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Taiwan had warned WHO about the severity of Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak: Here is the email WHO ignored

OpIndia Staff
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Taiwan had warned WHO about the severity of Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak: Here is the email WHO ignored

On December 31, Taiwan had written to the World Health Organisation raising questions about the human-to-human contact spread aspect of the Wuhan coronavirus but was ignored by the WHO. As per reports, the organisation also denied providing critical information about how to combat the deadly pathogen.

On April 11, Taiwan released the contents of the email. When 7 atypical cases of pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote to WHO informing that China had reported that the cases were not that of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) even though samplers were under examination at that time.

Taiwan’s CDC stated, “However because at the time there were as yet no cases of the disease in Taiwan, we could not state directly and conclusively that there had been human-to-human transmission.”

Taiwan has been living under the shadow of China that has refused to accept its sovereignty for 70 years. As such, the country was excluded from the World Health Organisation. It is crucial to mention that the WHO initially denied the existence of any conclusive evidence that could prove human-to-human transmission.

The World Health Organisation failed to persuade China to share live strains of the Wuhan Coronavirus that could have been used for diagnostic tests and helped contain the pandemic. They also denied ever being cautioned by Taiwan about the potential human-to-human transmission of the Chinese virus.

Erroneous Claims of WHO

Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had conceded the misleading nature of an “erroneous” situation report wherein it confused India’s “cluster of Coronavirus cases” with that of “community transmission.” Speaking to a news outlet, WHO informed that the error has been corrected.

Community transmission is defined as the spread of an infection where its source can’t be identified. It is the third stage of disease transmission, while India is currently at stage two or local transmission, where the Coronavirus is spreading among close contacts and the source of the infection can be identified.

The organisation has told a news outlet that the error had now been fixed. When the WHO had alleged instances of “community transmission” of COVID-19 in the country, the government of India had denied all such claims.

Allegations of Cover-up

On April 8, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had said that the relationship between China and the WHO needed to be investigated. She made the comments during her appearance on Sean Hannity’s talk show on Fox News. Haley said that the relationship between China and the World Health Organisation was a threat to the sovereignty of the United States of America.

She also noted that Taiwan had warned the WHO of human-to-human transmission but it was summarily ignored due to China’s influence. “Why did it take a whole month for the World Health Organization to respond? You want to know why that is? Because China has kept Taiwan from being a member of the World Health Organization,” Haley said.

WHO Chief Tedros was accused of covering up epidemics in his home country Ethiopia even while he was the health minister in the government in the days before he became the director of the WHO. A prominent global health expert, who was also an informal advisor to Tedros’s rival for the WHO top spot, had accused him of covering up three epidemics in Ethiopia

The US stops Funding for WHO

The US President Donald Trump had also suspended funding for the World Health Organisation until a review was conducted to assess its role in mismanaging the Chinese coronavirus outbreak.

He said, “Everybody knows what is going on there. American taxpayers provide between 400-500 million dollars per year to the WHO and in contrast, China contributes roughly 40 million dollars a year or even less. As the organisation’s leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability. One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations. “

Strangled by coronavirus outbreak, Chinese economy shrinks for the first time since 1976, contracts by 6.8 per cent in Q1 2020

OpIndia Staff
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Strangled by coronavirus outbreak, Chinese economy shrinks for the first time since 1976, contracts by 6.8 per cent in Q1 2020

The scourge of Wuhan Coronavirus has brought the remarkable growth-run of the Chinese economy to an end as China reported the contraction of its economy for the first time since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. Ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak, China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first three months of 2020.

On Friday morning, the data released by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics confirmed the economic decline and shattered the expectations of the analysts who had pegged the economic slump caused due to coronavirus at minus 6 per cent. The data puts an end to China’s unfettered growth that had braved disruptions such as the Tiananmen Square crackdown, SARS epidemic and the 2008 global financial crisis.

Though China started measuring its GDP growth since 1992, the data existing in the public domain suggests that China has not witnessed an economic recession in more than 40 years.

As the world’s second largest economy enforced harsh measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the first three months, carrying out extensive shutdown and widespread lockdown, China’s economy was under a severe strain in the month of March, with the industrial sectors, retail and fixed asset investment all contracting dramatically over the decline observed in the first two months of the year.

