China, the biggest importer of beef and the first (and largest) exporter of Coronavirus, has now sounded alarm bells after finding COVID virus samples on packaged beef that it had imported from Brazil and Saudi Arabian Shrimp. Additionally, Chinese authorities also found the presence of Coronavirus samples on packaged Argentinian beef. While China is the world’s top beef buyer, Brazil and Argentina are its largest suppliers.
The first such instance has been reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where incidentally, the Coronavirus originated. Reuters reported that the first such virus sample was detected on Friday on a batch of packaged Brazilian Beef.
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has said in a statement on its website that it had found three positive samples on the outer packaging of frozen, boneless beef from Brazil. The packaged beef had entered China at Qingdao port on 7th August and it reached Wuhan on 17th August. Until recently, it was in cold storage.
Soon after Coronavirus samples were detected on the beef, China proceeded to collect more than 200 environmental samples. It also tested 100 staff members working at these locations. It is also being reported that more than 7,500 people who may have had contact with the contaminated products and other related personnel have tested negative for the virus that causes COVID-19.
As for the Saudi Arabian Shrimp, The Lanzhou Municipal Health Commission said it a statement that it had found one positive sample of Covid-19 on the inner packaging of imported frozen shrimp from Saudi Arabia. The shrimp had passed through customers in the coastal city of Tianjin. Reportedly, the contaminated product had entered China on 21st October and reached Lanzhou on the 8th of November. The cold storage facility where the Shrimp was kept has now been temporarily closed.
Earlier, frozen German pork had prompted a new case of Coronavirus in China.
Interestingly, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there is “no evidence” to suggest food is associated with spreading the virus, while the World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s not necessary to disinfect food packaging.
In a horrific incident, two brothers in Assam had attempted to sacrifice their five children to get hidden treasure. Jamiul Hussain, his brother Sariful Hussain and one Ayesha Begum had prepared to kill the five children at 12 midnight on Saturday, but alert people in the area rescued the children at the last moment, and also caught the culprits.
The incident happened in Bambari in Dimou Mukh area in Sivsagar district in Assam, where one occultist and one woman who had claimed to be possessed by Goddess Kali had advised Jamiul and Sariful to sacrifice their children to find hidden gold and other treasure buried in the ground, and also to remove the problems faced by the family. Accordingly, five sons of Jamiul and Sariful were readied to be sacrificed by their own fathers.
The children were tied to a mango tree in the backyard of Jamiul’s house, and they were to be sacrificed on the midnight during Kali puja. But movements of the brothers in the past few days had created suspicion among the locals, and they were monitoring their activities. On Saturday midnight, they observed that the children were tied to the mango tree, and they were crying. Seeing this, they immediately informed the police. The locals also caught their fathers and later handed over them to the police, along with the woman who was an associate in the attempted crime.
The police rescued the children with the help of locals and brought them to the police station. Police also arrested Jamiul Hussain, Sariful Hussain and Ayesha Begum. Police officials have said that they are interrogating the accused, and an FIR will be lodged soon. They added that although locals have accused that it was an attempted human sacrifice, they are yet to probe the incident on that angle. Police found the children tied to the tree, but didn’t find any other material on the spot.
According to locals, when they questioned the fathers about the incident, they confessed that the children were to be sacrificed, but they were not going to do it themselves. They said that someone else was coming to do the same. It is also has been learned that the five children were kept locked in a room for the last several days, in preparation of their sacrifice. Jamiul has also named one occultist from nearby Moran, who had advised them to sacrifice their children.
This week, there was a genocide. What? Where? Exactly. You probably don’t know because nobody cared. Thousands of Armenian Christians have been killed. Thousands more are fleeing their homes right now. They were given 5-6 days to leave their villages behind. By December 1st, several thousand more Armenians will have to leave their homes. Muslim majority Azerbaijan will take over their land, Armenia.
Why doesn’t the world care? Why didn’t this humanitarian tragedy come alive on our television screens, our internet portals and newspaper pages?
