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How a frustrated Australian team resorted to on-field shenanigans during the 3rd Test match at Sydney

A game of cricket is not over until the last ball is bowled. And nothing can be truer in the context of the much anticipated 3rd Test match between India and Australia at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). With a target of 407 runs in front of India in the 2nd innings, Australia was hoping for a comfortable victory at the end of the 4th day.

But the tide turned in India’s favour on the 5th day. With Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant setting the momentum early in the game, an injured Hanuma Vihari and tailender RS Ashwin took the match away from Australia. In an extraordinary display of resilience, grit and determination, the two players battled for 3 hours against Australia’s top pace and spin bowling attack to draw the match. As the game progressed, an impatient and ‘frustrated’ Australian side resorted to on-field shenanigans and unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Unsportsmanlike behaviour of Matthew Wade

Cricket is regarded as a gentleman’s game but Australian player Matthew Wade took to unsportsmanlike behaviour in the hopes of making his team win. When Ashwin steered the ball to him, Wade started acting in a creepy and hysterical way to mock Ashwin’s resilience.

However, Wade did not stop here. He then resorted to physically attacking an already injured Hanuma Vihari by intentionally throwing the ball at his body from close quarters.

Far from apologising, he instead repeated his notorious act and kept smiling.

Unwarranted sledging by Tim Paine interrupts the match

While Australian bowlers failed to make an impact, the captain decided to take the matter in his own hands. In an unwarranted episode of sledging, Tim Paine tried to distract Ashwin’s concentration with his continuous chatter. “Can’t wait for Gabba mate,” Paine said. In a classic response, Ashwin replied, “Come to India, and it would be your last series”.

At one point, the banter reached such an unprecedented level that Ashwin refused to take the strike and directed to the umpire to intervene.

While the intention was to distract Ashwin, Tim Paine ended up losing his own focus in the game. Even though a victory for Australia seemed implausible with just 5 overs remaining, Mitchelle Starc was able to create an opportunity for his team.

Paine, however, dropped a simple, plump catch after Hanuma Vihari nicked off to Starc’s ball and thereby diminishing any chances of a comeback in the match.

Steve Smith removes Rishabh Pant’s guard marks

During the match Australian cricketer, Steve Smith has been accused of shadow-batting at the crease and scuffle out the guard marks made by Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant, forcing him to retake the same. The snippet of the video was shared on Twitter by cricket fan @cricket_badger. The incident happened after the drinks break when the stump camera caught Smith doing the unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Pant had to mark his guard all over again. Cricket fans were upset over Steve Smith’s action. They slammed the Australian cricketer who was earlier found tampering ball and subsequently banned from all forms of domestic and international cricket for a year in 2018.

Racial abuse by Australian fans

During the 3rd day of the Test match, Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were subjected to racial abuse. An official stated, “BCCI lodged a formal complaint with ICC match referee David Boon about two of their players, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, being abused by a drunk spectator.” Such a spectacle was yet again witnessed during the 4th Day of the 3rd ODI match between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday.

After a section of ‘drunk’ Australian supporters hurled racist slurs at Mohammed Siraj, he promptly complained to the on-field umpires. Siraj was supported by all his teammates, including the captain Ajinkya Rahane. The match came to a halt temporarily, with the authorities and security officials desperately trying to find the accused. When Mohammed Siraj pointed in the direction of the stands, the officials quickly investigated the matter and kicked out a group of 4 men, followed by two others, from the stadium.

Japan finds new strain of coronavirus in passengers arriving from Brazil

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Japan, which is already grappling with soaring cases of the Wuhan coronavirus might be in for new trouble. The country’s Health Ministry has now found a new strain of Coronavirus in four passengers arriving from Brazil.

The information about the new variant of the pathogen is limited to its genetic make-up, and it’s tough to immediately determine how infectious the strain is or the effectiveness of current available vaccines against it, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said in a statement.