Read: More to be added? China increases its official death toll in Wuhan from Coronavirus by 50%

Industrial production, a barometer for the country’s overall economy, shrunk by 1.1 per cent in March after declining 13.5 per cent over the period of January and February while manufacturing registered a fall of 10.2 per cent, suggesting that even as the outbreak subsides in China, economic woes continue to exacerbate.

Retail sales in China sunk by 15.8 per cent in the last month of the quarter after registering a record drop of 20.5 per cent in the month two months of the year.

The Fixed asset investment, a measure of expenditure over the year to date on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment, collapsed by 16.1 per cent in the first quarter tormented by the menace of coronavirus.

In addition, the value-added of the primary industry diminished by 3.2 per cent, that of the secondary industry by 9.6 per cent and of the tertiary industry by 5.2 per cent.

China had announced earlier this week that its exports had fallen by 6.6 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Meanwhile, the analysts predict that China is set to grow by 1.2 per cent this year, down from the 6.0 per cent growth forecasted by the IMF in January this year.

Uttar Pradesh: Court hearing at 3 am, jailed by 5 am, read how Moradabad officials ensured all stone pelters are behind bars before Friday morning

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Court hearing at 3 am, jailed by 5 am, read how Moradabad officials ensured all stone pelters are behind bars before Friday morning

As part of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s zero-tolerance approach to crime and mob violence, the Uttar Pradesh police have arrested 17 Moradabad stone pelters, who had attacked frontline healthcare workers. They have been sent them to 14-day judicial custody after a hearing was arranged for the matter at 3 am on April 17 (Friday). All these 17 people were put behind bars by 5.15 am, almost within two hours after the matter was heard. Among the 17 who have been jailed seven are women.

Urgent hearing

According to a report by Amar Ujala, the hearing took place at the residence of the remand magistrate. The step was taken looking at the seriousness of the matter.

All 17 people have been quarantined in jail. Taking into account that all these 17 mobsters are from Nawabpura locality in Moradabad district, the same emerging hotspot, where a patient has died of the Chinese virus, they have been kept separately in jail.

As per the reports, the police and administration officials were aware that the violence may intensify further. So they took urgent steps to arrange a court hearing. Remand magistrate agreed for a hearing at his residence itself and within two hours, the culprits were behind bars. DM Rakesh Singh and SSP Amit Pathak were there the entire time. The police officials were concerned that keeping the arrested persons inside the small police station in Nagfani may be unsafe as a larger mob might attack the station.

40 more stone pelters identified in Moradabad attack:

The Moradabad police, investigating the case, has claimed that they have identified more than 40 people with the help of CCTV footage, photographs and videos of the incident.

Moradabad Additional Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Anand said teams had been formed to arrest newly identified people. “We are identifying the people who were present there and involved in the attack. Teams have been formed to arrest them. We have identified more than 40 people,” said Anand.

NSA slapped, UP government to seize assets if damages are not paid for:

Issuing a stern warning to mobsters, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had said that not only will they be booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act but they’ll also be slapped with sections of NSA.

Yogi Adityanath has also directed authorities to seize the properties of Moradabad attackers and violent lockdown violators if they fail to pay for the damages done to government property.

The Chief Minister also issued orders to magistrates and police chiefs of districts to ensure the security of health officials and take tough action against those involved in the attack of health workers.

25 accused, including 13 women arrested yesterday:

As many as 25 people including 13 women were arrested for pelting stones at the medical team in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Issuing a stern warning to mobsters, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had said that not only will they be booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act but they’ll also be slapped with sections of NSA.

The NSA allows preventive detention for up to 12 months without a charge if the authorities are satisfied that the person is a threat to national security or law and order.

Moradabad stone-pelting incident:

The incident took place at Haji Neb Masjid area in Moradabad when a team of doctors and medical staff went to take away two persons suspected of having novel coronavirus in the area. The mob pelted had stones at the ambulance and doctors, severely injuring many and damaging government vehicles.

The stones were also pelted on the police van which came to rescue the health workers later. Several people have been injured in the ensuing mayhem, including Dr Sudhish Agrawal. According to health officials, hundreds of people came out on the streets to attack the medical team.

