Entertainment
Kaneez Surka accuses Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment for forcibly kissing
Mumbai: Comic Kaneez Surka Wednesday accused Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment, claiming the fellow comic “forcibly kissed” her on the mouth two years ago at a comedy show.
The popular improv artiste, alleged Mittal violated her boundaries of personal choice and “humiliated” her in front of an audience of 100 and many comedians.
In the account shared on Twitter, Surka said, “Two years ago, at a comedy show, I was hosting at Andheri Base, in the presence of an audience of 100 and many comedians, Aditi Mittal walked up on the stage and forcibly kissed me on my mouth out of the blue and put her tongue in my mouth, while I was still on the stage and without my consent.
“It left me humiliated, shocked and completely stripped of choice. Every person is entitled to choice and boundaries and she violated mine.”
The comic, who recently appeared as one of the judges on Amazon Prime Video’s “Comicstaan”, said when she mustered the courage to reach out to Mittal a year ago, she first apologised but soon turned hostile towards her, leaving her confused and hurt.
Surka said seeing Mittal’s name all over social media as “a champion of the cause” had been troubling her for some time.
Comic Kaneez Surka accuses Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment for forcibly kissing:
Surka said she once again spoke to Mittal Tuesday via a mutual friend to come out with a public apology and let her keep her identity secret. But this time Mittal “denied kissing me on the mouth, gaslighted me and asked to cross check”.
“I have proof but I thought we believe the victim. Her actions yesterday have hurt me further and burdened me with the task of having to do this but I don’t want to be silent anymore,” she added.
A public apology for violating her consent would bring her closure, Surka said.
Mittal retweeted Surka’s post but has not issued any statement. The comic has been reached out for a comment. In the #MeToo movement which is surging ahead, Mittal is the first woman to have been named for sexual harassment.
The campaign first hit the comedy industry last week when Utsav Chakraborty was accused by multiple women for harassment with AIB co-founder Gursimran Khamba been directly accused of misconduct.
AIB’s Tanmay Bhat has stepped away from the comedy collective and Khamba has been sent on “temporary leave of absence”.
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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