OnePlus 13 will be launched by the company in China on October 31, and the company’s upcoming smartphone is confirmed to debut with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and a display produced by BOE. With only days left until the smartphone is unveiled, OnePlus has started to reveal details of the smartphone’s display features. The upcoming OnePlus 13 will run on ColorOS 15, which is based on Android 15. The smartphone maker has also announced that the phone will arrive in three colourways.
OnePlus 13 Display Features Revealed
Ahead of the debut of the OnePlus 13, the company has shared details of its display features. It will be equipped with a second-generation Oriental X2 8T LTPO AMOLED display from BOE, with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, according to one of several images posted to Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform.
OnePlus 13 teasers shared by the company Photo Credit: Weibo/ OnePlus
The images shared by OnePlus also reveal that the display will have DisplayMate A++ and TUV Rheinland Intelligent Eye Protection 4.0 certifications. It will also offer DC dimming support along with an anti-flicker technology for eye protection.
OnePlus has also teased features like Rain Touch 2.0 (allowing the display to be used while it is wet) while another image suggests it will also work while a user is wearing gloves, while another poster shows the phone’s display will arrive with gaming related touch optimisations.
OnePlus 13 Specifications (Expected)
The upcoming OnePlus 13 will be equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, along with up to 24GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. The smartphone maker has also confirmed that the handset will run on Android 15, with ColorOS 15 (it will run on OxygenOS 15 in global markets). In a recent benchmark score posted by the company, the handset scored over three million points on the AnTuTu benchmark test.
It is also confirmed to arrive with a triple rear camera setup tuned by Hasselblad, comprising a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-808 primary camera and optical image stabilisation, a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view. It will also feature the same image processing algorithm as the Oppo Find X8 series.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.
Dell Alienware x16 R2 was launched in India on Thursday, April 25. The gaming laptop is backed by an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor which has integrated NPUs and is paired with up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. The laptop includes improved AlienFX lighting that now allows users to customise colours to match their games. It also comes with micro-LED stadium lighting and brings upgraded storage. The anodised aluminium and magnesium alloy chassis includes a perimeter foot design which is claimed to improve airflow.
Dell Alienware x16 R2 price in India, availability
The company confirmed in a press statement that the Dell Alienware X16 R2 is available in India starting at Rs. 2,86,990 via Dell.com, Dell Exclusive Stores (DES), Amazon.com, and select multi-brand stores across the country. It is offered in a single Lunar Silver colourway.
Dell Alienware x16 R2 specifications, features
The Dell Alienware x16 R2 sports a 16-inch QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) display with 3ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate. The laptop comes with two CPU choices – Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and Core Ultra 9 185H. The processors can be paired with GPU options of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, GeForce RTX 4070, GeForce RTX 4080, GeForce RTX 4090 and up to 16GB GDDR6 VRAM.
Alienware’s new gaming laptop also gets up to 32GB DDR5X RAM and up to 4TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage. It is equipped with an AlienFX RGB CherryMX keyboard, a multi-touch gesture touchpad with integrated scrolling, a full-HD camera, and a dual array mic. The laptop also supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity.
The Dell Alienware x16 R2 packs a 90Wh battery with up to 360W charging support. It is equipped with two USB Type-A 3.2, and two USB Type-C ports including one 3.2 Gen 1 and one Thunderbolt 4.0 port, alongside a HDMI 2.1 and mini-Display port. The laptop also carries a microSD card slot, one 3.5mm audio jack, and a DC-in port. It measures 289.81mm x 364.74mmx 18.57mm and weighs 2.72kg.
Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.
A supernova, an explosive end to a star’s life cycle, has the potential to impact planets in its proximity, including Earth. If a star were to go supernova within close range of our planet, the radiation it emits could lead to catastrophic consequences for life as we know it. However, any significant threat would depend on the star’s distance and type. A supernova would need to be within approximately 25 to 30 light-years of Earth to disrupt the atmosphere to the point of causing severe ecological damage, particularly through the depletion of the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Fortunately, no stars with imminent supernova potential exist within this distance from Earth.
Supernova Risks and Distance
Betelgeuse, located roughly 650 light-years away, is one of the most prominent supernova candidates, but its distance means it poses no real threat. If it explodes, it would produce a spectacular, but harmless, light display visible from Earth. According to Professor Paul Sutter, an astrophysicist, the closest potentially dangerous star is Spica, located 250 light-years from Earth, well beyond the range that would pose a significant risk to our planet’s biosphere.
Potential Effects of a Nearby Supernova
Should a star explode within the critical 30-light-year radius, the consequences would be severe. The radiation emitted, including X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays, could disrupt molecular bonds in Earth’s atmosphere. This disruption would likely lead to the formation of nitrogen oxides, which are known to break down the ozone layer. With a weakened ozone layer, UV radiation from the Sun would be more intense, threatening the survival of photosynthetic organisms and potentially destabilising ecosystems.
