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14 UN peacekeepers killed in Democratic Republic of Congo

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By Arul Louis
United Nations, Dec 8 (IANS) Fourteen peacekeepers from Tanzania have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in what United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Friday was “the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the Organization’s recent history”.

While Guterres gave the toll as 12, the peacekeeping mission in DRC said that 14 were killed in the attack in North Kivu province on Thursday night.

There there were no reports of death among the 2,914 Indian personnel deployed in the DRC peacekeeping operation, known by its French acronym, MONUSCO or Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The killings took place during “protracted fighting between suspected ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) elements” and MONUSCO and DRC military, the mission said, adding that 53 peacekeepers were injured.

“This is the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the Organization’s recent history,” Guterres said. “It is another indication of the enormous sacrifices made by troop contributing countries in the service of global peace.”

“I condemn this attack unequivocally,” he added. “These deliberate attacks against UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a war crime. I call on the DRC authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Guterres said that military reinforcements have arrived at the site of the attack and that the force commander, Lt. Gen. Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi of South Africa, was there coordinating the mission’s response.”

MONUSCO is the largest UN mission now with more than 15,000 personnel – and the deadliest now. Two peacekeepers from Tanzania were killed in North Kivu Province in October, and another was killed in September.

The attacks were blamed on ADF, a rebel group that operate across Uganda and the mineral-rich eastern DRC.

Three Indian peacekeepers were killed in 2010 in an attack on their position in North Kivu, the same province as Thursday’s attack.

Thirty two Indian peacekeepers were injured in a grenade attack last year.

Indian peacekeepers fought off an attack in the same province in October, killing two attackers. A UN official said that it was likely the attackers belonged to the local Mai Mai militia.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

–IANS
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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

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.

CasinoDays India

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.

 

CasinoDays India

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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