allies in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization, undermining the West's once-reliable lock on the postwar world order while fueling its economy back home.
WNU Editor: While the total number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Africa are still low, the daily number of confirmed cases continues to explode exponentially .... Coronavirus in Africa tracker (BBC). If this continues, and I am betting that it will, in six weeks the number of cases and deaths in Africa will be approaching U.S. and European numbers. And while many are hopeful that Africa's climate will help to stem the growth of this pandemic, I am not that optimistic. This coronavirus pandemic is the deadliest that we have seen in a long time, and it is not going to go away anytime soon. Here is an easy prediction. In the event that the worst case scenario does unfold in Africa, many Africans will be looking at China with suspicions and a lot of anger. They will not forget, nor will they forgive how China purposely held back information on this disease in the beginning. And as for China moving forward to forgive debt from African nations, I can say with confidence that it is not going to happen. China is not in the charity business. And if they do give something, there will be strings attached.
Travelling back to Montreal today to check up on the house, pick up the mail, etc.. Blogging will return later today.
Update 18:45 EST: After spending almost a month in the woods, it was surreal to leave the chalet and drive back into Montreal (it's a two hour drive). First thing I noticed was that gas is cheap (a third off from the usual price), and with the exception of a lot of police cars, there was little if any traffic on the highway. When I got to the suburb where I live, I saw a lot of line-ups in front of the supermarkets and pharmacies. Physical distancing is clearly enforced. Went into a fruit and vegetable store that I like, and noticed that prices have gone up a lot since my last visit 4 weeks ago (about 30%). Everyone in the store was aggressive. There was no chatter. Just go in, get your stuff, and get out ASAP. Got a lot of stares because I was wearing a 3M N95 mask. Two customers asked me where did I get mine. Told them the truth. Got a whole bunch in February because I was expecting this. 90% of the customers and none of the staff had any protection. I was in and out under 15 minutes, and got home in about 10 minutes. I was definitely relieved to get back home. I live in front of the Saint Lawrence river, and across the street from my home there is a popular bike path that runs along the river. I saw a lot of couples and families walking together, and a lot bicyclists. Again. No one wearing any masks. My neighbours are telling me that everyone is OK. No one is sick. But they all know someone who is. I have a lot of the usual mail. Otherwise no surprises. It is almost as if I had never left. Happy to be in my man-cave right now. Regular blogging will be returning within the hour. Will be staying here until Tuesday. Tomorrow is Russian Orthodox Easter, and Monday is my mother's 94th birthday. I expect a lot of phone calls. Will be back up north on Tuesday. I found myself limited in my blogging when I was up north. Had only one computer to do everything, and because of that I estimate my productivity dropped to around 30%. Bringing my best system and a back-up system this time around. I have reluctantly accepted the fact that quarantines and restrictions are going to be a part of everyone's life until mid-summer (or longer).
The UK is moving to drop Huawei as a vendor for the country's 5G cellphone network in a major blow to Communist China over poor coronavirus transparency.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, now recovering from COVID-19, gave the Chinese company a role in 5G infrastructure this year, squashing opposition last month by 24 votes in the 650-seat House of Commons.
But now, concern about the Chinese Communist Party's inaccurate reporting on the coronavirus has lawmakers crafting plans for a retreat.
WNU Editor: How can any country trust China after how they have responded to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is beyond me. Let us see if other countries follow the UK lead. I know in Canada the government has delayed their decision .... Huawei warning matters now more than ever (Toronto Sun editorial).
Chinese state-owned media have released footage showing the test of the next generation of an assault rifle, called the QBZ-191.
The 'QBZ' acronym stands for 'Qīngwǔqì Bùqiāng Zìdòng', literally meaning 'light weapon, rifle, automatic'. The digits usually denote the final year of a weapon's development.
The video, released by the state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), included footage showing the basic and advanced version of QBZ-95 during its tests at the No. 208 Research Institute of China Ordnance Industries.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have once again ramped up operations along the southern Lebanese border at a moment Hezbollah leadership has declared it is "fully prepared for war with Israel".
The latest escalation came Wednesday when an Israeli drone targeted a car full of Hezbollah operatives just inside Syria near the border with Lebanon. The Shia resistance organization said all escaped alive and without injury in what's become an increasingly common IDF tactic - assassination attempt by drone.
However, it's extremely rare that such an assassination attempt be caught on video. But on Friday CCTV footage emerged capturing the moment of the strike, appearing in Arabic and Israeli media.
"This is wrong, and it needs to stop. Especially now."
The Taliban in Afghanistan signed a peace agreement with the United States on February 29 and stopped attacking American forces there.
But there's no peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government — which means fighting between the two has continued unabated, even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On March 20, Taliban fighters attacked an outpost in Zabul province and killed at least 24 Afghan soldiers, which caused outrage across the country. One day later, an Afghan government airstrike in Kunduz province killed 13 civilians, including 10 children. Two weeks ago, Afghan troops killed or wounded at least nine Taliban insurgents in Jawzjan province.
"This is wrong, and it needs to stop. Especially now," said Dr. Sayed Shah, a medic from Afghanistan's Baghlan province. Shah's concerns are shared by many Afghans who are frustrated that the Taliban and the Afghan National Army are continuing to fight while the coronavirus spreads across the country.
As of April 15, Afghanistan has reported 784 Covid-19 cases and 26 deaths, but observers and medics on the ground believe the real number of infections could be much higher. A majority of the infected people are from Herat province, which shares a border with Iran, a country that has been hit heavily by the pandemic.
WNU Editor: The Taliban are saying they are doing their part to combat the Covid-19 pandemic .... Taliban launches campaign to help Afghanistan fight coronavirus (Al Jazeera). But this is just PR. In the meantime the war continues .... Taliban reject Ghani's ceasefire call despite looming coronavirus crisis (Arab News).
PRC moral turpitude forces us to consider the unthinkable.
We often ascribe a basic level of humanity to even the cruelest leaders, but People's Republic of China leader Xi Jinping's actions have forced us to rethink this assumption. Although the emergence of the novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 was probably not due to China's actions, the emphasis that its authoritarian system places on hiding bad news likely gave the disease a sizable head start infecting the world. But most ominously, China's obsession with image and Machtpolitik raises serious questions about its lack of moral limits.
At some point the Chinese Communist Party learned of the epidemic and made a decision to hide its existence, hoping it went away. Exposés in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post and the Chinese mainland's Caixin show that the information that did flow out of China early in the crisis did so only because of the courage of individual Chinese people in the face of government repression. People in the Wuhan epicenter, however, began to get wise — and scared (here and here) — by the end of December 2019, forcing their government to say something. The authorities gave the impression of a nontransmissible disease already under containment. We know now this was entirely false, likely designed more to ease civil unrest than protect the people.
A FRESH coronvirus outbreak in China's Henan province has raised fears of a devastating second COVID-19 wave - despite the ruling Chinese Communist Party's attempts to claim the country is winning the battle against the disease.
CHELSEA CLINTON had a brutal assessment of Ivanka Trump, who used to be a good friend of hers, during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
THE UK has joined the US and other countries in investigating the mysterious origin of the coronavirus outbreak, including the theory that COVID-19 started in a secretive Wuhan virus lab.
THE World Health Organization has warned there is "no evidence" to suggest people who have recovered from coronavirus have developed immunity, prompting fears people could catch COVID-19 more than once.
ISIS fighters discovered an ancient Assyrian palace under the ruins of Mosul, but unfortunately, they looted and sold off the tantalising treasures they discovered.
Of all the features Snapchat has rolled out over the last several years, it’s Stories that will likely stand the test of time. Log onto any social media app today, and you’ll likely see a barrage of “stories” from creators, friends, and other people you follow online. Every single app Facebook owns, from their flagship social network to spin-offs like Messenger, WhatsApp, and of course, Instagram. Google has experimented with adding stories to YouTube of all things, and even Skype had a similar stories feature for several months before it was rolled back by Microsoft. With so many apps featuring this derivative idea, it can be tough to remember that it’s Snapchat that is owed the privilege of being praised with first creating and popularizing the idea.
If you’ve flipped through your entire list of Stories in Snapchat, you’ll likely notice that, unlike a standard Snap, you’re presented with a replay button on each Story. If you’ve used Snapchat for years, you know that the app notifies users when someone replays a photo or video. Does Snapchat do the same for Stories? Read on to find out.
Does Snapchat Notify Users If You’ve Seen Their Story?
Yes, but not directly. While some applications allow you full customization when it comes to receiving notifications, Snapchat isn’t one of them. Your notifications work one way and one way only, and you’re stuck with either turning them on off. Ask anyone who has tried to turn off the notifications for when someone begins typing in your chat window—the customization opens within Snapchat is limited to say the least.
So, despite the app notifying you, for example, when someone begins typing, Snapchat’s menu for changing your notifications doesn’t include anything about Stories outside of receiving occasional notifications when your friends post Stories. You may receive notifications about memories, birthdays, or other content, but when it comes to receiving notifications about who viewed your Story, expect your phone to stay silent. It’s an unfortunate missing feature, one we hoped would eventually make an appearance within the app, but unfortunately, it seems as though we’re out of luck for now.
But Can You See Who Viewed Your Story?
While you may not be able to receive notifications for who has viewed your story, you can still see who actually did view it. They may not push you a notification, but Snapchat does allow you to view which of your followers have and haven’t seen your story. It’s a really interesting idea for making this type of network feel a bit more personable, while also knowing exactly what actions people make while viewing your story. While you won’t get any notifications for someone viewing your story twice like you will when someone replays a direct snap, you will receive a notification when someone’s screenshotted your story. Let’s take a look how all this is done.
From the stories screen inside of Snapchat, find your story at the top of the page. You’ll notice several small icons to the right of your story, highlighted in gray. Tap the triple-dotted vertical line icon on the far-right side of your display. This will drop down your story display, showing you each individual photo or video you’ve added to your story in the past twenty-four hours, plus any captions you’ve added to that story so as to identify which photo is which. On the far right of this screen, you’ll see purple icons in the shape of eyes, plus a number to the left. These icons and numbers represent the people who have viewed your story (in our example screenshot, forty-five people viewed the first snap, while forty-two people viewed the second).
It’s not good enough just to know the numbers, though—you need to know the names of who specifically has or hasn’t viewed your story. Snapchat allows you to do that too. Just tap on the eye-con from the display inside Stories, which will open your photo or video playing in the background (if it’s a video, the sound will be muted), along with a list of the names that have viewed your story. This list is in reverse-chronological order, with the top of your list showing you who most-recently viewed your story, and the bottom of your list showing you who least-recently viewed your story. If any of your friends have screenshotted your story, you’ll see a small screenshot icon (two arrows crossed with each other) next to their name.
Finally, you can also view this information from inside your story while viewing it. Tap on your story to view the visuals. At the bottom of the display, you’ll notice a small arrow pointing up on your screen. Swipe up on this arrow to load a full display of the names. You can swipe down to dismiss this display as well.
What If You Replay their Story?
While you can see the entire list of who has viewed your story by using the method above, you actually can’t see how many times someone has viewed your Story. That means that, as a viewer, you can watch and rewatch a Story over and over and over again without having to worry about someone seeing that you’ve viewed their content repeatedly.
Just remember that screenshotting a video does change how you’re viewed on the list of names shown above. There is a special icon for screenshotting, but not for replaying the story.
With Disney Plus, the company has finally delved into the world of streaming and is now enjoying substantial success with the venture.
We live in an era where Disney is no longer a network that offers children’s programs exclusively. With movies such as Star Wars, you’re going to want to know how to download Disney Plus on your Samsung Smart TV. This article discusses how you can get Disney Plus on your Samsung TV.
Get Started By Signing Up
Before you start streaming your favorite Disney movies on Disney Plus, you’ll need to sign up for an account if you don’t have one already. You can register for an account by signing up here. Aside from the regular Disney+ subscription, you can get your favorite movies, shows, and sports for one low price by bundling Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN Plus.
Does It Work on Samsung Smart TVs?
Samsung TVs have become increasingly popular and readily available to purchase in many retail stores, delivering on-demand applications like Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, Disney+, and more.
Though Disney initially left Samsung televisions off their list of supported apps, they have since expanded to Samsung TVs and many other devices and brands. They now support Amazon Fire TV and LG smart televisions too. It was apparent that they would grow their list of compatible devices, but a new venture requires gradual growth and changes. Getting back to Samsung TVs now, you can search the SmartHub to see if Disney+ is available on your particular model.
If your specific Samsung TV does not offer the Disney+ application, there are still ways to enjoy the service on your big screen. Here’s the scoop.
What If My Samsung TV Doesn’t Support Disney+?
If you’re familiar with modern technology trends, you should know at least one thing. Finding workarounds has never been easier than it is today. Even when devices function on a microscopic level, you can almost always find a solution to any technological problem, mainly owing to the “solve it or innovate it better” mentality. Nobody is reinventing any wheels in this day and age. Most companies are all about finding solutions to existing problems.
So, is there a way to download Disney Plus on your Samsung TV if Disney doesn’t support your model? Well, not exactly. No hack or add-on component is available to open the flood gates to the world of Disney Plus. However, you CAN add devices that support the app. Here are some workarounds to watching Disney+ on your Samsung HDTV.
Samsung TV Workarounds for Disney+ Streaming
The word ‘workarounds’ perhaps makes you feel like you’re about to throw on a white coat and rock those protective science goggles. No, you just need the right device to do the job.
Screencasting
Every modern smartphone or tablet device comes with a screen mirroring/casting option. Essentially, all you need to do is download Disney Plus from your device’s app store and let your smartphone or tablet send the stream to your Samsung HDTV. Of course, it depends on what model you have, but you can also use a USB device such as Chromecast if it doesn’t have the feature.
When it comes to iOS devices, make sure that both your smart TV and your smartphone get connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Then, download an app that will help you mirror your phone/tablet screen. Many iOS phones have it built right into the OS using the Apple AirPlay 2 feature. If your phone doesn’t have that option, look around the app store to find one that suits your needs. AirPlay 2 is available on most Samsung Smart TVs since 2018.
With many Android phones, you can use the built-in app for screencasting/mirroring, or find one that suits your needs better in the Play Store.
As soon as you see your phone screen mirrored on your Samsung smart TV, you can run the Disney+ app from your smartphone to stream the HD content all you want.
Streaming Devices
You’ve probably heard about Roku, Chromecast, and similar ‘streaming’ devices. Most smart TVs, Samsung or otherwise, aren’t usually loaded with a bunch of apps, but they do offer a small handful. This is where the “streamers” come in handy.
With a good streaming device, you’ll no longer have to worry about connecting your laptop to the TV via HDMI or finding ways to stream videos from your phone to the TV, while simultaneously looking for a decent charging spot to keep the fun rolling.
Streaming devices specialize in on-demand entertainment, and they work as long as you want them to, without the need for a charger. You simply connect one to your Samsung TV via an HDMI cable and then download the Disney Plus streaming app directly to it. Of course, each of these contraptions has a different setup tutorial, but they tend to be very simple and straightforward. Many streaming devices require USB power, whether you use a USB port on the TV or a power adapter (like a smartphone charger) in the wall.Disney+ supports Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Android TV, so almost any streaming box will do just fine.
In summary, screen mirroring, screencasting, or using one of the popular streaming devices is always an option for any Samsung HDTVs that don’t support Disney+. Of course, some models don’t have built-in mirroring support or any USB ports for mirroring devices, but they do have HDMI for streaming devices, so your still good to go!
Sure, dating apps like Tinder have taken some of the anxiety out of finding potential partners. Whether you’re looking for a casual hook up or the start of something new, being able to nearly anonymously connect with others takes a little bit of the edge off the awkwardness of the whole process. Still, it’s always nerve-wracking to get involved in a new relationship, especially for the person who sent the first message in a Tinder exchange. Has the person read my message? Are they just ignoring me? Is there a way for me to tell if they’ve read the message? Can I find out for sure if someone has read or reacted to your opening line on the dating app? Was it something I said, or am I going to be left wondering forever?
Tinder has alleviated many of the challenges of dating but has also created some too. Like many social apps, it creates a totally different sense of expectation that can make using the app more difficult than it should be, and while no more difficult than dating in real life, still offers similar challenges, one of which is the fear of rejection.
For some, dating does not come naturally. The shy, the naturally reticent, or introverted folks can have as much of a challenge on Tinder as they do in real life. For these individuals, the upside is that you don’t have to look the person in the eye to make that first move. While rejection is possible, the chances of actually having to awkwardly interact with a failed Tinder match in the future are pretty slim.
Did They Read Your Tinder Message?
You may notice that there aren’t any notifications on your Tinder conversations indicating whether your message has been sent, received, or read. This is intentional. Tinder used to have read receipts back when the app first launched but they were removed after user feedback (particularly from women). This is mixed news for users. Removing read receipts means you, as the sender, will never know of the person read it, laughed at it and moved on, or hasn’t even seen the message. It also removes some of the anxiety of knowing a message has been read and nothing happens. It’s definitely nerve-wracking, but in a slight different and less confrontational form.
Here’s one little piece of advice to (hopefully) help you feel a little better: the lack of action after you send that first message is normal for all online dating and not just Tinder. For whatever reason, sometimes people just don’t reply to the messages they receive. It doesn’t mean you’re a horrible person- it’s just something we all have to get used to and come to terms with. Be approachable and authentic, and do your best to not be an online creep, and you’ll know that things just didn’t work out. Either way, silent rejection is all part of the fun that is online dating.
Paid Read Receipts
Starting in June of 2019, Tinder began rolling out a paid “read receipts” function. Read receipts can be purchased in groups of 5, 10, and 20, and any time you activate the feature on a conversation, that counts as one use.
Everyone can turn Read Receipts on or off in their settings menu. If you leave the setting at its default (on), then someone who purchases read receipts can apply those receipts to your conversation, and they will start getting notifications that you have seen their messages. If you turn the setting off, then people will not be able to use a read receipt on your conversations. So, even if one party has paid for read receipts, they will not appear unless the intended recipient has their read receipt notifications set to “on.” The good news is that Tinder won’t let that usage go through, so those “bounced” read receipts can be used for another conversation.
The receipts packages work per-match – that is, once you’ve applied read receipts to a match, you’ll get receipts on all your messages to that match for as long as your conversation lasts.
Feedback in the Tinder user community has been somewhat mixed about this feature; it’s been described as a “cash grab” and as “extortion” in recent days in Tinder user groups. Although it’s clear that people don’t like the thought of being charged for the service, it’s also clear that they wish they had the ability to get read receipts on all matches. It’s an area of contention in the Tinder community… but then again, “in love and war,” as they say.
How to Write a Message to Get a Reply
Assuming that you aren’t going to shell out the money to be informed for sure whether your matches have gotten your messages, how can you increase the chances that they’ll reply?
There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting a reply to your messages in Tinder. While there is no such thing as ‘guaranteed success’, if you follow some of these tips, you stand a much better chance of hearing back and perhaps even meeting up for a date.
Here are a few things to try to get a reply on Tinder:
Plan it first
It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding a match on Tinder, but don’t get carried away. Try to restrain yourself a little and take the time to read their bio, check out all of their pics and build a picture of who they are in your mind. Use this picture to form your reply.
This might seem like a lot of effort for a hook up, but here’s the thing: you want this person to know that you’re not a creep, and that you’re looking for a mutually good time, in whatever capacity that may be. If you go off-the-cuff and try to be bold, you’re more likely to end up in a compilation of “Worst Tinder Pick Up Lines” on Reddit.