While some news reports suggest that this mutated strain bears similarities to those found in the UK and South Africa, some have reported otherwise.

Meanwhile, Japan’s institute, in a separate statement, confirmed that the 4 passengers, who were diagnosed being infected with the variant of the virus, had arrived at Japan’s Haneda airport from Brazil on January 2. One of the four was asymptomatic. The man, who was in his 40s was admitted to the hospital after his respiratory problems increased.

According to a local newspaper, the NIID informed the World Health Organization of this new strain and are now investigating if the variant causes more severe cases.

Meanwhile, the UK and South Africa had also reported the emergence of new strains of the Wuhan coronavirus last month. While the authorities in the United Kingdom had confirmed the new strain of the pathogen on December 21 2020, South Africa broke the news of identifying a new variant of the novel coronavirus on December 25, 2020.

With this highly transmissible new variant of the virus surging across Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed a third national lockdown in England – its most populous region – to try to stem the pandemic before the most vulnerable are immunised.

India’s health ministry on Saturday also said that the total number of cases of the mutant strain of Covid-19 in India, first found in the United Kingdom, has gone up to 90. Govt of India had confirmed that the current vaccines will work against the Covid-19 variants detected in the UK and South Africa.

Viral video: Trump supporters allegedly kicked out of flight for discussing support towards the outgoing US President

In a video that has now gone viral on social media, two women were seen being kicked out off a Delta Airlines flight for allegedly being supporters of Donald Trump.

“They are all on a no-fly list for being radical White terrorists,” claimed a man in the background. The women kept reiterating ‘freedom of speech’ and their rights under the First Amendment of the Constitution while they walked out of the flight. The other passengers were seen mocking and telling them to ‘get out.’ Some passengers were also hurling abusive words towards the two women.

In another video, a man was seen have a public outburst after he was supposedly not allowed to fly. He alleged that he was called a ‘terrorist’ and vilified by the airlines. The man was then comforted by another woman, who said that she was also kicked out of a Delta flight earlier. The video was posted on Twitter by a handle (@RayRetracted) who claimed that the man was put on a ‘No Fly List’ for participating in the US Capitol riots.

Passengers denied entry for expressing support for Donald trump privately

In another video, several passengers were barred from boarding their flight for expressing their support for outgoing US President Donald Trump. According to a man in the background, over 30 police officers were called in to pacify the situation, even though the passengers were not a threat to security.

While posting the video, a user wrote, “Delta Airlines kicked these people out from their plane. They were not trying to hijack the plane. They were just having a private talk and expressed their support for Trump. Globalism is turning America and the world into a dictatorship much more criminal than Nazism and Communism.”

Trump supporters attack US Capitol Hill 

On January 6, The supporters of the outgoing US President Donald Trump had wreaked havoc in the nation’s capital leaving four people dead. The police in Washington DC, have arrested as many as 52 people after supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Hill building and disrupted proceedings. Amidst the chaos, visuals had emerged where the frenzied pro-Trump mob were seen attacking media crews.

Many videos had surfaced on Twitter, where the protestors, amidst “go back” slogans, are seen breaking the cameras and vandalizing other types of equipment of the media, outside the US Capitol Hill building in Washington DC.

Punjab farmers form a major chunk of ineligible recipients payout under PM KISAN scheme, RTI reveals

Even as a large number of farmers from Punjab are protesting against the newly introduced Farm Bills, an RTI response by the Agriculture Ministry revealed that Punjab farmers form a major chunk of the total undeserving beneficiaries to receive payouts under the PM KISAN scheme. The RTI response revealed that the government had paid Rs 1,364 crores to 20.48 lakh undeserving beneficiaries under the ambitious PM-Kisan scheme.

The RTI was filed by applicant Venkatesh Nayak of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative(CHRI) seeking the list of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi(PM-KISAN) scheme which was launched by the central government in 2019. Under this scheme, income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments is paid to small and marginal farmer families having combined landholding or ownership of up to 2 hectares.

