Investigation in YouTuber ‘Heer Khan’ case have revealed more Pakistani connections. According to Prayagraj Police, she was connected to several extremist groups and often received videos from Pakistan. She claimed that she used to get provoked by those videos and started making their own videos. During interrogation, Heer Khan named a friend from Kanpur who used to upload her videos on YouTube. She only recorded the videos and used to send them to her friend. Intelligence agencies are tracking the said friend.
Connection with extremist groups in several countries
Police found out that she had connections with extremist groups in India and in other countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is a possibility that her friend might be a sleeper cell of some terrorist organization. On Monday, ATS, IB, State Intelligence, and Police questioned her to understand the background of her videos and her connection to the extremists.
Police do not trust Heer’s mother
Heer Khan’s mother claimed in an interview to a news channel that Inzamam-ul-Haq is Heer’s uncle. She also claimed that Heer is a fan of Prime Minister and President. She believes in all religions. However, Police said that they do not trust any statement made by her mother as it seems she is saying all this in an attempt to save her. The security agencies will continue questioning Heer on Tuesday.
Heer Khan insults Hindu gods and goddesses
Earlier in August, Khan’s videos had gone viral wherein she was spewing hate on Hindu gods and goddesses by referring to Goddess Sita as ‘r*ndi’ (prostitute) and Ayodhya as a whorehouse. Later this video was taken down.
With the Chinese coronavirus rampaging inexorably through the Gaza strip and weeks of conflict with the Israeli forces, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has struck an unusual accord with Israel, temporarily diffusing its long-standing tensions with Tel Aviv
As per reports, Hamas has agreed to this ceasefire deal in return for a cash infusion from Qatar and Israel’s agreement to let the fuel supplies reach Gaza’s power stations, apart from medicines and medical supplies.
The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar announced on Monday that they had reached a Qatari-mediated deal with Israel, ending weeks of clashes, bombings and easing its 13-year-old blockade of Gaza in exchange for calm to prevail on the border.
“An understanding has been reached to stop the latest round of escalation and put a stop to Israeli aggression against our people,” said the office of the Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar after concluding discussions with Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi.
Emadi had been travelling back and forth between Israel and Gaza for days now, trying to broker a peace between the two establishments and avoid a full blown-up military confrontation.
Qatar pledges $27 million cash infusion into Gaza strip
A major part of the truce reached between Hamas and Israel involves a massive cash infusion from Qatar. According to the reports, Qatar has promised to pour in $27 million into the Gaza strip, where the coronavirus pandemic is taking root and the public health system is in dire straits. Several Arab media outlets have also claimed that the Qatari-Hamas understanding also included a promise to carry out several infrastructure projects in the Hamas-ruled coastal strip.
As per a Hamas source quoted by the AFP, there had been “a total halt” to balloon and other attacks against Israel, in harmony with other groups in the coastal strip. The source reassured that the accord reached between the arch-enemies would ensure that the fuel supply lines are restored, and power stations are restarted from Tuesday.
The Hamas said that the new agreement with Israel includes “several projects that serve our people in the Gaza Strip” and would help them in combating the spread of the coronavirus. Besides, Gaza’s fishing zone that was closed until now is also opened, allowing the fishermen to ply waters of the Mediterranean sea for up to 15 nautical miles.
Israel had imposed bans on fuel delivery into Gaza after weeks of cross-border firings
Israel had imposed a punitive ban on fuel deliveries into Gaza starting August 13, reducing the electricity supplies to just four hours a day, supplied from an Israeli grid. It had also stopped the transfer of goods into Gaza through Shalom crossing from August 11. The move was in retaliation to the cross-border firings from Gaza that had persisted for weeks.
For days now, Gaza has released hundreds of balloons laden with inflammatory substances and explosives, along with rockets targeted towards southern Israel, triggering more than 400 blazes and devastating vast tracts of farmlands. Israel has responded fiercely and unsparingly against the continued provocation, with persistent airstrikes and tank fires on locations described by it as Gaza’s military infrastructure installations.
Ten days after a 25-year-old woman in Hyderabad claimed to have been raped over 5,000 times by 139 men, the victim has now revealed that the allegations were ‘partially true’ and was made under duress.
In a bizarre turn of events, the woman addressed a press conference on Monday and stated that she was coerced into making the allegations by one businessman named Raja Sreekar Reddy aka Dollar Bhai. She alleged that the man sexually exploited her under the pretext of giving her a job in the film industry. The woman said that Reddy had blackmailed, tortured her using her ‘private pictures’, and coerced her to frame the 139 people including filmmakers, student leaders, anchors, and lawyers.