Then:
Use their profile for inspiration
Take what you have learned about them and mention something in your message. If they play guitar and you do too, use that. If they love the same sports teams you do, use that in some way. If you share interests, jobs, fantasies, tastes or anything like that, mention it in your message.
People are far more likely to respond to a message from someone they already have common ground with. Dating is tough and if some of the hard work is done for you, like having something to talk about or even just break the ice with, psychologically that’s a big boost, for both of you.
Again, don’t try to make the pieces fit. If the other person loves running, don’t try to be the joker who says “I ran once… out of pizza!” Save that one for a time when you can give it a little more context. Instead, focus on something you can relate to: “I see you like running. I’m not much of a runner myself, but I love hiking! Do you ever go to (local trail)?” The other person will be much more likely to reply to a message that is in the context of a conversation they actually want to have.
Ask questions
If you don’t have obvious common ground, ask a question or show interest in them. If you can ask a humorous question, all the better, but avoid being too “out there” at first. Anyone who has been dating for more than five minutes has already heard a lot of corny stuff, so avoid actually scaring someone with overabundant use of creativity. Use what you see and compose a reasonably intelligent or funny question and send it. What have you got to lose?
Regardless of why anyone is using Tinder, they like to see a little respect for who they are as a person. Show interest in an intelligent way and you stand a much higher chance of getting a reply.
Use a GIF or Meme
GIFs and memes can be tricky, because sometimes what you might find hilarious will be borderline offensive to someone else, especially when you know essentially nothing about them. However, there are a lot of goofy GIFs out there that might cause nothing more terrifying than a little chuckle, so if you have some funny GIFs, don’t be afraid to use them. I see lots of them in use on Tinder so don’t be afraid to use them in a message.
If you cannot think of any common ground or something funny to say and questions aren’t your thing, an amusing GIF or meme that you think fits the situation might just work!
We’ve got a lot more Tinder resources for you to check out!
Google Meet, previously known as Hangouts Meet, is a brilliant video meeting app. Originally, it used to only work on meeting room equipment. But in March of this year, it was provided with a browser and mobile device support.
Keep reading to learn how to share your screen in Google Meet, along with screen-sharing options on the Chrome browser, Android, and iOS smartphones and tablets.
How to Share Screen on Google Chrome
Google Meet makes screen sharing simple on computers and mobile devices. You just need to start a presentation on the app, or in this case, your Google Chrome browser. Without any ado, here are the instructions:
Launch Google Meet using Google Chrome on your desktop or laptop. Make sure that you’ve signed in with the correct Google account.
Start or join an existing meeting.
On the meeting screen, choose Present, followed by Present Now.
Since you want to share your screen, you’ll probably want to choose Your Entire Screen from the dropdown menu of the presentation option. Alternatively, you can only share the active Google Meet window.
Next, select Share, and you’ll be notified of sharing your entire screen. If you’re only sharing a window, you need to decide which window to share and confirm.
During your presentation, participants will see your webcam feed alongside your screen. If you want to Stop Presenting at any time, just click on that button.
How to Share Screen on iOS Phones and Tablets
Sharing your screen on iPhone or iPad has a few extra steps. Before you use Google Meet, make sure that you’ve enabled Screen Record on your device. To do that, open the Settings, go to the Control Center, choose Customize Controls, and select Screen Recording in the Include tab.
Then, swipe down from the top of your device (or swipe up from the bottom, depending on device) and select the Control Center.
Press and hold Screen Recording from this menu. Select Meet and choose Start Broadcast.
Your screen will be shared with other participants. Once you finish the presentation, select Stop Presenting within the Google Meet app.
If you want to use your device’s camera instead of sharing your screen, press the Camera icon available from the presentation menu.
How to Share Screen on Android Phones and Tablets
Sharing your screen on Android devices is arguably more straightforward than on iOS devices. The process is entirely different, as you can see right here:
First, you need to launch Google Meet on your Android tablet or phone.
Then, create or join a meeting.
During an active meeting, press the three horizontal dots button (upper-right corner of the window).
Then, choose the Present Screen.
Finally, press Start Presenting and your screen will be shared. Confirm with Start Now after reading the pop-up message.
When you’re done with the meeting, select the Stop Presenting option. Right now, Google Meet isn’t requesting any extra permissions for using the Android app and sharing your screen. But in case that changes, permit it to share your screen.
Using the Google Meet camera view instead of the screen view is also an option on Android. If you wish to do so, just tap the Camera icon during a meeting.
How It Looks on the Receiving End
Knowing how to share your screen on Google Meet is neat, but what does it look like on the other side? Well, during a live presentation in Google Meet, all the participants will only see your shared screen and nothing else.
A common question is whether or not the participants can hear audio coming from your end. The answer is no. They’ll only see your screen or a single window on your screen if you chose that option (on PC).
Finally, you can start presenting in a meeting even when somebody else is presenting at the same time. Despite this fact, it’s common courtesy to let the other presenter know that you wish to take over.
Seamless Screen Sharing
Google Meet is very straightforward, both for presenters and viewers. It gives you the capacity to host video conferences for multiple purposes. And as a cross-platform tool, people can join in from various devices.
For now, those are computers, phones, and tablets, but additional widgets may be added in the future. Who knows what new additions we can expect from Google Meet? Is there something particular you’d like to see? Do you enjoy the screen sharing on Google Meet? Let us know in the comments section below.
Thanks to services like Google Meet, online video conferencing has never been more accessible. That said, this neat app does have its drawbacks, like the number of participants visible during a meeting.
If you want to see everyone at the same time, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find out everything you need to know.
Use Google Meet Grid View
There’s only one thing separating you from seeing everyone at the same time on Google Meet – the Google Meet Grid View, an internet browser plug-in for Chrome. So, if you’re not using Chrome already, you’ll need to get it on your computer. Downloading and installing Chrome is straightforward. Follow the link above, and you’ll have Chrome in no time.
When you’re ready, you can add the Google Meet Grid View to the Chrome browser:
Launch Chrome, and visit this website. It’s the official download page for this cool Chrome extension.
There, you need to add the extension to Chrome. Just tap the appropriate button on the upper-right side of the window.
Confirm that you want to add the extension in the pop-up window.
As soon as the Google Meet Grid View installs in your browser, you’ll get a notification. It should only take a couple of seconds.
Proceed to Google Meet
Once you set up this Chrome extension, it will load automatically. There are no additional steps you need to take. If you can see the Google Meet Grid View icon in the top-right corner of your browser screen, you’re ready to join a meeting and look at everyone. Here’s how to do it:
Finally, you can see everybody in the video chat. Instead of only four people.
If you want to start a meeting and see everyone, then you need to do the following:
Open Google Meet in Chrome.
Select Join or Start a Meeting (joining and starting a meeting, share the same button).
Type in the name for your session.
Then, tap the Present option.
Lastly, you can Add People to your meeting using email or phone invitations. When people join, you’ll see all of them, no matter the number of participants.
A Useful Trick for Seeing Everyone
If all participants need to see each other in your Google Meet, you can instruct your coworkers or friends to use the Google Meet Grid View. Doing this will take some time, however, and people on mobile devices would be out of luck as browser extensions aren’t usually made for mobile browsers.
But what if we told you there’s a way to bypass this? Follow these steps:
Complete the instructions from the section above to start a Google Meet presentation.
When you select Present Now, click on A Window from the dropdown menu.
Finally, choose Share, and you’ll share your meeting screen with everybody. This way, everyone can see everyone without any hassle, thanks to your Google Meet Grid View add-on.
Use Different Google Meet Layouts
In case you don’t want to use any external plug-ins or Google Chrome, you could change the Google Meet layout to fit your needs. Note that this won’t enable you to see everyone at the same time, but it’s perhaps better than using the default layout.
Here’s how to change a Google Meet layout:
Start Google Meet on any computer browser.
Join a meeting or start a new one.
Then, select the More option in the lower-right corner of your screen.
Next, choose Change Layout.
Here you can select a different layout. Look for layout descriptions below.
Google Meet layouts look like this:
The Auto layout is the default layout, preset on Google Meet. The Tiled layout shows four screens with the participants, putting the presenter in a bigger format during the presentation, and other members next to the big window.
The Sidebar layout shows the presenter on the big screen too, while other participants show up smaller windows to the right.
The Spotlight layout shows the presenter or the active speaker on a full-screen window. Additionally, you can mark a participant you want to see in full-screen resolution.
Big Brother View
If you need to see everyone in Google Meet, your only option for now is the Google Meet Grid View. Having gained overnight popularity, Chrome plug-in is becoming one of the trendiest add-ons on the Chrome Web Store.
It’s safe, convenient, and takes up virtually no space. Feel free to share this guide with your friends and colleagues, and enjoy an enhanced Google Meet experience. Is this your primary video conference platform? Do you use it for business or fun? Feel free to add to the discussion in the comments section below.
If you’re active in the online dating world, then you have undoubtedly heard of Bumble. While Tinder remains the king of online dating apps, Bumble has carved out a solid niche for itself with its twist on the standard swipe-and-chat model.
Bumble also has areas of the app devoted to just making friends and to job networking, for those who are seeking conversations outside of romantic ones. Bumble was founded by Whitney Wolfe, a female executive at Tinder, who left to start her own app. There are many apparent similarities between the way the apps work.
For example, the matching process is nearly identical. You go through a stack of potential matches and then swipe right if you’re interested or swipe left if you’re not, and mutual right-swiping produces a match. Bumble even offers some of the same premium features that you can get on Tinder.
However, there is a vast difference in what happens next in Bumble.
Messaging on Bumble
On Tinder and most dating apps, in a male-female matchup, it is usually (though not always) the man who takes the initiative in starting the conversation. Some women even go so far as to put “I won’t message you first” in their profiles to signal that they expect a man to take the lead.
Most men on dating sites are respectful and behave appropriately, but some do not, and their behavior is not reliably predictable in advance just from seeing their profile. So for women, every right-swipe they send out is essentially giving a man permission to message them in a gross, rude, or inappropriate manner.
The result is that women protect themselves by becoming more reluctant to swipe right and more cautious in their swiping habits, which slows down the momentum of the whole dating environment.
Bumble’s creators wanted to break this pattern. Their decision has been characterized as setting up Bumble as a “female-friendly dating app” and in reality, there is some anecdotal evidence to support this idea.
The rule they created, and enforce via the software for the app, is that when a match is made between a man and a woman, the woman is the only one who can start the conversation. This gives women control over who they want to start talking with (and when), and it also lets them set the conversational tone from the beginning. It is a small but significant adjustment of the power dynamic in the matching process.
Women have 24 hours after a match in order to decide to contact or not to communicate. If the woman does send a message, then the man also has 24 hours to respond. If either party doesn’t move within their 24-hour window, then the match expires; if both parties respond, then the match becomes durable and doesn’t expire at all, and the conversation can proceed at whatever pace the matched pair likes.
Does Bumble Have Read Receipts?
Bumble doesn’t have read receipts, so when you decide to talk to that cute guy, even if they see the message you won’t be alerted. Bumble does this so no one’s feelings get hurt, and it prevents spamming messages as well.
Sometimes, when someone notices that their message was read, they will constantly ask again and again for the person to respond. This never works anyway, since the other person will likely unmatch you.
Does the Guy Know There’s a Match?
A match is made when both parties swipe right on each other. Finding out who swiped right on your account may be difficult in the free version of the dating app. Scrolling through a stack, those who’ve swiped right on you will have an indicator.
Given the slight advantage women have in this scenario, it is a natural question to ask: does the man even get notified that the match has been made?
The answer is yes: when a match is established, both parties get a push notification.
Whether in the app itself or from the notifications section of the phone, both parties will see an alert. However, the notification isn’t exactly the same for men and women.
Only the woman gets the option to message the man, and only she has access to his profile; the man is simply told that he has a match. He doesn’t even get to see who the match was, other than as a blurred image in his Beeline, a state of affairs which will persist unless and until she sends a message.
What do guys see when you match on Bumble?
As mentioned, what a guy sees is different than what the girl sees when they get a potential match. For anyone curious what the man sees after the match, he sees something similar to the picture below:
For those who’d like to see if another user has swiped right on their profile without scrolling through a stack, they will have to purchase Bumble Boost. Bumble Boost has a few features, one of which is the Bumble Beeline. This Beeline will show users which profiles have swiped right on their own.
Is There a Way for the Guy to Show He’s Interested After a Match?
Yes, a man has to wait for a woman to message him…but in practice, many women simply won’t send that first message unless there is some signaling of genuine interest on the part of the man.
It’s psychologically easier to send that first message if you’re reasonably sure that the other party is really looking forward to getting it.
So how can a man show real interest? He can’t send a message or a picture…but there are ways he can signal that he’s intrigued. One he has to do before the match, and the other he has to do afterward.
Method one: Super Swipes
This is a premium feature you will recognize as being borrowed from Tinder. Super Swipes are similar to Tinder’s Super Likes. This feature lets a potential match know you really like them. By Super Swiping, a man can indicate to a woman that he is really interested – interested enough to spend a buck or two, because Super Swipes cost money.
When a woman is going through her stack, she may come across a photo with a distinctive yellow icon. That indicates that the person in question Super Swiped her. When you know that someone Super Swiped you, you’re likelier to swipe right and establish a match. It is easier to start chatting with him then, as you know, for sure, your message will be welcome.
2. Extend the Match
Bumble lets users extend one match every day. This adds 24 hours to the remaining window for a conversation. If the man keeps using his daily extension, he can keep a match alive indefinitely, even if the woman hasn’t written him yet. Those who pay for Bumble Boost have unlimited extensions.
Although women and men can both use this feature, it is more useful to guys. Seeing that the guy invested in a match extension lets you know that he’s impressed by you and serves as an invitation for you to message him.
A man extending a match at all sends a signal to the woman that he’s really interested. Here’s a pro tip: if you aren’t a premium subscriber, put something in your bio along the lines of “I don’t have a premium account, so if I extend our match, I’m using my one daily extend to do it. It means I really like you.”
A Few More Facts about Matching and Messaging
Here are some other things you may be wondering about the matching process on Bumble.
Does the Guy Know You Swiped Right on Him?
If your potential match subscribes to the premium service, he has the option to filter his selection down to the people who have swiped right on him. This serves as a time-saver. Bumble users who live in busy areas prefer to cut straight to the selection of potential matches who have shown interest.
However, Bumble doesn’t send a notification when you swipe right on someone. The guy will only know that you swiped right on him if your profile shows up in his filtered stack.
What If the 24 Hours Expire?
What happens if you don’t have time to message your match within 24 hours or if your match doesn’t have time to respond to you? An expired match will go back into your stack. That means that you may come across the same person’s profile again, as he’ll go back to being a potential match.
How Do You Write an Amazing Introductory Message?
Making your message as engaging as possible is very important. It is always a good idea to say something unique from the get-go. Avoid greetings and clichéd introductions. Remember that your match isn’t expecting to get swept off his feet right away.
You should keep things casual and friendly. It’s a good idea to reference his bio or his photos, as that makes it easy for him to respond to you.
How Does the Messaging Process Work for Same-Sex Matches?
In the case of woman-man matches, the woman has to send a message first. But there is no such limitation for woman-woman matches or man-man matches. Either party in a same-sex match can send a message, as long as they do it within 24 hours after the match is established. The other person then has to write back within a day.
This is also true for anyone using the Bumble BFF or Bumble Bizz modes that match you with potential friends or professional acquaintances.
Can guys rematch on Bumble?
Yes, if after 24hours you or the girl you’re interested in doesn’t respond to the mutual swipe request, then it goes back into your potential matches. However, if you swiped right on them and the girl swiped left, you won’t appear back in either match.
A Final Word
If you’re bored by traditional dating dynamics, Bumble is the perfect app for you. For one, it feels safer to use than other dating apps. Female Bumble users experience less harassment and invasive behavior from potential matches.
If someone is being inappropriate, it’s easy to block and report them. The Bumble staff is also dedicated to getting rid of scams and catfishing. Most importantly, the Bumble app is engaging and empowering. The messaging process encourages confidence and quick decisions and offers every user a fun new experience.
Bumble is a popular dating application well-known for its female-friendly interface. Some people tend to go into a “swiping trance” when they’re on these apps, and that can lead to disaster when you suddenly realize that you just left-swiped on the future mother or father of your children.
Bumble places a lot of emphasis on genuine matches rather than just trying to connect with any user who’s willing to respond. For those who are new to this dating app it’s important to understand who likes you. Check out this article: How to Know When You Get a Match on Bumble.
Fortunately, Bumble provides a method for backtracking. If you’ve changed your mind, accidentally swiped left, or would like to reconsider a hasty swipe; Bumble does give you the option to backtrack your previous swipe. In this article, I will show you how to backtrack on Bumble, and how to get additional backtracks if you run out of your initial allotment.
Before we get into the details of how to backtrack, let’s go over the rules and procedures for swiping on Bumble.
Swipe Right
As with Tinder, swiping right on a Bumble profile means you like that person and want to start a conversation. If they in turn right-swipe on you, a match is generated and you can talk to one another.
If you’re a man looking for a woman on Bumble Date, you’ll have to wait for the woman to initiate the conversation – that’s the unique feature of Bumble. This dating application allows women to initiate every communication. If you are a man and you’ve swiped right on a female, you won’t be able to talk to her until she swipes right on you and sends you a message. Once the initial conversation has begun; both parties can communicate freely with each other.
For any other gender/orientation combination, or in the Bumble “friends” and “business” modes, either party can start the conversation.
After a match; a conversation has to start within 24 hours, otherwise, the match disappears. You can “extend” a match for another 24 hours with a paid upgrade to Bumble Boost.
Here’s a fun fact: you can’t backtrack on someone you’ve swiped right on. You can only backtrack to revisit a potential match you’ve accidentally swiped left on.
Accidentally Swiped Right on Bumble
As mentioned previously, there is no way to backtrack a right swipe (liked someone’s profile) on Bumble. If an error has occurred you do have a few things going for you.
The person who you’ve swiped on will also have to swipe back on you. If it’s an acquaintance you’d rather not date; they’re likely not swiping on you either.
A female recipient only has 24 hours to reply back to your interest. If the swipe is not recognized within this timeframe the recipient will not see it.
Assuming a match has been made you can always ‘unmatch’ the profile. Although the person you’d rather not interact with has been made aware of a connection at this point, you can stop any further communication with this function.
Swipe Left
Swiping left, of course, signals that you don’t want to match with the person. Once you’ve left-swiped on someone, they won’t appear in your stack again (and you won’t appear in theirs). Of course, accidents do happen.
Whether you have a slip of the finger, or just change your mind after a little more thought, you can backtrack on a left-swipe and get a second chance. This allows users to recover a profile if it was mistakenly removed.
By shaking your phone just after an incorrect left-swipe, you can undo the action.
Backtracking on Bumble
Unlike on Tinder, where the ability to get a redo is a premium feature that costs extra, on Bumble you can backtrack absolutely free. It’s also easy as pie. If you realize you shouldn’t have swiped left on someone, all you have to do is shake your phone.
If you are new to Bumble and swipe left by mistake, the natural thing you may try to do is swipe back to the profile. If you do that the above message will appear on the screen of your mobile device to notify you that you can just shuffle your phone to trigger a backtrack.
Once you shake your device to backtrack, a confirmation screen will pop up. If you’re sure, just drag the yellow circle to the right and poof, your potential match is back on the screen.