Coronavirus fight: Bengaluru cop travels 860 km on his scooter to deliver medicines to a cancer patient in Dharwad

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus fight: Bengaluru cop travels 860 km on his scooter to deliver medicines to a cancer patient in Dharwad

On April 11, a 47-year-old Bengaluru cop named S Kumaraswamy travelled a whopping 430 km from Bengaluru to Dharawad in Karnataka to deliver life-saving drugs for a cancer patient named Umesh. The Police Head Constable who has now been felicitated by Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, travelled another 430 km back home on the same day, totalling 860 km for both trips.

The Bengaluru cop was watching a local news channel the previous day when he learnt that a cancer patient was in urgent need of a life-saving drug that was only available at DS Research Centre in Indiranagar in Bengaluru. Due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, they were unable to get the medicine from Bengaluru. Following his morning shift, Kumarswamy reached out to the news channel and gathered information about the patient.

The Journey

He collected the medicine and sought the permission of his senior before embarking on a tedious journey of 430 km to Dharwad. His family members were opposed to the decision but Kumaraswamy was determined. On April 11 at 4 am in the wee hours of the morning, he left for the house of the cancer patient on his Honda Activa with one bottle of water and a few packets of biscuits.

On seeing him, Umesh and his family members were shocked. He then began his journey back home and reached Chitradurga at 10:30 p.m. in the night. He was tired and slept at a fire station office. Kumaraswamy resumed his journey to Bengaluru at 5:30 am on April 13 and reached Bengaluru by 10:30 am.

“I have no connection with that place. I am from Ramanagara. I just felt like helping. When I went to Umesh’s house, I realised they were indeed in need of it. He has to take it for two years continuously and it is curable”, the Bengaluru cop was quoted as saying.

Police Personnel under Attack

Despite their efforts to implement social distancing guidelines to safeguard public health and safety, amidst the nationwide lockdown, cops have repeatedly come under attack from lockdown violators. On March 25, two men, Kutubuddin and Tajuddin, who had brutally thrashed two policemen for stopping them for breaching a check post during the nationwide lockdown, have been arrested by the Bengaluru police on Wednesday.

Reportedly, the accused were over-speeding and performing stunts on bikes during the lockdown. They had breached the check post at Bhoopasandra, Sanjay Nagar in Bengaluru. When the cops tried to catch the two accused, they had assaulted the two policemen Manjunatha and Basavararaju.

On April 9, a group of 5 men, including one minor haad assaulted police officers at Annabhau Sathe junction near the District Collector’s office in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. When the cops stopped a two-wheeler for persons going triple-seat, the trio began arguing with the police. They were soon joined by two other friends.

When one accused began heckling a police officer, he retaliated by hitting the accused with his baton. The perpetrator then snatched the stick and resorted to brutally assaulting the cop. The other accused too joined in the scuffle and began assaulting the policemen standing at the scene. A police case was registered against the four men and a minor for violating lockdown and assaulting a police officer on duty. The accused, excluding the minor, have been identified as Shaikh Farookh Shaikh Kadar, Shaikh Sharukh Shaikh Farookh, Shaikh Sajid Shaikh Farookh, and Shaikh Sameer Shaihkh Salim.

In another shocking incident on Sunday in Patiala, Punjab, a group of ‘Nihangs’ (Sikhs armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue top) injured two police officers and the chopped-off hand of another police officer at Sabzi Mandi, Patiala.

Here are 7 occasions on which Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, violated the ethical principles of Journalism

OpIndia Staff
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Here are 7 occasions on which Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, violated the ethical principles of Journalism

An FIR was filed recently against Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of The Wire, for spreading fake news about the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath. The FIR was filed after he had attributed a fake quote to the Mahant of the Gorakhnath Muth in order to whitewash the deeds of the Tablighi Jamaat, which was responsible for spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus all cross India. Since then, an organized campaign has been launched to paint him as a victim despite the obvious mala fide intent on his part. As it turns out his sins are many and it has been going on for quite some time.

In this report, we shall highlight the numerous occasions on which Siddharth Varadarajan has violated the ethical principles of journalism and in certain cases, where there are clear conflicts on interest. During the course of this report, we shall not mention the barrage of propaganda that The Wire has been indulging in and keep it limited to the conduct of its founding editor alone.