The Threat of Gamma-Ray Bursts
While rare, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are also recognised for their destructive potential. Caused by hypernovae or neutron star mergers, these events release powerful beams of radiation that can reach across thousands of light-years. Although GRBs are harder to predict and less understood, they pose a greater risk due to their highly concentrated energy, which could threaten life on Earth even from a more significant distance.
Long-Term Outlook and Galactic Positioning
As the solar system moves through the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, astronomers suggest the likelihood of a nearby supernova could increase. Despite this, the odds of Earth experiencing such a close and dangerous supernova event remain low, estimated to occur only a few times every billion years. While unlikely, a supernova event in this range could alter Earth’s biosphere, as some scientists theorise occurred during a mass extinction event approximately 360 million years ago.
Actress Preity Zinta, who is known for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’, ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ and others, is on her way to the IPL auctions. The actress is currently in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after her digital detox and is inviting recommendations from her Instagram followers for the players that she could pick for her IPL team.
On Saturday, the actress took to her Instagram and shared a video from the balcony of her hotel room. The video shows the skyline of Jeddah.
She wrote in the caption, “Done with my digital detox ! Landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the IPL Auction. Watch this space for some amazing new announcements folks. Till then all recommendations for our new team are welcome. Bring it on #Ting #IPLAuction2025 #Saddasquad @punjabkingsipl”.
Earlier, the actress gave a shoutout to parents through a social media post for their sacrifice and their hard work. She took to her Instagram to share a picture of herself walking through the streets of Los Angeles, with their back facing the camera. She was seen holding hands of both her kids in the picture which was attached to an elaborated note.
She wrote, “The last two weeks have been particularly difficult as Gene was travelling for work & I was holding fort doing mama duties which include – waking up the kids, getting them ready for school, packing their lunch box, dropping & picking them up from school, dinner & finally putting them to bed”.
Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress will be next seen in ‘Lahore 1947’, a period drama film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Two fibre-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea were severed on Sunday and Monday, raising suspicions over a Chinese cargo vessel, which the Danish navy is currently shadowing through the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden.
The Chinese vessel, which departed Ust-Luga port in Russia on Friday last week and appeared to pass over the area where the incidents occurred, has been labelled “of interest” by Swedish police, who are looking into the incident.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday that the incident must be investigated, adding: “We have seen sabotage in the past, so we take it very seriously.”
This is just the latest in a series of incidents involving pipelines or cables in the Baltic Sea in the past couple of years. So what is happening in the Baltic Sea, and what role does underwater sabotage play in international conflict?
What other damage has been caused to pipelines and cables in the Baltic Sea?
The deep, dark, brackish expanse of the Baltic Sea bed has become a hotbed of geopolitical machinations since two Nord Streamgas pipelines, which are owned by a consortium of energy companies including Russian gas giant Gazprom and which run from Russia to Germany, were rocked by explosions in September 2022.
More than two years later, despite plenty of finger-pointing, no one has taken responsibility for the blasts.
The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which had begun operations in 2011 and which Russia had shut down just weeks before the explosions.
They also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which had never entered service because Germany had withdrawn its certification after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Each of the pipelines contains two pipes; the blasts left three out of the four inoperable.
Some Western officials blamed Moscow for destroying the pipes.
In April 2023, a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland claimed that Russia had deployed a fleet of suspected spy ships in the Baltic Sea to carry out sabotage operations.
Moscow, in turn, accused the United States and its allies, while German and US media outlets reported that pro-Ukrainian actors may have played a role.
(Al Jazeera)
Tensions have only increased since.
Just over a year after the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in October 2023, the Balticconnector gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia – jointly owned by Estonian electricity and gas system operator Elering and Finnish gas transmission system operator Gasgrid – was damaged in an undersea incident. Nearby data cables were also reported to have been ruptured.
Investigators in Finland and Estonia alleged that a Chinese container ship dragging its anchor along the sea bed had caused the damage, which took six months to repair. They did not state whether they believed the damage was intentional.
Why would the Baltic Sea be an underwater sabotage hot spot?
In short, geography.
The sea has a shallow and narrow basin, three chokepoints, and is surrounded by eight NATO countries.
It also borders Russia, with Saint Petersburg, the country’s second largest city, nestled in the eastern corner of the Gulf of Finland and its Baltic Fleet located in the Kaliningrad enclave.
Tormod Heier, a professor at the Norwegian Defence University College, told Al Jazeera that post-Cold War tensions in the region began in 2004 with the accession of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – to NATO.
He said little consideration was given in the West to how, without any buffer zone, the alliance could “credibly defend the three small Baltic states in NATO”.
As Russia became “more assertive and challenged the liberal Western world order”, the Baltic Sea region became the alliance’s “Achilles’ heel”, Heier said.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO in 2024 have further ratcheted up tensions.