Supplies are Limited
Wait a minute – what’s that about three backtracks left? You mean there aren’t infinite backtracks? Sadly, no. You are allowed to have up to three backtracks stored up.
Although backtracks are free; the downside is that you only get three at a time. and the app keeps track of how many of them you used up. This information is prominently displayed in the Backtrack confirmation window.
Your backtracks regenerate every three hours, so you won’t be out of luck for long. You just have to wait.
I Hate Waiting!
If you can’t wait, then getting more backtracks is easy.
When you’re out of backtracks and can’t wait three hours, all you have to do is share your use of Bumble to your social media presence on sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
When you try to backtrack but are out of backtracks, the share window will pop up and let you put a message out there to your friends and followers. Just type the message that you wish to share and hit Post. Once you do that, your Backtracks will be replenished.
Why is Bumble BackTrack Not Working?
If you’re experiencing issues with backtracking there are a few things you can do to correct the problem. Aside from contacting Bumble Support, try these methods:
iPhone
For those using an Apple iPhone try these hacks to fix it:
Open the Notes application on your iPhone
Type a word into the blank document.
Once this is done; try shaking your phone again. Assuming the Accelerometer in your device is working properly a prompt should appear asking if you’d like to “Undo” the swipe
If this does not work there may be an issue with your phone or in your phone’s settings.
Android
Android users may experience issues with backtracking. If this is happening to you follow these steps:
Sign out of the application
Make sure the app is updated by going to the Google Play Store and checking for any updates
Delete Bumble and reinstall it
Performing these steps will not delete your profile or any account information as that is stored on Bumble’s servers and not your device.
Can’t Backtrack on Bumble Beeline
Bumble’s Beeline is a list of users who have already indicated an interest in your profile. These are the people who’ve already swiped right on you! If you accidentally swipe left on Beeline, there may be no going back.
Several users have reported that they’re unable to backtrack on Bumble’s Beeline. If you’ve accidentally refused a connection in the Beeline don’t get worrisome just yet. Many users will pop back up on the Bumble Beeline allowing you to interact with them later on.
Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble have continually grown in popularity since their inception in the early 2010s. Citing 94,000 new users each day, the Bumble dating application places emphasis on women’s ability to make romantic connections.
Bumble differs from Tinder by placing the power of conversation in the woman’s hand. This dating app makes it so only women can then initiate a conversation. That is, the woman has to initiate the messaging. Men can message a woman they’ve matched with only after she’s sent that first message. Once this connection has been made the pair can freely message each other back and forth unless one of them decides to “unmatch.”
For male users, the site is more about matching than it is about starting conversations. In this article, we’ll discuss whether Bumble limits how much matching and liking you can do.
Does Bumble Limit Right Swipes?
Bumble has much the same interface system and operational concept as Tinder and other popular dating apps. Users create a profile with pictures and biography, and these profiles (often called “cards” in industry lingo) are then presented to other users of the appropriate sex and age range.
When a user sees a card they like and think might be a potential date, they swipe right. Users swipe left to indicate they don’t want to match with the profile they are viewing. Whenever a user signs in to Bumble, they are presented with the cards of new potential matches within their area, subject to your preferences on distance range from where you live or your current location.
With recent updates, Bumble has implemented a daily swipe limit in 2020. If a user has reached their daily limit they will have to wait another 24 hours before they can begin matching again.
This time frame does not refresh at midnight, so the user will have to wait a full 24 hours regardless of when they last swiped. For example; if you hit your limit at 1 pm on Monday, you would have to wait until 1:01 pm on Tuesday to continue.
While paying for Bumble Boost does allow you to have unlimited filters and other benefits, it does not give you more swipes per day. We’ll get into the reasons for swipe limits shortly, but it is certainly not to make users pay for a subscription service.
If the ability to swipe again does not appear after 24 hours, you can contact the Bumble Support team for help.
The Reason for the Limits
Those familiar with Tinder may have come across the feature that limits the number of right-swipes that subscribers at the free level of service can make in a day. The exact number of swipes Tinder allows is an open question, but it seems to be somewhere around 50 to 100 swipes a day depending on your individual behavior.
Dating apps that implement these types of restrictions are doing so for several reasons. Bumble is designed to create meaningful connections between users, particularly focusing on the safety and comfort of the female demographic.
There was and is a good reason for this limitation. Using restrictions on the number of swipes means users are more likely to swipe only on those they’d like to make a meaningful connection with.
Swiping on every available profile completely undermines the concept behind the mutual-swipe mechanism; the idea is that since both people have right-swiped, there is already an attraction and the conversation has a good starting place based on sincere, mutual interest.
Women who use the right-swipe system may encounter a male user who is right-swiping everyone leading to derogatory messages. Many women report men routinely sending wildly offensive and inappropriate messages to women through Tinder messaging.
Because Bumble allows women to initiate the conversations after a match is made, it is less likely that connections lead to unwanted messages. After a man matches with a woman, he must wait for the woman to start the conversation by sending the first message, this means there are less behavioral issues.
Get More right swipes (likes) on Bumble
Of course, it doesn’t do you a lot of good to be able to swipe right a thousand times a day if nobody is swiping right on your profile in return. The point of these apps isn’t to cast as wide a net as possible, it’s to make meaningful connections with people when there’s a mutual attraction. In other words; both parties have to be interested before the connection will be made.
There are no magic bullets to attracting positive attention on Bumble or any other dating site, but there are some guidelines that can help increase your chances of getting more right swipes on Bumble.
Revamp your photos on Bumble
There’s a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words and, when it comes to dating apps, there’s definitely some truth to that saying. If you aren’t getting the right-swipes you think you should be pulling on Bumble, then your pictures are the first place to look.
Make sure you’re using high-quality pictures that are well lit and attractive. Your profile picture should accentuate your most positive facial features, this can be achieved using the right angles and lighting. Beware of using photos with your ex (this includes a cropped photo), your children, or large groups of people.
Posting group photos with others may make it more difficult for those interested in you to pinpoint what you look like. While these are acceptable in low numbers, your Bumble profile should not be filled with group photos, not to mention, your friends and family may not want to be a part of your online dating profile. Posing with your children or ex can be creepy for some users. It’s best to avoid these types of photos.
For more effective photos you can use images that show your favorite hobbies or interests. From hiking to reading a book, it’s best to have at least one hobby based photo in your profile so that others with similar interests will be more likely to interact with you. Either way, you’ll want to make sure that your photos indicate someone another person may enjoy spending time with.
Other tips include wearing something red, as this is supposed to increase right-swipes. Pose with a puppy because everyone loves puppies. Aside from posting attractive photos, your profile should give others an insight into who you are, this leads to a connection between two users.
Selfies are great for Instagram or Snapchat, but not always with dating apps. Using photos that another person has taken provides better angles and therefore more insight into what you really look like. Getting a second opinion on your photos is a great way to make sure they convey the right message while ensuring you look more attractive.
A good picture will get you more attention but it’s your profile that seals the deal. If you’re not getting likes and have improved your images, your bio is the next place to look. You have 300 characters in order to make yourself attractive so you’re going to have to work hard.
That said, don’t stress over it too much otherwise, it will come across in what you write. If you’re naturally funny, you’re golden. Just write something humorous and you will get swipes. If you’re not funny, you have to work a lot harder – unless you wear a uniform to work.
You could keep it simple by listing your age, hobbies, and ambitions. You could use emojis as some people have been able to do successfully. Whatever you do, try to make it original and try to make it accurately portray you to a potential date.
Your bio is where a second opinion really helps. Asking a friend or member of the opposite sex for their honest opinion may provide you insight into what others are seeing.
Although Bumble does limit the number of swipes you can have in a day, you’re more likely to make meaningful connections rather than striking up conversations with random people that waste your time.
The world of podcasting has exploded in popularity. There are nearly a million active podcasts available online, and their popularity is only growing. Podcasts are easy to listen to, freely available to listeners, and can be very entertaining. Like blogging or vlogging, being good at podcasting just requires you to have something to say, to say it well, and having the perseverance and persistence to keep your content flowing, but with those things (and a heap of luck) a podcast can catapult you to stardom.
Getting started in podcasting isn’t terribly complicated. One of the first things you need to do is to find a service that will host your podcast for you. Since you’re just getting started, cheap or free podcast hosting sites are the ideal place to begin your foray into podcasting. They involve minimal outlay and although the cheap and free sites have restrictions, those shouldn’t really affect you as a beginner. As your podcast grows in popularity, you can move on to a more performance-oriented service with the advanced features you’ll want at that point.
When looking for a podcast host, there are a few criteria to bear in mind. One critical factor is the host’s upload limits. Some free hosts will limit the size or number of files you can upload. This is fine if you’re experimenting with you’re once-a-week review of local restaurants, but not okay if you’re planning to launch your own network. Analytics is also important, and many free podcasts hosts have minimal analytics in place. Some hosts allow integration with third-party tools, some do not.
Integration with iTunes or other platforms is a useful feature, as is the ability to create a homepage within the hosting site where your latest podcasts can be featured in one place. After all, if someone stumbles across a podcast and likes what they hear, you want them to quickly be able to find the rest of your output.
Finally, a podcast hosting site that offers a free or inexpensive account with the option to upgrade to a more feature-rich service is ideal, because it means you can upgrade your offering without having to set up all over again.
If you’re looking for a site that can balance all of this and more, check out our suggestions below!
Many popular messaging applications offer ‘Read Receipts.’ This is an indicator that lets the sender know their message has been delivered and read. These notifications will appear within the messaging application in some form or another.
Users who prefer to monitor their messages will benefit from Read Receipts while others may want to maintain anonymity when it comes to their messaging activities. How can you tell if someone has turned their Read Receipts off?
The answer to this question varies depending on the type of messaging service used. Below, you will find a list of the most popular messaging applications and how the Read Receipt system for each work, providing insight into whether someone has turned off this function.
Message Settings
Most major messaging platforms feature some capability for Read Receipts in 2020, but not all of them make it easy to turn them off—or to tell if someone has turned them off on their end. Here’s how each major messaging platform works in 2019.
Of course, one way to know if Read Receipts are off is if the recipient responds back to you without ever being alerted that the message was read.
iMessage
iMessage makes things simple. It enables read receipts by default but allows users to customize their read receipts. If you send via iMessage to another iPhone, you will see the blue bubble in the chat window. Underneath you will see the status, Sent, Delivered, Read.
iMessage settings allow users to turn on Read Receipts for certain contacts while keeping others turned off. Assuming you only see the word “Delivered” in grey under the message you’ve sent, the recipient has turned their Read Receipts off.
If the bubble is green, it means the recipient isn’t using an iPhone which means read receipts will not work.
(Want to know how to turn your read receipts on or off on iPhone? Check out our tutorial article on read receipt settings for iPhone.)
Messages (Android)
One of the newer features of Android phones is Rich Communication Services (RCS). This function allows Android users to see Read Receipts similar to Apple’s iPhone. Although it is not available on all Android models and versions, this may be something you’ve come across.
Once you have Chat (Google’s own marketing name for RCS), you’ll finally be able to view typing indicators and read receipts with those who also have RCS enabled on their phone.
Read receipts can be disabled within the Chat settings in Messages. If someone has read receipts disabled, the checks won’t appear within the app.
Signal
Signal shows status messages by default, although you can turn it off if you wish.
A single checkmark shows the message was received by the Signal server.
Two checkmarks mean it has been delivered to the recipient. When those two check marks turn blue, it means the recipient has read your message.
If the checkmarks don’t turn blue, they may have turned read receipts off.
WhatsApp
WhatsApp also uses the checkmark system to show message status. Like Signal, you can also turn off read receipts if you want to.
One gray checkmark means your message was sent.
Two gray checkmarks mean it was delivered.
Two blue checkmarks mean the message has been read. You can press and hold the message to see what time it was read if you really need to.
If the two checkmarks stay gray, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook messenger read receipts work much the same as the other messaging applications mentioned. Facebook Messenger uses circles.
A blue circle means your message is being sent.
A blue circle with a checkmark means it has been successfully sent.
A filled blue circle with a checkmark means it has been delivered.
A profile pic under the message means it has been read.
If that profile picture doesn’t appear, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Facebook does not offer users an option to turn off Read Receipts from inside the application. There are workarounds if you’d like to keep your message reading activities anonymous. Read our article on turning off read receipts in Messenger.
Telegram
Telegram also provides read receipts by default and allows you to turn them off if you want. A single green checkmark means the message has been received.
Two green check marks means your message has been read.
If you don’t see that second green checkmark, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Instagram
Instagram DMs have a very simple read receipt system. If your message has been opened; the word “Seen” will appear beneath the message. If you’re in a conversation with multiple people, then an eye icon along with the Instagram name of the person who has seen your message appears.
If you don’t see the “Seen” text or the eye icon, the recipient may have turned read receipts off.
Snapchat
On Snapchat, when your message reaches your correspondent’s inbox, the word “Delivered” will appear on the app. Once they’ve actually opened the message, it will read “Opened”.
Snapchat doesn’t allow you to disable the ability to see if a Snap or a message is open, so if you don’t want to use a platform with read receipts, don’t use Snapchat. On the other hand, if you want to communicate with someone who doesn’t like read receipts but does have a Snapchat, you’ll know for sure when they opened your message within Snapchat.
Bumble
Bumble doesn’t offer Read Receipts. If you’re looking for more information about Bumble’s Read Receipts check out our tutorial for a full discussion of read receipts in Bumble.
Tinder
Like Bumble, Tinder’s chat does not readily offer Read Receipts. For information on how Tinder handles read receipts, check out our tutorial article about read receipts in Tinder.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn does offer users the option to turn off Read Receipts. Once a message is read; the recipient’s profile photo will appear below the message. If this profile picture doesn’t show, but the person has responded it’s likely their Read Receipts have been turned off.
There is actually a vigorous debate about Read Receipts and whether it is better to use them or turn them off. Both sides of the argument have credible reasons for their stance and it is often genuinely difficult to choose one side over the other.
The case for using read receipts
Read receipts are useful for those who’d like to ensure they’re notified when their messages have been read. They verify delivery and set your mind at ease. They hold you accountable for replying and maintaining dialog with the other person. The use of these notifications may encourage us to maintain relationships with other people and dissuades us from going hermit and not interacting with others.
Using read receipts eliminates uncertainty. You know your message has been read and digested. You know it didn’t get lost. You know the other person has read your message and therefore will not be uncertain about whether it arrived or not. For some people, this uncertainty can bring about serious anxiety which can be avoided by using read receipts.
The case for turning read receipts off
The case for turning read receipts off is a simple one. It stops you from being a prisoner to your phone and to other people’s needs. Having your every move followed, watched and analyzed by someone is not just creepy, it’s unpleasant. The accountability point made above also works against using read receipts. It makes you feel as though you have to reply even if it isn’t convenient. That you have to say something even if it doesn’t mean anything to stop the other person feeling anxious.
In other words, read receipts makes you put someone else’s needs above your own. In an ideal world, your needs would be equal to others but in this instance, they would be subject to that other. You should be able to reply when you want, how you want rather than beholden to a little checkmark.
Real-life happens and you should not feel obligated to others just because you may not want to be wedded to your phone every second of the day.
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By: Rich Miller and Eric MartinThe guardians of the global economy came up short.Facing what the International Monetary Fund says is a crisis like no other, policy makers from leading economies agreed this past week on a set of initiatives to help emerging markets and poor nations weather the coronavirus shock, including a path-breaking halt on debt payments.But critics faulted the Group of 20 for failing to adopt for the rest of the world the all-out approach they've embraced to help their own countries."I had modest expectations, which they significantly disappointed," former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said. "It's whatever it takes for us and crumbs off the table for the world."There's a lot at stake. A timid G-20 response risks consigning the world to what former IMF Chief Economist Maury Obstfeld calls "reservoirs of disease" and hindering a full-fledged global economic recovery -- for wealthy nations and those less well off -- from the deepest downturn since the Great Depression.More than 100 of the IMF's 189 member countries have asked for aid, the most ever. The fund already doubled its available rapid-financing lending to $100 billion to meet the demand, but the IMF says emerging markets need to spend at least $2.5 trillion. Their own resources won't fully cover this, so they will need significant help. 75226997It's not that the IMF and World Bank spring meetings that finished on Friday achieved nothing. Besides the G-20 agreement to grant temporary debt relief to the world's poorest countries -- which included China as a creditor for the first time -- the fund also expanded access to emergency resources and set up a new short-term liquidity line to ease access to dollars.The World Bank, for its part, aims "to deploy as much as $160 billion over the next 15 months" to help developing nations cope with the health and economic emergency, President David Malpass told reporters on Friday.One big piece missing from the initiatives adopted at the online meetings, according to some analysts: a fresh IMF issue of Special Drawing Rights -- its reserve assets, a bazooka to boost global liquidity.The IMF last did this in 2009, when it issued $250 billion to ease a cash crunch during the financial crisis. The move has the backing of fund management and some European nations, but it requires 85% of the votes on the IMF's 24-member executive board, and a proposed $500 billion SDR allocation was blocked by the IMF's biggest shareholder: the U.S.U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration opposed the plan because the reserves are allotted to countries in proportion to their IMF voting share. This means 70% would go to G-20 countries that don't need the help and just 3% to the poorest developing nations.The IMF now is looking at ways to move reserves from rich countries that got them in previous issues to the poor countries. One possibility is for the rich nations to donate reserves to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, an interest-free account to help the poorest nations.'Not a Normal Time'He also criticized the G-20 for not specifically pledging to avoid restrictions on trade in medical equipment and critical food supplies. That again is in contrast to 2009, when major nations agreed to eschew the sort of protectionist steps that aggravated the Great Depression, most prominently the Smoot-Hawley Tariff legislation in the U.S."The movement of nations to close their borders and hold their products within represents the closest brush with the kind of nationalist philosophy that animated the Smoot-Hawley trade death spiral that we've seen since the Second World War," said Summers, now a Harvard University professor. 75227010But it isn't only about what the G-20 failed to do. Critics contend that some of the steps it did take fell short. The debt-payment suspension for the world's poorest nations lasts only through the end of the year, although the G-20 said it is open to extending it.$20 BillionThe moratorium covers governmental credit amounting to some $20 billion in relief, according to Saudi Arabia Finance Minister and G-20 Chairman Mohammed Al-Jadaan. It does not include loans by the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions or financing from the private sector.The Institute of International Finance estimates the world's poorest countries have some $140 billion in general government debt-service obligations due through the end of the year, including $10 billion in foreign currency. That calculation includes all kinds of debt: to private and public creditors, domestic and foreign, short term and long term.The institute -- a global trade association that counts the world's biggest banks and financial institutions as members -- has said it is willing to join a temporary debt-payment suspension for poor nations. The trouble is that a lot of private creditors lie outside its ambit.Promising Step"I would have liked to have seen more leadership from the G-20 in organizing the process" for private-creditor debt relief, said Obstfeld, who is now a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, even as he called what the group did do a "very promising first step."Obstfeld said the debt standstill should be extended beyond the end of 2020 and broadened to include other better-off, but highly indebted, countries that might benefit. The World Bank Development Committee encouraged the bank and the IMF to look at ways to ease fiscal stress for middle-income countries on a case-by-case basis.Looking further ahead, Summers said the approach the U.S. takes during the crisis could have "huge ramifications" for the philosophical contest going on between Western liberalism and Asian authoritarianism.With China providing assistance throughout the world, "global stinginess on the part of the U.S. and the institutions it created may be long remembered," he said, though he added that Beijing's support may end up being seen as "self-serving and not very effective.""There are very high stakes," confronting the G-20, Posen said. "If they could just get their act together, there are attainable goals that would make a material difference to how many lives are lost and how fast we recover."
