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Tablighi Jamaat member who worked as security guard infects 3 members of the house he worked at

OpIndia Staff
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Tablighi Jamaat member who worked as security guard infects 3 members of the house he worked at

A security guard, who had attended the controversial Islamic event – Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi has not only tested positive for the Chinese epidemic coronavirus but also infected three members of the house where he was working, reports Times Now.

According to the report, the security guard who was deployed at a house in Defence Colony in New Delhi has infected coronavirus three members of the same family. A complaint has been registered against the guard by the Delhi police under IPC section 269 and 270.

The shocking act of recklessness by the security guard which infected other people with coronavirus comes despite repeated warning from the central government and the Delhi police to come forward to test for the coronavirus if they had attended the Tablighi Jamaat. However, because of his negligence, the guard not only attended the Jamaat but also hid the information of attending the event, thus infecting furthermore people in the country.

It is important to note that Tablighi Jamaat at the Nizamuddin Markaz held earlier in March has turned out to be a hot spot for coronavirus positive cases. Many of the attendees have been found misbehaving with the healthcare workers. The Jamaatis in a Ghaziabad hospital had resorted to spitting on doctors to harassing nurses and running amok naked in the wards. This morning, an FIR was registered against two Nizamuddin Markaz attendees in Narela quarantine centre after they had defecated outside in the corridor.

PM Modi holds meeting with floor leaders of parties, the decision on the extension of lockdown to be taken on 11 April

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi holds meeting with floor leaders of parties, the decision on the extension of lockdown to be taken on 11 April

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference meeting with the floor leaders of political parties on the Wuhan Coronavirus situation today.

During the interaction, Prime Minister said, “Situation in the country is akin to a ‘social emergency’. It has necessitated tough decisions and we must continue to remain vigilant. States, District Administrations, and experts have suggested an extension of lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.”

Prime minister said that the entire world is facing the grave challenge of COVID-19. The present situation is epoch changing event in mankind’s history and we must evolve to counter the impact. PM Modi praised the efforts of the states working together against the deadly epidemic.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and NCP leader Sharad Pawar also participated in the meeting that was held via video conferencing. Secretaries of various ministries also briefed the leaders about the current scenario and steps undertaken.

It is reported that the PM has hinted that lockdown may not be lifted on April 14. Several state leaders have also suggested the extension of lockdown.

Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra told PTI that after meeting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that nationwide lockdown will not be lifted in one go on April 14. As per reports, the PM said that he will also consult Chief Ministers.

Reportedly, Prime Minister Modi will again chair a meeting with Chief Ministers of States to review situation due to Wuhan coronavirus on 11 April through video conferencing. The decision on the possible extension of the lockdown is to be taken in that meeting.

Dubai man seeks permission for moving between houses of his two wives during Coronavirus Lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Dubai man seeks permission for moving between houses of his two wives during Coronavirus Lockdown

While speaking to listeners on the local radio in Dubai, a senior police officer felt a shock and surprise when he got a bizarre question from one of the callers. The caller wanted to know whether he’ll need any permission to move between the houses of two of his wives during the 24-hour lockdown which is being enforced to carry out sanitisation of the areas, according to a report by Gulf Today.

The caller asked, “I’m married to two women. Should I get a permit when I move from house to house?” The Brigadier Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, who is the director of the Traffic Department, Dubai Police, laughed at the question and said that not getting a permit will be a good excuse to not meet the other wife if he didn’t desire to be with her, almost denying him to ask for permission as the lockdown mainly allows to move out for the most urgent needs.

The senior cop asserted, “I received many questions like this one. The permit is only for one time and people need to apply for a permit whenever they leave their homes for necessary matters.”

The permissions are issued for one time only so as to contain the transmission of the coronavirus.

The cop asserted that because the aim is to reduce the movement on the streets, issuing a weekly permit to buy essentials won’t be logical. Areas He added, “Areas which used to take one week to be completely sterilized, can be done within one day now, and that will speed the return to our daily lives.”

The Dubai police also tweeted, “Individuals are not allowed to leave the house except for essential purposes or if they are working in vital sectors during the national sterilization program.”