Suppressing the Vadra Scam Expose

Siddharth Varadarajan had suppressed the expose on Vadra’s dealing with DLF for seven months, according to journalist Shalini Singh. Shalini Singh had joined the Hindu in February 2012 and had submitted the Vadra story around March-April 2012, after emailing detailed questionnaires to both Mr. Robert Vadra and the DLF. She further said that after she submitted the Vadra report, the editorial team communicated to her that the story wasn’t good enough and couldn’t be carried. As a result, the story remained shelved for 7 months. The Editor of The Hindu at the time was Siddharth Varadarajan himself. In effect, the onus of the Robert Vadra scam story being shelved for that duration lies squarely on his shoulders.

In an earlier interview, Ms Shalini Singh has said that when she realized that there was no interest in carrying the story, she sought permission to give the story along with the documents to Mr. Prashant Bhushan who was at that time involved with “India Against Corruption”. Although there were several opportunities to carry the story even then, none were taken. The story was eventually only carried AFTER Mr. Prashant Bhushan’s press conference where he talked about the dubious business deals of Robert Vadra.

Spreading Propaganda regarding the Gujarat Riots

Suddharth Varadarajan spread a great deal of propaganda regarding the Gujarat Riots, while maintaining the garb of neutrality. He insinuated that the post-Godhra riots would have occurred anyway and attempted to whitewash the Godhra massacre by Radical Muslims, where even women and children lost their lives. He wrote in August 2004, “Far from being a spontaneous mass reaction to the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra the day before in which 58 Hindu passengers died, the killings across most of Gujarat seemed scripted. So well chosen were the targets that it is almost as if there was already in place a plan to do something dramatic as part of the ongoing Ayodhya agitation, probably in order to polarise the state on communal lines in the run-up to state elections that the BJP might have had some difficulty winning on the basis of its actual performance.”

Siddharth Varadaran wrote further, “Had Godhra not happened, would Naroda Patiya have burned, would Ehsan Jafri have been killed, the Best Bakery been destroyed and Bilkis Bano been raped? These questions are deeply problematic because they are tainted by the bankruptcy of the Sangh parivar’s moral arithmetic. When you have an organisation like the VHP whose cadres are capable of the most horrific violence, when you have a police force that is willing to let innocent citizens be attacked, and when you have chief ministers and prime ministers who offer post-facto justifications for genocide, it is a dangerous delusion to believe the Gujarat violence occurred because of Godhra. The Gujarat violence happened because the government wanted it to. Godhra was just the excuse.”

Refusal to carry a woman’s account of sexual harassment due to funding from TATA

Reputed Columnist, Manu Joseph, claimed in January 2019 that in November the previous year The Wire had refused to report Anjuli Pandit’s account of sexual harassment at the Taj because of fear of the Tatas. Pandit is a former Tata Group Executive. Then, Tata was believed to be a possible donor to The Wire. Siddharth Varadarajan, the Founding Editor of Wire, had vehemently denied the claim.

As per Pandit’s account, which was later carried in Indian Express, she narrates how complaining against her abuser, her boss, she was robbed of her personal and professional goals. In her article, she mentions, without giving any specific names, that she was turned down by Indian journalists who didn’t want to carry her story. It was eventually revealed that the Tatas have funded The Wire.

The Wire’s coverage of the internal feud within the CBI

The feud within the CBI had prompted the Modi Government to ask both the Director, Alok Verma and the Deputy Director, Rakesh Asthana to step down after a bitter turf war had broken out. Both Verma and Asthana had made allegations of corruption against each other. The Supreme Court had ordered the Central Vigilance Committee to file its report on the allegations in two weeks.

Following this, the Central Vigilance Committee submitted its observations to the court in a sealed envelope. The court was also given the answers provided by Alok Verma to the CVC. The report including Alok Verma’s response was given in a sealed envelope and was supposed to be highly confidential.

However, the leftist propaganda website The Wire somehow got a hold of the confidential documents and ran elaborate stories publishing Alok Verma’s version. They have contested that the reports were based on Verma’s response to the CVC before the SC had ruled and the responses were not in a sealed cover, hence, they have not contravened the SC order.