Amazon.com Inc has started to use thermal cameras at its warehouses to speed up screening for feverish workers who could be infected with the coronavirus, employees told Reuters. The cameras in effect measure how much heat people emit relative to their surroundings. They require less time and contact than forehead thermometers, earlier adopted by Amazon, the workers said. Cases of the coronavirus have been reported among staff at more than 50 of Amazon's U.S. warehouses. That has prompted some workers to worry for their safety and walk off the job. Unions and elected officials have called on Amazon to close buildings down. The use of cameras, previously unreported, shows how America's second-biggest corporate employer is exploring methods to contain the virus' spread without shuttering warehouses essential to its operation. U.S. states have given Amazon the green light to deliver goods with nearly all the country under stay-at-home orders. In France, Amazon has closed six of its fulfillment centers temporarily - one of the biggest fallouts yet from a dispute with workers over the risks of coronavirus contagion. Other companies that have explored using the thermal camera technology include Tyson Foods Inc and Intel Corp . The camera systems, which garnered widespread use at airports in Asia after the SARS epidemic in 2003, can cost between $5,000 and $20,000. This week and last, Amazon set up the hardware for the thermal cameras in at least six warehouses outside Los Angeles and Seattle, where the company is based, according to employees and posts on social media. Thermal cameras will also replace thermometers at worker entrances to many of Amazon's Whole Foods stores, according to a recent staff note seen by Reuters and previously reported by Business Insider. The company performs a second, forehead thermometer check on anyone flagged by the cameras to determine an exact temperature, one of the workers said. An international standard requires the extra check, though one camera system maker said the infrared scan is more accurate than a thermometer. How widely Amazon will deploy the technology at a time when camera makers are grappling with a surge in demand could not be determined. A Whole Foods representative said cameras ordered weeks ago were starting to arrive for use. Amazon confirmed that some warehouses have implemented the systems to streamline checks. The company is taking temperatures "to support the health and safety of our employees, who continue to provide a critical service in our communities," it said in a statement. Early this month, Amazon said it would offer face masks and start checking hundreds of thousands of people for fevers daily at all its U.S. and European warehouses. Associates walk up to a Plexiglas screen, and an employee on the other side scans their forehead by pointing a thermometer through a small hole. That process has not been without challenges. A worker performing temperature checks in Houston said his proximity to associates made him uncomfortable, in spite of the screen separating them. "I didn't sign up for this," he said. A Los Angeles-area employee, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a line once formed outside her warehouse, and employees could not receive masks until after they had entered the building and had their temperatures taken. The thermal camera system is faster, two other workers said, with no stopping in front of a screen necessary. The cameras connect to a computer so an employee at a distance can view the results, one said. Amazon did not disclose whose gadgets it was using. One of the employees, at a warehouse outside Seattle, said the technology came from Infrared Cameras Inc in Texas. Reached by phone, ICI's chief executive, Gary Strahan, said he would not confirm or deny his company's working with Amazon. Other purveyors include UK-based Thermoteknix and U.S.-based FLIR Systems Inc.
A group of about 60 Abujh Marias were seen in the Orchha forests of Bastar several days after a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.Each of them — Marias are categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) — was carrying luggage. And they looked worn out after a long journey, hiding in railway wagons and then trudging through the jungle. They were bundled into police vehicles and sent to the district headquarters, Narayanpur, to be quarantined, says an eyewitness, Rohit Kumar Sahare, a local schoolteacher, over the phone.Abujhmad, in which Orchha falls, is a tract of hills and forests in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. It is also a hideout of Naxals. 75225361The district magistrate, Padum Sinh Alma, confirms the news to ET Magazine. "Some tribal workers reached Jagdalpur hiding inside a freight train from Visakhapatnam (in Andhra Pradesh). Then they took shortcuts through jungles to reach home. But they were stopped. Over 2,000 are in our quarantine centres now," says Alma.ET Magazine spoke to a few residents living on the margins — jungles of Bastar, border villages in the Northeast and a village in Rajouri right on the Line of Control (LoC) — to piece together this report as the lockdown has been extended till May 3.The deadly coronavirus may not have caused havoc in these far-flung pockets, but mitigation measures, including shutdown and restrictions on movement, have hit them hard. The villagers in these areas seem to be fully aware of the global menace and are enforcing social distancing norms as well as barricading entry points to keep the outsiders away. 75225374The district administrations have also sought help of newly formed rural squads to enforce the lockdown and facilitate delivery of essential goods to households.Cut to Siaha, a district in Mizoram, bordering Myanmar. It is home to the Mara tribe which lives on marginal farming and piggery. The district headquarters, also named Siaha, is 384 km south of the state capital Aizawl — a road journey of 12 hours on hilly terrain. The administration banks on 76 village-level task force (VLTF) that are formed to be in charge of 52 villages in the district. They are critical not just in sensitising villagers on the coronavirus and restricting outsiders, but also in ensuring the availability of foodgrains and vegetables. In the district, everyone is familiar with the new acronym, VLTF, as they are with corona and Covid. 75225387"The Maras live on both sides of the border — in India and Myanmar — and they frequently visit each other's homes. When we blocked 11 exit points to Myanmar in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, those from the other side objected. We gave them the reasons in writing. The VLTFs are mostly manning these roads," says deputy commissioner Bhupesh Chaudhury, adding that essential commodities such as rice, dal, edible oil and salt are being brought by trucks from Silchar in Assam. 75225391In Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China, the residents of Kaying village have revived a traditional fire brigade system called Lam Kang in Adi language, after a massive fire gutted 55 homes on the first day of lockdown on March 25. Under Lam Kang, volunteers have twin roles, as watchmen and firefighters, keeping buckets of water ready 24x7 and not relying much on the state administration. Kaying in Siang district is the nearest village from the hillock, which hit headlines last summer when an Indian Air Force transporter, AN-32, crashed there."Our villages are mostly self-sufficient. They grow rice and vegetables. No one will go hungry even if essential commodities are blocked for days. Here, the fear is more of import of the virus," says Rajiv Takuk, deputy commissioner of Siang and an Adi tribal. The administration has so far barricaded seven arterial roads to the district. Also, villagers are blocking their by-lanes and imposing hefty fines, up to Rs 50,000, on those venturing in and out of a village. 75225403Even in Orchha in Bastar, villagers are highly sensitised. Schoolteacher Sahare explains: "Residents of remote villages gather outside the police station every Wednesday to buy essentials. They all practise social distancing. Local people are not allowing any outsider to come in." Because of regular Naxal threats, the presence of civil administration in Orchha tehsil is considerably weak and residents usually queue up at the police station even for civil queries and complaints. So far, there has been no Covid-19 positive case in any of the seven districts in Bastar range. 75225409Many border areas might have survived the pandemic so far — there has been, for instance, no Covid positive case in Sikkim — but Mangalnar, a border village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, bang on the LoC with Pakistan, has been declared a red zone after a resident from the village tested positive. One of the villagers, Mohammed Mumtaz Khan, told ET Magazine over the phone that the residents have been strictly adhering to social distancing norms and no one is facing a problem in procuring essential commodities barring LPG cylinders."The virus will go, but shelling by Pakistan will go on. That is our bigger problem. The government must build the remaining 30% of bunkers in our village," he says, sharing horror stories of last Sunday's shelling throughout the night.
Covid-19 has brought India to a halt.But for Anita Gupta, it has kicked off a frenetic race against time. For the bureaucrat — the associate head of innovation and entrepreneurship, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India — the day typically begins at 6 am and ends well past midnight. "I am working two shifts," she says.Part of the government task force and its empowered committees on Covid-19, Gupta is in the thick of things. Her phone is constantly buzzing with messages from the 15-odd WhatsApp groups related to Covid-19 coordination that she is part of. There are messages flying back and forth in groups comprising elite scientists, IITians, startup founders, top corporate executives, doctors, prominent members of the Indian diaspora and bureaucrats. Keeping a finger on the pulse of the dynamic demand and supply situation of things as varied as personal protective equipment (PPE), testing kits, ventilators and isolation wards, she taps and connects multiple networks on her phone, in a fascinating, multifaceted, behind-the-scenes race underway to combat India's Covid-19 crisis, which has drawn in state as well as private sector capabilities.75225534Recently, a new, 40-bed Covid-19 hospital in Varanasi was grappling with a problem: how to design its AC network overnight amid the lockdown. For Covid-19 patients, centralised air conditioning cannot be used, as the virus could spread to other rooms through the ducts. Gupta flagged the problem on her WhatsApp groups. "Within 20 minutes, we had three good solutions, with experts offering to help design its AC layout," she says.75225541Like other nations, India too is scurrying to build its own arsenal to fight the Covid-19 battle. From its network of labs, 150-odd incubators and other technology institutions, Gupta and her colleagues have picked 40 market-deployable solutions that will aid India's fight. These include promising ideas from diagnostics technology to vaccines are being fast-tracked. "Decisions that earlier took months now happen real time," she says.75225550On-the-spot decisions come backed with all necessary support such as funds, regulators' approval and plant machinery to launch in the market. Recently, Nocca Robotics, a startup that makes robots that clean solar panels without water, figured it could pivot to making ventilators. Once startups are vetted and approved, DST plugs them into a network of suppliers and manufacturers to kickstart production.75225575Gautam Wankhede, cofounder of Mylab — the first Indian company whose testing kits received approval — echoes the view: "Once we got the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) approval, the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) nod to start manufacturing came within 24 hours. The government has done a wonderful job in expediting decisions and helping us proactively."Covid WarriorsIndia is at war with an invisible enemy. Deaths are rising. Infections are growing. A panicstricken nation has locked down its billionplus people to halt the enemy. Meanwhile, India's R&D labs have turned into war rooms where scientists are the generals leading the charge, working round the clock to build its weapons. And a growing battalion of Covid warriors — from bureaucrats such as Gupta to doctor-turned-entrepreneurs such as Wankhede, from regulators such as DCGI and ICMR to corporations such as Tata and Mahindra — are all joining forces to strengthen India's fight. "I see a very positive reset happening.75225560Be it in making vaccines or handling biological samples, everyone is rallying to figure out how they can contribute," says Manish Diwan, strategic partnership entrepreneurship development, Biotech Industry Research assistance Council (BIRAC). Set up in 2012, BIRAC, with its 50-odd incubators with visibility over 3,225 biotech startups, is playing a critical role.Sitting in Delhi, on the world-class campus of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), director Anurag Agrawal, a pulmonologist, is gearing up for this battle. "This is the biggest challenge of our lives," he says. The problem is huge. The pressure to solve it fast is immense, he admits. "You realise how big the enemy is and how inadequate India's weapons are. And that we are responsible for equipping our army. As a scientist, you want to make yourself relevant," he says over the phone.IGIB, which has done human genome sequencing, has been able to quickly sequence the virus and is now collaborating with a range of outfits, from national bodies such as ICMR and NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control) to multinational corporations such as Intel, to study the human-virus interaction, how they are responding to different drugs, and to aid in deciding the drugs prescribed for patients.75225580IGIB has also developed a new paper strip-based Covid-19 test that uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology. With pilots underway, the test does not require expensive machines or trained technicians and can be deployed at point-of-care. Two Bengali scientists who led the development — Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty — have named it Feluda, after the beloved fictional detective created by Satyajit Ray.Based out of Pune, V Premnath, head of bio-incubator Venture Center and NCL Lab, also finds himself at the heart of the resistance against the virus. His institution nurtures more than 75 startups (including Mylab) with 350 scientists. At least 25 startups at the Venture Center are looking to solve some of the Covid-19 related problems, many of them repurposing overnight. One of the incubatees was working on a technology to disinfect sanitary napkin waste.Now they are looking at disinfecting PPE. How can one reuse N-95 masks? Can biosurfactants, used to prolong the life of fruits and vegetables, be used as a disinfectant for the virus? These are among the questions being tackled at the institution. Amid the crisis, he is loosening government controls on its patents. 75225587"We are trying to be generous with some noncritical patents like those for PPE, gloves and masks. The country needs them now," he says. The government is mounting an all-out effort to seek everyone's help. "The government needs quick results. It reached out to us to shortlist medtech startups and solutions for a fast-track review and scaling up," says S Balram, CEO, Technology Business Incubator for Medical Devices & Biomaterials (TiMED) at the biomedical technology campus of Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.It offered a Rs 10 lakh grant to Avatar Renewables for developing a thermal scanner integrated with metal detectors, which can be used to screen body temperature in crowded spaces such as airports. Aerobiosys, incubated at the Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE), Hyderabad, has developed low-cost portable ventilator Jeevan Lite and is now ramping up production. At IITBombay, Biomedical Engineering & Technology Innovation Centre (BETIC) incubatee Ayu Devices has developed AyuSynk for remote auscultation (listening to chest sounds), which helps doctors treat Covid-19 patients and maintain records remotely.75225592Siraj Dhanani, founder, InnAccel Technologies, has developed two products — VAPCare and Saans Pro — which are being used for Covid-19 patients. IIT-Madras' Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre has incubated Ubiqare Health, which provides telemedicine solution for clinical telepresence technology and is useful for remote treatment of Covid-19 patients. Another of its incubatees, zBliss Technologies, has built an ICU automation platform solution to monitor Covid-19 patients in isolated units.Large corporations such as M&M, Tata, Hyundai and stateowned Bharat Electronics are joining forces. They are reconfiguring their plants to make products such as ventilators. Maruti Suzuki, which has a deep vendor network, is partnering with ventilator maker AgVa to scale up its manufacturing.75225597There are also prizes being instituted to incentivise innovation. There is a lot of thrust on startups. The government has launched Covid-19 Solution Challenge for startups, with a relatively modest prize money of Rs 1 lakh and the opportunity to see the product being supported for scale-up. Marico Innovation Foundation and ATE Chandra Foundation have announced a Rs 2.5 crore grant for medtech innovators. Nandan Nilekani and other entrepreneurs have joined hands with investors such as Sequoia and Accel to set up a Rs 100 crore ACT Grant to give wings to ideas that could combat Covid-19. "Beyond the seed grant, additional scale capital could come from other platform partnerships we are building," says Prashanth Prakash, founding partner, Accel. It has received over 1,000 ideas and offered grants to 20 already.75225610The big push comes amid a slew of challenges. The biggest is building a supply base from scratch during a national and global lockdowns. "70-90 per cent of our critical medical device components and chemical reagents were being imported. Overnight, they have stopped," says Diwan of BIRAC. This has pushed the government for a strategic, longterm rethink on building local manufacturing capacities. After the first medtech zone (MTZ) in Visakhapatnam early this year, the government has cleared the way for four more MTZs.Agrawal of IGIB says many ingredients of its paper strip-based CRISPR test for Covid-19 came from countries such as China and Germany. Similarly, sealing tapes for PPE were being sourced from China. All these supplies have been disrupted. Multiple stakeholder committees formed by the government, drawing people from different areas — from regulators to large companies, startups to scientists and R&D labs — are helping develop an alternate vendor base. 75225614For example, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had developed an in-house glue for applications in submarines, which is now being used in PPE. "Industry, with their knowledge of India's vendor landscape, is helping us in a big way in building component supply base from scratch," says Agrawal.Wankhede says for a startup like Mylab, among the earliest challenges was to get real virus sample to conduct testing validation. They had to first work with synthetic samples. As countries block exports, he has had to not just develop a local vendor base but also replace reagents with substitutes more easily available in India to scale up overnight.Chandrasekhar Nair of Bigtec Labs, whose company Molbio is making testing kits, says his biggest challenge is that in a lockdown, he is short on staff to undertake manufacturing. "The government is helping to sort out the problem," he says.75225631Beyond these immediate constraints, India's biosciences landscape faces other structural issues like lack of patient venture capital and poor connect between demand and supply. That is why InnAccel, a medtech company, abandoned its plans of becoming a private sector incubator to build its patented products. Due to multiple testing and stringent regulatory requirements, the lab-to-market journey is long and arduous. InnAccel founder Siraj Dhanani hopes Covid-19 crisis will now crunch the timeline.Srinivas Madhusudan, head of Medtech & Geriatric Healthcare Technology Business Incubator at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, offers another view: "India's medtech startups often start on a solid intellectual platform but (later) quality standards get neglected, which is the reason for failure." To scale up commercially, he says, Indian devices will need to meet quality norms of countries like the US and regions like the EU.But the worst is getting manufacturing logistics in place. "Even after having a manufacture-ready prototype and a good business plan, the main challenges that healthcare startups face are in manufacturing and marketing," says Renu John, faculty co-head, CfHE, at IIT-Hyderabad.That's where the one-year-old Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) in Visakhapatnam can perhaps help in a big way.Headed by MD Jitendar Sharma, AMTZ is a one-stop facility with 18 high-end testing labs. Sharma says it is the world's first such facility that allows someone to build a prototype as well as manufacture high-end devices such as CT scanners and MRI machines, all under one roof. "India spends Rs 50,000 crore annually, importing 80 per cent of its medical devices' requirement. AMTZ aspires to change that," says Sharma. By 2020-end, he hopes AMTZ will substitute at least 10 per cent — or Rs 5,000 crore — of imports.Chasing the Covid-19 crisis, AMTZ — spread over 8 sq km, with two incubators and 55 startups — is now humming round the clock, scaling up overnight to make products such as PPE and ventilators that India desperately needs. They began making ventilators 10 days ago and can now make 200 units daily. AMTZ started making Molbio RT-PCR diagnostic kits just 15 days ago. From 2,000 testing kits daily, it has now scaled up to 25,000. More products like thermal scanners and mobile bus for Covid-19 testing are in the pipeline. "Because the capex was funded by the government and we offer a ready-made factory, manufacturing can begin over night at costs at least 40 per cent lower than the outside," he says.Never Waste a CrisisCovid-19 crisis can potentially reinvigorate and transform India's scientific landscape. That hope is exciting for scientists. For a long time, India's scientific pursuits have been hobbled by multiple qualitative and quantitative issues. India's R&D spend is largely driven by the government (60 per cent). While India's GERD or gross expenditure on R&D, has grown from Rs 47,353 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 1,04,864 crore in 2017-18, as a percentage of GDP it remains flat at 0.6-0.7 per cent as against the US' 2.8 per cent, Korea's 4.2 per cent and China's 2.1 per cent. Last year, a report by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister set a target of 2 per cent of GDP by 2022. Qualitatively, India fares poorly. Based on number of publications, their citations and patents filed — good indices of top-grade research and innovation — India ranks far behind others, such as China and the US."Our R&D is marked by 'me too' research and has limited capacity to absorb investment," says Shailja Vaidya Gupta, senior adviser, office of the principal scientific adviser, Government of India. Many of our top science labs are bureaucratic and operate in silos divorced from India's needs and realities. Applying lab research and innovation to solve India's problems is often missing. "This is a wake-up call for everyone. We need to reinvent. We cannot do business as usual. I am quite optimistic. With this crisis, we are beginning to break silos and collaborate to find solutions," she says.A new inter-disciplinary, collaborative culture is taking root. Premnath is the coordinator of a task force looking at repurposing drugs. It has an advisory group of 20 people, including scientists, virologists, immunologists, regulators and industry executives. All of them are working together with the sole purpose of finding solutions and the quickest route to manufacturing them."The pace is remarkable. We have looked at 20 molecules in the last two weeks. Unimaginable in the normal scenario," he says.Urgency has also meant that merit is beginning to get precedence over hierarchy protocols. Instead of institute's director bureaucratically rolling down decisions, relevant scientists are being enlisted directly on critical projects."With a crisis as big as this, everyone is being tested. Some are getting exposed while many under the radar are getting noticed for their sharpness," says Premnath.This is also bringing science closer to India's problems. "Science in the lab must be applied to solving problems outside. This is happening now," says Taslimarif Saiyed, director of biotech incubator C-CAMP.The crisis is forcing a strategic rethink within the government on how it nurtures its scientific landscape. There is a realisation that instead of importing, creating indigenous knowledge and manufacturing base should be national priority. Unlike software, vaccines, drugs and medical devices can't be churned out overnight. Fortunately, India, with its CSIR labs and outfits like BIRAC, has built a strong bio science foundation with a robust startup and corporate base. Serum Institute of India is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. India's pharma companies dominate the world's generic drug business.What we need is some hustle, collaboration and urgency to fight the Covid-19 battle. "In a way, this crisis has catalysed India and its scientific community. There is hope it will reflect in budget allocation," says Diwan.
