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First Kirti Azad, now Udit Raj: Congress leaders make offensive comments on Sourav Ganguly after the cricket stalwart suffers heart attack

OpIndia Staff
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First Kirti Azad, now Udit Raj: Congress leaders make offensive comments on Sourav Ganguly after the cricket stalwart suffers heart attack

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly recuperates in a hospital in Kolkata after undergoing an angioplasty, Congress leaders are busy outshining each other, when it comes to spreading toxic negativity on social media. After Congress leader Kirti Azad, party spokesperson Udit Raj has also taken to Twitter to make an unsavoury comment against the BCCI chief.

Taking a sarcastic dig at Ganguly for endorsing Fortune oil, the Congress leader insinuated what Ganguly must-have said after suffering a heart attack: “I have always eaten and endorsed that this oil keeps you away from heart ailments. But today I have only suffered a heart attack. What to do, we have to do such things for money. And to top it all Adani is also Modi’s friend”.

Dr Raj was slammed for his negative tweet by netizens. People wondered what help can a politician with such a toxic mentality be for the country.

The Congress party was also targeted over the matter.

It is pertinent to note that Congress leader Kirti Azad had also faced criticism when he made a similar jibe at Sourav Ganguly yesterday.

This is, however, not the first time the Congress spokesperson has been caught making such distasteful remarks. He is the same person who had maliciously made a ‘gaumutra’ jibe following the death of veteran actor Rishi Kapoor after a long battle with cancer. Prior to this, a complaint was registered against him at the Cyber ​​Crime Branch in New Delhi for his defamatory statement against the Brahmins.

Meanwhile, one of India topmost cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, after examining the Board of Control for Cricket in India president at a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday, said that the former cricketer is as fit as a fiddle. “He can run a marathon and fly a plane as his heart is as strong as it was when he was 20”, opined Dr Shetty.

Sourav Ganguly was rushed to the hospital on Saturday after he complained of chest pain while working out at a gym. He underwent angioplasty after three tiny blockages were detected in his coronary artery.

Ganguly is expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday. He would be on oral medications and monitored on a daily basis at home. Doctors have advised him to undergo two more angioplasty for the other blockages after two to three weeks.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that the brand Adani Wilmar has pulled down all ads featuring former Indian captain. The step was taken after the brand was extensively trolled on social media.

‘Ungrateful’ and ‘Evil Vampire’ Jack Ma now being ‘supervised’ at an ‘undisclosed location’ after criticising China: Details

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ungrateful’ and ‘Evil Vampire’ Jack Ma now being ‘supervised’ at an ‘undisclosed location’ after criticising China: Details

Two Months after Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, mysteriously disappeared, it has now been reported that he is being supervised at an undisclosed location.

The Chinese mouthpiece, People’s Daily, reported that Jack Ma has been ’embracing supervision’ at an unknown location. However, Duncan Clark, the chairman of BDA China, said that he does not believe that Jack Ma was under custody. He emphasised, “I think he’s been told to lay low. This is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant Group (owned by Jack Ma) and the sensitivities over financial regulation.” Earlier, Bloomberg had reported that the business tycoon was told by the Chinese regime to not leave the country.

The disappearance of the business tycoon followed after he made critical remarks about China’s current banking system, the financial regulatory structure of the Communist-ruled country and how it was unsuitable for fintech companies such as Ant group. He went on a tirade against bank officials and even labelled them as individuals with ‘pawnshop mentality’.

It is interesting to note that Jack Ma is not the first high-profile man to have disappeared out of the blue. Reportedly, China legalised secret detentions back in 2013. As such, several well-known people from various walks of life including actress Fan Bingbing, ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei and gene-editing scientist He Jiankui were made to disappear. All of them however mysteriously reappeared after some time.

Chinese mouthpiece slams ‘Vampire’ Jack Ma

Chinese mouthpeice, People’s Daily, earlier said in November that there would be no ‘Jack Ma era.’ It said, “Ma Yun is savvy, but without the support of national policies, Ali will not be able to become a trillion business empire, and Ma Yun cannot have the influence and popularity today.”

People’s Daily slammed the internationally acclaimed entrepreneur for being ‘ungrateful’ and critical of the policies of the Chinese regime. It emphasised, “If you disregard your food and make use of the policy advantages given by the state to do business that is not conducive to economic development and not beneficial to the people’s lives, you will only end up reaping the consequences.”