Finland shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border with Russia and, with its entry, doubled NATO’s border with Russia and squeezed its coastal access to St Petersburg.
Are these underwater incidents definitely sabotage?
It’s impossible to know for sure, but experts say it is likely.
Underwater sabotage is a method of what is known as “hybrid warfare” – a military strategy that makes use of both conventional and unconventional means to cause instability in regions or countries without giving the appearance of an all-out war.
Hybrid warfare is not new in the region – from GPS jamming over the Baltic states to Russian spy planes veering into Swedish airspace over the Baltic Sea.
Heier says the advantage of hybrid warfare is that it is difficult to attribute directly to one actor.
This means the murky waters of the Baltic Sea provide the perfect “grey zone” in which the indirect, ambiguous nature of a pipeline or cable sabotage incident would still be considered below the “threshold” for outright war.
A damaged Balticconnector gas pipeline that connects Finland and Estonia is pictured in this undated handout picture in the Baltic Sea [Handout/Finnish Border Guard via Reuters]
The facts surrounding this week’s incident remain “murky” and it is simply “too early to rule in or rule out sabotage”, Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told Al Jazeera.
He said a range of accidents can cause underwater incidents, adding: “You have oil-laden ships who have no idea how shallow and complex the Baltic Sea is to operate in.”
More than 2,000 vessels traverse the Baltic Sea daily, and the number of larger vessels, including tankers, has increased over past decades as international trade in the region has flourished.
There has also been an increase in “dark ship” activity since Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
A “dark ship” is a vessel that turns off the signal system that transmits its position coordinates, often in order to circumvent sanctions.
Heier said that to determine the likelihood of sabotage, it is important to consider whether an actor has a “plausible intention” to severe a cable and whether a pattern emerges from these incidents.
Many Western leaders believe a pattern is forming, including Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, who quipped on X on Wednesday: “If I had a nickel for every time a Chinese ship was dragging its anchor on the bottom of the Baltic Sea in the vicinity of important cables, I would have two nickels, which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened twice.”
Salonius-Pasternak said determining whether an incident such as Monday’s cable severing was an accident would require time and expertise.
Professor Ashok Swain, who heads the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, told Al Jazeera that it should also be carried out by a neutral body.
He said individual states have taken responsibility for investigating incidents so far, which raises questions of bias and allows different parties to blame each other.
Sweden, Denmark and Germany launched three separate investigations into the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in 2022.
Germany’s is continuing, but the two Nordic countries have closed their cases with no one identified as responsible.
So, if it is underwater sabotage, who could be carrying it out?
The nature of this form of hybrid warfare means every country has its own version of the story, Swain said.
After the Nord Stream blast, some US and European officials initially insinuated that Moscow had blown up the pipelines.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, blamed the US and its allies for blowing them up. Russia’s defence ministry at one stage levelled the blame specifically on British navy personnel.
In the most recent incident, Swedish police said a Chinese vessel called Yi Peng 3 was “of interest” and launched an investigation.
Regarding the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3: The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The Danish Defence currently has no further comments. https://t.co/11s3yeR4PB
One communications cable that was severed ran from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania, while the other ran between Finland and Germany.
According to maritime data, the Chinese ship appeared to have been passing above the two cables when they were severed. Possible motives are unclear.
How is underwater sabotage carried out?
It depends on the incident.
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden suggest that the Nord Stream pipeline explosions produced sizeable blasts equal to ones that might be produced by 100 kilogrammes of dynamite.
The Swedish investigation did find traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the explosion site.
The Wall Street Journal published a report in 2024 which suggested that a six-member Ukrainian sabotage team, including trained civilian divers, could have been responsible for the blasts.
The report alleged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had initially approved the plan until the US’s CIA intelligence agency found out about it and asked him to stop. However, his then commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, still ordered it to go ahead. Kyiv has denied any involvement.
German media has since reported that Berlin asked Polish authorities to arrest a Ukrainian diving instructor who is alleged to have been part of a team that blew up the pipelines.
Although descending about 80 metres (260 feet) underwater is not impossible, it would require significant diving expertise, Salonius-Pasternak, who has previously dived in the sea himself, remarked.
He explained that the seabed can be very unforgiving and cold, with poor visibility. “It’s not necessarily a place where you can suddenly jump from some little boat and dive and be successful with explosives.”
Anchor dragging, whether intentional or not, has also been posited as a theory for the 2023 damage to cables between Finland and Estonia as well as for the communication cables severed on Sunday and Monday.
How much danger do these underwater incidents pose?
Very little.
Heier said that all the affected countries have a high level of redundancy – additional or backup systems available in case of cable or pipeline damage. As a result, there has been very little disruption to communications or energy supply.
Heier said that in the case of the latest cable ruptures, the Nordic countries can “easily reroute their digital traffic along other fibre cables, without any degradation of the services”.
Salonius-Pasternak said the latest incident has only served as a further reminder to NATO countries around the Baltic Sea that “redundancy is a key factor in resilience”.