NEW DELHI: Air India on Saturday announced it has opened bookings on select domestic and international routes from May 4 and June 1, respectively."In the light of the ongoing global health concerns, we have currently stopped accepting bookings on all domestic flights for travel till May 3, 2020, and on all international flights for travel till May 31, 2020," a notification on Air India's website said on Saturday.This means the national carrier's domestic and international flights will remain suspended till May 3 and May 31, respectively."Bookings for select domestic flights for travel from May 4, 2020, and for international flights for travel from June 1, 2020, onwards are open," the notification stated.India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus. The first phase of the lockdown was from March 25 to April 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 extended the lockdown till May 3.All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during this period.On April 3, Air India had said it has stopped bookings, both domestic and international, till the end of the month.
KOLKATA: EEPC India has taken over the sanitization project of Hazra market in Kolkata as entrusted by chief minister Mamata Banerjee over a consultation meeting with the trade bodies and councils on 9th April, 2020 at Nabanna.Banerjee had requested different industry bodies and councils to come forward to ensure proper sanitization arrangements at the selected market spots in Kolkata as one of the remedial measures to prevent the spread of COVID -19.Today power & non conventional energy sources minister Mr Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay joined EEPC India chairman, Mr Ravi Sehgal to distribute hand sanitizers, masks, hand gloves, temperature measure devices to the Hazra Boys Association at Hazra Market. EEPC India Chairman said "This is a month long endeavour and so far EEPC India has distributed 550 face masks, 150 hand gloves and 30 litres of hand sanitizers.EEPC India senior joint director Mr Dhrubo Jyoti Basu also explained that they are regularly visiting the market and checking all visitors are given sanitizers and their temperatures are getting checked at entry point and all are using gloves and masks.
NEW DELHI: Shares of Tata Motors would be in focus on Monday after the automaker informed exchanges that British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has temporarily suspended production at its facilities outside China.The automaker said JLR sales tumbled 30.9 per cent in the March quarter to 1,09,869 units and that the company is tightly managing all other costs and investments as well as working capital.Jaguar Land Rover will be reporting audited results for the financial year ended March 31 at a later date, but Tata Motors said that the UK arm ended the financial year with 3.6 billion pounds of cash and short-term investments and an undrawn revolving credit facility of 1.9 billion pounds.Shares of Tata Motors have plunged 58 per cent since the beginning of this calendar, as production activity in key markets have come to a halt in the light of lockdowns imposed in various countries due to the coronavirus outbreak.Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings last week downgraded Tata Motors' long-term issuer rating to 'B' from 'BB-' with a negative outlook, citing low expectation for the automaker's profitability and cash flows over the next few years due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. S&P Global Ratings has also recently cut the automaker's senior unsecured notes to 'B' from 'B+', citing a weaker than expected credit matrix.For the financial year, Jaguar Land Rover retail sales stood at 5,08,659 vehicles, down 12.1 per cent.JLR sales in FY20 were impacted across all regions with lower sales in North America (7.5 per cent), China (down 8.9 per cent), UK (down 9.6 per cent), Europe (down 16.1 per cent) and overseas (20.3 per cent).China had generated double digit growth in the September and December quarter and, with lockdown measures easing, nearly all of the company's retailers in the region have now reopened and sales are recovering, Tata Motors said.Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer, said: "FY20 has been a year of unprecedented disruption for the automotive sector. Despite the impact of regulatory change, shifting consumer tastes, Brexit and ongoing trade tensions, sales for Jaguar and Land Rover were showing improvement until the coronavirus pandemic hit in the fourth quarter.
After a sharp technical pullback in the week before this one, Indian equities continued to extend the pullback, but on a very modest note. The trading range over the past five days remained wide, around 500 points, but kept the net incremental gains limited.Given the near-oversold nature of the market on the longer timeframe chart, Nifty extended the gains on the anticipated lines. The headline index ended with a net gain of 154 points, or 1.70 per cent, on a weekly basis.From a technical perspective, Nifty has pulled back nearly 1170 points, or 14 per cent, from the immediate closing level. Looking at this another way, the Indian equity market has relatively underperformed its global peers, again on the expected lines. Over the past week, volatility continued to cool down, and India Volatility Index, INDIA VIX, declined significantly by another 14.38 per cent to 42.59 level.On the daily charts, Nifty has formed a classic wedge, which usually resolves in the direction of the preceding trend. This makes it crucial for the market the coming week, which is likely to see a quiet start on Monday. The 9,350 and 9,535 levels will act as overhead resistance points for Nifty while support will come in lower at 9,165 and 8,935 levels. The trading range for the week ahead is likely to remain wide, just like the previous week. 75218661The weekly RSI stands at 33.39; it remains neutral and does not show any divergence against price. The weekly MACD is bearish as it trades below the signal line. A candle with a long lower shadow occurred on the chart. This is not a classic Hanging Man pattern, but the longer-than-normal shadow indicates a mild loss of momentum in the technical pullback.Pattern analysis does not show anything different than the previous week. Nifty declined sharply in March, violated the 11-year long upward rising trend line. After it got deeply oversold, it has pulled back ~14 per cent from the most recent lows on a closing basis.On the weekly chart, there is still some room for the market to continue with the pullback. However, the loss of momentum remains a worry for the near term. Also, on the shorter timeframe charts, the technical setup is not so encouraging. Given the slightly divergent technical structure on the daily and the weekly charts, we strongly recommend traders to approach the week with a considerable amount of caution.While taking each day as it comes, no long-term or extended directional positions should be taken, and profits should be protected vigilantly on either side. 75218672In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against CNX500 (Nifty500 Index), which represents over 95% of the free-float market-cap of all the listed stocks.A review of Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) showed some positive rotation that appeared in the Energy and PSE groups continued this past week as well. The Energy, PSE, and Infrastructure groups have continued to rotate positively in the improving quadrant.Nifty Pharma, Consumption, FMCG and IT indices continued to remain in the improving quadrant. However, among these four groups, IT appears to be losing relative momentum. The remaining three groups may continue to relatively outperform the broader Nifty500 Index. The IT index is showing signs of tiredness at current levels. So, Pharma, Consumption and FMCG are likely to continue to relatively outperform the broader market, while Infrastructure, Energy and the PSE groups will contribute to the relative outperformance selectively. 75218676Although, Auto and the Commodities group have attempted to arrest their decline, they haven't completed their bottoming out process. Other key indices like Bank Nifty, PSU Banks, Financial Services, Services, Metals, Media and Realty continue to languish and are likely to underperform the broader markets relatively.Important Note: RRGTM charts show the relative strength and momentum for a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against Nifty500 Index (broader market) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.(Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA is a Consultant Technical Analyst and founder of Gemstone Equity Research & Advisory Services, Vadodara. He can be reached at milan.vaishnav@equityresearch.asia)
BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is working on a workplace protocol for information technology and biotechnology companies to follow when they resume limited operations as allowed from Monday.Deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan, who holds the IT/ BT portfolio, asked the health department to issue a set of guidelines for the sector. Representatives of IT/BT companies, with whom Ashwath Narayan held a videoconferencing on Friday, sought clarity on issues such as how they should respond in the event of detection of any Covid-19 positive case on their campuses.Company representatives said they would follow measures such as maintenance of hygiene and social distancing, and provide screening facilities in the work premises."As soon as the restrictions are relaxed, the risk of infection spreading is high. Continuous screening can help detect infections," Ashwath Narayan told reporters after the videoconference.He said there might not be any pass system for employees of the IT/BT sector once the relaxation kicked in. The government will work with companies to see if they could engage BMTC buses on contract to ferry employees to the workplaces and back.The companies may discourage employees from using private vehicles, he added.Wage AdjustmentAshwath Narayan favoured the idea of embattled IT/BT firms going for pay adjustments for sections of their employees, rather than job cuts. These are difficult times for employees to find alternative jobs, he said.A few senior executives suggested the companies could work on wage readjustments including deferral of a part of the pay instead of firing employees, on the grounds that their revenues and new orders had taken a hit.Ashwath Narayan endorsed the idea, and offered support from the government. Industry leaders such as S Gopalakrishnan, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Prashant Prakash attended the virtual meeting.
– What is your full name? – Can I see your ID? – Where are you from? – Do you work or study?
Are there many advertisements in your country?
Definitely, there are. They appear all over the place from the streets to social media with a high density. For example, there is a multitude of colorful flyers sticked on the street walls in Sydney.
Vocabulary
All over the place (expression) everywhere
Density (n) the quantity of people or things in a given area or space.
A multitude of(expression) a very large number of people or things
Flyers (n) a small handbill advertising an event or product.
What are the different places where we see advertisements?
Advertising is here, there, and every where. It gets to people through different types of communication such as flyers and banners on the streets or printed ones on newspaper, magazines or electronic ones on social media. It could be written, verbal or a short movie.
Here, there, and every where (expression) everywhere
How do you feel about advertisements?
Sometimes, I find it a little bit disappointing because the quality of products is usually overrated. However, there are other beneficial advertisements in supermarkets which has informative contents for customers such as on which days there will be promotions or which new products will be launched.
Vocabulary
Informative (adj) to provide useful or interesting information
Promotions (n) activity that supports or encourages a cause, venture, or aim.
Launch (v) to introduce (a new product or publication) to the public for the first time.
Overrated (adj) to have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved
Do you like sunny days?
I definitely love sunny days, on which I can hang out with friends or do some sports. It is even better with the winds blowing. Sunny days are somehow helpful for laundry as well as cleaning both inside and outside the house.
What do you like to do when it's a sunny day?
I'd love to participate in some outdoor activities under the sun like meeting up with some friends or do some sports, especially swimming. Or I'll grab the chance for a photography tour. Everything becomes so clear and stunning on sunny days, no matter it's early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as long as the sun shines, I'm sure I'll find inspiration almost everywhere.
Vocabulary
To grab the chance (v) to have an opportunity to do Sth
Would you like to stay at home or go outside when the weather is great?
I think I would say it depends on my mood and my workload. I definitely cannot go out enjoy myself if my work is still a mess, even though it was such nice weather. And unless I feel super energetic and motivated, I think most of the time I'd prefer staying inside, no matter how the sun shines or how cool the weather is.
Are there many sunny days in your hometown?
It is a modern big city so unless it's our rainy season, otherwise the sun would shine most of the time, either during one day or the whole year. Sometimes the temperature rises so high that it feels like burning, that's when people prefer staying indoor enjoying the cool air produced by air conditioners.
IELTS Speaking Part 2
Describe a time when you were busy
You should say:
When was that time
Why was you busy
How did you handle it
SAMPLE ANSWER
Nowadays, with the incredibly fast – paced living, it's not unusual to see how busy people are in their lives. Honestly speaking, I have found myself like thousands of time up to my neck in work, however the time that is most memorable for me is the one of chasing the deadline to submit my final thesis paper for graduation. The allowed time for me to fulfil this task is 2 months, nevertheless I spent almost three weeks struggling to figure out the topic. In addition, I was under pressure by the job pressure at the company where I was performing as an intern. Between working at the corporates, attending classes and completing the assigned thesis, I was in fact a busy little beaver for almost 2 months. I barely had time remaining for my personal stuff and I was really stressed out that I was falling behind my schedule for my thesis paper submission. It was in deed a complicated one that required me to do tons of research, both from libraries and the Internet. In addition, I had to visit some local companies to collect data for my thesis. Those days were so tough and I had been so busy that sometimes I slept for 3 hours only at night. However, at the end of the day, I completed the thesis with flying colors and had it submitted in due time. Although it was extremely challenging for me at that time, I felt that all of my dedication and effort were truly rewarding. It also gave me some precious experience in time management and dealing with stress in life.
Vocabulary
Fast – paced (adj) including a lot of different things happening quickly
Up to one's neckin something (idiom) involved in a difficult situation, or with more work to do than you can deal with
Figure out (verb) to be able to understand something or to solve a problem
Under pressure (phrase) be stressed
Busy little beaver (idiom) A very busy, assiduous, or hardworking person
Fall behind (phrasal verb) fail to keep up
At the end of the day (idiom) finally; in the end
With flying colors (phrase) with great success
In due time(phrase) after a certain period
Deal with (verb) to take action to do something, especially to solve a problem
SPEAKING PART 3
Do you like the fast pace of modern life?
Not really. Living life in the fast lane surely can be both mentally and physically draining. I can see people nowadays often struggle to juggle work commitments with the demands of the family and keeping up with friends. Besides, a hectic lifestyle can very easily take a toll on our overall well-being if we fail to take better care of ourselves.
Juggle (veb) do many things at once
Take a toll (phrase) to have a badeffect on someone or something(often + on )
What kind of lifestyle is suitable to people in modern society?
I believe people of modern times should definitely strive for a more balanced lifestyle by making more mindful and healthier choices for the sake of their physical well-being. People can start taking charge of their life by being more active, enjoying hobbies and sharing time with friends and family. This, in my opinion, is the most important investment anyone can make in his or her life.
For the sake of (phrase): for the benefit or good of someone or something
What relaxation techniques do people usually use?
As far as I know, some of the relaxation techniques for stress relief that work for most people are to get a good belly laugh with some variety shows or simply by surrounding themselves with funny and cheerful friends; listening to slow and soothing music to calm my mind; savoring only the good experiences and trying to focus on the present and things that really matter in life, which are good health and having their loving family and friends by their sides.
Belly laugh (noun) a loud, unrestrained laugh
Surround someone with something (verb) to encircle or enclosesomeone or somethingwithpeople,something, or things.
In this post we will cover 12 useful idioms about time that help you to answer questions in IELTS Speaking test.
In the nick of time – doing or finishing something at the last possible moment
She has arrived to class in the nick of time before the beginning of the exam.
Turn back the hands of time – indicating a desire to visit the past
Claire hopes to turn back the hands of time to change the decision that she made.
Time flies– time passes quickly
Time flies quickly after a long – term course.
Save time – doing things in a quicker way
You would save your time when you use this way.
Spare time– free time
After a hard – working time at college, John has spare time to relax and have fun.
As time goes by – indicates the passage of time
As time goes by two decades, children tend to depend much on technology.
Time for a change – time to start something new
It is time for a change in the way that people treat the environment.
Time is money – time is a valuable commodity
It is unaccepted to waste time for unworthy things because "Time is money".
Time heals all wounds – time removes emotional scars
Time would heal all one's wounds and help them to overcome pains.
Only time will tell – time will give as the truth or idea in the future
Only time will tell who is trustworthy in relationships.
A whale of time – a great time
They had a whale of time when they studied in New Zealand.
A hard time – hardships, suffering, problems
She had to overcome a hard time after her grandmother's death.
I hope you will find this post useful for your IELTS Speaking test. If you have any questions, please comment below this post or on Facebook, we will reply as soon as possible.
– What is your full name? – Can I see your ID? – Where are you from? – Do you work or study?
Activity near water
Do you like to go to places near water (lakes, rivers or the sea)?
Yes, I’m really into going to these places. I think it’s easy to understand why most people gravitate to places near water. The main reason is that I can find the water very soothing and calming. Whenever I’m under stress, I just go straight to the lake nearby so that I can feel relieved. Moreover, I am a big swimmer and love being in the water. That was the first sport I mastered as a child and I felt lucky to know how to swim that soon because there is always a feeling of weightlessness and freedom when I’m near open water.
Under stress (phrase) dealing with something that causes worry or anxiety
Relieved (adj) feeling relaxed and happy
What do you like to do there?
Obviously I'd first take some picture. The ocean looks stunning at any time to me. Then I'll go swimming. There's no such thing more relaxing than surfing and chasing big waves. Then probably I'll build some sandcastle or just lie down and enjoy the fresh ambience.
Stunning (adj) very impressive or beautiful
Ambience (noun) air, the atmosphere of a place
Flowers
Do you like flowers? (Why?)
Yes, I do like flowers. As an introvert, sometimes, I find myself feeling peaceful and relaxed while enjoying nice flowers in my garden. I have a habit of taking pictures of flowers after the rain. I feel most at peace spending chunks of good-time on my own, in relative silence, contemplating the beauty of flowers with raindrops through my camera lens.
Vocabulary
Introvert (n) a shy, reticent person.
(a) chunk of (n) a significant amount of something
Good-time (n) (of a person) having the pursuit of pleasure as one’s chief aim
To contemplate (v) to look thoughtfully for a long time at
Which/What is your favorite flower?
White roses are truly my favorite flower. They are traditionally associated with marriages and new beginnings. However, their beauty has also made them a gesture of remembrance. Therefore, a bouquet of white rose is a perfect way to say "I'm thinking of you".
Vocabulary
Gesture (n) a movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning
(a) Bouquet of (flowers) (phrase) an attractively arranged bunch of flowers, especially one presented as a gift or carried at a ceremony
Do you think flowers are important?
For an introvert like me, enjoying the harmonization of various types of flowers with different gorgeous colors in the garden or in florist shops could brighten up my days and lift my spirits.
Vocabulary
Harmonization (n) a good combination
Gorgeous (adj) beautiful, very attractive
Brighten up (phrasal verb) make something more pleasant and happy
Lift our spirits (expression) make us feel happier
Speaking Part 2
Describe a well-paid job that you would like to do. Please say
– What job is it? – Why do you want to do it? – What would you do to get it?
Band 9.0 Sample Answer
It's difficult to predict the future as to what job will dominate the labor market, but I'm pretty sure that teaching English as a foreign language stands a good chance of being one of the hottest professions in the upcoming years. And, to be honest, I'm working hard on enhancing my English teaching ability to prepare myself properly for this golden opportunity and become an IELTS examiner down the road.
Teaching English requires patience and perseverance and if you're an impetuous and bad-tempered person, then this noble profession is not cut out for you. In this job, I will have to get exposed to people of different educational and cultural backgrounds, some of them might be too stubborn to be a good listener or simply they're too lazy to acquire any knowledge. The two qualities I have mentioned is my strong suit actually. I have been employed as an English teacher and somehow learnt about the art of imparting knowledge and encourage students to actively participate in the lessons without being fed up with the students, I think this characteristic can be tackled over time and that being not too lenientwith the students means I care for them pretty much.
At the moment, teaching social subjects like Literature or History admittedly doesn't guarantee a lucrative income. Yet it's not the same for English as it's an international language and is a prerequisite for international students or those working in multinational corporations. So, l speculate that in the foreseeable future the job as an IELTS examiner will promise a bright future.