NeTease commented that Jack Ma lost his chances of becoming the world’s richest man after the listing of Ant Group in IPO was suspended. It said, “Jack Ma, who ‘dislikes money’, not only lost the best chance of becoming the world’s richest man, but even the reputation he had accumulated over many years collapsed almost overnight, and he was no longer a kind ‘Father Horse’. Instead, he became the evil ‘vampire’ in people’s hearts.”

Souring relationship of Jack Ma with the Chinese regime

The 56-year-old Jack Ma was once a poster boy for the communist regime, however, the relationship turned sour after he became more vocal against Chinese leadership. Ma is said to have made around £35billion from creating Alibaba, the Asian version of Amazon.

Despite being one of China’s most successful businessmen, Ma has been clashing with the regime over his call for more of an open and market-driven economy. The English teacher turned business magnate is viewed as a rock star in the country that has pushed the Chinese leadership to be fearful about the billionaire’s influence.

China, under President Xi Jinping, has been ruthless against its critics and has unleashed a drive to arrest all the dissidents of the regime. In March a property tycoon had disappeared after he called President Xi Jinping a ‘clown’ for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Ren Zhiqiang a billionaire financier, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he ‘voluntarily and truthfully confessed’ to various crimes of corruption. 

Similarly, Xian Jianhua, a billionaire financier, was snatched from a Hong Kong hotel in 2017 and taken to the mainland. 

Mexican President offers Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum after UK court denies extradition to US

OpIndia Staff
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Mexican President offers Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum after UK court denies extradition to US

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has offered Wikileaks founder Julian Assange political asylum in his country. This move came a day after the UK court ruled out the possibility of his extradition to the US where he is to face charges of espionage.

“Assange is a journalist and deserves a chance,” said the Mexican President as he offered him protection. Addressing a press conference on January 4 (Monday), the President said he will ask the Foreign Affairs Ministry to contact British officials over the asylum offer and request that Assange is pardoned.

Lauding the UK court’s ruling, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said: “It is a triumph of justice. I commend England’s action because Assange is a journalist and deserves a chance.”

British judge denied the US extradition request of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

Yesterday we reported that the UK Court’s District Judge Vanessa Baraitser had turned down USA appeal to extradite the Wikileaks founder, citing concerns over his “mental health and “risk of suicide”. Now, the US side will again have to appeal for his extradition, which could lead to years more legal wrangling.

The Wikileaks founder has been in Belmarsh prison in the UK since April 2019, when he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He had taken refuge in 2012 in the Embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that was subsequently dropped in November 2019.

He was indicted by US authorities on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse related to the publication of secret US military documents that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

Actor Kangana Ranaut sends a legal notice to Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee for sending a legal notice to her: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Kangana Ranaut sends a legal notice to Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee for sending a legal notice to her: Read details

Kangana Ranaut has now filed a notice against Delhi Gurudwara Committee accusing them of criminal intimidation. The actor has sought an apology from the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee for intimidating her with a legal notice. The Gurudwara body had sent Kangana a legal notice earlier last month for her tweets that allegedly targeted farmers, activists protesting against the new farm laws.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the President of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, took to Twitter to share the notice sent to the body by actor Kangana Ranaut. Sirsa, however, has maintained that Kangana will be the one who would apologise to them and that the matter will be fought in the court.

In her notice, Kangana has alleged that the legal notice sent by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee is “untenable and bad in law” as they have failed in establishing how they are personally falling under the ‘aggrieved party’ through which they are trying to invoke Section 499(Defamation) and Section 500(Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and should be further read with Section 199(Prosecution for defamation) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee has no locus standi to bring action against Kangana Ranaut: Notice

The legal notice by Kangana has drawn on the past verdicts given by High Courts to allege that Delhi Sikhs Gurudwara has no locus standi to bring a defamation suit against her. She has contended in her notice that Section 199 of CrPC permits only the ‘aggrieved party’ to move the Court in case of defamation.

The notice further claims that under the current statutes and the provisions of the Civil Law, the Gurudwara body has no rights to proceed against the defendant as no action on her part directly or indirectly defames them.

“A third-party whose rights have in no way been prejudiced by the already deleted tweet of my client has absolutely no locus standi to even proceed before any court of law,” the notice sent by Kangana’s counsel on her behalf said.

Consequently, the notice mentions that Delhi Sikhs Gurudwara Committee is liable to be tried under Section 503 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal intimidation.

