Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs celebrate Krishina Janmashtami at dargah

Mangaluru, Jan 15: Thousands of people on Wednesday boarded boats from Ullal's Kotepura to join a massive protest against the amended Citizenship Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Adyar here.

People travelling through boats and steamers decorated with national flags, raised slogans during their journey through the Netravathi River.

The innovative mode of transportation was used by the protestors to reach the venue, as it not only saved time but was also more convenient for the fishermen, as large number of people from this community joined the protest.

The protestors docked their boats at the shore, which was barely 500 metres from the site of protest, being held at Shah Ground in Adyar.

The distance between Kotepura to the Shah Ground is approximately 15 kilometres but protesters would have to walk more five kilometres to reach the venue because of heavy traffic.

Due to protest, the national highway was also blocked and resulted in huge traffic snarls on routes leading to agitation site. 

Mangaluru, May 7: The Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkoota has strongly condemned permit for opening of textile and footwear shops across the district at a time when the number of Covid-19 positive cases are on the rise.

In a press note here on Thursday, former Mayor and Okoota President Ashraf alleged that the permission to open the shops at a time when Eid-ul-Fitr was nearing would lead to rush in the shops in turn bringing in fear of spread of Covid-19. 

He expressed his resentment over the fact that the administration has neglected the appeal made by the Okkoota as well as the Qazi of Udupi against permitting textile shops during the lockdown period.

He warned that the administration, district in-charge Minister, MLA and MP themselves will be responsible in case of increased infection cases due to this decision.

The district in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Poojary yesterday had announced that textile shops in the district can be opened from May 7.

New Delhi, Apr 29: WhatsApp on Tuesday said it will now allow up to eight people to connect on a group video call as an increasing number of people turn to digital platforms to connect with friends and family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Facebook-owned company said over the last month, people on average are spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, well above a typical day before the pandemic.

"...we see that people all over the world are turning to voice and video calling on WhatsApp more than ever before. Group calling has been particularly useful and our users have asked to connect with more people at once," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.

Starting Tuesday, the company is doubling the number of participants one can have on a WhatsApp video or voice call from 4 to 8 people at a time, it added.

WhatsApp emphasised that like written messages, all calls on its platform are protected with end-to-end encryption.

"We have built group calling in a way that makes it available for as many users as possible, including people on lower-end devices and slow network conditions," it added.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

WhatsApp said that to access the new, higher participant limit on WhatsApp calls, all participants in a call need to update to the latest version of WhatsApp available on iPhone or Android.

Video calling tools like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and others have also seen a significant jump in userbase and traffic as people connect while maintaining social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Last week, Facebook had introduced Messenger Rooms that will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit.

It had added that the company will also add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal.

Noting that between WhatsApp and Messenger, more than 700 million accounts participate in calls every day, Facebook had said, adding that video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled in many countries.

Also, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March, it said.