Vocabulary
As to (phrase) concerning someone or something
Labor market (phrase) the number of people who are available to work, considered together with all the available jobs
Stand a chance (phrase) to be likely to achieve something
Down the road (idiom) in the future
Impetuous (adj) done quickly, without thinking about what the effects will be
Bad –tempered (adj) angry, irritable, or ungracious
Cut out for someone (phrasal verb) to be the right type of person to do something
Impart (verb) To pass on; transmit
Be fed up with (phrasal verb) be bored with something/somebody
Lenient with someone (adj) if a person or system is lenient, they punish someone less severely than they could
Speaking Part 3
What jobs are important in your opinion?
I believe it’s relative to what is most needed at various, particular times. However, If you ask me, I would say that the most important and useful occupation to modern society is farmer. In recent times, the vast majority of food is grown by large corporate companies using expensive chemicals and pesticides. However, without those who care for the crops and without traditional farmers, modern society could not be sustained at its current population density. Therefore, farmers are a necessary part of modern society, and complete a very important and useful task, despite not being a part of urban society. Besides, teaching are also regarded as one of the most important jobs because they have some of the greatest burdens on their shoulders, and could tell you more of what society would be like than anyone else alive today.
Population density (phrase) the number of people per unit of area, usually quoted per square kilometer or square mile
Is it necessary to motivate employees to do their job?
Motivatingemployeesplay an absolutely crucial role in any business. A motivated workforce can lead to a high productivity and help all organizations or companies attain their business goals. Therefore, employee motivation should be a main objective in any organizational and business plans.
Check out IELTS Speaking Recent Actual Test in India – March 2017 & read Sample Answers to be well-prepared for your upcoming speaking test.
Part 1
What is your full name?
Can I see your ID?
Where are you from?
Do you work or study?
Do you like relatives/visitors coming to your home?
Only if I'm informed about the visit. I typically don't like sudden visits that they pay when I have to open the door in my pyjamas. That kind of visitors to me is so impolite. Oh, and I also don't like a big crowd visiting my place. They're too noisy and most of the time I'm afraid of my property secretly being stolen.
Pay somebody a visit (phrase) visit someone
Do you prefer to have friends visit you, or relatives?
Both friends' and relatives' visits are meaningful to me. Since our relatives live miles away, we really appreciate their efforts and time to visit us. My friends actually only come when they're invited, so we don't have much problem with time.
Do you prefer visiting your relatives or inviting them to your place?
Well, If I’m in a good mood and not up to ears in work, I would rather pay my relatives a visit or ask them out to a restaurant nearby to have a decent meal together as well as to strengthen our relationship.
In a good mood (phrase) happy
Up to ears/neck in something (idiom) busy doing something
Ask someone out (phrasal verb) Invitesomeone to something,such as dinner,thetheater, or a date
Decent (adj) good
Cue Card
Talk about a bicycle, motorbike or car trip that you are planning for the future.
You should say:
where and when you want to go
who you would like to go there with
why you want to do it
and explain what you hope to do on the trip.
Sample Answer
Frankly speaking, I'm not an extrovert, so I haven't been on many trips up to now. However, I would crave for having a pleasant experience on a motorbike trip to [place] – only within a 50- kilo meter drivefrom my house. I have an intention to travel on my own to do the sightseeing, which may save me from the hassle and nuisance from my friends, who complain all the time about where to visit, what to eat, where to stay, and so on.
If everything goes according to plan, the trip should be reasonably priced, at 40 USD for at least 2 days 1 night and it should promise luxurious accommodation and scrumptious food. So you see, I tend to go for cheap holiday without second thoughts as it is exactly what I want to expect. The first part of the journey will probably be good enough forme because it will take me not too much time to reach the destination. Besides, I am looking forward to chancesto engage in any gossip with other travelers at my hostel so that the trip will goby with a lot of fun.
I imagine that the moment I check in at the hotel off the beaten track, andnear the picturesque beach, I will be really glad that the quality of the roomwill definitely be up to standard. If I recall correctly, I made it quite clear tothe hostel’s staff that the bed must be cozy and comfortableand the air-conditioner has to work well. I guessthe weather on that day will be neither scorching hot or blazing cold, hence I can go swimming all day long. On top of that, because I am going to travel during off season, the seafood won't be too pricey and the servings will be therefore large for a person like me.
So that's a trip that we are planning for the future.
Vocabulary
Extrovert (noun) someone who is very confident, lively, and likes social situations
Crave for (verb) to want something very much
Package tour (noun) package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator
On my own (noun) unaccompanied by others; alone
Do the sightseeing (phrase) the activity of visiting the famous or interesting sights of a place
Hassle (noun) argument
Nuisance (noun) disturbance
Scrumptious (adj) delicious
Second thoughts (noun) a change of opinion after considering something again.
Engage in (verb) take part in a particular activity
Up to standard (phrase) good enough
Off the beaten track (idiom) in a place where few people go, far from any mainroads and towns
Make it clear to somebody (phrase) If you make something clear, you say something in a way that makes it impossible for there to be any doubt about your meaning, wishes, or intentions
Off season (phrase) a period of the year when there is less activity in business
Serving (noun) a quantity of food suitable for or served to one person.
PART 3
What will make journey special?
Clearly, there are a number of merits brought by this. But I would probably say that the thing that really stands out is we can broaden our horizons of the world. To be more specific, when coming to a new region or a country, we have the chances to sample the local life, enjoy the cuisine and learn a great deal of interesting stuff. Besides, a second positive point could be that we can let our hair down after undergoing nerve-racking period of time of hard work or study. A flying visit to somewhere can help us recharge our batteries and work more effectively afterwards.
Vocabulary
Merit (noun) the quality of being particularly good or worthy
Stand out (verb) to be easy to see or notice because of being different
Broaden one's horizon (phrase) to make you see a wider range of opportunities and choices
Let hair down (idiom) relax
Nerve-racking (adj) nervous
Flying visit to (phrase) short visit
Recharge one's batteries (phrase) to rest and relax for a period of time so that you feel energetic again
Do you like to visit popular places or less-known places?
To be honest, I have proclivity for travel to not touristy places where I can have more space to capture the breathtaking landscapes without disturbing other travelers. Besides, visiting a site which has not yet been well-known makes me enjoy todiscover more about that place. This is because I want to become the pioneer who can help introduce the place to more visitors with my photos I snapped and travel guidance I wrote.
Have proclivity for(phrase) have a tendency or inclination to do something
Breathtaking (adj) causing awe or excitement
What mode of transport do people in the countryside prefer?
I think buses will take the lead. You can travel the distance without much worries about ticket price or rainy weather outside. Also new buses now offer better services like comfortable seats for the elderly or good air conditioning systems.
To take the lead (v) to start winning a race or competition
What is the impact of cars on the environment?
In the megapolitanareas, probably the most common issue is the gas emissions into the atmosphere, which post a dire threat to air quality, especially in densely populated areas.
Megapolitan (adj) relating to a very large city
Densely populated (phrase) crowded
What should governments do to eliminate this impact?
Well, there are several measures which can be taken by the government to ameliorate this situation, varyingfrom preclude residents from using their cars during the rush hours to providing bicycles for citizens, to raising citizen’s awareness of environment protection.
Ameliorate (verb) improve
Vary (verb) to change
Rush hour (phrase) the time of day when there are a lot of vehicles on the road because most people are travelling to or from work
What are the differences between young people and old people when they go travelling?
I guess there are a handful of differences, of which one would be that young people generally like doing quite exciting and energetic things, like bungee jumping; or, if they're going somewhere coastal, they might wanna do some watersports like jet skiing, whereas I would say the elderly, on the whole, tend to simply like relaxing when they go on holiday, so they’ll probably take a few books with them and spend most of the time on a deck chair next to a swimming pool soaking up the sun and enjoying the feeling of doing nothing.
A handful of (phrase) A small, undefined number or quantity
Bungee jumping (noun) a jump made by someone from a high bridge, building, etc, secured only by a rubber cord attached to the ankles
– What is your full name? – Can I see your ID? – Where are you from? – Do you work or study?
Hometown
– Describe your hometown.
Actually, it is a small province with slightly more than 1 billion people. It has beautiful landscapes with mountains and lakes. However, due to the increasing economy, a number of business, especially in sugarcane, are invested in my hometown that turns it into a promising area.
–What do you like (most) about your hometown?
I like the hospitality of people there which I hardly find them in my current place. Everyone is living close together and willing to give others a hand when they need help.
Vocabulary
Hospitality (n) The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers
Give someone a hand (idiom) to help someone do something
— Do you think you will continue living there for a long time?
To be honest, I hope I could come back there one day to visit my relatives and friends, but to settle down my life there is not my plan. I am getting familiar with city life and there are more job opportunities for my future career.
Vocabulary
To settle down (v) adopt a more steady or secure style of life, especially in a permanent job and home
Handwriting
– Do you write everyday?
I love writing I must say. Writing helps me stay focus and organize things way more effectively. In class I always have my pen and notebook ready to take some notes and when going out I type my notes on the phone.
– Do you prefer handwriting or typing on a computer?
With the advent of technology, the most common means of daily communication nowadays is typing. Personally I prefer typing email, chatting and other important documents due to high standardization. However, if it's a letter, a card or a postcards to relatives or friends, I'd live to send them a handwritten form to show my respect and love.
– What do you usually write?
Mostly I like to write notes in class since it helps me concentrate on the lectures. Written notes are also good reference for exams. Besides, I often write to-do list so that I make use of my time. I also make lists of stuffs I need to buy before I go shopping or thinngs I need to pack before any trips.
Vocabulary
To concentrate on/to focus on/to pay attention to (v): to especially concern about Sth
Make (a) list(s) (v): to write down things in orders
Teaching
– Do you enjoy teaching?
Yes, I‘m really into teaching. I have a life-long passion for becoming a dedicated teacher who can helps thousands of students stay more focused on their studies and inspire them to become well-behaved people.
Vocabulary
To be into something (phrase) really like something
Life-long (adj) lasting or continuingthroughall or much of one’slife
Dedicated (adj) giving a lot of time and energy to
Well-behaved (adj) behaves in a way that is polite or gentle and does not upset people
– Have you ever taught somebody?
Yes, I have been teaching for more than 8 years for roughly 500 students since I embarked on my exciting teaching career. At first, I thought I couldn’t be a good teacher and nearly give up on teaching because I felt it hard to get across to my students. But you know, everything takes time. Now, I’m totally confident in my teaching skills.
Vocabulary
Roughly (adv) approximately
Embark on (verb) start a new project or activity, usually one that will be difficult and will take time
Give up on (phrasal verb) to stopexpectinganythingfromsomeone or something
Get something across to someone (phrase) To be convincing or understandable
Take time (phrase) If you say that something will take time, you mean that it will take a long time.
Cue Card
Describe a foreign country where you would like to work/visit for a period of time. Please say
You should say:
What is that place
Why do you like to go to that place
When will you go
Honestly speaking, I have a myriad of destinations on my must – visit list around the world. However, if I have the opportunity to choose one city, I would probably pick London, which is one of the most prominent capitals around the globe. I guess the reason why I have a burning desire to visit London has something to do with the fact that ever since I was a kid, I have always been amazed by how gorgeous and unique the architects in London are. There are also some interesting facts about London that I want to witness in real life. One of them is the fact about Big Ben tower. So far, many people see the tall clock tower and think that it is Big Ben. But in fact, Big Ben is a giant thirteen – ton bell inside the tower that is rung every two hours by a two hundred – kilogram hammer. The real name of the Bell is the Great Bell of Westminster. Buckingham Palace is also so appealing to me since it is the home to the Queen of England and many tourists to London says that enjoy watching the changing of the guard ceremony that takes place in front of the Palace's gate. There are many other elements that make London so tempting to me. Pay this amazing city a visit in the future is one of the items in my wish – list.
Vocabulary
a myriad of something (phrase) an extremely large number of people or things, especially one that is too large to count
Giant (adj) of very great size or force; gigantic
Appealing (adj) attractive and interesting
Tempting (adj) used for describing something that makes you feel you would like to have it or to do it
IELTS Speaking Part 3
Why do people choose going abroad to study or work?
There are various reasons behind the preference of people to work in foreign countries.
Firstly, working abroad is good for their personal growth. In addition to a higher salary, moving overseas or even getting a temporary contract abroad will give people opportunities to meet potential customers or partners who will help them further their career.
Secondly, expatriates can experience new cultures and a greater mix of backgrounds that will give them invaluable perspectives in all aspects of life, including work.
Further (verb): to help something to develop and be successful Example: Although the salary was low, she took the job to further her career by learning all about the fashion industry.
Invaluable (adjective): extremely useful Example: The research should prove invaluable in the study of children’s language.
Perspective (noun): a way of thinking about something Example: The book gave me a new perspective on Indian culture.
What are the advantages of working or studying abroad?
Working overseas is a great opportunity for young people to meet different types of people and gain global understanding of their industry. It also provides them with experiences and skills that they would never get at home.
Not only that, most young people are energetic and adventurous; therefore working abroad provides them with opportunities to travel more, and beexposed to different cultures, which will result in higher level of knowledge and cultural sensitivity.
Take up (phrasal verb): to start or begin something such as a job Example: He takes up his duties next week as the head of the department.
Experience (verb): to have a particular situation affect you or happen to you Example: When I lived in Japan, I experienced a very different way of life.
Obstacle (noun) a situation, an event, etc. that makes it difficult for you to do or achieve something Example: A lack of qualifications can be a major obstacle to finding a job.
Adventurous (adjective): willing to take risks and try new ideas; enjoying being in new, exciting situations Example: For the more adventurous tourists, there are trips into the mountains with a local guide.
Be exposed to (expression): introduced to, not protected from Example: I was exposed to a completely new culture when I first went to the USA.
Sensitivity (noun): the ability to understand other people's feelings Example: She pointed out with tact and sensitivity exactly where he had gone wrong.
Check out the latest IELTS Speaking test in May 2017 on ieltsmaterial.com to familiarize yourself with the Speaking module & to be well-prepared for the test.
Speaking Part 1
What's your name? Can I see your ID?
Study
What is your area of specialization?
My major is Plant Biotechnology. I have been into Biology since I was in high school and I think a shift to a field where Biology and advanced technology are associated would be interesting and promising for my future career.
Major (n) the most important subject that a college or university student is studying
To be into something (phrase) really like something
Do you like your major? (Why?/Why not?)
To tell you the truth it was quite challenging for me at first, because the university's requirements are especially high and you know science itself highly demands skillful hands and curious mind. However, as time goes by I think I'm getting used to an insurmountable amount of pressure and actually enjoy my study.
Go by (phrasal verb) if time goes by, it passes
Get used to Verb-ing/something (phrase) If you get used to something, you become familiar with it
Insurmountable (adj) incapable to overcome (problem/difficult)
What kind of school did you go to as a child?
Well just like most of the pupils, I spent five years at the government’s primary school. It took me only 10 minutes to go to school and I had my parents take me to school everyday. Classes start at 7 in the morning and end at 5 in the evening.
What was your favourite subject as a child?
To tell you the truth, I was quite good at Literature back then. Besides, my Literature teacher was really dedicated and caring, thus I always tried my best to get high scores and impressed my teacher.
Back then (phrase) an expression you can use in order to refer to a specific period of time in the past
Are you looking forward to working?
To be honest, working is actually my plan B just in case I need to make ends meet. In the future I think my higher degree is my priority.
Vocabulary
Plan B (n) back-up plan
To make ends meet (v) to make money, to earn a living
Watches
Do you like to wear watches?
Well, I am more a cosmetics girl than clothing and accessories, hence, there are not many watches and jewelries in my possession. However, I have nothing against wearing a beautiful piece of art on my wrist and do own a few exclusive timepieces which suit perfectly with my clothing on some special occasions, giving me a sense of identity and uniqueness.
Vocabulary
In someone's possession: if something is in someone's possession, they have it
Have nothing against: to dislike or not approve of someone or something for a particular reason
On (special) occasions: from time to time; now and then
Have you ever received a watch as a gift?
Let me see. More than half of the watches in my little jewelry box are presents from my family and friends. And by that I mean 3 pieces since I only own 4 in total. They all know I am not extremely fond of collecting these types of accessories but make-up kits and the likes. Therefore, it would soothe their souls to see me in watches because according to them, time is so precious that I need to be reminded every second.
Vocabulary
Be fond of = be interested in = be keen on
Soothe someone's soul: To bring comfort, composure, or relief
Speaking Part 2
Describe a small business that you would like to open
You should say:
What this business would be
Where it would be located
What people you would hire as employees
And explain why you'd like to have this small business.
Sample Answer
It goes without saying that future is quite uncertain and almost no one can predict exactly what is waiting for them ahead, however, to some extent I always believe that our future depends on our plans and actions at present. As a fresh graduate, I want to become an entrepreneur and run a chain of boutique shops selling stylish clothing, dresses and jewelry. This is probably because ever since I was a kid, I have had a great passion for designing and sewing pieces of garments, firstly for my doll and then for real people around me. Gradually, I constantly get more insights into fashion industry and keep me posted with clothes that are in the thing. Although I am currently majoring in economics instead of fashion designing, I hold a strong belief that my acute business sense and a sincere interest in the clothing business will help me to succeed in the future. Nevertheless, I always have to remind me that opening and running an apparel store is serious business and that I have to put one hundred percent effort in leading it to success as well as get ready toface up to failures. I guess that's why some people around me wonder why I want to give up the safety of my corporate job with good compensation package such as steady income, insurance, pension plan, long vacations and the opportunity for rapidpromotion just to become a small business owner. The answer is indeed quite simple for me, which is I want to walk out of my comfort zone, challenge myself in a new business and last but not least, give myself a chance to fulfil my childhood dream.
Vocabulary
Go without saying (that) to be completely obvious or true
To some/a certain/a limited extent (phrase) partly, but not completely
Entrepreneur (noun) someone who uses money to start businesses and make business deals
Garment (noun) a piece of clothing. This word is used especially when talking about the production and sale of clothes
Major in (phrase) to study something as your main subject at college or university
Acute (adj) used for describing the senses and abilities of someone who notices things very quickly and easily
Apparel (noun) a word for clothes, used especially in stores or other businesses
Face up to(something/somebody) to confront with courage someone or something representing a threat or unpleasantness.
Compensation package (phrase) the salary and other benefits that an employee receives
Comfort zone (idiom) a situation or position in which a person feels secure, comfortable, or in control
Fulfill one's dream (collocation) realize a dream, make dream come true
Speaking Part 3
What challenges and difficulties do people face when they try to have a successful small business?
I think some of the hardships that small business owners might have to face include increasing profits and growing revenues while still paying close attention to details like client relationships. On the other hand, for many small businesses, client dependence is a huge issue. If a business depends on a single customer for more than half its income, that should raise a huge red flag, a situation which can threaten the businesses' growth and stability.
What should be the government’s role in how small businesses are run?
I personally believe the government should create specific programs to help small businesses start and continue to grow by offering start-up incentives, providing loan guarantees and encouraging local banks to work with start-ups or regional businesses that wish to expand. Lowering corporate taxes and making the regulatory process simpler can also foster even more small-business growth.
What kinds of small business are most popular in your country?
Probably street food vendors and local convenience stores. Street food has always been a vital and vibrant part in my country, so as long as the owners can offer high food quality along with some uniqueness to set their stores apart from other competitors on the market, I believe the business will achieve at least semi-success. Meanwhile, local convenience stores are usually guaranteed a loyal customer base that is the local residents so I think they have a higher chance of breaking even and increasing the bottom line.
