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Chinese hackers stole over 20 million dollars of the US government’s Covid relief benefits, says report

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Chinese hackers stole over 20 million dollars of the US government’s Covid relief benefits, says report

China-based hackers stole at least USD 20 million in US Covid relief benefits, including unemployment insurance funds and Small Business Administration loans, NBC news reported citing the country’s Secret Service.

Hackers linked to the Chinese government are from a Chengdu-based group known as APT41. The report said other federal investigations of pandemic fraud also seem to point back to foreign state-affiliated hackers. “It would be crazy to think this group didn’t target all 50 states,” Roy Dotson, national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator for the Secret Service, told NBC.

The US Secret Service declined to confirm the scope of other investigations. 

They said there are over 1,000 ongoing investigations involving transnational and domestic criminal actors defrauding public benefits programs, and APT41 is “a notable player,” according to NBC news. In recent months, the US has witnessed a rise in espionage cases emanating from China. 

Last month, in three separate cases, the US government charged 13 individuals, including members of China’s security and intelligence apparatus and their agents, for alleged efforts to unlawfully exert influence in the United States for the benefit of their government.

“As these cases demonstrate, the government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights. They did not succeed,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, as quoted in the Justice Department press statement. 

“The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the Rule of Law upon which our democracy is based. We will continue to fiercely protect the rights guaranteed to everyone in our country. And we will defend the integrity of our institutions,” Garland added. 

Seven Chinese nationals were charged – two of whom were arrested on October 20 in New York – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States.
The defendants are accused of conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to Beijing as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Gujaratis get hate and abuse from ‘liberal voices’ as Gujarat gives a historic majority to BJP in the assembly elections

OpIndia Staff
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Gujaratis get hate and abuse from ‘liberal voices’ as Gujarat gives a historic majority to BJP in the assembly elections

BJP is on track for a historic victory in the Gujarat elections, crossing the 150 mark in the 182-member Assembly in Gujarat. As the trends confirm BJP’s inevitable triumph, the alleged ‘liberal voices’ descended on the microblogging site Twitter to pour vitriol on Gujaratis for exercising their democratic right to vote.

Mona Ambegaonkar, a Congress apologist and certified Modi hater, who also happens to be an actress, couldn’t accept that the BJP has been democratically elected to establish a government in the state yet again. While trying to insult the intelligence of the voters, Mona asserted that the Gujaratis do not respect women which is why they opted to bring BJP back to power in the state. “Gujaratis voted for Rapist Supporters and enablers. Don’t they have daughters?” Tweeted the actress.

With the BJP’s inevitable march to power in Gujarat, ombudsperson of the ultra-leftist news portal The Wire, headed by US citizen Siddharth Varadarajan, Pamela Philipose went on a deranged rant against Gujaratis. The ‘journalist’ chastised Gujaratis for voting for the BJP in a series of Tweets.

“Dear Gujarat, rapists and murderers may be garlanded, anaemia levels may remain high, the poorest may be swept away in vanity beautification, but the BJP and its government is immutable,” tweeted Pamela Philipose.

Her frustration as the BJP eyed a huge victory in the state was so intense that she sent out numerous angry tweets directed at the people of Gujarat. “Dear Gujarat…Morbi bridge may collapse, floods may ruin towns, rivers may run toxic, land may get grabbed by mafia elements, but the BJP and is safe and well,” she wrote in another tweet.

The disgruntled ‘journalist’ further Tweeted, “Dear Gujarat…At least the BJP here will not have to launch Operation Lotus in order to come to power.”

In yet another tweet she cursed the Gujaratis for choosing BJP. “Dear Gujarat…you have proved yet again that electoral democracy does not have a chance against Money, Media and Muscle power,” tweeted The Wire employee.

To condemn Gujaratis for voting for the saffron party, Twitter user Amit Schandillia cherry-picked a few disasters that occurred in BJP-ruled states while disregarding many more that occur in non-BJP-ruled states.

In another tweet, he accused the BJP of exploiting the Morbi tragedy in order to acquire votes. “Morbi voted BJP because a BJP leader jumped into the river to save victims of a tragedy… …created by BJP. Makes perfect sense,” wrote the Twitter user in his subsequent Tweet.