In its response to the RTI application, the Union Agriculture Ministry stratified into two categories of undeserving beneficiaries who received PM-KISAN payouts as “ineligible farmers” and “income tax payee farmers”. The RTI response mentioned that more than half of the undeserving beneficiaries belong to the “income tax payee category”. Institutional farmers, farmer families holding constitutional positions, serving or retired government employees as well as professionals are ineligible under the scheme.

“The remaining 44.41% belong to the ‘ineligible farmers’ category’,” Nayak said. He also cited media reports to contend that proceedings have been initiated to recover the funds transferred to undeserving beneficiaries.

Punjab farmers highest among the list of 20 lakh undeserving beneficiaries

As per data, a major part of these unqualified recipients belongs to five states—Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. However, Punjab tops the list accounting for 23.16 per cent(4.74 lakh) of total ineligible beneficiaries across the country who received payouts. Trailing Punjab is Assam with 16.87 per cent(3.45 lakh) and then Maharashtra where 13.99 per cent of 2.86 lakh beneficiaries have wrongly received the payouts.

Gujarat is the fourth position with 8.05 per cent(1.64 lakh beneficiaries), followed by Uttar Pradesh at fifth position with 8.01 per cent or 1.64 lakh beneficiaries. Sikkim has registered the lowest figure with just one undeserving beneficiary.

“The total amount of  ₹1,364.13 crores was paid to recipients across the states in 68.20 lakh instalments (where each instalment of  ₹2,000 paid out per recipient is counted separately). Out of this, 49.25 lakh instalments were paid to ‘IT payee farmers’ while 18.95 lakh instalments were paid to ‘ineligible farmers’ across the country,” Nayak said quoting the RTI data.

PM Kisan scheme launched to provide income support to small and marginal farmers

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi is an initiative launched by the central government under which an amount of Rs 6,000 per year is transferred in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months through direct benefits transfers(DBT) directly into the bank accounts of the farmers, based on exclusion criteria related to higher-income status.

The scheme excludes several categories of farmers such as institutional landholders, farmer families in which one or more members is among beneficiaries, former and present holders of constitutional posts; former and present ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, mayors and chairmen of district panchayat; serving and retired government employees; pensioners receiving over  ₹10,000 monthly pensions; income tax payees and professionals such as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants and architects etc.

One betrayed nation for nudes of Pakistani agents, other did it because he was away from wife: How sensitive info was leaked

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On January 7 in Rajasthan, the CID in a joint operation detained the husband of a former sarpanch, identified as Satyanarayan Paliwal, based on intelligence input. As per the reports, he was honey-trapped by the women wing of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. During his interrogation, Paliwal confessed that he had shared confidential documents on social media. He was taken to Jaipur for further interrogation.

A report by Bhaskar states since he was the husband of village Sarpanch, the ISI agent contacted him on social media few years back. She introduced herself as an Indian and would chat with him. Soon she started doing video calls with him. Citing sources, Bhaskar report states that she then started getting nude on video chats. After taking him into confidence, she started extracting sensitive information from him.

As per reports, Paliwal has been shared information with ISI’s agents for the last one year. The information included the Indian Army’s confidential positioning and movements etc. The region comes under Lathi police station. The information was shared with the police by Indian intelligence and security agencies. Paliwal has now been arrested.

Paliwal was in contact with two women from Pakistan

As per reports, the ISI hone-trappers sent Paliwal a friend request on social media and honey-trapped him. He had got two friend requests from women living in Pakistan. One of them identified herself as a journalist while others said she was working with a private company.

A report in TOI has stated that the ISI has been trying hard to get details of troop movements and positioning around the Pokhran Field Firing range in Jaisalmer, close to the Pakistan border.