Dubai is already under lockdown for past two weeks, but from Sunday more severe restrictions have been placed to contain the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus. Now residents who need to leave their houses for essential purposes, which only include visits to the grocery store, pharmacy or doctor, requires a permit issued online by the Dubai Police, and a new permit is required for each such trip. A mask and gloves are to be worn at all times when outside the house, else there will be penalty. These rules will be in force for two weeks.

The United Arab Emirates has reported over 2,350 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 12 deaths and 186 recovered patients.


Is China using Zoom teleconferencing to spy on us?

OpIndia Staff
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Is China using Zoom teleconferencing to spy on us?

Amidst the lockdown in many countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, people are now relying on teleconferencing applications to continue to stay connected with work or their distant families. One such popular teleconferencing app globally is Zoom. 

But is Zoom safe or a spy for China.

The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.

The Citizen Lab report examined the encryption that protects meetings in the popular Zoom teleconference app. It found that Zoom has “rolled their own” encryption scheme, which has significant weaknesses.

In addition, it identified potential areas of concern in Zoom’s infrastructure, including observing the transmission of meeting encryption keys through China.

Here are the key findings of the The Citizen Lab investigations into ZOOM:

  • Zoom documentation claims that the app uses “AES-256” encryption for meetings where possible. However, we find that in each Zoom meeting, a single AES-128 key is used in ECB mode by all participants to encrypt and decrypt audio and video. The use of ECB mode is not recommended because patterns present in the plaintext are preserved during encryption.
  • The AES-128 keys, which we verified are sufficient to decrypt Zoom packets intercepted in Internet traffic, appear to be generated by Zoom servers, and in some cases, are delivered to participants in a Zoom meeting through servers in China, even when all meeting participants, and the Zoom subscriber’s company, are outside of China.
  • Zoom, a Silicon Valley-based company, appears to own three companies in China through which at least 700 employees are paid to develop Zoom’s software. This arrangement is ostensibly an effort at labor arbitrage: Zoom can avoid paying US wages while selling to US customers, thus increasing their profit margin. However, this arrangement may make Zoom responsive to pressure from Chinese authorities.

The report further indicated that while Zoom was headquartered in the United States, and listed on the NASDAQ, the mainline Zoom app appears to be developed by three companies in China, which all have the name – Ruanshi Software. Two of the three companies are owned by Zoom, whereas one is owned by an entity called American Cloud Video Software Technology Co., Ltd.  

Zoom’s most recent SEC filling shows that the company (through its Chinese affiliates) employs at least 700 employees in China that work in “research and development.” 

The filing also implies that 81 per cent of Zoom’s revenue comes from North America. 

Running development out of China likely saves Zoom having to pay Silicon Valley salaries, reducing their expenses and increasing their profit margin. 

However, this arrangement could also open up Zoom to pressure from Chinese authorities. 

While the mainline Zoom app (zoom.us) was reportedly blocked in China in November 2019, there are several third-party Chinese companies that sell the Zoom app within China (e.g., zoom.cn, zoomvip.cn, zoomcloud.cn).

The report further stated that:

“Unfortunately for those hoping for privacy, the implementation of call security in Zoom may not match its exceptional usability. We determined that the Zoom app uses non-industry-standard cryptographic techniques with identifiable weaknesses. In addition, during multiple test calls in North America, we observed keys for encrypting and decrypting meetings transmitted to servers in Beijing, China.

An app with easily-identifiable limitations in cryptography, security issues, and offshore servers located in China which handle meeting keys presents a clear target to reasonably well-resourced nation state attackers, including the People’s Republic of China.

Our report comes amidst a number of other recent research findings and lawsuits identifying other potential security and privacy concerns with the Zoom app. In addition, advocacy groups have also pointed out that Zoom lacks transparency report a critical step towards addressing concerns arising when companies have access to sensitive user data. Zoom has just started (April 2nd, 2020) that it will release such a report within 90 days.

As a result of these troubling security issues, we discourage the use of Zoom at this time for use cases that require strong privacy and confidentiality, including:

  • Governments worried about espionage
  • Businesses concerned about cybercrime and industrial espionage
  • Healthcare providers handling sensitive patient information
  • Activists, lawyers, and journalists working on sensitive topics”

The Citizen Lab raises pertinent questions about the safety of the teleconferencing app Zoom and also about its security due to links off Zoom with China. You can read Zoom’s annual report here.

Author Savio Rodrigues is a social activist, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Goa Chronicle. You can read the original article here.