The Then CJI Ranjan Gogoi was furious at the leak. He said that Free Press and responsible press have to be balanced. Not only the CJI but even Fali Nariman, Alok Verma’s advocate, was distressed at the media leak. He said that the leak was unauthorised and that free press should not mean irresponsible press. Fali Nariman also asked the Supreme Court to summon The Wire’s Editor to get answers.

The Jay Shah Defamation Case

On October 8th 2017, the leftist propaganda website The Wire had published a shoddy hit job against Jay Shah, who is Home Minister and then BJP party president Amit Shah’s son. After the hit job by The Wire, Jay Shah had slapped a 100 crore defamation suit on the website and the author of the article, Rohini Singh. What followed was the usual liberal rhetoric. Opeds were written about how freedom of expression is in danger and Press freedom is being thwarted.

Soon, Jay Shah approached the civil court at Ahmedabad which granted him an ex parte ad-interim order against ‘The Wire’ and its founding editors, including the author of the article, Rohini Singh, stating that they be barred from publishing anything, directly or indirectly in connection with Jay Shah. “The Wire” then approached the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, appealing against this particular gag order. The High Court made some interesting observations and rejected the plea of ‘The Wire’ against the ex parte ad-interim order.

The Court made it amply clear in its judgement in 2017 that till the ex parte ad-interim matter (gag order matter) was heard, none of the defendants (folks from The Wire) had filed even an appearance before the Trial Court, much less any reply. Defendant No. 2 (Siddharth Varadarajan) had filed appearance on 8th November 2017, only to take adjournment before the Trial Court.

Siddharth Varadarajan, on 13th November 2017, had tweeted that his team was outside the Ahmedabad court waiting for Jay Shah who did not show up. The court has observed that Defendant No. 2 (Varadarajan) filed an adjournment application on 8th in the Trial Court, citing the reason that the matter is pending in the High court, and that none of the other defendants had even filed an appearance or reply till 16th, when the matter was heard.

The court observed that under the provision of Order 39, Rule 4 of the Code, The Wire could have approached the Trial Court itself to modify and/or vacate the ex parte ad-interim impugned restrain order dated 12.10.2017 (Gag order), but ‘The Wire’ did not avail of this option. The court then makes a rather scathing indictment of team Wire saying that “there is reluctance on their part, even to put their contest, on merits, before the Trial Court”.

The High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad observed that since “there is no motivation on the part of any of the defendants to contest the matter before the Trial Court, keeping in view the above noted proposition of the law, this court finds that these Appeals need not be entertained on merits”. This would, in laymen terms mean that the court refused to entertain The Wire’s appeal of vacating the gag order on the ground that The Wire was least motivated to explore their options of approaching the Trial Court and argue the case on merits.

Rajya Sabha TV accused The Wire of stealing, illegally possessing and using copyrighted material

Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) served a legal notice to The Wire in April 2019 for intellectual property rights and copyright infringement. In the legal notice, RSTV has also accused The Wire of coming into possession of copyright material of Rajya Sabha TV in an “unauthorised and unlawful manner suggestive of either stealing or obtaining and making use of the stolen property”.

The notice asked The Wire to provide necessary details and documents within 2 weeks to prove that they had not stolen or come into possession of stolen property of RSTV, that they had not violated exclusive Intellectual Property Rights of RSTV and that they had not infringed upon Copyright vested in RSTV. The legal notice said that should The Wire fail to do so, they will be liable for civil and criminal consequences.

Siddharth Varadarajan and the CHRI

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is no fan of the Narendra Modi government and it is known to receive funds from the United States Department of State. The CHRI had issued a statement against the then ongoing process of the NRC and the issue of detention centers, which was signed by individuals such as Retired Justice Lokur. As per its website, “CHRI’s work is split into two core themes: Access to Information and Access to Justice, which includes Prison Reform, Police Reform, and advocacy on media rights and the South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN). CHRI additionally monitors the human rights situation across the Commonwealth through its International Advocacy and Programming (IAP) unit.”

What is the SAMDEN? Again, its website states, “SAMDEN’s core group includes eminent professionals such as such as Bangladesh’s Mahfuz Anam of the Daily Star, Kanak Mani Dixit of Himal in Nepal, Salil Tripathi, chair of PEN’s unit on journalists in prison, Mrinal Pande, veteran editor and author, John Zubrzycki (a Sydney-based journalist, author specialising in South Asia), Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire, and Sanjoy Hazarika, former correspondent for the New York Times and now International Director at CHRI, among several others.”