Tender apology and withdraw demands or face civil and criminal proceedings: Kangana to Gurudwara Committee

Kangana Ranaut’s legal counsel has mentioned that the legal notice is sent to gain publicity and a few minutes of fame by taking undue advantage of his client’s reputation and social standing. The legal notice has asked the Gurudwara Committee to immediately withdraw their demands and tender an apology to Kangana Ranaut, failing which civil and criminal proceedings may be initiated against them.

Earlier last month, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee sent a defamation notice to actor Kangana Ranaut, alleging that the actor defamed the farmers, protestors and activists involved in the ‘farmer protests’ against the Modi government. In its notice, the Sikh organisation has demanded an unconditional apology and unequivocal withdrawal of the ‘defamatory and derogatory’ tweet.

Nagaland’s pristine Dzukou Valley is burning, efforts on to control forest fire: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Nagaland’s pristine Dzukou Valley is burning, efforts on to control forest fire: All you need to know

The chief minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio has today taken an aerial survey of Dzukou Valley to take stock of the fire situation that continues to rage on in the picturesque Dzukou Valley along the Nagaland-Manipur border since last Tuesday (December 29) afternoon.

Officials had on Saturday informed that the massive wildfire in the famed Dzukou valley had been brought under control due the untiring efforts of a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Air Force helicopters, police, forest department and local volunteers.

Videos shared by the ministry of defence on Sunday had showed four Mi-17V5 Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters participating in firefighting operations to douse the forest fire. The videos shows a chopper refilling a Bambi bucket which has an approximate capacity of 3500 litres and then proceeding towards the forest fire.

While IAF choppers were used to douse the fire in the valley, SDO (Civil) Jakhama, SDPO South and Range Forest Officer, Kohima had coordinated the ground operations to extinguish the fire. To maintain seamless communication with the ground operation team, Kohima Police has set up a control room at Dzukou entry point at Viswema village and two relay stations also set up in the Dzukou base camp.

Last week, it was reported that the fire which was raging on Nagaland side till Wednesday had spread to the Manipur hillside.

On Friday Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the prompt intervention. “Just received a call from Union Home Minister @AmitShah Ji to assess and discuss the situation about the wildfire at Dzuko valley. Amit Shah Ji has assured all the necessary assistance from the Home Ministry to contain the situation at earliest,” Singh tweeted.

Dzukou Valley, about 30 km from Nagaland’s capital Kohima, is a popular trekking destination known for its flora and fauna. It is also home to the endangered Blyth’s tragopan — Nagaland’s state bird. The valley is famous for the Dzukou Lily which is found only in this valley.

Officials have not been able to pinpoint the reason for the fire but said it may have been the result of trekkers or campers leaving their resting site without extinguishing their campfire.

“However, as it is a dry season, the fire might have been caused by friction,” Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority’s Officer on Special Duty, Johnny Ruangmei, said, adding that the place is a tourist spot and reason for the fire is not ascertained yet.

After ridiculous demands, Modi govt asked them to approach SC instead to repeal farm laws, claim protesters

OpIndia Staff
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After ridiculous demands, Modi govt asked them to approach SC instead to repeal farm laws, claim protesters

The talks between the government and protesting farmers on Monday ended on an inclusive note as both parties refused to budge from their stand. The government has made it clear that the laws will not be repealed and the protesters said the protests will continue if they are not.

Monday also saw the government making clear that they will not bow down to the motivated protests. Sarwan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee said, “The agriculture minister clearly said that the laws will not be repealed, he even told us to approach the Supreme Court for repeal of the laws.” “We urge the youth of Punjab to prepare for a long haul. We will take out a big procession on Republic Day,” he stated.

“We will discuss only the MSP issue and the repeal of laws. It is the ego problem of the government that is coming in way of resolving issues,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) President Balbir Singh Rajewal.

Meanwhile, Agricultural Minister NS Tomar maintained that the discussions occurred over a cordial atmosphere. “The meeting was held in a good atmosphere but farmers were adamant on their demands and we could not arrive at any conclusion. The next meeting has been decided with due consensus,” he said.

“Several rounds of talks are held during such important issues. The government has to decide keeping in mind farmers of the entire country. Both sides want to resolve the issue. The laws have been made keeping in mind the best interest of farmers,” he stated.

The protesters have also been threatening the government and holding the country ransom, egged on by the likes of Ichchhadhaari protester Yogendra Yadav. Recently, the politician threatened to target the Republic Day celebrations across the country. The next round of talks is scheduled for the 8th of January. But it appears extremely unlikely as of this point that the matter will be resolved then as well.