The WHO failed the world during the coronavirus crisis, it has become the political puppet of China: US politician

OpIndia Staff
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The WHO failed the world during the coronavirus crisis, it has become the political puppet of China: US politician

The US Senator from Idaho and Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch called to form an independent investigation against the World Health Organization alleging that the organization has been a political puppet of the Chinese government the organization is unwilling to hold Chinese communist party responsible for the pandemic.

According to the press release of Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch stated, “The WHO has not only failed the American people, it has failed the world with its flagrant mishandling of the response to COVID-19. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ apparent unwillingness to hold the Chinese Communist Party to even the minimum standard of global health and transparency hindered the world’s ability to blunt the spread of this pandemic. It is completely unacceptable that the world’s global health organization has become a political puppet of the Chinese government.”

The Senator aggressively called for an independent investigation sermonizing that the valuable American taxpayer dollars should be spent in a direction to avoid the spread of the respiratory disease. He said, “An independent investigation into the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 response is imperative. The United States is the largest contributor to the WHO. Our valuable taxpayer dollars should go towards investments to prevent the spread of disease, not to aid and abet cover-ups that cost lives and isolate portions of the world’s population on political grounds, as has been the case with Taiwan. I look forward to a truly independent and fulsome review of the WHO and an examination of the U.S.’s financial support for its efforts in the future, with an eye towards very significant reform or possible replacement of the WHO.”

United States President Donald Trump also took to Twitter alleging that the WHO, which is largely funded by the US has defrauded the country by turning ‘China-centric’.

US President Trump had stated that he will take steps to restrict the WHO’s funding. “We’re going to put a hold on money spent on the WHO. We’re going to put a very powerful hold on it and we’re going to see. It’s a great thing if it works. But when they call every shot wrong, that’s no good”.

Nehru ‘slave’ Ram Guha shares WhatsApp forward to target Modi ‘bhakts’, PM calls out mischief

OpIndia Staff
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Nehru ‘slave’ Ram Guha shares WhatsApp forward to target Modi ‘bhakts’, PM calls out mischief

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that a message that is circulating on social media asking people to stand for 5 minutes in honour of him is fake.

The prime minister tweeted that it has come to his notice that some people are campaigning to honour Modi by standing for five minutes. On the first glance, it seems like a conspiracy to drag him into a controversy, he added. PM Modi came forward to clarify about the message after historian and Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist Ramachandra Guha mocked him and his supporters referring to the message.

PM Modi also added that it is possible that it is a genuine well wish of some people. ‘If that is true, I request that if you have so much love for me and want to honour me, please take care of one poor family as long as the coronavirus crisis continues’, he further tweeted. “Nothing can be a bigger honour for me”, the PM concluded.

The fake message

The prime minister was referring to an image with a message which called for giving a standing ovation to him for his handling of the Coronavirus outbreak. The message said, “this man has done so much for us and out nation. This Sunday on 12th April-2020, 5 PM, let us all give a standing ovation and salute our Prime Minister. Everyone is requested to stand in their house balconies at 5 PM and give a standing ovation and salute our prime minister, Mr Narendra Damodardas Modi for 5 minutes.”

The message also added, ‘kindly forward to as many as you can’, a typical characteristic of fake messages which appear on social media.

Gandhi-Nehru family apologist Ramchandra Guha tweeted the image mocking PM Modi and his supporters claiming it is hero-worship which will lead to dictatorship. Claiming the message to be true, he quoted BR Ambedkar saying, “Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship”.

The fact that Guha used the message to attack the PM gives credence to PM Modi’s doubt that it has been created to drag him into a conspiracy.

Corona Yoddha: How people came together on social media to help out those in need across political spectrum during lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Corona Yoddha: How people came together on social media to help out those in need across political spectrum during lockdown

While everything around may appear gloomy and uncertain in wake of Chinese coronavirus, a ray of hope has emerged that restores our faith in humanity. Social media is often termed as a toxic place where under the guise of anonymity threats are a regular feature. However, in past few days, the same social media has managed to feed thousands of mouths across India.