First, we need some history. Here is a map of the troubled South Caucasus region, which is the part between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
Map of the troubled South Caucasus region
Trapped between Turkey and Azerbaijan is the tiny country of Armenia. The Azeris are ethnic Turks and have the same religion and culture as Turkey. For a long time, the mostly Christian Armenians were colonized by the Ottoman Empire. The Soviets took over the land in the 1920s and Armenia was cut up between three Soviet Republics : Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. As it often happens with empires, lines are drawn with little regard for subject peoples. When the Soviet empire collapsed in the 1990s, both Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent.
But a portion of land, populated by ethnic Armenians, remained part of Azerbaijan. This region is known as Ngorno-Karabakh. Tensions erupted and this area declared independence in the 1990s, supported by Armenia. The stalemate has been around for nearly three decades. Until Azerbaijan (with Turkish support) unilaterally broke the ceasefire a few weeks ago. The ethnic Armenians were quickly defeated. And now thousands of them have less than a week to leave their homes behind and flee.
This has all the makings of a genocide. An ethnic conflict with a religious divide. The Muslim majority Turks on one side and the Christian majority Armenians on the other. Two much larger and more powerful countries coming together to crush a tiny neighbor. Thousands of people killed. Thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes.
By the way, there is chilling history here. During the First World War, the Turks carried out a holocaust of 3 million Armenian civilians.
Then, why isn’t the world noticing? Where are the angels of liberalism and human rights? Can’t they find a single human rights violation anywhere? Among all those thousands of people fleeing their homes, can they not find a single human interest story? Nobody suffering there who might be too old, too young or pregnant? No bright young kid whose dreams have been shattered by the conflict?
Unusual, is it not? In other parts of the world, the liberals come out to protect the human rights of even stone pelters and terrorists. They are always the first to expose any excess by armed forces. They go to great lengths to document the suffering of innocent civilians. But not in this case.
Because the genocide in Ngorno-Karabakh is missing the most crucial element that drives liberal outrage.
Money.
It’s simple. There is no money for any liberal or human rights activist to talk about what the Turks are doing in Armenia. The “activists” go where the Pulitzer prizes are. They go where they can get cash prizes and about which they can address international conferences. The “award-winning” journalism follows the awards.
Is there anyone who will pay a human rights activist to care about Armenia? So, as far as the good people of global liberalism are concerned, it might as well not exist. Nothing to see there.
Have you ever wondered why the “worst” human rights violations in the world today appear to be happening in countries like India, France or the USA? Isn’t that what the newspapers, the television channels and the internet portals report on?
We always hear about the big danger of XYZphobia in Europe and the USA. As for India, they accuse the Modi government of two new genocides a day.
What drives this? Money.
These are democratic countries. “Dissent” is a very lucrative profession here. Become a dissenter and you will get an international award. Who wants to talk about what is happening in Saudi Arabia or to Hindus in Pakistan? There is no money in it. That is why there is more outrage about rising XYZphobia in France than concentration camps being built in China.
Liberals make money from our sense of guilt. You tell Indian people about an injustice happening in their country. They will pay you to keep talking. Bingo! That is why their mouths are always open about injustices happening in India.
The revenue model of liberal outrage doesn’t work in Pakistan or China. And that’s why liberals don’t talk about crimes in Pakistan or China. Liberal outrage has nothing to do with justice. It has to do with what pays.
The Armenians are people too. Their suffering was more real than those at the celebrity pity party at Shaheen Bagh. But there was nobody to hire human rights lobbyists for Armenia. That is why Shaheen Bagh and its imaginary grievances went on the front pages of global newspapers. Thousands of ethnic Armenians leaving their homes behind? Their lives have become footnotes in global media.
A final bit of irony. The Azeris won this war with weapons purchased from Israel. You know how much the left hates Israel. In liberal circles, the only thing bigger than the anti-India industry is the anti-Israel industry. If there was a time to point a finger at Israel, this was it.
But the anti-Israel industry let this one go. They didn’t care. Because this time, there was no money in it. The anti-Israel industry will be back. When Israel goes to defend itself from Hamas, the anti-Israel industry will be back to highlight the importance of human rights for terrorists. There is money in that.