Woman claims that allegations were made by her under duress
The woman stated, “Only due to pressure I was forced to make rape allegation against 139 members. I was beaten badly to make a complaint against these persons. All the fake allegations which I made in the press were tutored by him.” Expressing guilt over the ‘fake charges’, she apologised to two film actors that she had initially named in her complaint.
Woman now claims that her statement was ‘partially true’
The woman also claimed that Reddy had threatened to murder her and her family members if she did not act upon his wishes. She however maintained that while not all 139 accused had raped her, some had sexually harassed her. “I told him that only those who exploited and misbehaved with me should be named in the complaint. But he threatened me and tortured me to implicate innocent people,” she emphasised.
Speaking on the new development, Central Crime Station (CCS) ACP K Sridevi informed, “We will record the statement of the complainant, and based on that we will proceed with further investigation.”
Woman had filed a 42-page complaint, claimed to have been raped 5000 times
Earlier, the woman had said that after she got married in June 2009, she became a victim of domestic violence. She had said that she had to face sexual harassment and physical assault by the family members of her husband. Later she got divorced but her ordeal did not end as she said multiple men at various places and times raped and gang-raped her. She had also alleged she was forced to abort pregnancy several times, drugged and forced to dance nude.
In a heartwarming video that has gone viral on the social media platform, an elephant calf is seen gleefully playing in a tub of water. The two-month-old elephant is adorning an elaborate headgear and matching footwear. She has a bell tied around her neck. In the video, the female calf is seen splashing water as she goes in and out of the small plastic tub which keeps collapsing intermittently due to her weight. This video was shot after the naming ceremony of the baby elephant at a temple in Karnataka’s Dharmasthala.
The female calf which was born on July 1 at Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Dharmasthala has been named Shivani. The temple authorities say that Shivani is healthy and loves to play in water.
#WATCH: Elephant calf Shivani plays with water after its naming ceremony at Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple, Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada
Temple authorities say the elephant calf, born on 1st July 2020, is healthy & loves to play in water. (Source: Temple authorities) #Karnatakapic.twitter.com/WQfR4OUZxX
Shivani’s mother Lakshmi and her grandmother Latha were with her on the pious occasion. They were too decorated for the naming ceremony.
Shivani was born under the care of the temple administration in Dharmasthala for the first time. On August 31, the Pattadhikari of Dharmasthala, D Veerendra Heggade initiated the ritual by giving the baby elephant Prasada and tying a bell around its neck. On this occasion, the temple authorities arranged for a feast of fruits, vegetables, and sugarcane for all the three elephants.
Heggade informed that Shivani’s mother Lakshmi was sent to Bannerghatta Biological Park two years ago for conceiving.
“Gaja seve” is practised in Dharmasthala during temple festivals and processions for many years now. Earlier, the temple had elephants Bharata, Shankara and Gange which were part of fairs and processions, D Veerendra Heggade added.
Online portal Scroll.in on 28th August published a report claiming that the new unique Health ID which will be issued to citizens under a ‘One Nation One Health Card’ scheme will collect and store sensitive information such as medical history, finances, genetics and even sex life.
Scroll accuses government of storing personal and sensitive information
Moreover, the Scroll article claimed that in the absence of a ‘comprehensive data protection law’, the Government is aiming to collect ‘sensitive information’ from citizens. “Data points classed as “sensitive personal data” include an individual’s financial details, their physical and mental health, sex life, medical records, gender and sexuality, caste, religious and political beliefs as well as genetic and biometric records,” the report alleged.
Screengrab of the Scroll article
Casting aspersions about privacy and data security, Scroll claimed, “It claims ownership of personal data lies with the individual. However, anonymised data, in an aggregated form, may be made available for research, statistical analysis and policy formulation.” The article also raised questions about the need of Health ID, even when Aadhaar card has been made mandatory for citizens.
Scroll alleges ‘corporatisation’ of health sector by Union government
The article claimed, “The digital health mission has already raised ethical concerns, scepticism that collecting more data is not the answer to India’s health problems and suspicion that such a system is tailored for corporate interests rather than providing affordable healthcare.” Further, the report insinuated that the ‘narrow time frame’ of one-week did nor provide scope for public scrutiny and thereby paved the path for a ‘corporate entry.’