OpIndia got in touch with a few of these ‘warriors’ so to say who are fighting the good fight: to ensure in such hard times no person goes to sleep on an empty stomach. One such person has been BJP leader Tajinder Bagga. “I sleep 20 hours as I am spending most of my day coordinating on social media with various people and connecting those who need help to those who could provide. It is a group effort and people from BJP, the Yuva Morcha, the RSS, Art of Living and Patanjali have come out to help,” he says.

At a time when everyone is seeing a one-upmanship, people like Bagga have not let political differences get into the way of humanity. When RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav called for help for the migrant workers in Bihar who were struggling for ration, Bagga coordinated with BJP youth wing to ensure that help is reached.

On 30th March, a week after the lockdown was imposed, Yadav tweeted to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, BJP leader Tajinder Bagga as well as RJD ally Congress leader Srinivas. Soon, Bagga tweeted to BJP Youth leader who further coordinated to try and get to the stranded labourers from Bihar.

Similar such ration was arranged for others after RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav reached out to Tajinder Bagga.

Even chief ministers of different states have coordinated through Twitter to ensure the most poor and the needy are taken care of.

Bagga says that Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali team itself has managed to feed about 2000-3000 people in Mumbai and most of this is coordinated through social media.

Ankit Jain, BJP supporter and social media influencer, has also been relentless in coordinating distribution of food packets and ration kits to those in need. “A lady who lives in an ashram at the Nashik-Aurangabad border and is suffering from terminal illness pinged me that she was low on supply of medicines and oxygen. When she tweeted to me, she had five days of supply. Her medicines were stuck in India Post because of lockdown. We tried out best to reach out to concerned people and we tried to get the medicines delivered to her,” he said.

She got the medicines with two days’ worth of stock remaining with her, Ankit informs. There has been overwhelming support from people who have come together to help the ones who are fighting this good fight.

When Humanitarian Aid International’s team went to help a family in distress with ration, they realised they had already received help. However, another family in the neighbourhood with a divyang member needed help. Hence, they provided the ration to them instead.

Speaking to OpIndia, HAI Board Member Sudhir said that they have started community kitchens in various parts of Delhi and sending out as many as 2,500 food packets daily to those who need them in those areas. “Some 70-80 Muslim families in recent anti-Hindu riots hit areas of New Delhi were provided ration where we transferred money directly to the ration shop. The families had to just go and collect. In fact, when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office reached out to us we provided food packets to them also. A hungry stomach does not see political ideology,” Sudhir says.

While most of the efforts are volunteer-run, organisation like India Today group reached out to HAI and donated money which was used to procure basic essentials like 40 kg flour, 10 kg daal, 4 ltrs oil, 5 kg sugar, 1 kg salt and other basic spices for 500 families, informs Sudhir.

And while our fight against the Chinese coronavirus continues, it is people like these who give us hope that we will emerge not only stronger but kinder when the pandemic is a thing of past.

Uttar Pradesh to completely seal 15 coronavirus-hit districts from midnight, only home delivery and medical teams will be allowed

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh to completely seal 15 coronavirus-hit districts from midnight, only home delivery and medical teams will be allowed

Though the 21-day nationwide lockdown enters its third week, the Coronavirus scourge in India has kept the government on its toes, as it has seen a considerable spike due to the Tablighi Jamaat mess. To contain the spread of the deadly virus in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced to completely seal 15 districts which have emerged as the coronavirus hotspots in the state.

A government source has clarified that all essential services will be home delivered and no one will be allowed to move out. Curfew passes will also be reviewed, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari has said.

The 15 districts which will be under complete shut down are: Lucknow, Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautambudh Nagar (Noida), Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahar, Firozabad, Maharajganj, Sitapur, Saharanpur and Basti.

The exact details of how the UP government plans to shut down parts of these 15 districts will be released at a press conference later in the day.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said the Yogi Adityanath led government in Uttar Pradesh will hold a review of the decision next on April 13.

Total Coronavirus cases have been reported from 37 districts of Uttar Pradesh with the number climbing to 326 on Wednesday. Of the total cases, 166 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat. So far, the UP authorities have identified 1,600 people associated with the Jamaat. Of them, 1,200 have been quarantined.

The announcement by the Yogi Adiyanath government comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a key meeting with leaders of the opposition to discuss matters related to India’s war against coronavirus. This meeting came in the backdrop of varying opinions on the crucial question of extending the lockdown beyond April 14.