VOCABULARY
Red flag (noun): a sign of danger
You’re not allowed to swim when the red flag is flying.
Startup (noun): a small business that has just been started
Working on a startup business can produce a real mix of emotions.
Vendor (noun): a person or company offering something for sale, especially a trader in the street
She glanced around quickly, and her eyes caught a street vendor who was selling ice cream.
Convenience store (noun): a shop that sells food, drinks, etc. and is usually open until late
The biggest difference in services between a grocery and convenience store is that the latter usually sells gasoline.
Customer base (noun): the people who buy or use a particular product or service
A customer base is absolutely essential for business success.
To break even: to have no profit or loss at the end of a business activity
After paying for our travel costs, we barely (= only just) broke even.
Bottom line (noun): the final line in the accounts of a company or organization, stating the total profit or loss that has been made
How will the rise in interest rates affect our bottom line
Many thanks to Ahmed Esam for the latest IELTS Speaking test in Egypt. Sample Answers for this test will be updated on ieltsmaterial.com soon.
Part 1
What’s your name? Can I see your ID? Do you live in a house or a flat? Do you like your house? Why do you like it? How do you expect your future house to be and why?
Do you use emails?
Are they popular in your country?
Do you think they are going to replace letters in the future? Why?
Part 2
Describe an english lesson you like When was it What was it What did the teacher do Why did you like it
Part 3
What do you think of the world having a global language? What are the disadvantages of the world having a global language?
Speaking for IELTS will prepare you for the IELTS Speaking test whether you are taking the test for the first time, or re-sitting for IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training Module. It has been written for learners with band score 5-5.5 who are trying to achieve band score 6.5 or higher.
The structured approach, comprehensive answer key and sample answers have been designed so that you can use the materials to study on your own. However, the book can also be used as a supplementary speaking skills course for IELTS preparation classes. The book provides enough material for approximately 50 hours of classroom activity.
IELTS Speaking Actual tests Jan - May 2020 with suggested answers- Ebook
$80 $18
IELTS Speaking Actual Tests & Suggested Answers written by IELTS teachers aims to help IELTS candidates perform at their best on the big day.
Content of Speaking for IELTS by Collins English for Exam:
Speaking for IELTS is divided into 12 units. Each unit focuses on a topic area that you are likely to meet in the IELTS exam. This helps you to build up a bank of vocabulary and ideas related to a variety of the topics.
Units 1-11 cover vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and exam techniques to prepare you for the IELTS Speaking test. Every exercise is relevant to the test. The aims listed at the start of each unit specify the key skills, techniques and language covered in the unit. You work towards Unit 12, which provides a final practice IELTS Speaking test.
Additionally, the book provides examination strategies telling you what to expect and how best to succeed in the test. Exam information is presented in clear, easy-to-read chunks. ‘Exam tips' in each unit highlight essential exam techniques and can be rapidly reviewed at a glance.
Unit structure of Speaking for IELTS by Collins English for Exam:
Each of the first 11 units is divided into 2 parts.
The first part of each unit introduces vocabulary related to the topic, as well as phrases and language that can be applied to any topic. The vocabulary exercises give you the opportunity to express complex ideas and opinions so that you are able to do so in the IELTS Speaking test.
The vocabulary is presented using Collins COBUILD dictionary definitions. In addition, each unit covers one or more pronunciation points, and one or more grammar points. The pronunciation and grammar exercises help you to develop accurate pronunciation, and grammatical range and accuracy to enable you to succeed in the IELTS test.
In every unit, you are given the opportunity to practise the new language you have learnt by attempting questions from Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test. These test questions increase your familiarity with the exam format and help to build your confidence.
The second part of each unit teaches you exam techniques. The information and exercises raise your awareness of what constitutes an effective IELTS response and also provide you with strategies on how to achieve this. Techniques include making notes for Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test, developing your fluency, and enhancing the length and quality of your answers to Part 3 of the test by using news articles.
Answer key of of Speaking for IELTS by Collins English for Exam:
A comprehensive answer key is provided for all sections of the book including recommended answers and explanations. You will also find full audio scripts of all speaking exercises at the back of the book. There are sample answers for all the IELTS Speaking test questions recorded on the CDs. The audio scripts for these sample answers are also at the back of the book. Listening to and learning from these will help you to achieve the best scores.
Using Collins Speaking for IELTS for self-study:
If you are new to IELTS, we recommend that you work systematically through the 12 units in order to benefit from the book’s progressive structure. If you are a more experienced learner, you can use the aims listed at the start of each unit to select the most useful exercises.
Each unit contains between three and four hours of study material. Having access to someone who can provide informed feedback on the speaking practice exercises is an advantage. However, you can still learn a lot working alone or with a study partner willing to give and receive peer feedback.
Avoid writing the answers to vocabulary exercises directly into the book so that you can try the exercises again once you have completed the unit. As you attempt the exercises in each unit, write down in a separate notebook any language that you find particularly useful or relevant. Review this language often.
Try to revise what you have learnt before attempting the practice IELTS questions in each unit. This will improve the quality of your answers, and using the new language will help you to remember it.
Record your answers if you can. It will develop your self-awareness: you will be able to hear where your strengths lie and which aspects of your speaking you need to improve. In addition, hearing how your speaking has improved over time will increase your confidence and motivation. Remember that there are no 'right' or wrong’ answers to the exam questions: the examiner is interested in your English, not in testing the validity of your opinions.
Once you have answered the practice IELTS questions, listen to the sample answers. You can also read the sample answers in the audio scripts section at the back of the book. Write down any useful vocabulary and grammatical structures. Be aware that vocabulary’ consists of more than just single words: also pay attention to bigger chunks of language, such as phrases and collocations.
It is recommended that you play the sample answers a second time. This time, read the words as you listen, imitating as closely as possible the native speakers' pronunciation.
It is very important that you do not memorise entire sentences or answers. IELTS examiners are trained to spot this and will change the topic if they think you are repeating memorised answers. With its structured approach, wide range of relevant exercises, and exam tips and techniques, Speaking for IELTS should equip you with the skills and language, as well as the confidence, necessary to tackle unfamiliar questions on the day of the exam.
Unit 12 is a complete practice speaking test. This unit should be done under exam conditions including setting yourself the time limits that are suggested. There is also a sample answer for this complete practice test so you can listen to the audio and read the audio script to further learn from the experience of sitting this practice test.
1.Are there many advertisements in your country? I would say yes. You can easily see a wide range of advertisements almost everywhere in my hometown. For example, almost half of a newspaper is made up of ads.
2.Why do you think there are so many advertisements now? I guess it's due to their benefits. First, advertising is an essential part of promotional campaigns for companies to reach their end users. It helps raise the visibility of a company’s brand. Second, advertisements can act as decoration on the street. I find a street better-looking with advertisements.
3.What are the various places where we see advertisements? Today advertising gets to people through different forms of communication, from print media to electronic ones, so you can see advertisements on websites, social networks or in the newspapers and magazines. There are also ads you see outdoors as well, for example, large banners and posters hung on the roads, on the buses or trains.
4.How do you feel about advertisements? Most people may find those ways of product promotion annoying, but I'm an exception. I'm quite into advertisements. They're colourful, brilliantly designed, illustrated, photographed or typeset pieces and often have useful, informative contents.
VOCABULARY ✔ Promotional campaign: [noun] A series of advertisements using various marketing tools that share the same message and ideas to promote a business or event to a target audience. Example: Promotional campaigns play a crucial role in the marketing strategy of a company.
✔ End users: [noun] Person or organization that actually uses a product
Example: We provide the best quality products to our end users.
✔ Print media: [noun] refers to paper publications circulated in the form of physical editions of newspapers, articles, journals, etc
✔ Electronic media: [noun] refers to television, radio, etc
✔ Informative: [adjective] giving useful information Example: The professor's lecture was very informative and I learned a lot from it.
IELTS Speaking Part 2
Describe a team project for study or entertainment You should say: • When you did it • Where you did it • Who you did it with • How you did it • Why you liked it or disliked it
Well, when it comes to teamwork, I can only think of a bad memory. I remember when I was a first year student, my teacher asked me and some other students in my class to set up a team project. A girl was assigned to be the leader and we had to prepare a presentation about our university. My teacher thought it would make a great contribution to our friendship, and the whole thing done with the best of intentions. But it turned out to be the worst team project ever.
All of us were freshmen, so my team was essentially a bunch of strangers who I happened to be teamed up with. I didn't know anything about the others, and they knew nothing about me. Moreover, it was obvious that the leader didn't have any leadership skill. She didn't know how to allocate work to individual team members. She always sat on the fence, I mean, she let every member raise their voice but she didn't know which one would be the best. As a result, she wasn't able to make any decisions. No one in our team showed any respect for her. They only did what they wanted to do. And I was no exception. I was too busy doing my own thing. In the end, no one did any work and nothing was done. Several weeks later, I was still kicking myself for taking part in such a team project.
VOCABULARY ✔ When it comes to: [expression] as for something; speaking about a particular topic Example: When it comes to trouble, little boys know how to cause it.
✔ assign: [verb] to give a particular job or piece of work to someone Example: The case has been assigned to our most senior officer.
✔ freshmen: [noun] first-year university or college students Example: The dean of the university gave a speech of welcome to all the freshmen who had arrived there to study.
✔ A bunch of: [expression] a large group Example: She gave me a bunch of flowers.
✔ allocate: [verb] to give something to someone as their share of a total amount, to use in a particular way Example: The government is allocating £10 million for health education.
✔ Sit on the fence: [idiom] not to take sides in a dispute; not to make a clear choice between two possibilities in a dispute. Example: My tutor told me to support one side of the argument or the other, and not to sit on the fence.
✔ Do one's own thing: [expression] following one's own interests and ideas, without considering other people Example: On Sundays, I just enjoy doing my own thing without any regular commitments.
✔ To kick oneself for: [idiom] regret doing something Example: I'm kicking myself for not buying that T-shirt.
IELTS Speaking Part3
1.What kinds of qualities does a leader need? Well, I suppose leaders need to possess a wide range of skills. First, they have to know ways to inspire and motivate their followers. Second, they have to be the ones who are willing to take responsibilities and criticism. Sometimes, their ego can hinder them from being a great leader. Leadership skills also include their abilities to build relationships. The stronger their relationships, the better a leader they will be.
2.What are the reasons for the failure of teamwork? I reckon teamwork failure depends solely on the failure of that team's leader. If the leader has a short vision and makes misguided decisions, he or she will lead the whole team into a mess. Moreover, the leader is the bridge between team member's relationships. Bad relationships result in weak communications and a lack of networking with each other. Consequently, team members cannot work effectively together. Apart from poor leadership skills, poor time management or poor budgeting may also cause the whole team to fail.
3.Do children need to know more about teamwork? Of course they do. Children need instruction in effective teamwork for a wide variety of reasons. When learning about teamwork, not only are children learning to work as a team, they’re also learning to actively listen and respond in a way that makes the group effort more effective. It's beneficial for their ability to interact socially. In addition to that, working in a team helps children learn to reflect on their individual experience versus the experience of the group. They often get feedback from their instructor and other members of the group. Self-reflection contributes a lot to a child's development.
4.Is cooperation more important than competition? Actually, I can't tell which one works better in general. On the one hand, by competing against others and comparing ourselves with one another, we learn how to improve and achieve success. On the other hand, in some cases, competition leads directly to hostility and greed, both of which are the enemies of progress. Cooperation also has certain advantages and disadvantages. The main strength is that cooperation provides the chance to help other people and let them help you in return, while the biggest weakness of cooperation is that the mass of members may lose interest and let a small clique take over affairs and manage things for their own benefit. So, I would say that it depends on each situation as to whether cooperation or competition is more important.
VOCABULARY ✔ inspire: [verb] to make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it: Example: After her trip to Venezuela, she felt inspired to learn Spanish.
✔ hinder: [verb] to limit the ability of someone to do something, or to limit the development of something: Example: Her progress certainly has been hindered by her lack of experience.
✔ solely: [adverb] only and not involving anyone or anything else: Example: He’s solely in charge of the operation.
✔ Misguided: [adjective] wrong, because you have judged a situation badly: Example: Her decision to quit her job is, in my opinion, misguided.
✔ Mess: [noun] a situation that is full of problems: Example: The economy is in a mess as a result of government policies.
✔ Result in: [phrasal verb] lead to, bring about Example: The fire resulted in damage to their property.
✔ Self- reflection: [noun] careful thought about your own behavior and beliefs Example: I often do some self-reflection when I'm alone.
✔ Clique: [noun] a group of people who spend their time together and exclude others: Example: A small clique of corrupt politicians are running the country . ✔ Take over: [phrasal verb] to get control of something, or to do something instead of someone else: Example: She took over management of this department last winter.
– What is your full name? – Can I see your ID? – Where are you from? – Do you work or study?
Visitors
Do you often invite friends to visit your home?
I do but only when we have known each other well for quite a long time. As most of my friends also enjoy staying inside like me, normally I just invite one friend then we buy some snacks home and exchange some chitchat for hours. I sometimes invite 3 to 4 friends so we can have a girl-night-in with movies or a small pyjama party.
Vocabulary
Chitchat (noun) gossip, casual conversation
pyjama party (n) a social occasion when a group of friends, usually children or young people, stay for the night at one person's house
girl-night-in (n) an evening spent inside home by a group of women
Do you like visitors coming to your home?
Only if I'm informed about the visit. I typically don't like sudden visits that they pay when I have to open the door in my pyjamas. That kind of visitors to me is so impolite. Oh, and I also don't like a big crowd visiting my place. They're too noisy and most of the time I'm afraid of my property secretly being stolen.
Do you prefer to have friends visit you, or relatives?
Both friends' and relatives' visits are meaningful to me. Since our relatives live faraway, we really appreciate their efforts and time to visit us. My friends only come when they're invited, so we don't have much problem with time.
Television
Do you often watch TV?
I actually prefer watching TV to surfing the Internet due to its selectivity and accessibility. Because the audience can be children, teenagers and families, the content of TV programs is examined carefully and suitable time frame is arranged in order to avoid having negative impacts on them.
What types of TV programme are popular in your country?
In my country these days reality shows and comedy shows are among the most popular TV programs. I guess it's because its content is suitable for audience of any age from children to the elderly. The fans of reality shows feel interactive and familiar with the competitors while that of comedy shows generally want to be entertained with jokes and laughters.
What (types of) programmes did you watch when you were a child?
Like other children, I watched a number of cartoons and music programs for children when I was a child. Tom and Jerry, Barbie, Disney series are my favorite which still get me excited whenever I see them on TV now. My mom said I also was kinda attracted to music programs for children that I focused on them completely while eating.
Speaking Part 2
Describe a kind of foreign food you have tried/would like to have
You should say:
When you had it
Where you ate it
What it was
Sample Answer
Well, I spent 2 weeks of the summer vacation in Malaysia to visit my friends, thus I had chances to try a lot of local foods. However, the food that I miss most since I cannot find it in my hometown is called 'Roti Susu'.
Indian food in Malaysia is highly diverse, yet my favorite one is this food. Basically, in Malaysian, 'Roti' means 'bread' and 'susu' means 'milk'. We can add some curry sauce for more flavors. Because of such simple ingredients, this food can be found in any Indian restaurants in Malaysia.
My friends who were studying in Malaysia were also big fan of 'roti susu' so they introduced me this food on the first day I came to visit them. Because it is sold by an Indian food court on campus, they could have it most of the time. I prefer having it without the sauce and usually it's my everyday-favorite. Probably as the soft bread with sweet condensed milk has often been my breakfast when I'm in my hometown, the taste of 'roti susu' seems familiar to me.
In the future, I would love to return to Malaysia someday to enjoy 'roti susu' again.
Vocabulary
To be familiar with/to Sth/SO (adj): to know SO or Sth well
Speaking Part 3
Why do some people’s tastes change?
Well as we grow older, our tastes are also likely to change as well. The reason for this can be we don't have time for a decent meal as most family members are on the go, meaning that the father and mother have to work longer hours to make ends meet, whereas the students must attend extra classes to keep up with their peers at school. So, we end up eating fast foods or take-aways and become used to it. The second reason is when we grow older, for health protection, we force ourselves to refrain from certain types of foods, like meat or fast food because they contain many health hazards.
Which are more popular in your country: fast food restaurants or traditional restaurants?
They're both popular, but in different ways and for different reasons. I think fast food restaurants are popular for grabbing a quick bite or snack, as they are fast and you can usually find one nearby. Traditional restaurants are more popular for special occasions or going out for lunch or dinner at the weekend when people have more time to sit and enjoy the food and the ambience of the place. They usually cost more too, so maybe people don't go as often, but they're still popular. I don't think anyone would consider gong to a fast food place for a special occasion – unless it was a kid's birthday party or something similar, in which case it makes a lot of sense, as some of these places cater specially for such events.
Do you think there will be a greater choice of food available in shops in the future, or will there be less choice?
That's hard to say, but I think that due to the fact that most industries are becoming more and more consolidated and there are less and less independent producers of anything, you could safely say that the choice will probably be less, as it will be dictated by only one or two giant global conglomerates in the food industry.
Local look is incredible for private ventures: four out of five purchasers use search to discover neighborhood data, which implies if your business isn't improved for nearby hunt, you could be passing up 80% of your potential clients. To put it plainly, neighborhood Web optimization is basic in the event that you need your business to remain pertinent.
7 Cut-Throat Local Seo Tactics That Never Fails
To assist you with improving your business for neighborhood Search engine optimization, we've made a far reaching guide, which will cover nearby Website optimization tips and instruments.
Before the finish of the guide, you'll have a firm understanding on the most proficient method to enhance your business to arrive at potential customers who utilize nearby hunt to pick which items or administrations they're going to purchase.
What is Nearby SEO enhancement? - Local SEO
Nearby Website design enhancement assists organizations with advancing their items and administrations to neighborhood possibilities and clients. To assemble data for neighborhood search, web crawlers depend on signs, for example, nearby substance, social profile pages, connections, and references to give the most important neighborhood results to the client.
Nearby Web optimization Tips - Local SEO
Advance for Google My Business.
Improve your interior connecting structure.
Advance URL, title labels, headers, meta portrayal, and substance.
Include area pages your site.
Make neighborhood content.
Guarantee your site is versatile amicable.
Guarantee your name, address, and telephone number are predictable on the web.
Upgrade online indexes and references.
Get inbound connections with significance and authority.
Connect via web-based networking media and add presents on Google My Business.
1. Improve for Google My Business.
Google My Business has become the creme de la creme of nearby pursuit - since Google naturally feels most great sharing substance it can bolster and confirm, Google My Business is their apparatus to enable your business to address Google's issues. On the off chance that Google can check your business as real, the web index might compensate your business with a desired sidebar space in Google neighborhood search.
To guarantee you're upgraded for Google My Business, you'll need to make and check a Google My Business page, use Google Posts inside your record, urge your clients to share audits on the web, and react legitimately to surveys, indicating area. For instance, "We value your criticism on [product/service] in [city, state]. We esteem your information and anticipate working with you once more. Much obliged to you from the [full organization name] group."
2. Improve your inward connecting structure.
Albeit outer connections highlighting your site are perfect (which I'll talk about soon), modifying your inner connecting structure will likewise support your Web optimization rankings.
For what reason does interior connecting make a difference? It does the accompanying:
Supports site route
Helps with data design and site chain of command
Circulates page authority and positioning force among pages
3. Enhance URL, title labels, headers, meta depiction, and substance.
With regards to content, each new blog entry is another filed page for your webpage, another page on which to focus on a geographic search query, and another chance to get found in the web crawler results pages (SERPs).