NHA debunks misinformation about Health ID cards
Three days after the insidious report was published by the Scroll, the National Health Authority (NHA) took to Twitter to debunk the misinformation peddled by the news portal. NHA tweeted, “Grossly misinterpreted and sensationalized…Govt has not asked and doesn’t intend to ask for any such personal information. Information like only name, year of birth, state & district is required while registering for Health ID.”
Grossly misinterpreted and sensationalized.
Govt has not asked, and doesn’t intend to ask for any such personal information.
Information like only name, year of birth, state & district are required while registering for Health ID.
— National Health Authority (NHA) (@AyushmanNHA) August 31, 2020
NHA has clarified that the scheme is voluntary and the Union Government is not planning to make the service mandatory. It further reiterated, “Information like only name, year of birth, state & district are required while registering for Health ID. Registration & sharing any information is voluntary for all, not mandatory.”
Information like only name, year of birth, state & district are required while registering for Health ID. Registration & sharing any information is voluntary for all, not mandatory.
3/4
— National Health Authority (NHA) (@AyushmanNHA) August 31, 2020
NHA debunks claims by scroll that the scheme is being rushed
In a statement released by the National Health Authority, it has clarified that the time given for public feedback was two weeks, contrary to claims made by the Scroll. It stated, “The draft Health Data Management Policy was uploaded on 20/08/2020 for seeking feedback for two weeks and not for one week as has been stated in the news report. However, considering the feedback received, the date of seeking feedback via public consultation before the first version of the policy is finalized has been extended by one more week i.e. till 10th September 2020.” All in all, a three-week window was provided by the government for public feedback instead of one.
NHA clarifies on Aadhaar and sensitive personal data
NHA has also made it clear that the use of Aadhar as an alternative to health card is not ‘legally permissible’. “It may be noted that it is legally not permissibile to make Aadhaar mandatory for creation of Health ID,” the statement read. Addressing concerns about storing ‘sensitive personal data’, NHA emphasised that the term has been used in accordance with Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 and Personal Data Protection (PDP) bill.
“By virtue of said definition, sensitive personal data includes personal data related to financial information, sexual orientation, political belief, etc. However, nowhere in the operative section of the draft policy it is laid down that the said information will be called for. Further the purpose of including said terms in the definition of “Sensitive personal data” is that the said types of information must be given highest level of privacy and security if ever encountered in the information ecosystem of NDHM. It is absolutely out of place to construe the same as intent for having said information in the NDHM system especially when there is nothing in the operative section of the policy to suggest so,” the NHA clarified.
One Nation One Health Card scheme
During his speech on the occasion of India’s 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. PM Modi informed that a unique Health ID will be issued to citizens under a ‘One Nation One Health Card’ scheme. However, it will be an optional service available to the public. For this purpose, a digital database will be created that will contain an individual’s medical history such as tests, diagnosis, and treatment.
JEE Main exam is happening today, and the candidates are arriving at the examination centres across India. While there was uproar on the social media demanding the examinations should be canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic, the exam is happening as per the schedule.
A student from the Dharamshala block in Odisha said that it is good for the students’ future that the exam is happening. The Odisha government is providing transport facilities and accommodation to the students and their guardians free of cost. CM Naveen Patnaik had ordered to open hostels of engineering and IT colleges to accommodate students and their guardians as hotels are not functional in the state yet.
Madhya Pradesh government had also announced free transportation for students appearing for NEET-JEE exams. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel had also announced that
ANI quoted a student from Delhi saying that she was carrying her own sanitizer and has undergone a full body checkup.
Delhi: Candidates arrive at Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Sr Sec School in Vivek Vihar, designated as an examination centre for #JEEMain. The temperature of candidates being checked. A candidate, Pranjal says, “I am carrying my own sanitiser and I had also undergone a full body checkup” pic.twitter.com/qwuUJmKkIr
Images emerging from various centres in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Bihar, and Goa, among others, show that social distancing and other Covid-19 precautions like sanitization and thermal check are being followed.
The students are made to discard their masks, and authorities are providing them fresh masks before they can enter the premises.
#WATCH: Candidates queue up outside TCS at Patto Plaza in Panaji, Goa – designated as an exam centre for #JEEMain. They are being made to discard their masks and are being provided fresh masks after their temperature is checked, in the wake of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/oekpUNmqlk
The authorities have installed banners with Covid-19 instructions that the students need to follow while giving the exam. Some students suggested that the number of students coming to the exam is lesser than they anticipated.
