Entertainment
Actress Zaira alleges mid-air molestation (Second Lead)
Mumbai, Dec 10 (IANS) “Dangal” actress Zaira Wasim, 17, has alleged she was molested mid-air by a middle-aged man, drawing strong reactions by women rights activists and politicians. The airline apologized and Mumbai Police registered an FIR.
The National Award winning Kashmiri actress complained about her ordeal, claiming that a middle-aged man seated behind her moved his foot up and down her neck and back.
In a self-shot video for Instagram live chat, Zaira is also seen breaking down.
“I just landed, the whole irony of this that I yelled… and this is not done… this is not how you should be treated or made to feel. This is terrible.
“This is how they will take care of girls? No one will help us if we don’t decide to help ourselves and that is the worst thing,” she said, looking visibly disturbed.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said she was appalled.
“Any harassment or crime against women should be dealt with swiftly and effectively. As a mother of two daughters, I am appalled at what happened with Zaira,” Mufti tweeted and urged the authorities to take strict action.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the passenger should be identified by Air Vistara and a case should be filed.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) as well as the Delhi and Maharashtra commisions for women urged the actress to approach the police.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma, Swati Maliwal of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, issued notices to concerned authorities to take due action.
DCW has already sought answers from Vistara Airlines seeking details of the action taken by airlines.
Vistara Airlines apologized to Zaira and said it was carrying out a detailed investigation.
“We will support Wasim in every way required and also if she decides to report this matter to the police… We apologize for what Wasim experienced and we have zero tolerance for such behaviour,” read a post on the Airlines’ official Twitter page.
From the film industry, director Onir and actress Swara Bhasker came out in support of Zaira, who was also lauded for her performance in “Secret Superstar”.
“Shame Vistara that your staff did nothing. Shame on all the passengers, they are equally guilty as this moron. It should not be difficult for airlines to locate him from seat no. He should be arrested and punished,” Onir tweeted.
Swara slammed it an “intolerable” incident and said: “We are now at that point where a 17-year-old child has to remind us what is right and what is wrong. I’m so sorry that adults around you let you down, Zaira Wasim. But you keep up the good fight. Stay strong.”
Wrestler Babita Phogat tweeted a video in support of Zaira, who played the younger version of Geeta Phogat in “Dangal”.
“If someone is misbehaving with you, give a tight slap on their face. They will never dare to repeat their actions again. Zaira, you don’t need to be afraid of anyone and just be ‘dhaakad’ (bold) in real life as well.”
–IANS
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Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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