If it poses little risk, what is the advantage of underwater hybrid warfare?
To cause anxiety and to spread fear.
Heier said that if malign actors are targeting NATO countries, their aim is to disrupt political and social cohesion.
He said underwater sabotage, where even a powerful coalition such as NATO struggles with “situational awareness”, can provide a “low-risk and accessible” tool to chip away at social cohesion among member states.
SAG-AFTRA members have voted to authorise a new strike against the video game industry, with an overwhelming 98.32 percent in favour. The union claims that 34,687 members cast ballots, representing 24.49 percent of eligible voters. Bear in mind that this authorisation does not guarantee the strike will happen, but that the union members are serious about stopping work if the unions fail to reach a fair agreement with the companies. The voting period began on September 5 and ended on Monday, September 25, ahead of new negotiations that kickstart on September 26 (PT). If it goes through, this would mark the second video game strike since a similar action took place in 2016 — lasting nearly a year.
“It’s time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a prepared statement. “The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies — which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly — to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career.” The union is gunning for a new Interactive Media Agreement that ensures video game performers who do voice acting, motion capture, singing, stunt work, and the ilk are compensated fairly.
Once again, #SagAftraMembers have come together in support of their peers, voting overwhelmingly — with 98.32% in favor — to approve a strike authorization on the Interactive Media Agreement ahead of a return to negotiations. https://t.co/x5e2Fj6yen
The 2016 video game strike marked the longest in the union’s history, with a three-year contract being drawn in November 2017 which lasted until 2020. The same deal was then extended to 2022 and 2023, and now SAG-AFTRA is heading back to negotiate with at least 10 major companies. These include a mix of publishers and production studios: Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty), Blindlight, Disney, Electronic Arts (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), Formosa, Insomniac Games (Marvel’s Spider-Man), Epic Games (Fortnite), Take-Two (Red Dead Redemption 2), VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games (Hogwarts Legacy). However, it appears as though SAG-AFTRA has been trying to negotiate a new agreement since October 2022 to no avail, and therefore the strike authorisation shows how serious the workforce is when the need arrives.
In addition to demanding higher pay to compensate for rising inflation, SAG-AFTRA is trying to fight back against the ‘unregulated’ use of artificial intelligence, which would replace and strip away work from performers. There’s also the matter of companies being able to use an actor’s digital likeness for projects without consent and proper payout. This was also a sticking point for the ongoing Hollywood actor’s strike. Similar to film and TV actors, video game performers work on a contractual basis for multiple developers or publishers. As mentioned before, if the negotiations are met, a strike might not happen after all, and the development of games will continue as planned.
Earlier this week, the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) reached a ‘tentative agreement’ to end the strike after roughly five months — the strike action started on May 2. The deal still needs to be finalised and further details on the met conditions will be revealed in time. For the time being, picketing outside studios has been suspended but the union added that nobody is supposed to resume work until an official announcement is made (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.
As air quality plunges in the national capital “Severe Plus” categoryThe Supreme Court earlier this week came down heavily on the Delhi government and the central government’s pollution monitoring agency Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for the delay in implementing stringent restrictions under Phase IV. hierarchical response action plan (Grape).
Earlier this month, the court warned Delhi government for failing to ban the use of firecrackers during Diwali celebrations. In October, it condemned the governments of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Center to impose a minor penalty To burn stubble, which is a major contributor to the region’s pollution crisis.
However, these proceedings appear to follow a worryingly familiar pattern. The judiciary’s focus on pollution intensifies with the onset of autumn, persists through winter and subsides by February. Yet, Delhi’s air quality remains largely unaffected by this circular judicial intervention.
“The air pollution crisis stems from decades of poor planning and policy failures. This cannot be resolved merely through judicial orders issued during periods of intense pollution. “Even with good intentions, the power and ability of the judiciary to address this systemic issue is inherently constrained,” said Ritwik Dutta, environmental law expert and founder of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment. The Hindu,
long battle
The Supreme Court has been grappling with Delhi’s air pollution crisis for almost four decades. In 1984, environmentalist MC Mehta filed a series of public interest litigations (PILs) addressing three important issues: increasing vehicular pollution in Delhi, environmental degradation of the Taj Mahal, and pollution of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
Through these petitions, the Court successively played a quasi-executive role in dealing with the crisis and delivered landmark rulings, resulting in some of the most transformative anti-pollution reforms. The court’s commitment was based on its interpretation of Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and, by extension, recognizes access to clean air as a fundamental right.
In 1996, the court ordered relocation of polluting industries from residential areas to curb industrial emissions. In 1998, it directed By 2001, all public transport vehicles running on diesel will have to switch to compressed natural gas (CNG). Although air quality initially improved following the directive, passengers and vehicle operators soon faced several practical challenges including severe CNG shortage, frequent cylinder explosions and even vehicle collapse. Fire.