Paliwal has allegedly been communicating with the women on a regular basis. One of the women had also contacted him over WhatsApp from an Indian number. Being the husband of the sarpanch, it was easier for him to get information about the Army’s activities as the sarpanch has to give certificates to regiments for firing and other activities. He took advantage of his wife’s position and started collecting confidential information to pass on to the women.

As per the reports, the intelligence bureau got a tip about the honey-trap after which vigil on Paliwal was increased. After confirming the fact that he was passing on the information, he was detained and inquired. During the probe, Paliwal confessed to sharing information but insisted that he has not taken any money for it.

Umesh Mishra, ADG Rajasthan intelligence confirmed the case and said that Paliwal was detained on suspicion of passing on strategic information from Lathi area. He was taken to Jaipur for intensive investigation.

Meerut honey-trapping case

In another such case, one Saurabh Sharma is also arrested on spying charges. As per the report, he was staying away from his wife after they separated due to incompatibility issues. Last week, UP ATS raided places in Hapur and in Gujarat’s Godhra where one retired jawan of the Indian Army was arrested. He is accused of sending sensitive information to Pakistan spy agency.

As per report, he got in touch with a Pakistani woman in 2014. He shared some sensitive information with her till 2016 through text and audio files and would use WhatsApp to make calls. For this, the handler would pay him money.

How honey-traps work?

Honey-trapping someone to get strategic information is not a new strategy. As per the experts, trained agents, even men pretending to be women, use social media platforms to trap naïve men. Pakistan’s ISI has been allegedly using the strategy against India on a large scale. Women agents of ISI contact people working in different fields on social media and befriend them. Once the men start to have faith in them or fall in love with them, they begin to gather strategic information. In case the men try to get out of their trap, they start blackmailing them that they will reveal their name to the security agencies.

Ind vs Aus: Navdeep Saini and Ravindra Jadeja’s video on ‘teamwork’ goes viral

On day five of the third test match in the India Vs Australia series, while Australian cricketers are showing their lack of sportsman spirit, Indian cricketers are giving a demo on teamwork.

As the camera panned towards the Indian team’s dressing room, one can see Saini pick up a banana, peel it and offer it to his teammate Ravindra Jadeja, who was all padded up to go to the crease. Jadeja is also recovering from a fractured thumb.

Jadeja injured his thumb off Mitchell Starc’s delivery during the first innings of the Sydney Test. Subsequently, he didn’t bowl for the entirety of Australia’s second innings. Cricket fans were not sure whether he would participate in the remainder of the test series. However, they were elated to see Jadeja padded up in the dressing room.

Earlier today, Australian cricketer Steve Smith was caught on camera removing the guard marks put up by Rishabh Pant. Netizens were angry at this unsportsmanlike behaviour by Smith who had recently faced 1 year suspension over ball tampering.

West Bengal: FIR against TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee for derogatory comments on Goddess Sita

Hours after a video surfaced on social media, where TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee was seen making derogatory remarks about Goddess Sita and Ram Bhakts, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against him at the Golabari police station in Howrah.

As per reports, the FIR was filed against Kalyan Banerjee by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Ashish Jaiswal. He said that the Bengali community has been hurt by his comments. Jaiswal has also demanded an apology from the TMC leader. Abhay Kumar Jha, a member of the Maithili community in Howrah, condemned the statement of Kalyan Banerjee and threatened to launch a protest if he did not apologize within 24 hours.

The FIR has been lodged in the Golabari police station, as per reports.

While reacting strongly to his objectionable remarks, BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said that he had insulted the Hindu culture and Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. She added that people would give a befitting reply to the party in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress party (TMC) has often resorted to minority appeasement in a bid to maintain its stronghold over the Muslim vote bank. However, ahead of the elections, the party has now upped his ante with anti-Hindu propaganda.

Sita would have ended like Hathras victim, said Kalyan Banerjee

“Sita told Ram that I am thankful that Ravana had abducted me. If your followers chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and brandishing saffron headgear had kidnapped me, I would have ended up like the Hathras victim from Uttar Pradesh,” the TMC leader said while addressing a rally. In his politically-motivated statement, Banerjee tried to glorify the demon king Ravana while simultaneously defaming the Ram Bhakts of committing a heinous crime against Goddess Sita.

