23rd November 2024
Ed Sheeran to perform in Mumbai, India next year on ‘+ – = ÷ x’ tour; see details

Ed Sheeran to perform in Mumbai, India next year on ‘+ – = ÷ x’ tour; see details

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Renowned singer Ed Sheeran, known for his hit song ‘Shape of You’ is set to make a return to Mumbai in 2024. He stands as one of the most iconic music sensations globally and will grace the stage at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse on March 16, 2024, as part of the Asian leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x’ Tour. This Indian stop will mark the grand finale of his highly anticipated tour, and singer-songwriter Calum Scott will join him as a special guest.

The exclusive pre-sale of tickets for Kotak credit card holders is scheduled to commence on October 25, 2023, at 11 am IST on BookMyShow. Kotak White Reserve and Kotak White credit card holders will have the privilege of enjoying special discounts for a limited number of seats. For the general public, ticket sales for the show will go live starting October 27, 2023, at 3 pm IST on BookMyShow and Ed Sheeran’s official website, www.edsheeran.com.

The responsibility of bringing Ed Sheeran’s ‘+ – = ÷ x’ Tour to India falls under BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment division of BookMyShow, in collaboration with AEG Presents. As of now, the ticket prices for the event remain undisclosed.

These upcoming Asian tour dates for the ‘+ – = ÷ x’ Tour mark Ed Sheeran’s first return to the region since 2019, and they follow his successful performances in Europe the previous year. During his recent tour of the United States, Sheeran set numerous attendance records, including record-breaking concerts at venues like Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where he achieved the highest single-day concert attendance in the United States.

Ed Sheeran is a four-time Grammy Award-winning artist. His two-hour ‘+ – = ÷ x’ Tour will feature songs from all of his albums since 2011, including “Plus,” “Multiply” (2014), “Divide” (2017), “Equals” (2021), the new “Subtract,” and a track from 2019’s “No. 6 Collaborations Project” titled “Blow.”

US Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence to visit India in November: Sources

US Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence to visit India in November: Sources

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US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin will be visiting Delhi in November this year to discuss issues such as regional security and strategic ties between India and the US, as per sources.

The two leaders will be meeting their Indian counterparts – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh – during their visit.

They are expected to engage in discussions concerning the full spectrum of India-US strategic relationships and explore ways to strengthen these ties, sources told India Today TV.

Antony J Blinken and Lloyd Austin are also likely to discuss regional security matters, such as the ongoing military standoff on India’s northern borders with China.

India and the US are both members of the QUAD grouping, which is dedicated to ensuring security in the Indo-Pacific region, where India holds a significant role. The discussions may also encompass the Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza region, with a focus on containment to prevent further escalation.

The repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war on global security are likely to be a part of the dialogue.

Additionally, India and the US will discuss defence hardware cooperation, with India purchasing over $3 billion worth of Predator drones and related systems. India has been one of the largest purchasers of American weaponry over the last few decades, and further cooperation in this domain is anticipated in the future.

Sri Lanka approves free visa scheme for India, China, Russia; US not on list

Sri Lanka approves free visa scheme for India, China, Russia; US not on list

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The Sri Lanka cabinet has approved a proposal to grant free visas to travelers from seven countries – India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand for five months, Sri Lanka’s minister of foreign affairs Ali Sabry announced on Tuesday. According to Sabry, the free visa travel has begun with immediate effect as a pilot project and will continue till March 31.

According to the tourism ministry of Sri Lanka, the purpose of this move is to attract more tourists to the country. “We are expecting to increase tourist arrivals to five million over the coming years,” the ministry said as quoted by the Sri Lankan media.

The move is also expected to save money and time spent on obtaining visas for the travellers.

Last week, the ministry of tourism announced that a proposal was presented in the Cabinet meeting to issue free tourist visas for travellers from five countries. The cabinet paper was reportedly presented jointly by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry.

The Cabinet also proposed to introduce an e-ticketing system for most of the tourist sites in the country in the near future, the ministry said, reported local media.

Indian-American Vivek Chilukuri joins Centre for New American Security as senior fellow

Indian-American Vivek Chilukuri joins Centre for New American Security as senior fellow

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Indian-American Vivek Chilukuri is joining the Centre for New American Security as a senior fellow and director of the technology and national security programme.

The centre’s CEO, Richard Fontaine, said Chilukuri will help advance the organisation’s mission of developing bipartisan policies to sustain US technology leadership”.

According to the centre’s website, the organisation “explores policy challenges associated with emerging technologies and seeks to provide cutting-edge research on various topics … bringing together the technology and policy communities to better understand these challenges and together develop solutions”.

Chilukuri has previously worked as a policy expert, both on Capitol Hill and in the state department.

He also served as a senior staff member for Democratic Colordao Senator Michael Bennet, and was a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

His staff positions included senior policy advisor for technology and democracy, deputy chief of staff, legislative director, and chief speechwriter.

US, India share vision around technology, AI

US, India share vision around technology, AI

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On October 12, in the United States of America, Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM had met with the US President Joe Biden and his senior leadership team for establishing guidelines for deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) to boost both productivity and economic competitiveness. Just a day later, in India, seven working groups of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) submitted the first edition of IndiaAI report to Minister of state of Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Looking at the developments in both the countries, Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics says, “Impeccably similar events on AI in US and India happened concurrently today for operationalizing AI deployment across respective nations truly confirming the shared vision of US and India.”

Throwing light on the interaction with President Joe Biden, IBM CEO had said “The bipartisan, pro-investment policies launched by the Administration in recent years, aimed at rejuvenating our critical infrastructure and bolstering domestic semiconductor production and R&D, are showing tangible benefits across the country.” He added, “I also applauded the Administration’s efforts to establish voluntary guidelines for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence—a transformative technology set to amplify both productivity and competitiveness. I encouraged the President to champion and promote the adoption of similar principles globally.”

On the other hand, minister Chandrasekhar believes that the IndiaAI report is set to serve as India’s guiding roadmap for the development of its AI ecosystem. “After months of dedicated research, the seven working groups that were constituted to build the core goals of the IndiaAI program, have submitted their formal report today. This comprehensive report lays out what will be the fulcrum of the IndiaAI strategy that was envisaged by PM Modi. He had talked about India for AI and AI for India. Through this roadmap IndiaAI will work to be a kinetic enabler of the 1 trillion dollar digital economy,” the Minister had said.

The Government of India’s approach to AI has been holistic and ambitious, as evidenced by the breadth and scope of government interventions under the umbrella programme – IndiaAI.

IndiaAI has a mission-centric approach which ensures a precise and cohesive strategy to bridge the gaps in existing AI ecosystem viz-a-viz Compute infrastructure, Data, AI financing, Research and Innovation, targeted Skilling and institutional capacity for Data to maximize the potential of AI for advancing India’s progress.

Faruqi of Fab Economics also added interesting to also note the diversity represented in each room and India walking the talk on Women-led-Development at the bleeding edge of technology.