Criticizing the move to encourage greater reliance on private automobiles, Mr. Dutta pointed out that the court failed to anticipate how it would offset the benefits of clean technology.
“Fuel-efficient engines are both economically beneficial and environmentally beneficial. But they also encourage more vehicle purchases and increased travel, thus reducing expected benefits. The government needs to curb the number of vehicles in a city – a policy that will require stringent and unpopular measures”, he said.
In 2015, the top court imposed a temporary ban on diesel vehicles with engines larger than 2,000 cc and imposed environment compensation fee on trucks entering Delhi to curb vehicle emissions. A year later, this ban on sale of firecrackers To prevent seasonal pollution during Diwali.
In 2017, the court approved the Union Environment Ministry’s GRAP – a set of emergency measures that apply when air quality in the Delhi-NCR region reaches a certain limit. One of these measures was “Odd-Even” Vehicle Rationing SchemeWhich allowed vehicles to operate only on alternate days depending on the last digit of their registration number. However, Experts have given the green signal The scheme was largely ineffective due to inadequate public transport options and many exemptions given in it. In particular, two-wheelers, which are equipped with two-stroke engines that burn a mixture of gasoline and oil, producing high emissions, were exempted and continued to run on the roads.
In November 2019, The government was ordered For the smog towers to be set up in the capital by the court, the construction cost of each is around ₹23 crore. However, Research have indicated that such measures are largely ineffective because their impact is limited to the immediate vicinity, leaving the wider urban landscape unaffected. This finding was confirmed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) when it informed the National Green Tribunal last year that two experimental smog towers in the city had proved ineffective in reducing air pollution.
The issue of stubble burning by farmers has also come under intense scrutiny in recent years, with the court directing state governments in 2019 to take action against the practice. Although CAQM the fine has been doubled For farmers engaging in this practice, the lack of strong financial incentives has made such measures largely ineffective. A typical bureaucratic response to a problem that requires political consent has further compounded farmers’ problems.
lack of political will
Despite these instructions, Delhi continues to be among the cities worst air quality Globally, especially during winter.
Debadityo Sinha, senior resident fellow at the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy, attributes the failure to implement these orders to inadequate accountability mechanisms and lack of political will.
“It is imperative to impose heavy fines to deter polluters and discourage violations. However, judicial directives alone are insufficient; Effective enforcement requires active government cooperation. Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of political will within the government,” Mr Sinha said. The HinduHe further emphasized that anti-pollution measures should be implemented equitably and should not adversely impact the informal sector.
Expressing similar concerns, Mr Dutta remarked that the courts were forced to intervene due to the government’s failure to address the issue.
“The judiciary cannot remain a mute spectator when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches dangerous levels. Even in such worrying circumstances, no inter-ministerial or crisis meeting is called by the Environment Ministry to take immediate action. “The government appears to have handed over the responsibility of addressing the city’s pollution crisis to the judiciary, which is a clear abdication of its constitutional duty.”
A bird flies amid a thick layer of smog in the sky as air pollution reaches its worst level this season in New Delhi. , Photo Credit: AP
The lack of political will is also reflected in the functioning of the CAQM. Within three years it replaced the Supreme Court-order Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) As Delhi’s nodal pollution control agency, the CAQM has faced criticism for adopting populist measures and failing to develop the necessary institutional capacity to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis.
“The continued increase in pollution despite the establishment of CAQM highlights its failure. Moreover, the negligible number of complaints filed for violations reflects the mindset that treats air pollution as a mere exception rather than a serious criminal offence”, Mr Dutta said.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court had taken cognizance of this on 22 November 2024. The Hindureport of It highlighted that CQAM was aware of a significant increase in incidents of stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana. This is in stark contrast to the statutory body’s repeated claims before the court of a “significant reduction” in such incidents in recent years. As a result, CAQM was directed to submit the documents cited in the report and provide detailed explanations.
current challenges
Shri Sinha emphasized that there is no quick solution to one of the most serious civic challenges of the capital and a permanent solution can be achieved only if it becomes a major election issue and is given priority throughout the year by the government. Go.
“Despite all our technological advances, the harsh reality is that most cities in India lack even basic air quality monitoring systems. The National Air Quality Monitoring Program (NAMP) has installed only 962 manual monitoring stations in 419 cities. However, there are about 4,000 cities in the country. This means that less than 10% of cities are actively monitoring air pollution, and the situation is even worse in rural areas”, Mr Dutta said.
He further highlighted that recent regulatory reforms have only weakened environmental protection regimes. For example, Public Trust (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023had decriminalized offenses under key environmental laws, including the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1986.
“Instead of the court imposing fine on the violator, the law now hands over all judicial powers to a government servant,” he said.
Suhana Khan and Agastya Nanda made their Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar’s OTT film The Archies.