Lambasting him for his remarks, former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy inquired, “Are you a Hindu? If yes, then, open your ears and listen to this speech of an Islamist disguised as a Hindu. If you don’t spew venom against Hinduism, then, you cannot become a true Islamist.”

GoAir Pilot Capt Mickey Malik who was sacked over his offensive social media posts has a history of disturbing tweets. Read details

GoAir on Saturday terminated services of its pilot Captain Mickey Malik over his offensive tweets. While the airline never clarified which of his tweets led to the action, media and propagandists claimed it was over his offensive tweet on the PM. In a tweet, he had referred to Indian PM as ‘idiot’.

Mickey Malik on PM

On 7th January 2021, Malik had referred to PM as an ‘idiot’. Some netizens raised the objection and tagged GoAir on Twitter. However, since soon after this tweet his services were terminated, it was assumed and widely propagated it was because of this particular tweet.

However, Captain Malik has a history of disturbing tweets.

Mickey Malik on rape and kissing scenes

“You can’t kiss in temple but rape inside temple. Must be prescribed in the Shastras,” he had tweeted after the Badaun rape and murder of a woman. The prime accused in the case was the mahant of the temple she had visited the previous night.

Offensive tweets by Capt Mickey Malik

Twitter user Jaidev Jamval, in a series of tweets, put out more of his disturbing tweets.

Mickey Malik on UP-Bihar population

Captain Malik referred to people of UP and Bihar as dirty, poor, backward and famished. He also said 90% of them are idiots and bringing down the entire country.

Mickey Malik on Lord Hanuman

On a tweet on Lord Hanuman’s statue in Karnataka, he had said how monkeys in Karnataka will now ‘remain busy’.

Mickey Malik on Lakshmi Puja

On Diwali, Captain Malik insinuated that Lakshmi Pujan on Diwali is ‘Hinduising’ or ‘whatever crap that means’ and is against the spirit of constitution.

Miki Malik on Gita

He also referred to the Indian epic of Mahabharat as ‘story of deceit and bullshit’.

Miki Malik rant

When a netizen had asked him to have some decorum on social media, he went on the offensive and asked him to dance naked on the banks of river Ganga like ‘Naga Sadhu’. He even called him a ‘fraud’ and a ‘Hindutva moron’.

Capt Malik on Maj Gen GD Bakshi

Captain Malik himself is an Indian Air Force veteran who has had an exemplary service. However, this is the kind of language he used for a fellow veteran of the Armed Forces.

GD Bakshi

He referred to Maj Gen (R) Dr GD Bakshi as a ‘dog’ who only ‘barks’ for ‘money’.

Mickey Malik on anti-forced religious conversion law

Downplaying the forced religious conversion, Captain Malik had quite an unsavoury thing to say.

Capt Mickey Malik’s threat

And casual threats on social media.

Capt Malik calling statements by Indian Army fake

He even called the statements of Chinar Corps of Indian Army ‘fake’.

Capt Malik on dividing India

Captain Malik even endorsed a division of India.

Hence, while Captain Malik’s services were terminated by GoAir over his offensive posts, it is highly unlikely it was due to calling PM Modi an ‘idiot’. He has since apologised for his offensive tweets and made his Twitter account private.

ED crackdown on Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik over NSEL scam, takes possession of 112 properties

In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized 112 properties, belonging to the firm of Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik, in connection to the ₹5600 crores National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam.