Fact Check: Is Covid-19 vaccine changing people into man-eaters?

Anurag
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Fact Check: Is Covid-19 vaccine changing people into man-eaters?

The covid vaccine will make you impotent, Covid vaccine causes an erection, Covid vaccine is a cover-up to inject nano tracker in you, Covid vaccine will make you slave of Bill Gates, Covid Vaccine has pork, Covid vaccine works better if injected in the penis, and Covid vaccine contains human foetus cells. There are some of the most bizarre claims that have been made since many variants of the Covid-19 vaccine was developed and went into trials.

You may think the conspiracy theorists would have used all their brain-juice to cook up stories. Well, you are wrong. They are getting weirder every day, and unfortunately, no vaccine can stop the spread of this disease of misinformation. In a recent claim, the conspiracy theorists and fear mongers have claimed that after receiving Covid-19 vaccine patients have started eating each other. In simpler terms, they have become man-eaters or zombies or cannibal.

The straight-out-of-horror-movie-like image has the CNN logo on the bottom right, and it reads, “Hospitals on lockdown as first Covid vaccine patients start eating other patients.” The first thing that may strike in some people’s heads is “I am not going to take the vaccine!”

Image via Twitter
Image via Twitter
Image via Twitter

But hold-on! Think about it first. Look at the image. Can you see any human parts that alleged patients have left behind or they ate bones too? Let’s not make it scarier and investigate what actually is happening here.

Patients do not get the vaccine

First and foremost, you need to understand who gets the vaccine. And before that, you need to understand what exactly a vaccine is? When you get a vaccine for any disease, you are basically getting injected with the same condition but in non-potent format. They are either killed or weakened so that they do not harm you.

A vaccine trains your body to fight the disease and stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies if the condition tries to infect your body. In case you are already suffering from the disease, like in this case with Covid-19, experts have advised waiting for 14-days before getting vaccinated. The claim in the image that the patients who got the vaccine are eating other patients stays incorrect because ‘patients’ do not get the vaccine in the first place.

Now coming to the image, we did some digging and reverse searched the image being used in the claim. We found that the image is from February 14, 2019, and was used in a report by The New York Times titled “I Remember the First Time I Saw a Teenager Die”. It was clicked by Eric Curran at the trauma bay in the emergency department at Temple University Hospital after resuscitation efforts failed. Basically, the image is from the time when Covid-19 was not even around.

Screenshot of New York Times’s report carrying the image from 2019.

Verdict

No, Covid-19 vaccine is not creating cannibals/zombies/man-eaters. Moreover, vaccines are cleared for use only after extensive clinical trials on hundreds of volunteers. There are several vaccines in the world now. The UK and the US have already started mass vaccination drives. There are no zombies eating other people anywhere in the world. The ‘information’ is FAKE. The claims may be the plot of some cheap movie, but it is certainly not a part of reality.

P.S. If we go by the latest standards, we would like to call them “person-eaters” just to make sure no gender out of countless that now exist, get offended by calling these alleged person-eating vaccine-receivers ‘man-eaters’.

British PM Boris Johnson cancels India visit for Republic Day

OpIndia Staff
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British PM Boris Johnson cancels India visit for Republic Day

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who was to attend the Republic Day celebration has now called off the visit. This comes after more transmissible variant of the Chinese coronavirus was found in UK patients.

Johnson was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. He said that he hopes to visit India in later part of the year ahead of UK’s G7 summit which PM Modi is due to attend.

The United Kingdom is currently under nationwide lockdown due to increased number of cases as well as mutated coronavirus strain.

As per Reuters, Johnson has cancelled his visit citing the need to oversee pandemic response at home as the reason. British PM Johnson spoke to PM Modi and conveyed his regret at his inability to attend the Republic Day celebrations in India on 26th January.

UK under strict lockdown

The UK is currently under strict lockdown to curb the coronavirus cases. All schools and colleges will remain shut starting today. All are advised to stay at home. The lockdown is expected to last at least till mid-February. By mid-February UK expects to vaccinate the top four priority groups like frontline workers, people over 70 years of age and other vulnerable people.

Similarly, Scotland and Wales too have imposed lockdowns where schools and colleges are expected to remain shut till 18th January at least.