Chandigarh: Candidates appearing in #JEEMain arrive at Bardhaman Computer centre in the industrial area of the UT, that has been designated as an examination centre.
A candidate says, “Many students were waiting for the exam. However, there are a few students this time.” pic.twitter.com/QFGYQ6TcOP
The latest video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ show has collected over 7 lakh dislikes on the Bhartiya Janata Party’s YouTube channel. In less than 24 hours, the video where PM Modi addresses the nation has become one of the most disliked videos on BJP’s YouTube channel, where Congress and AAP loyalists were found peddling a narrative that the ‘dislikes’ are due to the government’s decision to go ahead with JEE and NEET exams.
YouTube video of the latest ‘Mann Ki Baat’ by PM Modi
In fact, on Sunday, a propaganda was spread that the PMO had disabled comments on the latest Mann Ki Baat YouTube video fearing ‘backlash’ from students who are ‘angry’. However, that is not the case. The comments have been disabled since the programme started. That is because these videos are marked as ‘made for kids’ – where YouTube policy is such that the comments are disabled.
When that didn’t work, a deliberate attempt was made by the anti-BJP detractors to smear PM Modi’s “Mann Ki Baat” campaign by claiming that ‘students’ are now ‘disliking’ PM Modi’s video. Except, that does not seem to be the case. BJP IT in-charge Amit Malviya on Monday took to Twitter to say that international bots were commissioned to ‘dislike’ through a coordinated campaign on YouTube. Taking to Twitter, he said that there has been a concerted attempt by the Congress party to dislike PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ video on YouTube.
The rest 98%, like always, came from outside India!
Bots and Twitter accounts from overseas have been consistent feature of the Congress’s anti JEE-NEET campaign. There is huge spike in activity by Rahul Gandhi’s favourite Turkish bots!
The BJP leader added that a paltry 2 per cent of the total dislikes on the YouTube video of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ came from India. Rest, 98 per cent of the dislikes came from outside India, with social media bots from Turkey leading the social media smear campaign. The statistics and analytics page of YouTube allows the page admin to see various demography including where the ‘dislikes’ came from. Furthermore, many sources have confirmed to OpIndia that the planned online onslaught against PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ was carried out by international social media bots.
Malviya also added that on similar lines, Congress’ anti-JEE-NEET campaign on the social media websites has seen significant participation from overseas bots, most notably from users based out of Turkey. Interestingly, in November 2019, days after Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, Congress had opened an office in Istanbul.
Social Media Bots from Turkey sharing posts on JEE-NEET examinations
Confirming Malviya’s claims, there has been a torrent of tweets being posted on Twitter against the centre’s decision of conducting the JEE-NEET examinations in September, seemingly from users with their locations declared as Turkey. Many newly created Twitter accounts, with limited reach and their proclaimed location as Turkey, have been tweeting propaganda that is in conformity with Congress’s stand on JEET-NEET examination.
Bot from Turkey retweeting stuff on JEE-NEET examinations
Overseas bots, putatively from Turkey, have posted and retweeted a large of tweets, expressing their disapproval against the Indian government’s decision of conducting the JEE-NEET examinations in September.
Social media user from Turkey posting on JEE-NEET examinations
Interestingly, the Twitter campaign against the Modi government by international bots is not just limited to JEE-NEET examinations, the overseas users have also targeted India-Sri Lanka ties with the recently concluded elections in Sri Lanka.
Twitter bot, claiming from Turkey, has shared a report from Swarajya Magazine about India-Sri Lanka relationship with hashtags such as #SriLankaElections2020, presumably to spur the Sri Lankan bots to launch an online attack against the Modi government.
Social media bot from Turkey commenting on India-Sri Lanka relationship
Another social media bot from Turkey feigned solidarity with those who had been asking the government to postpone the JEE-NEET examinations. The heightened interest of people belonging to Turkey, with no skin in the game, in India’s internal affairs, signifies that they had been hired to peddle anti-Modi propaganda on Twitter.
Another bot from Turkey commenting on JEE-NEET examinations
Congress’ long-association with international bots for social media dominance
This is not the first time that Congress has been accused of dallying with the international bots, especially from Turkey. With Congress failing to garner organic support from the social media users in India, it has often relied on overseas bots to either mount an attack against their opponents or catapult their leaders away from their flagging popularity. Earlier in 2017, it was alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s increased popularity on Twitter was attributed to overseas bots from Russia, Kazakh and Indonesia.