All human suffering is sad. We tend to assume that those who highlight human suffering must be inherently selfless people. But like everyone else in the world, the liberal outrage lobby does not work for free. It is only common sense. So next time you see a human rights activist tugging at your heart, be sure to ask : who paid for this outrage?
A video has emerged on social media platforms showing a suspected Azerbaijani soldier or Syrian mercenary screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greater) while standing on the top of a chapel in Karabakh in Armenia. It is believed that the video was filmed recently. Others were heard repeating Allahu Akbar after him.
Just a day before the said video was released, photos of a desecrated church in Armenia had appeared online. The Church was located in the strategic city of Shushi in the Karabakh region. Azerbaijan’s leadership had promised that they would protect the Armenian people of Karabakh. They also stated that they would preserve the culture and heritage of the community. However, the recent desecration of churches has made it clear that the Baku administration is not interested in protecting these sites.
It has barely been a few days and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi has already been vandalized by Azerbaijani occupiers (1).
Reminder that the original vandalism were the two Turkish precision drone strikes that critically damaged the cathedral during the war (2, 3, 4). pic.twitter.com/2oCST0vuei
As per the reports, a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh’s city of Shusha was shelled by the Azerbaijani forces. AFP reported severe damage to the church. Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church, had a gaping hole in the roof created due to shelling in October.
Another Church in Baku was demolished by Azerbaijani forces, and it was converted in to a restaurant.
Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said, “Enemy Azerbaijan hit the symbol of Shushi — the Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots.” AFP quoted a resident Simeon who lives near the church saying, “There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church.?”
The Bihar elections are proving to be the greatest upset for Congress, led by the Gandhi family. The grand-old-party, as it likes to call itself, has been reduced to an entity that is often called a vote-cutter party by several regional allies that fail to win elections because Congress dents their chances. The same seems to have happened in Bihar where ally RJD won 110 seats, losing the elections to NDA which one with 125 seats despite 15 years of anti-incumbency. It is pertinent to note here that out of the 70 seats contested by Congress, they managed to win only 19 of them.
News has now surfaced that 23 senior Congress leaders have written a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding that an immediate CWC meeting be called to discuss the poll debacle in Bihar. They have reportedly also demanded organisational elections for the party president’s post be held at the earliest in the view of the electoral drubbing.
According to a Rediff report by R Rajagopalan, five CWC members confirmed to this correspondent that such a letter has indeed been sent this week. The letter reportedly points to the fact that at the peak of Bihar campaigning and even on result day, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were holidaying in Shimla instead of being with the party and leading the way.
In the letter, certain concerns were raised that the Congress leaders feel led to the debacle in Bihar. With the pandemic and Ahmed Patel, who is undergoing treatment for coronavirus, the AICC headquarters at 24, Akbar Road in New Delhi, wears a deserted look with no visible political activity.
Further, the letter seems to point towards a lack of faith in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Though the CWC had initiated the poll process, insiders feel it will once again be a unanimous/unopposed poll process. Further, their absence while on Shimla vacation has not sat well with the Congress leaders.
Rediff quotes a senior leader as saying, “Can such a casual approach happen in any other party which has a national presence?”
The report quotes another leader saying, “The Congress is run by the spokespersons on television debates only, said one leader commenting on the present political vacuum in the party”.
According to the report, like the last time, Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to have taken the lead in preparing and despatching letter this time too. “We young leaders have no way out but to be in the Congress for its ideology,” the report quotes former Union minister of state Jitin Prasad.
Letter after Bihar debacle not the first time a dissenting letter was written to Sonia Gandhi by Congress leaders
This is not the first time that dissenting leaders have written to Sonia Gandhi to complain about Rahul Gandhi. A similar letter was also written in August.
A year after its defeat in the 2019 General elections and its steady decline, 23 senior Congress leaders, including 5 former Chief Ministers, many Congress Working Committee members, incumbent MPs, and several former Union Ministers, wrote a letter to interim Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, calling for a complete overhaul of the party, from top to bottom.
On the expected lines, the rebellious letter sparked a furore within the Congress party, with the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi allegedly accusing the signatories of the letter of colluding with the BJP, an allegation that was later denied. Kapil Sibal, one of the signatories of the letter, reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s purported allegations back then, tweeting that he had never expected of being accused of conniving with the BJP. However, shortly thereafter he withdrew the tweet, claiming Rahul Gandhi had personally clarified with him.