Insta wish for Agastya
Suhana took to her Instagram handle to share a goofy picture with Agastya, wishing him a happy birthday. Taking to her Instagram story, Suhana posed a picture with him. In the monochromatic photograph, Suhana is playfully pulling his ear, and Agastya is reacting to it adorably. She is wearing a tube dress, while Agastya is seen in a shirt and a jacket. “Happy Birthday,” she wrote simply.
Suhana Khan’s Insta story.
His sister Navya Naveli Nanda also shared an adorable post for her brother Agastya, who is the grandson of megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Navya shared a collage of two pictures: one from their childhood, and another more recent one. The childhood picture shows Navya holding her baby brother in her arms, and the recent picture shows her mimicking the same pose from their childhood. “Happy birthday Jr! I love you,” she wrote, along with a red heart emoji.
Navya’s wish for her little brother.
About Suhana and Agastya
Suhana and Agastya made their Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar’s OTT film The Archies. It also starred Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Dot and Yuvraj Menda. The Archies, released in 2023, is a teen musical comedy film. The film is a live-action adaptation of The Archies, a fictional rock band who appeared in the 1960’s animated cartoon, The Archie Show (with characters drawn from Archie Comics). It opened to mixed responses.
Their dating rumours have also been floating on the Internet for a while now. They are frequently spotted together. While they have not confirmed their romance, their public appearances have sparked intense curiosity among their followers.
Apart from this, Suhana is also preparing to make her debut on the big screen alongside her father, Shah Rukh Khan, in the upcoming film The King. Sujoy Ghosh is directing the film.
Agastya is also working on his big-screen debut. It is reported that Agastya will play the lead in filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s Ekkis. Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Ekkis is said to be the biopic of 1971 war hero, Arun Khetarpal and will also star Dharmendra in a key role.
Infinix should stop using the Zero moniker for their phones because, honestly, their phones are not what they used to be. The new Infinix Zero 40 5G is not a zero. The phone, at a starting price of Rs. 27,999, offers a lot of features. Infinix also claims that the Zero 40 5G is the first phone in its segment to offer 4K 60fps video recording on both front and rear cameras and to feature a 50-megapixel ultrawide rear camera. It’s also the first Infinix phone to launch with Infinix AI.
The company heavily emphasises the phone’s video recording features, stabilisation, and its potential as an ideal device for vlogging—I’ve never heard the word “vlog” mentioned so many times in a product briefing. So, is the Infinix Zero 40 5G any good? Do all of these segment-firsts make it a hero? You’ll have to read the full review to find out.
Infinix Zero 40 Design: Stylish
Dimensions – 164.31×74.47×7.9mm
Weight – 195g
Colours – Moving Titanium, Violet Garden, Rock Black
Infinix has done a very good job in terms of design. The phone features curved sides and flat top and bottom edges, making it comfortable to hold and easy to use one-handed. The phone is available in three colour options, and we got the Violet Garden variant. The rear panel has a two-tone finish and the word ‘Zero’ etched at the bottom right corner. It’s a nice phone to look at, especially in the Violet colour option.
The curved edges make the phone slimmer than it actually is
The back is dominated by a large circular camera module, accented with a focus ring-like design. The curved edges make the phone feel slimmer than it really is. The left side is clean, while the power and volume buttons are placed on the right. At the bottom, you’ll find the USB Type-C port, a loudspeaker, a microphone, and a SIM card tray. The top houses an IR blaster, another microphone, and a speaker grille. Infinix has also provided an IP54 rating for added protection, which is a nice touch.
Infinix Zero 40 Display: Big with a little bit of curve
Size and type – 6.78-inch, full-HD+, Curved AMOLED
Refresh rate – Up to 144Hz
Protection – Corning Gorilla Glass 5
The Infinix Zero 40 5G features a curved display with slim, uniform bezels, resulting in an impressive 93.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. The panel is of the LTPS variety, which means that although it offers a 144Hz refresh rate, it cannot go all the way down to 1Hz. You can, however, choose between auto, 60, 120, and 144Hz. The display also offers a 360Hz touch sampling rate and 2,304Hz PWM frequency.
Running the screen at 144Hz will drain the battery much faster
In terms of colour, you get a 10-bit panel with 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. There are also two colour modes available on the phone – Original and Bright-coloured. I’d recommend sticking to the former. You also get TUV Rheinland Eye Care certification and an Eye care mode. As for brightness, the phone gets plenty bright indoors (1,300 nits peak), but it can be a bit dull under direct sunlight.
For watching movies, gaming, and any kind of content consumption, the screen is great. It’s big, colourful, bright (indoors), and offers a super fast refresh rate. There’s also Widevine L1 certification so that you can use all your streaming services.
Infinix has included an in-display fingerprint scanner on the phone. Despite being placed lower down on the screen, it worked accurately and was fast.
Infinix Zero 40 Software: AI this and AI that
OS – Android 14
UI – XOS 14.5
Latest security patch – August 5, 2024
The phone runs Android 14-based XOS 14.5 out of the box. As expected, it includes a fair amount of pre-installed apps, but fortunately, most can be uninstalled. The user interface is fairly clean, with smooth animations.
