Google employees Sexual harassment at workplace

 After Google announced last week it fired 48 people for sexual harassment since 2016, nearly 1,500 workers were planning a walk-out at the company's offices globally on Thursday, the media reported.

According to a report in The New York Times, more than 1,500 -- most of them women -- plan to walk out of almost two dozen company offices around the world to protest Google's handling of sexual harassment and its workplace culture.

"We don't want to feel that we're unequal or we're not respected anymore," Claire Stapleton, 33, Product Marketing Manager at Google's YouTube, was quoted as saying.

In a letter to employees last week, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said the tech giant was taking a "hard line" on inappropriate conduct.

The letter was in response to a New York Times report that Android creator Andy Rubin received a $90 million exit package despite facing misconduct allegations.

"We want to assure you that we review every single complaint about sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct, we investigate and we take action," said Pichai.

Over the past week, Pichai and Larry Page, co-founder of Google and CEO of its parent company Alphabet, "have taken several steps to calm its agitated 94,000-person workforce".

According to the NYT report, two unnamed Google executives said then-Chief Executive Page asked Rubin to resign after the company confirmed a complaint by a female employee about a sexual encounter in a hotel room in 2013.

A Google investigation found the woman's complaint to be credible, the paper reported.

Rubin has said he did not engage in misconduct and left Google of his own accord.

IANS

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Ban on Telugu actress who alleged sexual exploitation lifted

Hours after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of Telugu actress Sri Reddy's allegations of sexual exploitation, the Movie Artists' Association (MAA) on Thursday lifted a ban on her.

It also announced setting up of a Committee Against Sexual Harassment which would meet once in three months.

MAA President Shivaji Raja said the committee, comprising senior actors and filmmakers of Telugu film industry, would look into the complaints of sexual harassment.

Earlier in the day, the NHRC sent notices to the Telangana government and the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry over Reddy's allegations.


The rights body took suo motu cognizance of media reports about the allegations raised by Reddy and a lack of grievance redressal mechanism for women in the film industry.

Reddy created a sensation by resorting to strip protest against casting couch in Tollywood in front of the office of Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce here on April 7.

She also questioned the Telangana government and MAA on the absence of a Committee Against Sexual Harassment.

MAA had not only dismissed her allegations but also declared that she would not be given its membership under any circumstances. It also said that action would be taken against any artiste who would share screen space with her.

Following the Commission's observation, MAA President said they had no grudge against Reddy but since her allegations hurt the artistes, it was decided to impose the ban.

He said all 900 members of MAA were free to work with Reddy.

IANS

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Apple confirms new iPad Pro, MacBook Air price in India

Apple on Wednesday confirmed the price of its newly-launched iPad Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini in India.

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 71,900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 85,900 for the Wi-Fi+ Cellular model.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 89,900 (Wi-Fi model) and Rs 103,900 for the Wi-Fi+ Cellular model.

The second-generation Apple Pencil for the new iPad Pro will be available for Rs 10,900.

The new iPad Pro models will be available later in 2018 in India.

Apple on Tuesday introduced the new iPad Pro with all-screen design, Face ID, A12X Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine and up to 1TB internal storage.

The iPad Pro will be available in silver and space grey finishes in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB configurations, as well as a new 1TB option through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.

The new "Smart Keyboard Folio" for the new iPad Pro is available in space grey for Rs 15,900 Afor the 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 17,900 Afor the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

A new Smart Folio for iPad Pro in a protective, polyurethane folio design will be available for Rs 7,500 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 9,900 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Starting at Rs 114,900, the new MacBook Air is available to order through Apple Authorised Resellers in India, starting November 7.

The new graphics configuration option for MacBook Pro will be available to order through Apple Authorised Resellers, starting November 14.

Starting at Rs 75,900, the new Mac mini is also available in India from November 7.
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Cell to address complaints of sexual exploitation in Tollywood

Amid the raging row over casting couch in Telugu film industry, the Telangana government on Saturday decided to form a special cell to look into complaints of sexual exploitation

.

After a meeting with representatives of Tollywood, Minister for Cinematography T. Srinivas Yadav announced that the special cell will be created in the Film Development Corporation.

The decision came amid a huge row over complaints of sexual exploitation made by actress Sri Reddy, who hit headlines with strip protest and received support from women's organisations.

