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New Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Rag Mayur, the accidental actor
Tell us how it all began. I started with theatre while juggling multiple roles — writing, directing, and even working as a film critic for six to seven years. I had all this energy and love for cinema but didn't know how to channel it. I was also working an IT job at the time. In 2016, I made a short film titled Rama Kanavemira, which unexpectedly went viral with over two million views. That gave me the clarity that acting was where I truly belonged. I stopped writing, focused on acting, joined theatre workshops, and began auditioning for films like Mahanati and Dear Comrade — wherever I saw potential in the directors. Then came Cinema Bandi. I first acted in the demo version, but usually, demo actors don't make it to the final film. Thankfully, Raj & DK insisted we continue and that became my first major break. The response was overwhelming. We got messages from Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka... we had to use Google Translate to read the reviews! It finally felt like I had arrived. You've often mentioned Tharun Bhascker as a dream collaborator in your earlier interviews. What was that experience like? None of my interviews are complete without mentioning Tharun Bhascker, and rightly so. Cinema Bandi brought a niche following, but Keedaa Cola made me recognisable even among auto drivers and cabbies. After Cinema Bandi, Tharun messaged me on Instagram and that alone felt surreal. I had auditioned for Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi and was rejected, but five years later, I got Keedaa Cola. He's incredibly humble, encouraging, and believes in creative freedom. After two ad films, he called me in for Keedaa Cola, and that became one of my most cherished projects.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Indonesian woman, family chase pickpockets in France, wallet recovered in one hour
PICKPOCKETS are a hazard one has to watch out for, especially when travelling in certain countries where it remains a prevalent issue in tourist areas. An Indonesian woman's bravery and determination in catching a pickpocket who stole her wallet while travelling by train in France was commended online. She was carrying €420 (RM2,075). According to Indonesian news portal, Kompas, the woman, identified as Nur Idni Anwar, also popularly known as Nunik, was in the train with her family when she came across three young women aged between 19 to 20 years old. Two of the women looked heavily pregnant. As soon as she saw the two heavily pregnant commuters, the 54-year-old asked her youngest child to give up the seat for one of them. One of the women, wearing a black shirt, took the seat while the other woman, clad in a red shirt, stood next to Nunik. 'I often watch reels about pickpockets in Europe. 'So I whispered to my husband that these girls looked like pickpockets,' she was quoted as saying. A few moments later,Nunik checked her bag and discovered that her wallet was missing. She then confronted the pregnant passenger seated in front of her about the wallet. The woman immediately denied the accusation so then, Nunik suspected the woman wearing the red shirt being the pickpocket – believing that she stole her wallet and handed it to the woman in black. The woman in black exited at the next station. Nunik and her family initially hesitated to go after them but eventually decided to also get off at the same station and split up to look for the three women. Her husband and children went to search for the pregnant women while Nunik was left with the third woman, reportedly dressed in a white shirt. The woman wearing white was said to be the decoy in the pickpocketing operation. Nunik claimed that the woman gestured toward the train, indicating that the actual pickpocket got back on the train. Nunik re-entered the train, prying open the doors which allegedly reopened. Her family rejoined her as well and the child reported seeing one of the pregnant women nearby. They exited the train again and tracked down the decoy. As soon as Nunik caught sight of the decoy, who was going up an escalator, she immediately approached her and grabbed onto her shirt. The decoy denied the theft and refused to admit her alleged complicity but Nunik refused to give up and yelled that the woman was part of a pickpocket gang which drew the attention of two other women who communicated with Nunik using Google Translate and urged the decoy to admit the alleged theft. Nunik continued yelling that her wallet was stolen. Later on, a man assisted Nunik and called the police and also spoke to the decoy who still refused to confess until after an hour, she made a phone call. After that, the pregnant woman in black returned to the station and returned Nunik's wallet. The police arrived shortly afterward and took away the pickpockets. Following the incident, she realised that €70 was missing out of the original total in her wallet but chose not to pursue her case further. Nunik asked the French police to not detain the pregnant pickpockets, considering their pregnancy.