While taking to Twitter, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya informed that the plots attached by ED are located in Titwala in the Thane district of Maharashtra. Astha Group, owned by one Mohit Agarwal, had reportedly defaulted on its payment of Rs 250 crores to the investors. And Pratap Sarnaik’s Vihang Group had helped in laundering the money, prompting the ED to take action.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who visited the plots on Sunday, had earlier met the Enforcement Directorate officials last month and alleged that Pratap Sarnaik sold the plots, despite being attached by the central investigative agency. As per reports, the BJP leader stated that Pratap Sarnaik and Mohit Agarwal also diverted 100 crores from National Spot Exchange Limited to buy the attached plots.

When ED verified the claims with the Revenue Departments Office, it found that the 112 plots, which it took in its possession, did not show up in the records. As such, the Enforcement Directorate submitted the details of the attachment on Saturday. However, it is unclear how the revenue records had no details about the ED’s attachment.

Enforcement Directorate raids Pratap Sarnaik’s residences; Uddhav Thackeray defends his party member

The Enforcement Directorate had in November 2020 raided the residences and official premises of the Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in connection with a money laundering case involving the Shiv Sena MLA. The search was conducted at 10 places across Mumbai and Thane with the links to the aforementioned Shiv Sena leader. Subsequently, the agency arrested Sarnaik’s close aide in connection with a money laundering case linked to the legislator.

A day after the raid, the Shiv Sena chief come out in defence of his loyalist, calling the action taken by the agency against Sarnaik’s family ‘pervert politics’. Thackeray alleged that Sarnaik’s family was being targeted by the ED. 

Pakistani credit card recovered from Sarnaik’s house registered on his address

For the unversed, on December 12, a credit card registered under the name of a Pakistani national was recovered from the premises of Sarnaik. The credit card was registered with Sarnaik’s address.

From San Francisco to Bengaluru, over the North Pole: Four women pilots of Air India create history

Capt Zoya Aggarwal, Capt Papagari Thanmei, Capt Akansha Sonaware, and Capt Shivani Manhas are the four names every Indian should know. An all-woman cockpit crew flew on January 9 from San Francisco to Bengaluru. The longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by Air India was the inaugural flight, and it traveled 16,000 KM to reach its destination. It went over the North Pole and took the Atlantic route to reach the capital city of Karnataka.

In its statement, Air India said, “This will be the longest commercial flight in the world to be operated by Air India or any other airline in India…The total flight time on this route will be of more than 17 hours depending on the wind speed on that particular day.” Air India further added that the direct distance between the two cities at the opposite end of the world is 13,993 KM. The time zone change is of 13.5 hours approx.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri tweeted on January 9 mentioning the team members’ names and said, “Air India’s woman power flies high around the world.”

On their arrival to the Bengaluru Airport, the minister said that the flight was historic and special. He said, “The historic all-woman cockpit crew polar flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru makes Vande Bharat Mission even more special.”

Captain Zoya Aggarwal commanded the flight. In its statement, Air India said that Captain Aggarwal is an accomplished pilot with a flight experience of over 8000 hours. She has command experience in a B-777 aircraft of more than 10 years and more than 2500 flying hours.

‘We created world history’ – Captain Aggarwal

Captain Zoya Aggarwal while talking to ANI, said, “Today, we created world history by not only flying over the North Pole but also by having all women pilots who successfully did it. We are extremely happy and proud to be part of it. This route has saved 10 tonnes of fuel.”

Captain Shivani Manhas called it an exciting experience. She said, “It was an exciting experience since it was never done before. It took almost 17 hours to reach here.”

Netizens congratulated the team

Several netizens have expressed their happiness on the accomplishment of the all-women team of Air India’s longest route inaugural flight.

The flight was almost fully booked

The flight was operated with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft VT ALG with a seating capacity of 238 seats. 225 seats were booked on the flight. The flight was in the pipeline for a long time. This will be the first direct non-stop flight between southern India and the west coast of the United States. A significant population of Indians lives in San Francisco, and a direct flight will cater to their long-pending demand.

It will be a biweekly flight and will take off from San Francisco for Bengaluru on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It will leave for San Francisco from Bengaluru on Mondays and Thursdays.