Infinix has also included an edge control feature that lets you take advantage of the curved screen and quickly access your favourite apps. There’s an IR Control option in the Quick setting and within the Welife app to control other devices using its infrared blaster. The phone boasts a “Works with GoPro” certification, but all it means is that you can control a GoPro action camera using the GoPro Quik app—a feature that virtually any smartphone is capable of.
The AI eraser does a decent job
The Zero 40 5G has many AI features as part of the Infinix AI suite. You get an AI Eraser in the Gallery app that works pretty well for removing objects from photos, though its performance can be inconsistent. Sometimes, I could remove an object with a single attempt, but other times, it took multiple tries to achieve the desired result.
Other AI-powered features include Smart Cut-out, which allows you to cut out objects from photos easily, and AI Vlog, which can automatically create a vlog using up to 20 clips from your gallery. Additionally, Smart Search lets you find pictures in the Gallery app by simply typing a text description.
There’s an AI Wallpaper Generator that creates images based on your photos or text input, though I couldn’t test this feature due to a recurring “server is being upgraded” error. The Infinix Folax voice assistant is also built-in and capable of answering questions, translating text, controlling basic phone functions, and more.
Some of the AI features didn’t work
While it’s nice to have all the above-mentioned AI features, Infinix has a lot of work to do, as some of them, including the wallpaper generator, refused to work for me.
In terms of software support, Infinix has promised 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 years of security patches.
Infinix Zero 40 Performance: Good enough
Chipset – MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate
RAM – 12GB LPDDR5x
Storage – Up to 512GB UFS 3.1
The MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultimate chipset is quite capable and easily handles day-to-day tasks. Multitasking is a breeze,e too. It even fares well in gaming and doesn’t produce a lot of heat when under heavy use. The phone has 12GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage. There is also a virtual RAM expansion feature, and you get a microSD card slot to add more storage.
The phone is good for gaming
Regular performance is pretty good, and I didn’t really face any lag while running multiple apps, using the camera, or performing various day-to-day tasks. We ran our usual set of benchmarks on the phone, and it performed similarly to other phones in the segment.
Benchmark
Infinix Zero 40
Nothing Phone 2a Plus
Motorola Edge 50 Pro
iQOO Z9s Pro
Geekbench 6 Single
1096
1204
1142
1136
Geekbench 6 Multi
3601
2658
3124
3091
AnTuTu v10
956927
762,955
818,387
814328
PCMark Work 3.0
15466
12663
13,730
10460
3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL
Maxed Out
Maxed Out
Maxed Out
Maxed Out
3DM Slingshot
Maxed Out
7243
8393
8255
3DM Wild Life
6362
4779
5394
5287
3DM Wild Life Unlimited
6454
5038
5457
5428
GFXBench T-Rex
144
60
116
119
GFXBench Manhattan 3.1
92
58
61
74
GFXBench Car Chase
52
35
32
40
Gaming on the phone is fun, thanks mainly to the large screen with 144Hz refresh rate. I ran BGMI, Asphalt Legends Unite, and Genshin Impact on the phone and was able to play all of them without much lag. In BGMI and Asphalt Legends Unit, I was able to play with the highest available graphics. However, with Genshin Impact, I couldn’t play with the highest settings, and I also found that the phone would heat up after just 15-20 minutes. I also noticed this heating when using the rear camera for 4K video recording.
The phone does heat up when running heavy games
The Infinix Zero 40 5G delivers good call quality and audio performance. It features a dual stereo speaker setup with “Sound by JBL,” along with support for DTS Hi-RES Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless. Calls came through clearly, both through the microphone and ear speaker. The dual speakers provide good stereo separation and are loud and clear but fall short in bass.
Infinix is heavily marketing the Zero 40 5G video recording capabilities and even calling it a vlogging phone. As per the brand, it’s the first phone in the segment to offer 4k 60fps recording on the primary, ultra-wide, and front camera.
The phone supports 4K 60fps recording across three cameras
In my testing, while you get 4K 60fps across all three cameras, there’s no stabilisation supported in this mode. However, the video performance is just about average. While there are good levels of detail in 4K resolution on all three supported cameras, the dynamic range, colours, focus shifting, and stabilisation are average. There are two levels of stabilisation available on the phone – Ultra Steady and Ultra Steady Pro. If you’re shooting using 4K resolution on any of the cameras, you can only use Ultra Steady at 30fps. And the stabilisation here isn’t excellent. The Ultra Steady Pro does offer slightly better stabilisation, but it only works in 1080p. However, no Ultra Steady Pro stabilisation is available on the front camera in any resolution. You also get some Vlog filters on the front camera in the video, but they’re passable and don’t shoot in 4K.