The meeting convened by the minister with members of Movie Artists' Association (MAA) and leading personalities of the Tollywood discussed the recent developments in Tollywood.

Yadav advised all to put an end to the controversy. He urged the industry representatives to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

On the row over MAA membership, he said from now onwards the Film Development Corporation will issue the membership cards.

The minister said if women artists face any problems, they could bring it to the notice of the police or 'She' teams of the police force, especially constituted to deal with sexual harassment.

He directed the authorities to provide proper facilities to women at the places of film shooting. The minister said the government would deal firmly with any complaints of harassment of women.

MAA president Shivaji Raja, actress Jevitha Rajasekhar, Tammareddy Bharadwaj, C. Kalyan, Parachuri Venkateshwar Rao, Naresh and officials of Cinematography, Labour and Police departments attended the meeting.

The meeting was called a day after popular actor and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan asked MAA and Telugu Film Chamber to immediately take steps to end the controversy.

Pawan had targeted some Telugu television channels for their coverage of Sri Reddy, who had abused his mother. He had called upon people to boycott three channels for what he calls making business out of nudity and profanity.

Sri Reddy, a television anchor-turned-actress, had created a sensation by resorting to strip protest against casting couch in Tollywood in front of the office of Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce here on April 7.

The actress, who started her career as a news reader on a Telugu channel and also did small roles in a couple of films, named a few prominent personalities of the industry. She had also targeted MAA for denying her membership.

MAA responded with a ban on the actress but later withdrew it after the National Human Rights Commission sent notices to the Telangana government and the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry over her allegations of sexual exploitation.

The commission took suo moto cognizance of media reports about the allegations raised by Sri Reddy and a lack of grievance redressal mechanism for women in the film industry.

IANS

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Amazon Prime Video launches first Telugu web series

Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday launched its first Telugu prime exclusive series, "GangStars".

Produced by Silly Monks Entertainment and Early Monsoon Tales, a web division of Vyjayanthi Movies, the series brings together some of the best talent from Tollywood.

Starting on June 1, "GangStars", starring Telugu superstar Jagapati Babu along with seasoned actors like Navdeep, Shweta Basu Prasad, Sidhu Jonnalagadda, Apoorva Arora, Posani Krishna Murali and Sivaji, will be available in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.



The 12 episode binge-watch series brings together the cinematic experience of a film, with the quintessential Telugu style of movie-making.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Amazon Prime Video to create one of the first exclusives on the service in a regional language. With a strong story line, credible directors and producers and an all-star cast, we believe, the audience will love what we have in store for them," said Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, Silly Monks Entertainment.

"'GangStars' has something for everyone - a blend of drama, thriller and comedy! It has a great script and I have complete faith in the director, producer and Amazon Prime Video; for bringing the vision of this show to life," said Jagapati Babu.

"While cinema remains my first love, I know that the digital wave is taking India by storm. I'm happy to be a part ofAGangStars, a series that will truly bring Telugu content to the fore," said Shweta Basu Prasad.

"'GangStars' is a fast paced series that personifies the essence of Telugu cinema. It's fun, energetic and most of all, super entertaining! The team has come together wonderfully to create this masterpiece and I'm sure audiences from across the country will enjoy it," said Navdeep.

IANS

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Poor investment in upskilling employees making automation futile:

Poor investment in upskilling employees making automation futile:

 Low investment in upskilling the current workforce has led most businesses to miss out on the true benefits of automation globally, a new report said on Wednesday.

In the majority of companies (58 per cent), automation is not yet meeting executives' desired goals of increased productivity, said the report by the Capgemini Research Institute, a think-tank of French technology services major Capgemini.

The research, based on a survey of 800 executives and 1,200 employees globally from over 400 large organisations, suggested that enterprises with a 50,000 strong workforce or more can expect to save about $90 million more per year than companies that do not upskill or are yet to upskill their employees.

"Automation offers significant benefits to large organisations, but only if the implementation of technology is matched by the upskilling of people.

"Too many big companies are lagging in developing training programmes and, as this research shows, are not realising full productivity benefits as a result," said Claudia Crummenerl, Managing Director, People and Organisation practice at Capgemini Invent.

When asked to name their main reasons for undertaking automation initiatives, 37 per cent of the respondents said it was to improve workforce productivity, the most popular motivation after improving quality (43 per cent).

Yet, 58 per cent of executives and 54 per cent of employees said automation had not yet improved productivity in their organisation.