Another Twitter user, @deepsealioness, who couldn’t endure the fact that the BJP was on its way to a landslide victory in the state, went on to declare that ‘Gujaratis are the worst Indians.’

Twitter user @Muttaqee was so depressed that the emerging patterns gave the BJP a comfortable lead to form a government in the state of Gujarat yet again that he went so far as to label Gujaratis as ‘Islamophobic.’

“Islamophobic Hate of Majority Hindu Gujratis and Genocidal Pogrom credentials of 2002 recalled by Tadipar continue to Propel BJP to power once again! AAP did the Job of Vote Katua to reduce opposition to rubble,” read the Tweet.

The aforementioned Twitter user was responding to another like-minded member of the anti-BJP brigade, Shameela, who also asserted that the hate for Muslims amongst Gujaratis has won BJP votes in Gujarat for the last 25 years. She went on to further spew hate on Home Minister and BJP senior leader Amit Shah saying that he encashed the 2002 Gujarat riots to garner votes.

While the regular anti-Modi, anti-BJP brigade continues to have a meltdown on Twitter, the BJP is set to get the biggest majority ever in the history of Gujarat.

The BJP, if it manages to win more than 149 seats in the state, will not only thrash its own record but also break the record of the highest number of seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections by the Madhav Singh Solanki government which had won 149 seats in 1985.

AAP on track to lose deposit in all 67 seats it contested in Himachal Pradesh

Anurag
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AAP on track to lose deposit in all 67 seats it contested in Himachal Pradesh

On December 8, counting for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat state assembly elections took place. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contested in both states and announced that it would form governments. However, the results are going completely against the party’s hopes. In Himachal, the party contested 67 seats and is currently on track to lose the deposit on almost all of them. A candidate must secure at least one-sixth or 16.7 per cent of the total valid votes cast in a constituency to save the deposit.

AAP Vote share as at 2 PM on December 8. Source: results.eci.gov.in/

AAP candidates are losing to NOTA at 24 seats. The party managed to secure above 1,000 votes at only 14 seats. On 52 seats, AAP could not secure even one per cent vote share, which speaks volumes about the party’s position in the state. So far, AAP has performed worst in Garget and Barsar, where it managed to get only 139 and 148 votes. As per ECI website, AAP has managed to secure only 1.1 per cent of votes in the state.

Source: results.eci.gov.in/

What does it mean by ‘losing deposit’?

As per the Representation of People Act, 1951, it is mandatory for every candidate contesting in an Assembly of Parliamentary election to deposit a certain amount as a security deposit with the Election Commission. In the case of Parliamentary elections (Lok Sabha Elections), the amount is Rs 25,000. In the Assembly election (Vidhan Sabha Elections), the amount is Rs 10,000.

The security deposit is made with the Election Commission and ensures only serious candidates file the nomination to contest the elections. As per the regulations, there are several steps the Election Commission takes to ensure free and fair elections at every stage in the country. The security deposit is one such step.

To ‘save deposit’, a candidate must get more than one-sixth of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency. If he or she fails to do so, the candidate will lose the deposit, and the Election Commission will not return the amount. For example, if there are 1,00,000 valid votes cast in a constituency, a candidate must secure 16,666 votes to save his or her deposit.

Gujarat results: ‘Liberals’ who rant and rave day in, day out about ‘democracy in danger’ observe radio silence as BJP charts a historic win

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat results: ‘Liberals’ who rant and rave day in, day out about ‘democracy in danger’ observe radio silence as BJP charts a historic win

As BJP charted a historical win in Gujarat, winning 22 seats and leading on 136, taking the total tally to 158, left-leaning ‘liberals’, who are reduced to either ‘YouTube journalists’ or Twitter busybodies, studiously chose to ignore weighing in on the epoch-making result and its consequences for the country’s politics.

While they keep ranting and raving about everything under the sun, pinning the blame of every good and bad thing at the feet of PM Modi and the BJP, they appeared subdued and low-spirited as the saffron party continued with its relentless political march in Gujarat, comfortably poised to break Madhavsinh Solanki’s record of leading Congress to the government with 149 seats in 1985.

A raft of ‘liberals’, who religiously keep chanting ‘democracy in danger’ and write tedious and lengthy obituaries of ‘creeping fascism in the country’, went cold turkey and gave a pass to celebrate the biggest festival of democracy—elections, as BJP stormed back to power in Gujarat.