The full text of the August letter can be read here.
It has been months since the Delhi anti-Hindu riots wreaked havoc in the national capital. A coordinated and well-planned saga of violence that was unleashed by radical Islamists like Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others in cohorts with Leftists like ‘activists’ from Pinjda Tod and politicians like the several Congress leaders, student leaders, AAP leaders etc who have been arrested for the carnage. Even after the loss of life and property amidst chants of Allahu Akbar, propaganda websites like The Wire are still defending and trying to paint victim, those who are today accused of unleashing the violence after careful planning.
AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain from Nehru Vihar is among the main accused of planning and executing the Delhi Riots. He is also charged with killing Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and sweet-shop worker Dilbar Negi, who hands and legs were chopped off before being burnt alive. Delhi Police found acid packets, bricks, and Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs), among other make-shift weapons that his followers used to attack Hindu crowds.
However, for The Wire, Tahir Hussain is an ‘activist’ who is at the mercy of the judiciary.
Sneaky propaganda by The Wire
Can someone imagine portraying alleged Delhi Riots accused like Tahir Hussain, Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid as heroes and activists? The Wire did it and in a very sneaky way. In a report published on 13th November 2020 titled “A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy”, the portal portrayed every Islamist booked for Delhi riots as a hero.
Article by The Wire, glorifying Tahir Hussain
The list contains names of so-called activists who have connections with armed Naxals, terrorist organizations and regularly indulge in anti-India activities. However, using Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s bail as the background, The Wire has tried to portray these criminals as “victims of the system”. According to them, the “activists” are spending countless nights in jail because of the lack of “privilege” of prioritized hearing like Goswami has.
The curious love-affair of The Wire and Tahir Hussain
The Wire poured all the love and affection for the arrested Islamist Tahir Hussain and portrayed him as a hero. According to the portal, Tahir’s advocate described him as someone who got caught in a political cross-fire. “The allegations levelled against him were nothing but a political blame game to malign his image,” the lawyer had argued in the court.
Tahir was arrested for his involvement in the anti-CAA protests and riots. Later, Enforcement Directorate (ED) charged him of money laundering and funding anti-CAA protests. FIRs were registered against him by the Crime Branch and Dayalpur Police Station under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The Wire used the fabricated story of the Wall Street Journal, where they quoted Ankit Sharma’s brother being killed by Hindu rioters. The case against Tahir Hussain in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma was registered based on Sharma’s mother’s complaint. However, in the fabricated story, WSJ quoted Sharma’s brother Ankur saying, “Mr Sharma was returning home when a group of rioters started throwing stones and charged into the street near where his house is located. They came armed with stones, rods, knives, and even swords; they shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Glory to Lord Ram]; some even wore helmets.
Article by The Wire, glorifying Tahir Hussain
Ankur categorically denied giving an interview to the Wall Street Journal while speaking to OpIndia back then. However, the report still exists with the fabricated quote and is often used by the propaganda machines like The Wire did in the 13th November report. Ankit Sharma’s dead body was found in a ditch. The images of people pulling him out of the ditch continue to haunt every Hindu. His hand-tied to the rope has become a symbol of systematic atrocities against the Hindu community in India.
Ankit Sharma’s hand while his body was being pulled of the ditch
Hussain planned the whole thing like a ‘pro’. He gave interviews to the news agencies before his arrest, stating he was a riot victim and not an accused. He even uploaded videos in which he was seen standing on his roof-top, claiming his community and house were being attacked. However, his videos were visibly edited, possibly using a green screen to add him to his property’s roof-top. In fact, in the charge sheet, he admits that in his disclosure statement that he made calls to the PCR to later claim that he was a victim and not the person involved in the riots. He gives an excruciating account of how he planned the violence amidst chants of Allahu Akbar and Nara-e-Taqbeer.