Gandhi’s Twitter activity had then registered a sharp spurt, belying a false impression that the Gandhi scion was enjoying an organic popularity on the microblogging website Twitter. However, on closer inspection, it was found that Rahul Gandhi’s tweets were retweeted by users with less 10 followers, who tweeted random subjects from around the world.
The similarity between the two cases cannot be overstated. Even in the lastest case, bots from Turkey and the rest of the world, who have tweeted on random subjects from around the world, have been retweeting tweets on Modi government’s decision on persevering with the scheduled JEE-NEET examinations and other policy decisions.
A day after the Indian army strongly responded to the Chinese aggression and thwarted their nefarious intentions on the Southern Bank of the Pangong Tso lake, the Communist-ruled country has warned India of an escalated military conflict through its state-sponsored media Global Times.
In an editorial published in Global Times on Monday, China accused India of taking an ‘aggressive approach’ on the border issues between the two countries. The article claimed that India acted against the Chinese PLA to divert public discourse from domestic issues. Referring to India’s counter-response as ‘hooligan behavior’, the editorial boasted of China’s military prowess.
China boasts of its strength; threatens to act militarily
“It must be pointed out that New Delhi is facing a powerful China. The PLA has sufficient force to safeguard every inch of the country. Chinese people have shown support to the government which won’t seek to provoke India, but does not allow it to encroach on China’s territory,” the article read.
Further, boasting of its ‘superiority’, the Chinese state-sponsored media cautioned, “If India wants to engage in competition, China has more tools and capability than India. If India would like a military showdown, the PLA is bound to make the Indian army suffer much more severe losses than it did in 1962.”
Screenshot of the Global Times article
Towards the end of the article, Global Times urged the Communist Party of China to ‘carry out a military struggle.’ Threatening of an impending retaliation, the editorial stated, “But when India recklessly challenges China’s bottom line, China must not be soft. It must take military actions when necessary, and ensure it can win. China is several times stronger than India, and India is no match for China. We must smash any Indian illusion that it can deal with China by colluding with other powers, such as the US.”
The Global Times also ‘warned’ against possibilities of military collaboration between India and the USA against China. It claimed that even with US-support, India cannot defeat China.
“China is several times stronger than India, and India is no match for China. We must smash any Indian illusion that it can deal with China by colluding with other powers, such as the US,” it stated.
Global Times editor warns Indian army of ‘defeat’
Hu Xijin, the Editor of Global Times, also threatened retaliation against the Indian army. Dubbing India’s response to Chinese aggression as a ‘stunt’, he tweeted, “They (India) always think China will make concessions to provocative actions in consideration of the overall situation. Don’t misjudge the situation anymore. If there is a conflict in Pangong Lake, it will only end in the new defeat of the Indian army.”
Indian troops again pulled a stunt at border. They always think China will make concessions to provocative actions in consideration of overall situation. Don’t misjudge the situation anymore. If there is a conflict in Pangong Lake, it will only end in new defeat of Indian army. pic.twitter.com/u3RyV7Slh8
The Indian Army announced on Monday that on the intervening night between the 29th and 30th of August, the Chinese PLA “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.” National Security Analyst Nitin Gokhale had informed that the Indian Army had noticed suspicious PLA movements in response to which they moved to occupy “unheld features along LAC to dominate” the South Bank of Pangong Tso. He said that Indian troops had not breached the LAC.
According to information received by ANI from unnamed sources, a special operations team occupied the heights on the particular night. The Chinese troops were barely a few hundred metres away from the said heights. The height is claimed to be south of South Bank near Thakung. The height is on the Indian side of the LAC, however, China claims it is on their side as well.
Pune in Maharashtra has now emerged as the worst affected district for Chinese coronavirus with total positive cases as high as 1,75,105, highest for any city in India. On Monday, Pune surpassed Delhi which has 1,74,748 total coronavirus cases in India.
Pune emerges as worst affected city for Chinese coronavirus
Of 1,75,105 total cases, 52,712 cases are active in Pune, highest in Maharashtra and for any other district in India. Maharashtra, too, continues to remain the worst affected state with almost 8 lakh confirmed cases and almost 2 lakha active cases of coronavirus.
BJP MLA Siddharth Shirole who represents Shivajinagar constituency in Pune had accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi led Uddhav Thackeray government for leaving out Pune to fend for itself. He had accused the government of gross negligence which has pushed the city on the cusp of a medical calamity. Accusing the state government of failing on multiple levels, Siddharth Shirole had said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had not made a single visit to Pune in the last three months either to oversee the preparedness of the administration.