Innocence exploited? ‘Farmers’ and Congress use a child to peddle their propaganda yet again

OpIndia Staff
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Innocence exploited? ‘Farmers’ and Congress use a child to peddle their propaganda yet again

The handful of agitating ‘farmers’, who have been demonstrating on the outskirts of Delhi for more than a month, have been steadfast in using all tricks in the Left manual to mount pressure on the Modi government to accede to their demands. Even if it has taken them to use pliable young minds as props to give shape to their nefarious agenda, they have been unhesitating. Earlier, we saw scores of children holding posters and banners, at the protest site, in solidarity with the protesters and demanding the government to repeal the farm bills. 

Now, yet another video has surfaced on social media where a young child is seen giving a ‘motivational speech’ at the venue. The Congress party, which has been vociferously supporting the agitating farmer’s and peddling lies and misinformation against the new agricultural laws to berate Modi government, shared the video on Facebook on Sunday.

Gujarat youth Congress shares the video of a child speaking at the farmers protest

Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who has also been backing the ‘farmers’ agitation took to Twitter Today to share the video. Sirsa opined that the little girl would act as a motivation for people to join the protest.

Farmers using children to garner sympathy

In the video, the little girl recites powerful poetry to motivate farmers, while waging a war against the ‘three black laws’ and the ‘bikau media’. Though the confidence shown by child, who does not look a year older than 7 or 8, is definitely appreciable, no rational mind would believe that her diction and style of enunciation is her own. The small girl, who obviously must not be knowing the meaning of ‘bikau media’ or having any knowledge or understanding of the new Farm Laws, has been tutored to speak against the Centre to pressurize them into repealing them.

By roping in children, these protestors try to capitalise on their innocence and simplicity for drawing attention and garnering sympathy. Though this is becoming a very common practice lately, it’s sad to see how the anti-Modi detractors see no wrong in using gullible and impressionable children to peddle their propaganda.

Children being used as props for anti-govt protests are becoming common

Earlier, children of the actor-singer Gippy Grewal are seen exhorting people to extend their support to farmers and join the protests in solidarity with them. 

Even during the anti-CAA protests, young and pliable children were used as props by the protesters to garner sympathy from the masses and pressurise the government into repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act. People have not forgotten how a 4-month-old infant, Mohammad Jahan, was taken to protest site at Shaheen Bagh almost every day to solicit support for the anti-CAA protests.

Moreover, Congress scion Priyanka Gandhi was also been seen in a video egging on children to raise abusive slogans against PM Modi.

Vietnam to buy 70,000 tonnes of rice from India after decades. Here is why

OpIndia Staff
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Vietnam to buy 70,000 tonnes of rice from India after decades. Here is why

In a major development, Vietnam has begun purchasing rice grains from India for the first time in several decades, reported Reuters. This is despite the fact that the Southeast Asian country is the third-largest exporter of rice in the world.

As per reports, Vietnam has been forced to import rice from India, after local prices reached their peak in nine years. The problem is further accentuated due to limited domestic supply and continued purchase of rice grains by Philipines from Vietnam. As such, export prices reached a 9-year high, forcing the country to look for cheaper imports.

High export prices for rice in Vietnam has raised concerns of sub-Saharan nations, which import rice to meet the growing demands of its population growth. To add to the problem, the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted supply chains, a rise in unemployment, leading to an increase in chronic and acute hunger. In order to ensure food security, Vietnam had earlier announced that it would stockpile 270,000 tonnes of rice. It must also be mentioned that the paddy output of the country fell (1.86%) to 42.69 million tonnes in 2020.

Vietnam turns to India for rice exports

Amidst the crisis, Vietnam has ordered shipments of 70,000 tonnes of 100% broken rice from India for the month of January and February. Industry officials informed that the shipments would be provided on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at $310 per tonne. Comparatively, Vietnam’s 5% broken rice would cost around $500-$505 per tonne.

BV Krishna Rao, Rice Exporters Association President, said, “For the first time we are exporting to Vietnam. Indian prices are very attractive. The huge price difference is making exports possible.”Nitin Gupta, the vice president of Olam India’s rice business, stated that demand from Asian and African countries are contributing to rise in export prices but hoped to stay competitive due to available stocks.

Last year, India exported a whopping 14 million tonnes of rice. And from December 2020, China also began importing rice from India after decades. As such, it is believed that if such trends continue, countries which traditionally import rice from Thailand and Vietnam might turn towards the world’s largest exporter of rice, India.

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