Entertainment
WHAT! Priyanka Chopra apologises for doing such work
Actress Priyanka Chopra has apologised for an episode in her American TV series “Quantico” which portrayed Indian nationalists as terrorists who were trying to frame Pakistan in a terror plot.
In the episode, Priyanka, who plays Alex Parrish, is an anti-terrorist officer who plots a nuclear attack in Manhattan to frame Pakistan for it, just days before an India-Pakistan summit is to be held. The episode drew intense criticism from Indian fans.
“I’m extremely saddened and sorry that some sentiments have been hurt by a recent episode of ‘Quantico’. That was not and would never be my intention. I sincerely apologise. I’m a proud Indian and that will never change,” Priyanka tweeted on Sunday.
According to reports, the episode titled “The Blood of Romeo”, aired on June 1. Priyanka’s character, FBI agent Alex Parrish, thwarts a terror plot just days before a summit between India and Pakistan is to be held.
During her investigations, Parrish finds a religious Hindu symbol — a Rudraksh chain — on the neck of one of the suspects leading her to conclude that the plot was devised by Indian nationalists to frame Pakistan in a nuclear terror attack.
The producers at the US network ABC Studios that airs the show also extended an apology on Saturday, saying they regret stepping into “a complex political issue”, and they did not intend to offend anyone.
The statement read: “ABC Studios and the executive producers of ‘Quantico’ would like to extend an apology to our audience who were offended by the most recent episode, ‘The Blood of Romeo’. The episode has stirred a lot of emotion, much of which is unfairly aimed at Priyanka Chopra, who didn’t create the show, nor does she write or direct it.
“She has no involvement in the casting of the show or the storylines depicted in the series.”
They also stressed that “Quantico” is a work of fiction.
“The show has featured antagonists of many different ethnicities and backgrounds but in this case, we inadvertently and regrettably stepped into a complex political issue. It was certainly not our intention to offend anyone,” the statement read further.
“Quantico” will not be getting a fourth season. The third season is on air in India on Star World.
The cast also included Jake McLaughlin, Johanna Braddy, Russell Tovey, Alan Powell, Marlee Matlin and Blair Underwood.
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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