Liberals observe radio silence as BJP storms back to power in Gujarat

Rohini Singh, a ‘journalist’ with the far-left propaganda website The Wire and popularly known as ‘2BHK’, chose to regale herself and her followers by ignoring the Gujarat results and focusing her energies on Himachal Pradesh results. While she credited Congress for the Himachal Pradesh election results, no such tweet came for the BJP, which scripted a momentous win with a thumping majority.

Source: Twitter

Like Rohini, her friend and ideological comrade, Sakshi Joshi, too decided to mask their heartache from BJP’s victory in Gujarat by shifting the conversation towards the Himachal Pradesh result.

Source: Twitter

Donation fraud accused and perennial doomsday predictor Rana Ayyub also decided to pay no heed to the election that poured in on Thursday morning. Ayyub, who weighed in on election results of countries halfway around the world, did not comment on BJP’s landslide victory in Gujarat, perhaps because it would once again raise questions on the fiction she wrote on Gujarat Riots 2002.

Source: Twitter

Abhinandan Sekhri, the co-founder of leftist rag Newslaundry, remained away from Twitter on a day when all the important election results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were to be announced.

liberals Gujarat
Source: Twitter

Vinod Kapri, another propagandist and Congress party sympathiser, perhaps decided to stay away from Twitter on the day BJP created history with a record mandate in Gujarat. His last tweet is from yesterday about a young man who died of a heart attack.

liberals Gujarat
Source: Twitter

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, a ‘journalist’ with the far-left propaganda outlet The Wire, too, appeared shell-shocked with the Gujarat assembly elections result, if her Twitter timeline is anything to go by. At the time of writing this report, Sherwani’s latest tweet was about a retweet of a propaganda article published on The Wire, casting aspersions on the electoral mandate given by Gujarat.

liberals Gujarat
Source: Twitter

Propagandist masquerading as a journalist, Ranvijay Singh, who dishes out opinions on everything under the sun and has a habit of taking a dig at the BJP government at the Centre, appeared to be in a state of absolute shock with the saffron party’s landslide victory in Gujarat that he chose to ignore the historic Vidhan Sabha election results in India’s western state. Instead, he busied himself tweeting about UP, Agra, and Mainpuri.

liberals Gujarat
Source: Twitter

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state assembly election results counting started early this morning and if trends are anything to go by, BJP is set to have a historical mandate in Gujarat as it is currently leading in over 156 seats and has already won 37 as per the official ECI website. In 1985, Congress’ Madhavsinh Solanki led the party to victory with 149 seats. Therefore, if BJP manages to rack up more than 149 seats, which is very likely, it will not only be a historic victory but will be an emphatic endorsement of the Gujarat development model and a scathing indictment of the ‘liberals’ who have been attacking the BJP and the PM Modi ever since they came to power at the Centre in 2014.

Gujarat Elections: Bhupendra Patel to take oath as next CM on December 12 after a landslide victory, PM Modi, Amit Shah to attend the ceremony

ANI
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Gujarat Elections: Bhupendra Patel to take oath as next CM on December 12 after a landslide victory, PM Modi, Amit Shah to attend the ceremony

The new chief minister of Gujarat will be sworn in on December 12 at 2 pm, state BJP chief CR Paatil said on Thursday as the party swept the Assembly polls with a record-breaking margin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take part in the oath-taking ceremony. Bhupendra Patel will take oath as chief minister of Gujarat for the second time. He was first elected as BJP legislative party leader on 12 September 2021.

“Gujarat CM will take oath at 2 pm on 12th December. PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take part in the oath ceremony,” CR Paatil said while addressing a joint press conference with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel after the trends suggested BJP’s majority in the state, empowering the party to form the government for the seventh time in the state.

“Bhupendra Patel will be the chief minister again,” he confirmed.

Patel said that the BJP humbly accepts the mandate of the people of Gujarat, while also reassuring the public of the party’s commitment towards public service.

“The results of Gujarat elections are quite clear. People have made up their minds to further continue with the journey of development in Gujarat. We humbly accept the mandate of the people. Every worker of BJP is committed to public service,” the Chief Minister said.

According to the latest trends by the Election Commission till 2 pm, the BJP has won 11 seats so far and is leading on 156 seats, which if solidifies, will be a historic victory for the party.

