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Amrutha Pagad

Amrutha Pagad

Senior Sub-editor

amrutha.pagad@aajtak.com

Amrutha is a Senior Sub-editor at DailyO. She likes to write on technology, pop culture, lifestyle, travel and humour.

By Amrutha Pagad

UK is cracking down on student visa dependents, plus updates on switching visas

The Rishi Sunak government in the United Kingdom has been trying to curb the migration numbers in the country for a while. In the latest, the UK government has announced a slew of updates to student visas and dependents of international students that are likely to affect many.

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Ladakh is opening up its previously forbidden places for tourists

What comes to mind when someone says Ladakh? High passes, breathtaking landscapes, pristine waters, barren freezing desert, Three idiots? From now on, Ladakh is going to be a lot more than what most knew so far. The Union Territory is opening up previously restricted areas to tourists.

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Sia says she is autistic, two years after her movie on autism was trashed as harmful for autistic community

Australian singer-songwriter Sia just revealed that she is on the autistic spectrum during "Rob Has A Podcast" of People magazine. The Chandelier singer's revelations come two years after her first feature directorial movie on an autistic girl called Music was criticised for its portrayal of an autistic person.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns of 'risk of extinction from AI', critics ask if the threat is just another hype

Once again, the creators of artificial intelligence have come out with a dire warning about the very thing they are creating; this time in a succinct 22-word sentence statement that minces no words.

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What is skiplagging, the hot new hack to save on airfare, and why do airlines hate it?

Airline passengers are feeling the pinch this season of travel with rising airfares. With the inflation, everyone is looking to cut corners including saving up on airfares. Frequent flyers are now resorting to an old technique called 'skiplagging' to save a few hundreds of rupees.

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South Korea flight sees man opening emergency exit in scary viral video, 9 passengers in hospital

Your co-passengers on a flight could be annoying, too chatty, or someone who steals the armrest, worse yet, pees on you while drunk. But can you imagine someone opening the emergency exit door mid-air without the need?

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Australian universities ban Indian students from 6 states, UT to keep fraud visas out

Several Australian universities have temporarily banned applications from certain Indian states over visa fraud issues. Federation University and Western Sydney University have instructed education agents to stop recruiting students hailing from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

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Myntra is making ChatGPT your personal stylist in sleek new AI update

Myntra has launched MyFashionGPT on its app, which integrates ChatGPT into the online retailer's algorithm. Users can now seek the help of their very own personal stylist to curate their outfits.

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Paralysed man walks again thanks to mind-reading technology

We have all heard of brain implants, thanks to Elon Musk's Neuralink. So far, our minds have thought of brain implants as something that will usher in a dystopian society and make us all cyborgs. But brain implants are actually being trialed for something better - like to make the paralysed walk again.

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Cheetah cub born in Kuno dies, fourth death in India since March

In yet another unfortunate development for the Cheetah Relocation Project, a cheetah cub born at Kuno National Park died on May 23. The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department announced that one of the four cheetah cubs born to cheetah Jwala, died of weakness.

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EU order to stop Meta data transfer to US is a bigger headache for Zuck than the $1.3 billion fine

Meta was fined a record-breaking $1.3 billion by EU regulators over the lack of data protection for European citizens. This battle started nearly 10 years ago in 2013 when whistleblower Edward Snowden outed the American authorities for frequently accessing people's personal information through tech companies.

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New York and other major cities that are sinking

The bustling cities where dreams are made, may not exist a few decades down the line. New research has found that New York City in the US is sinking under the weight of its gigantic, concrete buildings.

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Online travel scams are booming. Here is how to stay safe while booking your next vacation

Summer is here, and so is summer travel. But just as travel is set to boom, scamsters are also dusting off their playbooks, looking for their next victims. And it all begins from the one place you are most likely to go to once the idea of travel has been planted - Internet.

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How will 20% TCS affect your foreign trip from July 1? A breakdown

If you are planning on international travel from India post-June, then get ready to have 20% more cashflow than your actual budget. This is because the Indian government is now levying 20% tax collected at source (TCS) on every transaction you make overseas via whatever method.

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20% TCS on credit card use abroad has Internet fuming. How will it affect you?

A late-night notification on Tuesday, May 16, by the Union Finance Ministry brought credit card payments overseas under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. It means that Indian credit card transactions made abroad will now be costlier as users will have to pay a steep 20% tax collected at source (TCS).