According to BJD’s Pinaki Misra, PM Modi today told floor leaders of the opposition and other parties in Parliament that the nationwide lockdown will not be lifted in one go on April 14.

While the nationwide lockdown called by PM Narendra Modi in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak on March 24, completes 3 weeks on April 14, many states have requested for an extension. These states have indicated that since a situation is still not back to normal, the lockdown may need to be extended.

India today saw 5,149 cases of novel coronavirus while the death toll rose to 149, indicating 25 new deaths in 12 hours, the biggest jump for the country so far. 

Chinese billionaire Ren Zhiqiang, who went ‘missing’ after criticizing Xi Jinping over coronavirus, now faces corruption charges

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese billionaire Ren Zhiqiang, who went ‘missing’ after criticizing Xi Jinping over coronavirus, now faces corruption charges

Dissident Chinese billionaire Ren Zhiqiang is bearing the brunt of criticising the Chinese premier Xi Jinping over his bungled handling of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. The retired real-estate tycoon has been placed under investigation over corruption charges by the Communist Party of China, a statement released by Beijing authorities said on Tuesday.

Without giving much details, the statement accused Ren of committing “serious violations” of the Chinese laws, a favoured tool used by the Communist Party of China to tame the dissenting voices.

A prominent business magnate, Ren is known as “the cannon” for his outspoken demeanour and candid criticism of the authoritarian regime in China. Last month, Ren had gone “missing” after he wrote a searing article criticising the Chinese government, according to his friends and well-wishers.

Sharply criticising the govt over its handling of the issue, Ren had written that the people’s lives are being ravaged by both the virus and the major illness of the system. He even called Chinese Premier Xi Jinping a clown, without naming him, saying the media’s attempt to portray him as a hero has no basis. He had said, “I too am curiously and conscientiously studying Xi’s speech, but what I saw in it was the complete opposite of the “importance” reported by all types of media and online. I saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his “new clothes,” but a clown who stripped naked and insisted on continuing being emperor.

Ren also asked protruding questions of the Chinese government’s culpability on hiding the information about the virus from the world until it was too late for everyone to prepare against it. Criticising the government for concealing the outbreak of the virus initially, Ren wrote, “trying to cover up the true facts with various “great achievements,” as if this epidemic began with your written instructions on January 7. So, what happened in December? Why wasn’t information made available promptly?”

As the scourge of coronavirus sweeps the world, particularly the United States and Europe, China has now found itself at the receiving end of the criticism and blamed for its lackadaisical approach to tame the virus which clearly created conditions for the global pandemic. Of late, China has also been accused by a large number of countries of lowballing by underreporting the actual number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus outbreak which is believed to have started from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Kolkata: Police nab 3 persons who fled coronavirus quarantine facility last night, 6 others who came in their contact also quarantined

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata: Police nab 3 persons who fled coronavirus quarantine facility last night, 6 others who came in their contact also quarantined

In a shocking incident, 3 people suspected of carrying Wuhan coronavirus, managed to escape from the government quarantine centre in Kolkata late last night, setting alarm bells ringing about the security of the containment centres. A massive manhunt was launched by the Kolkata police this morning after which the three escapees were traced.

1 woman and 2 children, all three belonging to the same family fled the quarantine facility at New Town in Kolkata through its rear gate and went to their home about 10 kilometres away from the quarantine centre. They were kept at the NBCC Square in New Town, an apartment complex which has been converted to quarantine centre by the West Bengal government. After absconding from the quarantine facility, the three suspected COVID-19 patients came in contact with 6 other individuals. Now they are also kept under quarantine by the police after coming in contact with suspected coronavirus patient.

An investigation has been launched in this regard to determine as to how these people managed to escape the quarantine facility and how could they travel 10 kilometres to reach their home from the facility. The police are also probing if more people had come in their contact, in which case they will have to be to identified and located and subsequently sent to quarantine.

Read- Indian Army to take over Narela quarantine facility after Tablighi Jamaat attendees defecate in the corridor

Escaping patients suspected of being infected with COVID-19 pose a massive threat to the country’s battle against the coronavirus. The immensity of the danger posed by coronavirus victims fleeing quarantine was best encapsulated by the meteoric rise of outbreak in South Korea, enabled by a coronavirus patient who refused to employ social distancing and was believed to have engendered 80 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country.

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