Each time you compose a bit of substance, you have to advance the substance for web search tools by utilizing high-volume watchwords in the URL, title, header, meta portrayal, and body. In case you're experiencing difficulty thinking of geo-focused on content, consider featuring client examples of overcoming adversity and contextual analyses.
4. Add area pages to your site.
In the event that you have more than one physical area, make area pages. Area pages give perusers your name, address, telephone number, store hours, one of a kind store portrayals, stopping/travel data, advancements, and tributes from glad clients.
It's additionally significant you abstain from copying content over various area pages. For single area organizations, make a locally graphic About Us page. You'll get big time extra focuses in the event that you add a Google Guide to your site on your individual area page(s).
5. Make neighborhood content. Local Content
Google keeps on getting more intelligent, which means content makers are currently ready to really compose for clients, not web crawlers. However, while expounding on general points will draw in a wide group, some of the time it's increasingly imperative to sharpen your concentration and expound on neighborhood or industry news to pull in a nearby crowd.
Be the nearby expert for your industry by advancing neighborhood industry social events, news, representatives, and other instructive substance on your blog. Consider top-of-the-pipe content that goes past what your business sells.
For instance, in case you're a neighborhood security organization and you're attempting to pull in organizations that are new to the territory, make an accommodating asset to get these organizations very much familiar with your city. A guide of nearby specialist co-ops or a schedule of city-wide occasions could both offer some benefit for your persona and contain profoundly pertinent on-page neighborhood signals.
6. Guarantee your site is portable amicable.
Nearby inquiry and portable pursuit go inseparably (the vast majority of cell phone clients lead neighborhood look on their gadgets!).
The absolute most regular ways individuals will utilize your site in a versatile situation is to look into audits, discover headings to your area, and quest for contact data.
Make it simple for your possibilities and clients by making your site portable neighborly.
7. Guarantee your name, address, and telephone number are predictable on the web.
You must make it simple for individuals and web crawlers to discover you. To do this, set up your Snooze, which represents name, address, and telephone number (with zone code). This ought to be incorporated as crawlable HTML message on your site.
Maintain a strategic distance from the regular mix-up of just including the Rest inside a picture - pictures can't be crept from web indexes like HTML content. The most widely recognized area for the Snooze is in the footer or header of the site.
8. Improve online indexes and references.
For US organizations, these four guide information aggregators give a lot of the guide information for Apple, Howl, Bing, Google, Outing Consultant, and that's just the beginning.
Express Update
Neustar Localeze
My Professional reference Supervisor
Truthful
Consistency is vital: confirm that your references are predictable and complete over these four information aggregators.
Inconsistencies like incorrect spellings, truncations, absence of suite number or wrong telephone number can be dangerous.
On the off chance that Google can't figure out which data about your business is right, it may not show your business at all in list items.
Furthermore, make certain to expel any copy postings you find. Extra focuses for stressing an Offices of Business participation in your locale, which will accumulate you an outer inbound connection.
9. Get inbound connections with importance and authority. Inbound connections are extraordinarily incredible chances to support your neighborhood Website design enhancement - each inbound connection reveals to Google you're a real organization, and inbound connections can likewise raise your space authority. Here are a couple of approaches to get inbound connections:
Sponsorships or Organizations
Visitor Blog Posting
Grants
Start with your very own system, which may incorporate the Office of Business, business improvement areas, permitting authorities, exchange affiliations, affiliates, sellers, or potentially producers and different subsidiaries.
Consider supporting an online class or get together, facilitating a network occasion, advancing something neighborhood you love, and building associations with unmistakable individuals and influencers. Moreover, figure out how to learn about open to coming to accomplices to check whether they can highlight you on their accomplice registry.
Likewise, being a visitor blogger can help pull in joins. Converse with and about (decidedly, obviously!) others in your industry, and go about as an asset supplier for the network. In case you're a functioning member in network discussions, the buzz around you develops as inbound connections, internet based life development, and media inclusion.
Given that .edu joins are the honey bee's knees for area authority, why not procure a few connections by including a grant in your geographic district? It ought to be applicable to your industry, impart the correct signs to your area 10. Connect via web-based networking media and add presents on Google My Business. Google considers content shared via web-based networking media more significant now than any time in recent memory.
Since you've cut out a lovely Google My Business page, share the page via web-based networking media, further adjusting social and search.
Link to this page: <a href="https://www.gameforumer.com/2020/04/7-cut-throat-local-seo-tactics-that.html">7 Cut-Throat Local SEO Tactics That Never Fails</a> Sharing gets you good Karma!
Everything You Need to Know About Corona Virus Facts, Corona Virus Facts
Coronaviruses are a gathering of related infections that cause maladies in well evolved creatures and winged animals. In people, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract contaminations that can extend from mellow to deadly. Mellow ailments incorporate a few instances of the regular cold (which has other potential causes, prevalently rhinoviruses), while progressively deadly assortments can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Side effects in different species change: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract sickness, while in bovines and pigs they cause looseness of the bowels. There are yet to be antibodies or antiviral medications to forestall or treat human coronavirus contaminations.
Everything You Need to Know About Corona Virus Facts
Coronaviruses comprise the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family Coronaviridae, request Nidovirales, and domain Riboviria. They are encompassed infections with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical balance. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from roughly 26 to 32 kilobases, one of the biggest among RNA infections. They have trademark club-molded spikes that venture from their surface, which in electron micrographs make a picture suggestive of the sunlight based crown from which their name infers.
Revelation
Coronaviruses were first found during the 1930s when an intense respiratory contamination of tamed chickens was demonstrated to be brought about by irresistible bronchitis infection (IBV). Arthur Schalk and MC Hawn depicted in 1931 another respiratory disease of chickens in North Dakota. The disease of new-conceived chicks was described by heaving and sluggishness. The death pace of the chicks was 40–90%. In 1937, Fred Beaudette and Charles Hudson announced that they had effectively disengaged and developed the irresistible bronchitis infection which caused the malady. During the 1940s, two progressively creature coronaviruses, mouse hepatitis infection (MHV) and transmissible gastroenteritis infection (TGEV), were disconnected. It was not understood at the time that these three diverse infections were connected.
Human coronaviruses were found during the 1960s. The soonest ones examined were from human patients with the normal cold, which were later named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43. They were first imaged by Scottish virologist June Almeida at St. Thomas Emergency clinic in London. Other human coronaviruses have since been recognized, incorporating SARS-CoV in 2003, HCoV NL63 in 2004, HKU1 in 2005, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 out of 2019. The majority of these have included genuine respiratory tract diseases.
Historical background
The name "coronavirus" is gotten from Latin crown, signifying "crown" or "wreath", itself an obtaining from Greek "festoon, wreath". The name was first utilized in 1968 by a casual gathering of virologists in the diary Nature to assign the new group of infections. The name alludes to the trademark appearance of virions (the infective type of the infection) by electron microscopy, which have an edge of huge, bulbous surface projections making a picture suggestive of a crown or of a sun oriented crown. This morphology is made by the viral spike peplomers, which are proteins on the outside of the infection.
Structure
Coronaviruses are enormous pleomorphic round particles with bulbous surface projections. The normal width of the infection particles is around 120 nm (.12 µm). The distance across of the envelope is ~80 nm (.08 µm) and the spikes are ~20 nm (.02 µm) long. The envelope of the infection in electron micrographs shows up as a particular pair of electron thick shells.
The viral envelope comprises of a lipid bilayer where the film (M), envelope (E) and spike (S) basic proteins are secured. A subset of coronaviruses (explicitly the individuals from betacoronavirus subgroup An) additionally have a shorter spike-like surface protein called hemagglutinin esterase (HE).
Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid, which is shaped from various duplicates of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which are bound to the positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome in a constant dots on-a-string type compliance. The lipid bilayer envelope, layer proteins, and nucleocapsid ensure the infection when it is outside the host cell.
Genome
Schematic portrayal of the genome association and useful spaces of S protein for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV
Coronaviruses contain a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome. The genome size for coronaviruses ranges from 26.4 to 31.7 kilobases. The genome size is one of the biggest among RNA infections. The genome has a 5' methylated top and a 3' polyadenylated tail.
The genome association for a coronavirus is 5'-pioneer UTR-replicase/transcriptase-spike (S)- envelope (E)- layer (M)- nucleocapsid (N)- 3'UTR-poly (A) tail. The open perusing outlines 1a and 1b, which possess the initial 66% of the genome, encode the replicase/transcriptase polyprotein. The replicase/transcriptase polyprotein self separates to frame nonstructural proteins.
The later perusing outlines encode the four significant basic proteins: spike, envelope, layer, and nucleocapsid. Mixed between these perusing outlines are the perusing outlines for the extra proteins. The quantity of adornment proteins and their capacity is interesting relying upon the particular coronavirus.
Life cycle
The existence pattern of a coronavirus
Contamination starts when the viral spike (S) glycoprotein joins to its correlative host cell receptor. After connection, a protease of the host cell divides and actuates the receptor-appended spike protein. Contingent upon the host cell protease accessible, cleavage and enactment permits the infection to enter the host cell by endocytosis or direct combination of the viral encompass with the host film.
On passage into the host cell, the infection molecule is uncoated, and its genome enters the cell cytoplasm.[ The coronavirus RNA genome has a 5' methylated top and a 3' polyadenylated tail, which permits the RNA to append to the host cell's ribosome for interpretation. The host ribosome deciphers the underlying covering open perusing edge of the infection genome and structures a long polyprotein. The polyprotein has its own proteases which separate the polyprotein into various nonstructural proteins.
Replication
Some of the nonstructural proteins mix to shape a multi-protein replicase-transcriptase complex (RTC). The principle replicase-transcriptase protein is the RNA-subordinate RNA polymerase (RdRp). It is legitimately engaged with the replication and interpretation of RNA from a RNA strand. The other nonstructural proteins in the mind boggling aid the replication and translation process. The exoribonuclease nonstructural protein, for example, gives additional devotion to replication by giving an editing capacity which the RNA-subordinate RNA polymerase needs.
One of the fundamental elements of the complex is to reproduce the viral genome. RdRp legitimately intercedes the blend of negative-sense genomic RNA from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is trailed by the replication of positive-sense genomic RNA from the negative-sense genomic RNA. The other significant capacity of the complex is to decipher the viral genome. RdRp legitimately intercedes the amalgamation of negative-sense subgenomic RNA atoms from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is trailed by the translation of these negative-sense subgenomic RNA particles to their comparing positive-sense mRNAs.
Discharge
The repeated positive-sense genomic RNA turns into the genome of the offspring infections. The mRNAs are quality transcripts of the last third of the infection genome after the underlying covering understanding casing. These mRNAs are interpreted by the host's ribosomes into the auxiliary proteins and various extra proteins. RNA interpretation happens inside the endoplasmic reticulum. The viral auxiliary proteins S, E, and M move along the secretory pathway into the Golgi middle of the road compartment. There, the M proteins direct most protein-protein connections required for get together of infections following its official to the nucleocapsid. Offspring infections are then discharged from the host cell by exocytosis through secretory vesicles.
Transmission
The connection of the coronavirus spike protein with its supplement have cell receptor is focal in deciding the tissue tropism, infectivity, and species scope of the infection. The SARS coronavirus, for instance, taints human cells by connecting to the angiotensin-changing over protein 2 (ACE2) receptor.
Advancement
Roots of human coronaviruses with conceivable middle of the road has
The latest regular predecessor (MRCA) of all coronaviruses is assessed to have existed as of late as 8000 BCE, albeit a few models place the normal progenitor as far back as 55 million years or more, inferring long haul coevolution with bat and avian species. The latest basic precursor of the alphacoronavirus line has been set at around 2400 BCE, the betacoronavirus line at 3300 BCE, the gammacoronavirus line at 2800 BCE, and the deltacoronavirus line at around 3000 BCE. Bats and winged animals, as warm-blooded flying vertebrates, are a perfect characteristic repository for the coronavirus genetic stock (bats the store for alphacoronavirus and betacoronavirus – and flying creatures the supply for gammacoronavirus and deltacoronavirus). The enormous number of host bat and avian species, and their worldwide range, has empowered broad advancement and dispersal of coronaviruses.
Numerous human coronavirus have their birthplace in bats. The human coronavirus NL63 imparted a typical predecessor to a bat coronavirus (ARCoV.2) between 1190–1449 CE. The human coronavirus 229E imparted a typical progenitor to bat coronavirus (GhanaGrp1 Bt CoV) between 1686–1800 CE. All the more as of late, alpaca coronavirus and human coronavirus 229E separated at some point before 1960. MERS-CoV developed in people from bats through the middle host of camels.MERS-CoV, albeit identified with a few bat coronavirus animal types, seems to have veered from these few centuries back. The most firmly related bat coronavirus and SARS-CoV veered in 1986. A potential way of advancement, of SARS coronavirus and sharp bat coronaviruses, proposes that SARS related coronaviruses coevolved in bats for quite a while. The predecessors of SARS-CoV first contaminated leaf-nose bats of the family Hipposideridae; in this way, they spread to horseshoe bats in the species Rhinolophidae, and afterward to civets, lastly to people.
Not at all like different betacoronaviruses, cow-like coronavirus of the species Betacoronavirus 1 and subgenus Embecovirus is thought to have started in rodents and not in bats. During the 1790s, equine coronavirus separated from the cow-like coronavirus after a cross-animal varieties hop. Later during the 1890s, human coronavirus OC43 veered from ox-like coronavirus after another cross-species overflow event.[50][49] It is guessed that seasonal influenza pandemic of 1890 may have been brought about by this overflow occasion, and not by the flu infection, on account of the related planning, neurological indications, and obscure causative specialist of the pandemic. Human coronavirus OC43 other than causing respiratory contaminations is additionally associated with assuming a job in neurological infections. During the 1950s, the human coronavirus OC43 started to wander into its current genotypes. Phylogentically, mouse hepatitis infection (Murine coronavirus), which taints the mouse's liver and the focal sensory system, is identified with human coronavirus OC43 and cow-like coronavirus. Human coronavirus HKU1, similar to the previously mentioned infections, additionally has its sources in rodents.
Coronaviruses differ altogether in hazard factor. Some can execute over 30% of those contaminated, for example, MERS-CoV, and some are generally innocuous, for example, the basic virus. Coronaviruses can cause colds with significant side effects, for example, fever, and an irritated throat from swollen adenoids. Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia (either direct popular pneumonia or auxiliary bacterial pneumonia) and bronchitis (either direct popular bronchitis or optional bacterial bronchitis). The human coronavirus found in 2003, SARS-CoV, which causes extreme intense respiratory disorder (SARS), has an exceptional pathogenesis since it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract contaminations.
Six types of human coronaviruses are known, with one species subdivided into two unique strains, making seven strains of human coronaviruses by and large. Four of these coronaviruses constantly circle in the human populace and produce the by and large mellow side effects of the basic cold in grown-ups and youngsters around the world: - OC43, - HKU1, HCoV-229E, - NL63. Coronaviruses cause about 15% of house colds. Most of colds are brought about by rhinoviruses. The four gentle coronaviruses have a regular occurrence happening in the winter a long time in mild atmospheres. There is no inclination towards a specific season in tropical atmospheres.
Advancement
The latest basic progenitor (MRCA) of all coronaviruses is evaluated to have existed as of late as 8000 BCE, albeit a few models place the basic predecessor as far back as 55 million years or more, inferring long haul coevolution with bat and avian species. The latest basic progenitor of the alphacoronavirus line has been put at around 2400 BCE, the betacoronavirus line at 3300 BCE, the gammacoronavirus line at 2800 BCE, and the deltacoronavirus line at around 3000 BCE. Bats and fowls, as warm-blooded flying vertebrates, are a perfect normal repository for the coronavirus genetic stock (bats the store for alphacoronavirus and betacoronavirus – and feathered creatures the supply for gammacoronavirus and deltacoronavirus). The huge number of host bat and avian species, and their worldwide range, has empowered broad development and dispersal of coronaviruses.
Numerous human coronavirus have their source in bats. The human coronavirus NL63 imparted a typical precursor to a bat coronavirus (ARCoV.2) between 1190–1449 CE. The human coronavirus 229E imparted a typical progenitor to bat coronavirus (GhanaGrp1 Bt CoV) between 1686–1800 CE. All the more as of late, alpaca coronavirus and human coronavirus 229E separated at some point before 1960. MERS-CoV rose in people from bats through the halfway host of camels. MERS-CoV, albeit identified with a few bat coronavirus animal groups, seems to have separated from these few centuries back. The most firmly related bat coronavirus and SARS-CoV veered in 1986. A potential way of advancement, of SARS coronavirus and sharp bat coronaviruses, recommends that SARS related coronaviruses coevolved in bats for quite a while. The progenitors of SARS-CoV first tainted leaf-nose bats of the family Hipposideridae; in this manner, they spread to horseshoe bats in the species Rhinolophidae, and afterward to civets, lastly to people.
Not at all like different betacoronaviruses, cow-like coronavirus of the species Betacoronavirus 1 and subgenus Embecovirus is thought to have begun in rodents and not in bats. During the 1790s, equine coronavirus separated from the cow-like coronavirus after a cross-animal varieties bounce. Later during the 1890s, human coronavirus OC43 wandered from cow-like coronavirus after another cross-species overflow occasion. It is hypothesized that seasonal influenza pandemic of 1890 may have been brought about by this overflow occasion, and not by the flu infection, in light of the related planning, neurological manifestations, and obscure causative specialist of the pandemic. Human coronavirus OC43 other than causing respiratory contaminations is additionally associated with assuming a job in neurological illnesses. During the 1950s, the human coronavirus OC43 started to wander into its current genotypes. Phylogentically, mouse hepatitis infection (Murine coronavirus), which contaminates the mouse's liver and the focal sensory system, is identified with human coronavirus OC43 and ox-like coronavirus. Human coronavirus HKU1, similar to the previously mentioned infections, additionally has its starting points in rodents.
Coronaviruses fluctuate altogether in hazard factor. Some can execute over 30% of those tainted, for example, MERS-CoV, and some are generally innocuous, for example, the normal virus. Coronaviruses can cause colds with significant manifestations, for example, fever, and an irritated throat from swollen adenoids. Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia (either direct popular pneumonia or optional bacterial pneumonia) and bronchitis (either direct popular bronchitis or auxiliary bacterial bronchitis). The human coronavirus found in 2003, SARS-CoV, which causes serious intense respiratory disorder (SARS), has an exceptional pathogenesis since it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract diseases.
Six types of human coronaviruses are known, with one species subdivided into two unique strains, making seven strains of human coronaviruses by and large. Four of these coronaviruses consistently circle in the human populace and produce the for the most part mellow manifestations of the basic cold in grown-ups and youngsters around the world: - OC43, - HKU1, HCoV-229E, - NL63. Coronaviruses cause about 15% of lodge colds. Most of colds are brought about by rhinoviruses. The four mellow coronaviruses have a regular frequency happening in the winter a long time in calm atmospheres. There is no inclination towards a specific season in tropical atmospheres. Sharing gets you Good Karma! Link to this Post: <a href="https://www.gameforumer.com/2020/04/everything-you-need-to-know-about.html">Everything You Need to Know About Corona Virus Facts"</a>
COVID-19 pandemic: Apps aid the fight Apart from the official government app, there are other apps too that have been developed by companies and private individuals to track and fight the spread of Coronavirus in India.
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