This was especially marked in Sweden, the US and China, where 66 per cent, 64 per cent and 61 per cent of executives respectively said automation had failed to enhance employee productivity.

"Moreover, employees in most countries agree with the opinions of executives on this point, with the exception of India, China and France," said the report.

Among organisations that combine automation efforts with a clear upskilling programme, there is more optimism about the impact of automation.

"In these cases, most employees (52 per cent) and a high proportion of executives (46 per cent) said automation was improving productivity.

Moreover, in organisations midway through an upskilling programme, employees were more positive than those in the initial phase of upskilling, about career progression, boosted morale and carrying out new responsibilities.

"There is no question that automation is going to transform the workforce and existing job roles, but the crucial factor is that companies make faster progress to prepare themselves, and their employees, to realise the benefits of automation," said Crummenerl.

(IANS)

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Justin Bieber shaves his head

Singer Justin Bieber has shaved his head after vowing to grow his hair down to his toes.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old "What Do You Mean" singer debuted a shaved head on his Instagram Stories.

The new look comes just a few months after Bieber vowed to never cut his hair, reports people.com.

In May, Bieber shook his then-long blonde hair back and forth towards the camera on Instagram, captioning the video "Long hair don't care and my stash is gorgeous."

In the following selfie, the pop star gave viewers a good look at just how much he has let his flowing hair grow out, and even teased that he intends to keep the length coming.

"I'm going to grow my hair down to my toes," he wrote on the photograph.

Bieber's recent buzzcut comes a few weeks after the Grammy-award winning singer got his hair trimmed with Hailey Baldwin.



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Goa beaches to open for swimming on Nov 1

Panaji Weeks after the seas off Goa's beaches were rendered "unsafe", the popular haunts will formally open for swimming from November 1 with 24 'no-selfie' zones, a state agency said here on Wednesday.

With Monsoon waning and post-monsoon showers receding, state appointed Drishti Lifesaving lifeguard agency, has started the process of setting up safe swim-zones along the state's coastline, a statement issued said.

Cyclonic winds had triggered underwater and rip currents in the seas that had led to the deferring.


"Starting November 1, all beaches will be open for swimming and beach activity," Drishti said.
The agency maps the weather and sea conditions each morning and accordingly sets up safe swim-zones along the beaches which are manned by its 600-strong lifeguard force.

Although most beaches in Goa are safe, Drishti advises all to adhere to some basic safety measures -- ideally swim only in the swim-zones marked with red and yellow flags. Non swim-zones are marked with red flags.

There are signage at the entrance of each beach enlisting safety tips, the statement said, adding that 24 'no-selfie' zones had been identified to prevent accidents.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and attracts nearly eight million tourists, of which half a million are foreigners.

IANS

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'Extremely dangerous' hurricane nearing Mexico's Pacific coast

An "extremely dangerous" category 4 hurricane is nearing the Pacific coast of Mexico, bringing in the potential for life-threatening storm surge, wind and torrents of rain, according to weather authorities.

The US' National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Willa weakened slightly on Monday afternoon, it was still expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it slams into Mexico's central Pacific coast "over or very near" Islas Marias on Tuesday morning, CNN reported.

Willa's maximum sustained winds ticked down from 160 mph to 145 mph, bringing the hurricane down from Category 5 strength to Category 4.

Its current intensity is about the same as Hurricane Michael's when it made landfall in Florida's Panhandle two weeks ago.

Willa became a tropical storm on Saturday morning and was a Category 5 hurricane in less than two days.

As of Monday morning, Willa had swelled by 80 mph in just 24 hours.

Storm surge accompanied by "large and destructive waves" are forecast along portions of Mexico's central and southwestern coast, the NHC said.

Dangerous surf and riptides were expected along the southern coast of Baja California late Monday.

Rainfall ranging from six to 12 inches could spawn life-threatening landslides and flash flooding in portions of the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa, CNN quoted the NHC as saying.

There were 10 major hurricanes this year, including Willa, which ties 1992 as the most major hurricanes seen in the northeast Pacific in one year, CNN said.

Increasing numbers of major hurricanes, along with a greater propensity of storms to undergo "rapid intensification" are expected consequences of warmer ocean waters resulting from climate change.

The ocean waters off the western coast of Mexico are running 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit above average for late October.

IANS

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