CHRI had received Rs. 2,29,500 on the 20th of September, 2019 from the United States’ Department of State for the purpose of “Advocacy and Outreach Programme for Detainees in the North Eastern States of India”. This clearly amounts to foreign interference in India’s internal affairs by elements in the United States. The CHRI has also received huge amounts of money from the Oak Foundation, a shady globalist organization. It received Rs. 1,56,62,639 from the Oak Foundation for the purpose of “Reducing Arbitrary Detention in India 2016-2019” on the 12th of July, 2019. A year ago, the CHRI received Rs. 1,28,89,915 from the same foundation for the same purpose. Quite clearly, these are huge amounts of money that are coming in from abroad in order to meddle with the internal affairs of India.

Rajasthan: 3 policemen injured after a mob attacked them while patrolling in Tonk’s Kasai Mohalla, 12 detained

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: 3 policemen injured after a mob attacked them while patrolling in Tonk’s Kasai Mohalla, 12 detained

During the strict lockdown in the Rajasthan’s Tonk, a police team that went for patrolling in the Kasai Mohalla area was attacked by a violent mob. As a result, three policemen were injured. The Tonk police have registered FIR against 12 people. The injured policemen are admitted to the district hospital.

Tonk has several coronavirus cases listed hence a curfew has been imposed around the coronavirus hotspots. As per reports, a crowd had started gathering in the Kasai Mohalla area on Friday morning despite lockdown orders. A police team was sent to patrol the area and convince the locals to stay at home. However, the locals gathered outside allegedly started attacking the police team.

Some of them refused to obey the policemen and when the police started acting strictly, the mob attacked the police. An additional police team came to rescue as soon as the information about the incident was received. Police have registered FIR against 12 people and detained them.

Coronavirus in Rajasthan

It is notable that Tonk has been listed as a hotspot after 60 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported. Rajasthan has reported 1131 cases of coronavirus so far with an increase of 108 cases in the last 24-hours. 164 People have been recovered and discharged while 3 have succumbed to the disease. On Thursday alone, 55 new cases were reported in Rajasthan and Tonk had 11.

Attacks unleashed against Coronawarriors

Ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced in the country, there have been many such concerted attacks against healthcare workers, policemen by violent mobs. We had reported regarding the series of attacks unleashed against frontline health workers by violent mobs during the coronavirus epidemic.

Earlier, 25 people including 13 women are arrested for pelting stones at the medical team in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place at the Haji Neb Masjid area in Moradabad when a team of doctors and medical staff went to take away two persons suspected of having novel coronavirus in the area. The mob pelted stones at the ambulance and doctors. The stones were also pelted on the police van which came to rescue the health workers later. Several people have been injured in the ensuing mayhem, including Dr. Sudhish Agrawal.

The number of Coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 13387 while 1749 have been recovered. 437 people have died so far in the pandemic.

India tightens scrutiny of Chinese investment in the share market as SEBI asks banks to disclose details of investment coming from China

OpIndia Staff
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India tightens scrutiny of Chinese investment in the share market as SEBI asks banks to disclose details of investment coming from China

The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued fresh communication to custodians seeking details of investments specifically coming from China or through China into Indian stock markets.

According to the reports, the SEBI has asked custodian banks to disclose details of ‘ultimate beneficial owners’ of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) based in China and Hong Kong. The communication to custodians said, “Urgently provide list of FPIs whose beneficial owner is from China and list of FPIs whose beneficial owner is from Hong Kong.”

SEBI’s initial intent was to increase checks of only new FPIs coming from China and other neighbours of India. With Chinese investments entering into Indian markets, the SEBI is now cautioned and has now changed its focus to existing investments as well.

SEBI’s warning comes after Chinese raised investments in HDFC

The direction issued by SEBI to custodians comes as an immediate reaction to People’s Bank of China (PBOC) buying a little above 1% stakes in HDFC. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) purchased 1.75 crore shares of HDFC. HDFC is one of India’s leading housing finance company and traditionally considered as one of the blue-chip stocks by most institutional investors.

Even though such share acquisitions are routine, it had raised some serious concerns about China looking to enter the Indian stock market to tighten its grip by taking advantage of the fall in stock prices in the country.