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Android Authority
Here's your first look at Google Translate's Conversation mode redesign (APK teardown)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google is set to revamp the Google Translate app's Conversation mode, featuring Gemini-based branding and smarter AI integration. Updates include clearer speaker identification, quick language-switch chips, inline translations, and visual tweaks across automatic and manual modes. Some settings, like toggling manual modes, are now hidden, reducing immediate accessibility. Google has been working on significant UI updates to the Translate app to better accommodate its upcoming AI-driven features like Insights, Regional variants, Ask a Question, and Practice. But that's not the only part of the app getting a UI refresh, as we've now spotted more changes slated for Google Translate, this time targeting the Conversation mode. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Google Translate v9.13.97 includes code that overhauls Google Translate's Conversation mode in various ways. We managed to activate the upcoming changes to give you an early look. Starting with the main Conversation mode screen, the more straightforward UI is making way for a richer one. Current Upcoming In the new UI, we see a prominent 'Built with ✦Gemini' branding on the screen, along with a subtle disclaimer at the bottom that generative AI can make mistakes. There are also a few suggestion chips for quickly changing the language of the second speaker, and we reckon these could change depending on the user's region. There's a new button for turning auto-playback on and off, which previously needed going into the settings icon on the top right. Missing in this new UI is a Gemini-style icon for switching to manual conversation mode, so you need to access it in the Settings screen. The UI will look different once you begin the conversation. For conversations with automatic language detection, it's going to look like what you see below: Current Upcoming The upcoming UI does a significantly better job of highlighting which speaker is speaking and does a good job of inline translation, too. The conversation mode also has a manual mode, which places two mic icons on the screen. This mode gives more control to the people in the conversation as the app doesn't automatically detect conversations (and doesn't always keep the mic on). The UI for this mode will also see changes: Current Upcoming The ongoing conversation is much easier to follow in the upcoming UI than in the current UI. Google Translate also has a face-to-face conversation mode, where the second conversation is flipped so you can share the phone between two users for a face-to-face bilingual conversation. This UI is also slated to receive some changes, and you can see them in the screenshots below for the automatic language detection mode: Face to Face conversations with automatic speaker/language detection: Current Face to Face conversations with automatic speaker/language detection: Upcoming The manual mode for face-to-face conversations will have a new splashscreen highlighting Gemini, and other bits have also changed: Current Upcoming Upcoming Switching to manual conversation mode will take extra steps in the new UI as the option is moved to the Settings sheet: Current Upcoming To round it up, here's a video showing off all the upcoming changes in one clip: These changes to Google Translate's Conversation Mode haven't been announced yet, nor have they been rolled out. We'll keep you updated when we learn more. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Business Times
Ngee Ann Poly students' app uses tech, AI to help seniors avoid falls
[SINGAPORE] A group of students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic is looking to develop a mobile app that allows seniors to independently conduct fall-risk assessments from the comfort of their own homes. Traditionally, seniors go to clinics to take fall-risk assessments, where doctors grade their ability to perform physical activities, such as walking. The app, called FallSafe, will allow them to conduct such assessments using their mobile phones. FallSafe combines Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and cloud-native technology. 'Our idea is to allow the elderly to use their mobile phones, which have gyroscope and accelerometer sensors. These are sensors that they can utilise to capture how they performed,' said 19-year-old Jeffrey Lee, who is part of the team behind the digital solution, which is in its proof-of-concept stage. The app has two steps – a questionnaire and a physical self-assessment. The assessment can be as short as 15 minutes, and seniors are encouraged to do it every six months to better understand their own bodies. 'We envision FallSafe to be a mobile app that they can download. When they hold it or put it in their pocket, they just need to walk. Based on how the phone moves, we are able to capture how well they performed in their physical self-assessment. We are then able to use those metrics to calculate the risk that the elderly have,' Lee said. He added that the app aims to provide seniors 'personalised, tailored feedback on how they can improve or maintain their current fall risk'. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Making it accessible for seniors Lee said FallSafe is 'among the first consumer-facing applications in Singapore' to explore the use of mobile phones for fall-risk assessments, without the need for specialised equipment or wearables. Previous studies in Singapore that focused on fall detection using gyroscope and accelerometer data relied on dedicated hardware. One of the biggest challenges was making sure the tech was user-friendly for seniors, said Lee. 'There are so many friction points in an app that to us, it could be second nature, but to the elderly, it is not… Whenever we created a feature, we would share it with our elderly testers and (get their input).' His team thus worked with welfare organisation Lions Befrienders to test FallSafe on seniors. The app is also multilingual, as it uses Google Translate and can be accessed in any language offered by that platform. Although there are no concrete plans at the moment to scale the tech as the team members are busy pursuing internships, they hope to eventually continue their partnership with Lions Befrienders to develop the app, and potentially work with other social service agencies and government agencies. In the long term, the team aims to adopt a social enterprise business model for FallSafe. Any profits made will be reinvested back into the tech for greater impact. Addressing a 'silent issue' Accessible digital solutions such as FallSafe are set to become especially relevant as Singapore's ageing population rises. The Republic is set to transition to a 'super-aged' society by 2026, with more than one in five people aged 65 and above. Lee, along with team members Jovan Ong, Putera Daniel and Kelvin Tan, are slated to win the Outstanding Innovation Team Award on Jul 22 at Ngee Ann Poly's Student Excellence Awards 2025. Falls are a 'silent issue' that is still 'persistent' and has 'far-reaching consequences' for seniors, said Lee. '(They) are the leading cause of injury-related hospital admissions among seniors. Beyond physical injuries such as fractures and head trauma, they can also cause devastating effects on mental well-being.' Lions Befrienders said that seniors usually take a fall-risk assessment only after an incident has occurred. With the user-friendly features and accessibility of FallSafe, the team hopes they will be encouraged to take a more pre-emptive approach to the issue.