Now, let’s talk about still photography. The photos taken in daylight conditions offer good details across both main and ultrawide cameras. Even HDR performance is pretty good for a phone at this price point. You will find colour inaccuracies between the two cameras though, and there’s also some over-saturation going on.
Top to bottom: 3 x Main Camera; 3 x Ultrawide [Tap to Expand]
Photos taken using the primary rear camera in lowlight conditions bring in some noise, but it’s definitely usable. Ultrawide camera performance in the dark is average at best, has more noise than the main, and is once again plagued by colour inaccuracy.
Top to Bottom: 2 x Main camera; 2 x Ultrawide
There’s also a 3x mode, but it’s only a zoomed-in crop, and is mostly a miss. Portrait photos are average, with the bokeh looking fake most of the time.
Infinix Zero 40 Battery: Average
Capacity – 5,000mAh
Fast charging – 45W wired, 20W wireless
Charger – Included, MagCase
Infinix has equipped the Zero 40 5G with a sizable 5,000mAh battery, but it’s average in terms of battery life. While it lasted over a day with regular use, it underperformed in our HD video loop test. With the brightness at 50 percent and the refresh rate set to 144Hz, the battery drained in just about 14 hours. However, you can extend the battery life by enabling adaptive brightness and switching the refresh rate to 120Hz.
You get a MagCase in the box
Charging the phone is fast, thanks to the included 45W charger. A full charge from 0 to 100 percent took about 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is decent. The phone also supports wireless charging at 20W.
Infinix Zero 40 Verdict
The Infinix Zero 40 5G is a good choice if you’re on the lookout for a mid-range phone that offers good design, a good set of cameras that you’ll mostly use in the day, good gaming performance, decent battery life, and a nice big curved display with fast refresh rate. If you’re looking for a phone for vlogging, this is not the one.
Sookshmadarshini, directed by Jithin MC, offers a gripping thriller experience with strong performances from Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph.
The plot
Priyadarshini (Nazriya Nazim), who’s a homemaker married to Antony (Deepak Parambol) and has a young daughter, Kani, lives in a small townish-place near Kottayam. She’s an extremely curious person who wants to know the whos and whys of everything around her, like many regular women we come across in our own neighbourhoods. Bored of being a homemaker, she’s actively job-hunting and she’s engaged in a What’s App of the community of women who update each other about their daily lives, local happenings, etc, to keep her busy.
Meanwhile, Manuel (Basil Joseph) moves back into his ancestral home next door with his elderly mother and curious Priyadarshini aka Priya automatically starts to snoop into him and his home through her kitchen window. Manuel seems very loving and caring towards his mother but Priya doesn’t feel all is well and one day, his mother goes missing. What happened to Manual’s mother and what secrets does he have? What does Priya do next? (Also read: Lineman Review: A well-intentioned but superficial rural social drama)
What works and what doesn’t
Sookshmadarshini automatically reminds one of the films Rear Window, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window and The Woman in the Window but though the writers Jithin, Libin TB and Athul Ramachandran may have taken the basic concept, they have superbly crafted a story immersed in local sensibilities and the aspects of small-town life in India. The near-perfect screenplay builds up a certain story that we are completely engrossed in and suddenly gives us a twist that’s completely unexpected and thrilling. One of the biggest pluses of this film is that while we can guess some aspects of what comes next, the writers have ensured that they have plenty of surprises in store for us so there is no déjà vu. And if you thought there were some aspects that seem out of place, the entire jigsaw puzzle of the narrative fits in perfectly in the climax.
The director and writers also focus on the main characters and don’t embellish the story with cliches and unnecessary segues keeping the story tight. The ethos of the neighbourhood where Priya lives and how people think is also beautifully conveyed in scenes. For instance, the houses in that place have low compound walls so you can evidently see what’s happening in your neighbour’s house. And the What’s App group of the local community of women who use it for sharing gossip which is typical of life here. Or the assumptions one makes about infidelity when we see men behave a certain way.
Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph deliver excellent performances – as always – and it’s good to see Basil take on a role with shades of grey which is different from the last few films of his. Priya is a typical bubbly person that Nazriya Nazim has aced earlier in her films and given that the actress is making a comeback after four years in Malayalam cinema, she has picked the perfect script.
The supporting artists like Merin Phillip, Akhila Bhargawan, Pooja Mohanraj, Deepak Parambol, Manohari Joy and Sidharth Bharathan deliver memorable performances as well and the casting seems very apt. The music by Christo Xavier is a plus as it adds to the pulsating suspense and drama of the visuals engaging us further. The editing by Chaman Chakko and cinematography by Sharan Velayudhan Nair must be mentioned too – the shots and intercuts are used effectively to build the tension.
Sookshmadarshini is a superbly written fun thriller that is a must-watch. In fact, it’s possibly one of the best Malayalam films of the year.
![[Al Jazeera]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BALTIC-SEA-WEB-MAP-1000x562-1732218727.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C433)