The BJP, if manages to win 156 seats in the state, will not only thrash its own record of winning the highest ever by the party in the 2002 Assembly elections with 127 seats but also break record of getting the highest number of seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections in 1985 by the Congress’ Madhav Singh Solanki government which had won 149 seats.

The exit polls had suggested that the BJP will come to power for the seventh time in the state with a thumping majority.

The counting of votes for the Gujarat Assembly elections began on Thursday at 8 am.

The counting in Gujarat began at 37 centres in 33 districts.

Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi said that 182 counting observers, 182 election officers and 494 assistant election officers are on duty for the counting process. There will be an additional 78 Assistant Election Officers for the counting of votes. In addition, 71 additional Assistant Election Officers have been assigned responsibility for the electronically transmitted postal ballot system in the previous polls

Assembly elections in Gujarat were held in two phases on December 1 and 5 respectively.

The approximate voter turnout in Gujarat by the end of the second phase of the Gujarat elections was recorded at 59.11 per cent.

During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 per cent. While polling for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh was held on November 12.

Meanwhile, the exit polls have indicated a clear win for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat.

BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi remaining in the Chief Minister’s post for the longest time before becoming the Prime Minister. Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling BJP in the last assembly elections in 2017. However, AAP may spoil the game for Congress by taking away a significant vote share in their favour. 

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

People have given a befitting reply to those who insulted Gujarat: state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi

ANI
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People have given a befitting reply to those who insulted Gujarat: state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi

As BJP inches closer to a record-breaking victory in Gujarat, state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Thursday said that the people have given a befitting reply to those who insulted the state.

The BJP, according to the latest trends by the Election Commission till 1.15 pm, won 5 seats while it is leading on 151 seats. Speaking to ANI on what would be a landslide victory, Sanghavi said, “The Opposition left no stone unturned in defaming the people of Gujarat. The people have given a certificate that the BJP and the people of Gujarat are the best duos in the world. The people have not left any stone unturned in giving a befitting reply. There is no place in Gujarat for those who want to break the country. The BJP and the people of Gujarat are making a new beginning today.”

“We’ll further aim to work for the progress of Gujarat,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate from the Jamnagar North seat, Rivaba Jadeja, who is leading from the constituency securing 61,065 votes with 56.43 per cent votes, said that Gujarat continues to be with the BJP.

“The manner in which BJP worked in Guj for the last 27 years and established the Gujarat model, people believed they wanted to take forward the development journey with only BJP. Gujarat was with BJP and will continue to be with it,” she said.

Rivaba thanked the people for voting for her and called her probable victory a victory of the party workers. “Those who accepted me happily as a candidate worked for me, reached out, and connected to people – I thank them all. It’s not just my victory but of all of us,” she said.

General Secretary, BJP Gujarat, Pradipsinh Vaghela said, “PM Modi’s politics of development has once again won in Gujarat. I thank the people of the state.”

The counting of votes for the Gujarat Assembly elections began on Thursday at 8 am. The counting in Gujarat began at 37 centres in 33 districts. Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi said that 182 counting observers, 182 election officers, and 494 assistant election officers are on duty for the counting process. There will be an additional 78 Assistant Election Officers for the counting of votes. In addition, 71 additional Assistant Election Officers have been assigned responsibility for the electronically transmitted postal ballot system in the previous polls.

Assembly elections in Gujarat were held in two phases on December 1 and 5 respectively. The approximate voter turnout in Gujarat by the end of the second phase of the Gujarat elections was recorded at 59.11 per cent. During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 per cent. While polling for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh was held on November 12.

Meanwhile, the exit polls have indicated a clear win for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi remaining in the Chief Minister’s post for the longest time before becoming the Prime Minister. Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling BJP in the last assembly elections in 2017. However, AAP may spoil the game for Congress by taking away a significant vote share in their favour.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

ED attaches properties worth Rs 4.5 crore belonging to former Samajwadi Party minister and gangrape convict Gayatri Prajapati

OpIndia Staff
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ED attaches properties worth Rs 4.5 crore belonging to former Samajwadi Party minister and gangrape convict Gayatri Prajapati

On Wednesday, December 7, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties of former UP cabinet minister and Samajwadi Party leader Gayatri Prajapati, who is currently serving a life sentence in a gangrape case. 