During the investigation, Delhi Police found evidence of his involvement in planning and executing Delhi riots. The Delhi court had denied his bail application while making significant statements against him. The court had confirmed that there was enough material on record to presume that Hussain was present at the spot of crime and was exhorting the rioters of a particular community. The court said, “He did not use his hands and fists, but rioters as “human weapons”, who on his instigation could have killed anybody.” Detailed observations of the court can be read here. Details of the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Hussain can be read here.
The buck does not stop here
Hussain is not the only Islamist glorified by The Wire as an activist. The portal has named the infamous student leader and long-time Islamist Umar Khalid as one of the ‘activists’ lodged in jail. The police arrested Khalid on 13th September. He is one of the main accused of the Delhi riots. As per the reports, Khalid had worked with other so-called activists and organizations to organize protests across Delhi and other parts of the country. He worked extensively with the likes of Yogendra Yadav and Sharjeel Imam to ensure there is enough rage against the union government for CAA and NRC. More details about his involvement can be read here.
Right before the riots erupted, Umar Khalid had also delivered a speech where he said that on the day Donald Trump arrives in India, Muslims need to send a message to the ruling dispensation. Like clockwork, the riots broke out right on the day that Donald Trump was in India.
Another Islamist is Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested on 28th January from Bihar. Imam made inflammatory speeches against India. He allegedly talked about cutting North-East states from India as a part of protest. Imam was wanted in Delhi, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. He was present in several meetings with Khalid while planning anti-CAA protests.
Other Islamists named in the report are Meeran Haidar, Shifa Ur Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Siddique Kappan, Aasif Sultan, Ishrat Jahan, and several others. All these so-called activists and journalists are involved in causing distress in the country and often seen associating with anti-India organizations.
On Diwali, The Wire glorifies an Islamist like Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson
The Wire has habitually turned Islamists, terrorists and Naxals into heroes and it comes as no surprise that list published by the portal does exactly that yet again.
As the whole nation was gearing up to celebrate the most important festivals of Hindus, The Wire decided to rub salt on the wounds of Hindus that were inflicted during the Delhi Riots. They turned likes of Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson, to heroes.
It is pertinent to note that Hussain had made some troubling revelations in his disclosure statement.
Tahir Hussain confesses in the Disclosure Statement that per this conspiracy that he had hatched, he chose his own house as a launchpad for the riots since it was a high-rise in the area. Tahir Hussain says that he also chose his own house as a launchpad because, in his house, construction was already being done and hence, him collecting stones and bricks for the riots would not raise suspicion.
He confesses that he and his co-conspirators had started collecting stones, bricks and other ammunition, well in advance so that they could teach those who were in support of the CAA a lesson when the time was right. To that end, 2-3 days before the riots broke out, he had also got his licensed pistol released from the police station. While gearing up for the riots and collecting ammunition to teach Hindus a lesson, Tahir Hussain says that he had instructed his supporters to be “ready for anything and in every manner” and also ensure that all the CCTV cameras, private and government installed, in the area, were broken so the evidence of the riots could not be captured. It is to be kept in mind that all of this was done well before the anti-Hindu riots broke out in Delhi.
Tahir Hussain admits that he, along with his brother Shah Alam, Arshad, Abid, Shahid, Irshad and several others were present at his residence. His office space is also in the same building from where the riots were launched. Tahir Hussain then discloses that on the 24th afternoon, his mobs started chanting ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Maaro Maaro Kaafiro Ko Maaro’.
On the 14th of November, when Hindus around the world were celebrating Diwali, the most auspicious festival for most Hindus that marks the homecoming of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after 14 years of Vanvas, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was busy secularising the festival. On the evening of 14th November, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to wish people ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’, using the image of an anchor of MirrorNow, Sahar Zaman.
Shashi Tharoor used an image of Sahar Zaman on MirrorNow, with the ticker saying ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak ho’. Along with the image, Shashi Tharoor wrote, “The brilliant @saharzaman has come up with an Urdu greeting for #Diwali — “Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak!” I love it. Spread the light!”
Essentially, Tharoor attributed the absurd Urdu greeting for Diwali to Zaman, however, he was more than happy with the secularisation.
Soon after Shashi Tharoor posted this tweet, many realised that the image being used by Shashi Tharoor was morphed.