Observer
4 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Reimagining translation studies in Oman
In the last two decades, Oman has witnessed a growing demand for high-quality translation and interpretation services, driven by rapid globalisation, increasing government engagement in international diplomacy and the country's strategic vision under Oman Vision 2040. This rise underscores the urgent need to reassess how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) prepare translators to meet both linguistic and technological demands. Recent research reveals a disconnect between academic training in Oman's universities and the real-world expectations of employers and translation clients. As the profession evolves, particularly through AI and digital transformation, HEIs must modernise their curricula, pedagogy and assessment strategies to reflect current industry needs. While translation is often associated with commercial language service providers (LSPs), in Oman it is increasingly embedded within institutional contexts. Ministries, universities, media outlets and judicial bodies frequently require in-house translation. However, a recent study conducted by Omani researchers shows that institutional translation practices often lack standardisation and quality control. Many public bodies rely on bilingual staff rather than professionally trained translators, which risks inconsistency, particularly in sensitive or technical contexts. Despite the profession's growing relevance, studies at institutions like the University of Nizwa indicate that many translation students face challenges with core linguistic competencies, especially translating from English into Arabic. Errors in syntax and journalistic language remain common. Survey findings further show that many students find existing translation courses overly theoretical, disconnected from professional realities and lacking specialisation in fields such as legal or media translation. To address this, HEIs should adopt task-based, practice-oriented pedagogies that expose students to authentic translation briefs, revision processes and performance-based assessments. Technology has also transformed the translation landscape. A recent study at Sultan Qaboos University found that many EFL students use AI and machine translation (MT) tools like Google Translate, DeepL, and ChatGPT for both learning and translating. While students benefit from their speed and accessibility, they also recognise their limitations regarding tone and contextual accuracy. Crucially, many students lack training in computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and post-editing techniques — skills now essential in the industry. Translation departments must therefore offer courses in CAT tools, AI-assisted translation and post-editing practices. In today's market, digital literacy is no longer optional — it is a core competency. A nationwide study on practical training and job readiness found a strong link between real-world translation experience and professional success. Yet many students reported limited internship opportunities and weak institutional engagement. HEIs must institutionalise internships and service-learning components within translation programmes. By collaborating with ministries, NGOs, courts and media outlets, universities can provide students with supervised, hands-on translation assignments that also support national development goals. Such collaborations offer an added advantage: they enable HEIs to co-develop curricula that remain responsive to labour market needs. Gathering feedback from employers and alumni ensures that graduates are equipped with relevant and future-proof skills. Across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), attention is growing around translation education quality — especially in adopting technology and aligning programmes with employability frameworks. Bibliometric studies show a steady rise in research on translation pedagogy and curriculum reform, suggesting regional momentum. Institutions like Sultan Qaboos University, University of Nizwa and Al Zahra College are well-placed to lead in this area by developing interdisciplinary programmes that combine language, ethics, technology and institutional practice. Moreover, embedding soft skills training, such as critical thinking, time management and teamwork, is essential to prepare students for the collaborative and deadline-driven nature of today's industry. By reforming curricula, investing in technological training, embedding real-world experiences and working closely with industry, Oman's HEIs can ensure their graduates are not only employable but also positioned to support Oman's multilingual communication and global engagement. It is time to reimagine translation education — not as an academic formality, but as a national strategy vital to development, diplomacy and digital progress.