Following the scare, the SEBI had asked custodians to increase its scrutiny of investments coming from China and Hong Kong. The custodian companies, which are typically MNC banks and arms of Indian financial services groups handling fund and securities of FPIs registered with SEBI, maintain records of Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBOs) of all investors owning 25% or more in an FPI.

Ultimate Beneficial Owner refers to the individual, who ultimately owns or controls a customer on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted. 

1 Billion dollar worth of Chinese investment in Indian stocks

Reportedly, there are a total of 16 Chinese FPIs registered in India with $1.1 billion invested in top-tier stocks. However, the exact level of China’s investment through direct and indirect route is not in public knowledge. According to asset managers, it has been difficult to keep a track of investments from China and Japan.

Some of the big FPIs from China include PBOC, CIFM Asia Pacific Fund, China International fund management, Best Investment Corporation and Asian Infrastructure Investment. Some of these funds are also joint ventures with US-based asset managers.

RBI Governor announces new measures to ease financial distress amidst coronavirus lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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RBI Governor announces new measures to ease financial distress amidst coronavirus lockdown

During a press conference on Friday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das assured everyone that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would do whatever it can to ease financial distress, ensure liquidity in the market and facilitate bank credit flow. He, however, conceded that the market had taken a hit in some areas.

Das praised the banks and other financial institutions for ensuring normal functioning, amidst the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. Quoting the International Monetary Fund projection of 1.9% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, he said that India’s growth would be the highest among the G20 countries and that the economy would turn around by 2021-2022.

Ensuring Liquidity in the Market

The RBI Governor informed that Targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO) 2.0 operations of ₹50,000 crores will be conducted. While the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks) has remained unchanged, the reverse repo rate (the rate at which the RBI borrows money from the commercial banks) has been cut by 25 bps to 3.75%. The redemption pressures faced by some mutual funds have also been moderated.

Measures for the Banking Sector

The banks have been asked to not pay dividends to shareholders until further notice. the RBI Governor also informed that the Non-Performing Asset (NPA) classification for banks will exclude the moratorium period (waiting period before a borrower begins repaying his loan).

The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (proportion of liquid assets that help meet short-term financial obligations) requirement of banks have also been decreased from 100% to 80%.

Measures for other Financial Institutions

The RBI will provide a ₹50,000 crore finance facility to financial institutions such as the National Housing Bank (NHB), National Bank For Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The loans sanctioned by Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFCs) to real estate companies will receive same benefit as that of scheduled Commerical banks.

Finance ministry package

On 26 March, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a press conference and announced a financial package that would take care of the welfare concerns of the poor and the suffering migrant workers after the 21-day lockdown has been announced to arrest the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus.

The package was called ‘Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana’ and totalled a whopping 1.70 lakh crores. The Finance Minister said that one side of the scheme would focus on cash transfers through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and the other would focus on food security as the government does not want anyone to remain hungry.

Uttar Pradesh: NSA slapped, govt to seize assets of the Moradabad stone pelters if they fail to pay for the damage to public property

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: NSA slapped, govt to seize assets of the Moradabad stone pelters if they fail to pay for the damage to public property

A day after the Muslim mobs had unleashed violence against the police and health workers in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed authorities to seize the properties of Moradabad attackers and violent lockdown violators if they fail to pay for the damages done to government property.

According to reports, Uttar Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday ordered attachment of properties of people involved in the attack, if they fail to pay for the damage to public property.

CM’s orders against the mob attacking healthcare professionals

CM Yogi Adityanath has also directed the officials that if violent mobs damage public property during a lockdown or during the screening of suspected coronavirus patients, the cost should be recovered from them. If the accused fail to pay up, their properties will be confiscated.

The Chief Minister also issued orders to magistrates and police chiefs of districts to ensure the security of health officials and take tough action against those involved in the attack of health workers.

Moradabad stone-pelting incident

The incident took place at Haji Neb Masjid area in Moradabad when a team of doctors and medical staff went to take away two persons suspected of having novel coronavirus in the area. The mob pelted had stones at the ambulance and doctors, severely injuring many and damaging government vehicles.

The stones were also pelted on the police van which came to rescue the health workers later. Several people have been injured in the ensuing mayhem, including Dr Sudhish Agrawal. According to health officials, hundreds of people came out on the streets to attack the medical team.