Only a few hours before Shashi Tharoor got rather excited about ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’, Sahar Zaman had herself tweeted a screen grab of herself from when she was on-air Mirror Now.
Original image tweeted by Sahar Zaman
In the image tweeted by Zaman, the timestamp of the screen says that the screengrab was taken from Mirror Now at 5:21 PM. The ticker in that picture said “Donald Trump maintains ‘no lockdown’ stand in US”.
However, it was the very same image that was used by Shashi Tharoor with the ticker, that was original about Donald Trump, morphed to say “Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak”.
If one looks closely, the timestamp on the image used by Shashi Tharoor also says 5:21 PM.
Image tweeted by Shashi Tharoor
Responding to Tharoor, the anchor had rather merrily accepted the greeting and said that she rather likes the sound of ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’.
Nonetheless, as soon as Tharoor tweeted, several people pointed out to him that the image was morphed and that the anchor herself had tweeted the original image that had nothing to do with the Urduisatioin of the Diwali greeting.
So @ShashiTharoor photoshopped a tweet of Muslim anchor of Mirror Now to so secularism. Such a fraud these Congressi are. They leave no chance to hurt hindu Sentiments. Real ?? Fake ?? pic.twitter.com/E6ppLRILhc
It is here when the theatre of absurd unfolded. While people were calling out Shashi Tharoor for sharing a morphed image, the tweet by Sahar Zaman where she had tweeted the original image with the ticker about Donald Trump and his Covid measures, was deleted.
While many thought that it was at the behest of Shashi Tharoor, one cannot be sure if she deleted the original image that she had tweeted at the behest of Tharoor or on her own accord.
Thereafter, Zaman proceeded to defend Shashi Tharoor and say that it was not him that had morphed the image and shared it on Twitter, but it was her who had decided to use the image to wish her family and friends on “Jashn-e-Chiraagh”.
CLARIFICATION: All u guys pls relax. Request to pls understand that this is exactly how I have used my image to wish all my friends & acquaintances. It’s an image created by me , and not photoshopped by anyone else. #HappyDiwali . Enjoy the festival of lights, Jashn-e-Chiraagh. pic.twitter.com/vISGPhA2Rm
“All u guys pls relax. Request to pls understand that this is exactly how I have used my image to wish all my friends & acquaintances. It’s an image created by me, and not photoshopped by anyone else. #HappyDiwali. Enjoy the festival of lights, Jashn-e-Chiraagh”, she tweeted to an individual who was questioning Tharoor for using a photoshopped image.
Turns out, while Netizens were questioning Shashi Tharoor was morphing the image of an anchor, the anchor herself turned up to defend Tharoor by claiming that she was the one who had created the image to wish her friends and acquaintances. Further, she deleted the real image that she had tweeted earlier so those who perhaps missed the Twitter outrage since they were celebrating Diwali do not stumble upon it and start the outrage anew.
In a shocking incident on Saturday, a light plane carrying two individuals crashed at a sporting field in Cromer Park in Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The plane crash occurred 30 km away from Sydney Olympic Park where the Indian cricket team have been stationed.
It must be mentioned that Indian players have been placed under quarantine at the hotel, ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
As per reports, local cricketers and football players were playing matches at the sporting facility when they saw a plane steer past them. While the plane was about to hit a sporting shed, the players ran in all directions to avoid any mishap.
Senior VP of Cromer Cricket Club, Greg Rollins, informed, “I yelled out to the guys in the shed, I just said run. They started running.” An eyewitness, Scott Scott Manning emphasised that there was a situation of panic when the plane came extremely close. He said, “I ran screaming and he [the pilot] somehow just got over the top of that shed. That would have taken out, I’m sure, 12 people.”
Pilot and Passenger undergoing treatment at the hospital
During the incident, the two occupants of the plane escaped narrowly despite sustaining injuries. It is now believed that the plane belonged to a nearby flying school.
The pilot had reportedly lost control of the plane after its engine stopped working mid-air. While the pilot, in his 30s, was being treated for spinal injuries at the Northern Beaches Hospital, the passenger is suspected to have broken bones and a compound fracture. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Westmead hospital.