ED attached properties in Lucknow and Amethi which belonged to Gayatri Prajapati and his family. An ED team reached Mau village in Mohanlalganj and confiscated four houses and land registered in the name of Gayatri Prajapati’s son Anil Prajapati. The value of the property is estimated to be Rs 4.5 crore. A board was installed on the attached property which read, “Under Section-8(4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, this property is under the possession of the Directorate of Enforcement, Government of India. Any transfer of it will be illegal. Strict legal action will be taken against the encroachment.”

Image via Dainik Bhaskar

Another property registered in the name of Gayatri Prajapati’s daughter Sudha was attached in Prajapati’s ancestral village Parsawan in Amethi.

In July this year, ED attached Gayatri’s properties worth Rs 10 crore in Lucknow’s Mohanlalganj area. Reportedly, the properties were registered in the name of Gayatri’s house help Ram Sahai.

The ED had previously attached several properties and bank balances worth Rs 36.9 crore belonging to former cabinet minister Gayatri Prajapati, his family members, and their companies. 

Gangrape case against Gayatri Prajapati

A special court sentenced Gayatri Prajapati and two other individuals to life in prison in November 2021 for gang-raping a Chitrakoot-based woman and her daughter. 

Notably, Prajapati held key portfolios of the transport and mining ministries during the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested in March 2017 on charges of gang rape of a woman and sexual harassment of her daughter. Special judge PK Rai had pronounced Prajapati and two other accused, Ashok Tiwari and Ashish Shukla, guilty and asserted that the prosecution was successful in proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prajapati reportedly took photos and continued to rape her for two years by threatening to leak the photos. He also falsely promised to give her an important position in Samajwadi Party and a mining contract. The victim later filed a complaint. However, the UP Police refused to file an FIR. The woman then approached the Supreme Court, which directed the police to lodge a report. In February 2017 he absconded but was later arrested in Lucknow.

Arvind Kejriwal had promised AAP government in Gujarat: Here’s how his two prime candidates are trailing by massive votes in assembly elections

OpIndia Staff
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Arvind Kejriwal had promised AAP government in Gujarat: Here’s how his two prime candidates are trailing by massive votes in assembly elections

As BJP is on the verge of registering a historic win in Gujarat assembly elections, social media is rife with an image of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during his campaign, claiming that his party would be forming a government in the state.

The image showed Arvind Kejriwal smugly holding up a paper with a claim made in Hindi that the “Aam Aadmi Party will form a government in Gujarat.”

Viral picture of Arvind Kejriwal claiming AAP will form a government in Gujarat

The picture is from the election campaign ahead of the Gujarat state elections, during which Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and other senior leaders, had presumptuously claimed that their party is storming to power in the state riding on the anti-incumbency toward the BJP and disappointment from the principal opposition party, Congress.

In a town hall with NDTV, Arvind Kejriwal confidently said that AAP will be forming a government in Gujarat and BJP will not get more than 20 seats in the elections.

However, the results from the Gujarat assembly elections have exposed Arvind Kejriwal and his party’s patently false claims about the alleged support they enjoyed in the state. Gopal Italia, the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, is staring at an imminently embarrassing defeat from the Katargam constituency as results indicate an emphatic victory of BJP’s Vinod Moradiya, who has so far polled a staggering 56.21 per cent vote share.

Arvind Kejriwal Gujarat
Source:eci.gov.in

The situation is not too different for Aam Aadmi Party’s other stalwart in Gujarat, Isudan Gadhvi, who too is comprehensively trailing behind the BJP candidate Ayar Bera from the Khambhalia constituency.

Source:eci.gov.in

While Kejriwal bragged that Aam Aadmi Party would be forming a government in Gujarat, as per the latest trends from the Election Commission of India, his party is leading on only 5 seats in the 182-seat Gujarat assembly, with narrow margins on some of the seats that could exchange hands as the counting proceeds.

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh state assembly election results counting have started and if early trends are anything to go by, BJP is set to have a historical mandate in Gujarat as it is currently leading in over 151 seats and has already won 3 seats as per the official ECI website. In 1985, Congress’ Madhavsinh Solanki led the party to victory with 149 seats. Will BJP beat the record? We shall know in a few hours. The Congress is leading on 20 seats and AAP on 5.