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Indonesia is moving its capital 800 miles away from sinking Jakarta but critics see red

Indonesia's capital city Jakarta is sinking, literally. And so, the Indonesian government is planning to shift the capital city altogether to another area called Borneo.

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New Apple features will let you clone your voice and use it real-time on calls

With competitive advancement in generative AI models such as ChatGPT evoking fears about how AI will shape our near future, Apple seems to have emerged as a leader pointing in the direction of how AI and machine learning can actually be used for the greater good.

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Tesla execs are coming to India to talk EVs. What is on their agenda?

India is the world's third-largest automobile market and yet Tesla cars have not made their debut on Indian roads. In what seems like another try to push Tesla's debut in India, senior Tesla executives are reportedly slated to meet up with Indian officials on May 17 and May 18.

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All 3 ZestMoney founders have quit. What is up with the Buy Now Pay Later service provider?

Troubled times are here for fintech startup ZestMoney after all three of its founders resigned following an unsuccessful acquisition deal by PhonePe. ZestMoney founders Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman informed employees about their resignation on May 15.

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Why are gold prices soaring?

Gold prices are increasing worldwide and in India. In March 2023, the price of the yellow metal crossed the Rs 60,000 mark for 10 gm 24-carat gold in India. As of May 15, 10 gm of 24-carat gold in India is estimated to be Rs 63,000.

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What will Twitter 2.0 look like under new CEO Linda Yaccarino?

Twitter has got a new CEO and it's not Elon Musk's Shiba Inu Floki. Linda Yaccarino has been confirmed as the new CEO of Twitter. Musk made the announcement with a tweet saying that Yaccarino will be focusing on the business side of Twitter's operations while he focuses on product design and new technology.

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Not just Go First, Lufthansa, IndiGo and others too have been plagued by Pratt and Whitney engine problems

Days ago when Go First Airlines filed for bankruptcy, it blamed its Airbus A320neo aircraft's engine supplier Pratt and Whitney (PW) for sending its business tumbling down. Now, in another part of the world, Lufthansa announced that it has had to ground a third of its fleet in Swiss subsidiary airlines in Zurich due to PW engine problems.

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The newest Netflix rom-com has finally ditched Europe to find love in Asia

The clichéd Hollywood travel romance involving a white American woman travelling to a foreign country (often in Europe) is also embracing diversity. Netflix's romcom A Tourist's Guide to Love is among those embracing an Asian lead in an Asian country.

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Russia claims Ukraine tried to kill Putin. 5 other times the Russian Prez escaped assassination

On May 3, Wednesday, the Russian Presidential administration came out with a dramatic statement claiming that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin using two drones targetting the Kremlin.

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Will you get your airline frequent flyer miles if you miss your non-refundable flight?

There are times when you may miss a flight or realise too late that you won't be able to take it due to a change in plans; except, the ticket is non-refundable. If you are enrolled in the miles program, then does this mean you earn the miles since you purchased the ticket even if you don't take the flight?

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The new Met Gala 2023 carpet is Made in India, Rooted in Kerala

This year's Met Gala looked a lot different than the previous ones and there was one main reason for it - the carpet. Met Gala 2023's carpet was not red in colour; instead, it was beige-coloured. And there is an India connection to this Met Gala carpet.

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Go First cancels all flights till May 6, leaving DGCA fuming and passengers in a lurch

It was only a few days ago that India's Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted about the skyrocketing domestic airline passenger traffic post-Covid and related it to India's high growth. Days later, a domestic airlines carrier, Go First, filed for bankruptcy.

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Met Gala 2023 highlights include Rihanna walking in fashionably late, an Alia Bhatt debut and Doja turning Cat

The Met Gala got underway with a march of celebrities down the cream-coloured carpet. This year's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which seeks to celebrate the life and work of the controversial German fashion designer.

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If you hate long haul flights, Skycouches might be the economy fix for you

Does flying on long haul flights in the economy make you squirm in discomfort even before you board the plane? There's a new trend that some airlines have caught on, to make flying economy in long-haul flights a little bit more comfortable.

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At King Charles III Coronation, processions and a Sonam Kapoor performance

Immediately after Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022, Charles III became the King and he was formally proclaimed the new monarch of Britain in the following days. But it is after nearly eight months that King Charles III's coronation ceremony is here.

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