Left-propagandist ‘news’ portal, NDTV, is up to its usual tricks again and is indirectly blaming Diwali for the bad air quality in Delhi.
On Saturday, NDTV reproduced a report published by the Press Trust of India (PTI), wherein it cited weather experts and government agencies to claim that the ‘very poor’ air quality of the National Capital might worsen by night and fall to ‘severe zone’. ‘Experts’ blamed it on emissions of fireworks and the presence of calm winds.
The headline read, “Diwali Weather: Delhi’s Air Quality Likely To Become “Severe” By Tonight.” Quite clearly, NDTV insinuated in its headline that Diwali is responsible for the current inhabitable condition in Delhi. But, the reality is starkly different from what the propagandists have been trying to promulgate.
Screengrab of the NDTV report
The situation in Delhi had begun to worsen since September
In an article dated October 2, the Times of India pointed out that the National Capital had witnessed fewer ‘satisfactory’ air quality days in September this year as compared to the same month in the last two years. While an AQI (Air Quality Index) of less than 50 is considered as ‘good’, the average AQI for September this year stood at 118.
Delhi observed only 8 satisfactory’ air quality days in September 2020 as compared to 19 and 13 in September 2019 (AQI 98) and September 2018 (AQI 112) respectively. It must be mentioned that an AQI rating between 51 and 100 is deemed satisfactory.
“As there was a low-pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal, the air didn’t flow from south to north. The stagnation in the air increased the concentration of pollutants in the air and hence, AQI level went up this year in September,” explained former head of CPCB, Dipankar Saha. At the same time, Executive Director of CSE emphasised that the decline in air quality in September this year was due to lack of adequate rainfall. The pollution level is rising due to unlocking phases. Though public vehicles are limited, locals are using private vehicles. Waste burning has also been observed.”
Experts had made it clear as early as September that multiple environmental factors such as rainfall and man-made factors such as stubble burning and vehicular movement had been at the epicentre of moderate AQI index, even with no Diwali in sight.
Screengrab of the Times of India report
Air Quality severe since 8 days before Diwali
In another article dated November 9, the Times of India pointed out that the air quality in Delhi had been severe consecutively since November 6. The report pointed out how the AQI had surpassed 416 and likely to stay that away. It becomes clear that even 8 days prior to Diwali, the air quality was severe in the National Capital.
“The average wind speed on Sunday was 3kmph and it dropped to nil a few times during the day. The wind direction was northwesterly, allowing pollutants from Punjab and Haryana to accumulate in Delhi,” stated India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.
Screengrab of the Times of India report
It is pertinent to remember that the sale of firecrackers had been banned in Delhi, prior to Diwali. While environmental factors and failure of the governments to prevent stubble burning had contributed to the inhabitable conditions in the National Capital, the left-liberal lobby had been falsely blaming Diwali for the rise in pollution.
There are some things in life that are so beautiful and yet, within a particular context, they can appear utterly tragic and even obscene. We can perhaps think of a million things that fall under that category but what we are referring to here is the celebration of Diwali in Dubai with a majestic display of fireworks. The Consulate General of India shared a video of a fireworks display at the city in UAE.
While Dubai is celebrating Diwali with fireworks, the same is banned in much of India on the occasion of Diwali. Numerous state governments have banned firecrackers across the country and the National Green Tribunal has stepped in to ban firecrackers in numerous cities and towns nationwide. The cracker ban has endangered the livelihoods of hundreds and thousands of people associated with the cracker industry.
Meanwhile, Police officials across the country are pretending to be heroes while they project cracker sellers as some sort of dreaded criminals. They are even posting pictures on social media broadcasting their stellar achievement of ruining someone’s Diwali. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, E Palaniswami, was requesting state governments to lift the ban to protect the livelihoods of people in his state but then, the NGT moved swiftly to put the final nail in the coffin.
Madhya Pradesh and Assam have bucked the trend apart from some other states. Celebrations were already expected to be muted this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic but state governments across the country have ensured that they remain that way. It is indeed tragic that an Islamic country organised fireworks for Diwali while Hindus are treated as criminals for the same in India.