BCCI announces schedule of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Australia’s tour of India

ANI
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BCCI announces schedule of Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Australia’s tour of India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced the schedule for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Australia.

“India’s 2022-23, the international home season will commence with a three-match T20I and three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in January,” BCCI said in a statement. Indian home season will kick off from January 3 next year with the T20I against Sri Lanka and will finish on March 22 with an ODI against Australia.

Men in Blue will first take on Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series. The first match of the series will be held on January 3, 2023 in Mumbai while the second and third will take place on 5 and 7 in Pune and Rajkot respectively.

The action will then move to a three-match ODI series wherein Guwahati, Kolkata and Trivandrum will host the games on January 10, 12 and 15 respectively.

The three-match ODI series against New Zealand wherein Hyderabad, Raipur and Indore will play the hosts on January 18, 21 and 24 respectively. The second ODI on January 21 will be a marquee ODI for the city of Raipur as they will host their first international fixture.

Team India will also play a three-match T20I series against New Zealand. The T20I series will start on January 27 while the second match will take place on 29 and the third on February 1. Ranchi, Lucknow and Ahmedabad will play the host for the three-match T20I series.

The Australia tour of India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kickstart in Nagpur on February 9 next year. Team India will then play the next three Test matches in Delhi, Dharamsala & Ahmedabad. This will also be the last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which will be a 4-match Test series feature. The home series will then conclude with a three-match ODI series against Australia that will be held in Mumbai, Vizag & Chennai. The first match of the series will be hosted by Mumbai on March 17 while the second and third will be held on 19 and 22 in Vizag and Chennai respectively.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

USA: 100s employees at The New York Times go on a 24-hour strike over poor pay and work conditions

OpIndia Staff
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USA: 100s employees at The New York Times go on a 24-hour strike over poor pay and work conditions

American news daily, The New York Times might be heading for hard times as hundreds of its employees began a 24-hour strike on Thursday, over poor pay and work conditions. According to the NewsGuild of New York, which represents journalists and other staffers at the NYTimes, some major departments will lose up to 90% of their workforce during the strike which started at 12.01 am on Thursday.

Prominent journalists like Nikole Hannah-Jones and film critic AO Scott are reportedly also participating in the strike.

According to media reports, newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild of New York, who believe that the company can afford their demands, said that they are tired of the prolonged bargaining that occurred since their last contract expired in March 2021.

The employees reportedly said in a statement that the walkout was “due to the company’s failure to bargain in good faith, reach a fair contract agreement with the workers, and meet their demands.

“We had hoped to reach a fair deal before our deadline, but more than 1,100 of us are ready to take a stand together, for each other and for journalists everywhere,” news agency CNN quoted reporter Jenny Vrentas as saying.

Meanwhile, reacting to the strike called by the employees, Meredith Kopit Levien, the president and chief executive of The Times, said in an email to the company Wednesday night, “It’s disappointing that they’re taking such drastic action, given the clear commitment we’ve shown to negotiate our way to a contract that provides Times journalists with substantial pay increases, market-leading benefits, and flexible working conditions.”

Notably, the American media outlet’s employees and the management have been at loggerheads over matters such as starting salary, wage increases, retirement and health care plans, and remote employment since the previous contract was terminated in March 2021.

Members of the NewsGuild of New York, which represents union members, claimed the firm’s performance – and its capacity to spend millions on CEO salaries, share buybacks, and dividends – had influenced their demands.

Negotiations took place Tuesday and Wednesday, but the sides remained far apart on issues including wage increases and remote-work policies.

In a 12-hour negotiation session on Tuesday, the firm agreed to higher wage increases than it had previously offered, including 3% guaranteed hikes in 2023 and 2024, and rejected a proposal to eliminate pensions, among other improvements.

The Union Times, a newsletter published by the NewsGuild, however, described The Times’ wage concessions on Wednesday as “paltry” and said management has “barely budged” on the issue.

The Union also announced on Twitter on Wednesday evening that no agreement had been reached and that the walkout will take place. “We were ready to work for as long as it took to reach a fair deal,” it said, “but management walked away from the table with five hours to go,” the union said, adding, “We know what we’re worth.”

The NewsGuild also reported that the corporation informed employees going to strike that they would not be paid for the duration of the strike. According to the union, members were also asked to work longer hours to complete work before the strike.

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