25 accused, including 13 women arrested for pelting stones

As many as 25 people including 13 women are arrested for pelting stones at the medical team in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Issuing a stern warning to mobsters, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had said that not only will they be booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act but they’ll also be slapped with sections of NSA.

The NSA allows preventive detention for up to 12 months without a charge if the authorities are satisfied that the person is a threat to national security or law and order.

Earlier, the Shivraj Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh had also slapped NSA charges on some people who had brutally attacked a medical team that had female doctors in Indore’s Tatpatti Bakhal area.

Muslims discharged from Chennai hospital make Islamic gesture popularised by ISIS while posing for photos: Here is what it means

OpIndia Staff
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Muslims discharged from Chennai hospital make Islamic gesture popularised by ISIS while posing for photos: Here is what it means

Amidst the gloomy Coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the world and in India specifically, the spread of the virus due to Tablighi Jamaat, images of patients being released from a Chennai hospital after being treated for Coronavirus were released by a journalist today. Journalist Sanjeevee Sadagopan with Republic TV tweeted three photographs of patients, mostly Muslims, being released from the Chennai Hospital.

Of the pictures, two of the pictures tweeted by the journalist caught everyone’s attention. In one of the pictures, two patients in the photograph were seen making the Islamic gesture popularised by ISIS, where the index finger is raised to the sky. In the other, one patient was seen making the same gesture.

Picture of patients being released from Chennai hospital
Picture of patients being released from Chennai hospital

Speculations of connection to ISIS

There were several people on micro-blogging website Twitter who speculated whether the patients have connections or sympathies with ISIS since they were seen making the hand gesture which was popularised by the terrorist organisation.

There were Netizens who tweeted and said that the National Investigating Agency (NIA) should get involved and investigate the 3 Jamaatis seems to be showing the ISIS salute.

What does the one-finger-raised gesture mean in Islam

Nathaniel Zelinsky writes in Foreign Affairs that the gesture refers to the tawhid, “the belief in the oneness of God and a key component of the Muslim religion.” 

In an essay published on the CIA website, Tawheed is described as follows:

“Literally Tawheed means “unification” (making something one) or “asserting oneness”, and it comes from the Arabic verb (wahhada) which itself means to unite, unify or consolidate.1 However, when the term Tawheed is used in reference to Allaah (i.e. Tawheedullaah2), it means the realizing and maintaining of Allaah’s unity in all of man’s actions which directly or indirectly relate to Him. It is the belief that Allaah is One, without partner in His dominion and His actions (Ruboobeeyah), One without similitude in His essence and attributes (Asmaa wa Sifaat), and One without rival in His divinity and in worship (Ulooheeyah/’Ebaadah). These three aspects form the basis for the categories into which the science of Tawheed has been traditionally divided. The three overlap and are inseparable to such a degree that whoever omits any one aspect has failed to complete the requirements of Tawheed. The omission of any of the above-mentioned aspects of Tawheed is referred to as “Shirk” (lit. sharing); the association of partners with Allaah, which, in Islamic terms, is in fact idolatry”

Zelinsky was of the belief that the raised finger gesture pertains to the fundamentalist interpretation of Tawhid, “which rejects any other view, including other Islamic interpretations, as idolatry”.

In a website called www.dar-alifta.org, which explains the basic tenets of Islam, the requirement of the finger-hand-gesture is explained win details and the explanation also cites the relevant Hadiths that require the hand gesture to be made by Muslims.

According to the website, the raised-fingers signifies three tenets of Islam. They are:

 Raising one’s index finger in tashahud signifies tawheed [monotheism].
– The index finger must be raised when saying ‘illa Allah’. 
-The phrase ‘La illaha’ [there is no deity] refutes shirk [associating partners with God].
– ‘Illa Allah’ demonstrates tawheed.

Further, the website cites examples from the Quran and explanations by Imam’s that talk about the significance of the finger-raised hand gesture.

  1. Al-Bayhaqi reported in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra through Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet of Islam said: ” ‘This,” and he pointed to his index finger “signifies ikhlas [sincerity of faith] and this,” and he raised his hands to his shoulders “signifies du’a` [supplication] and this,” and he raised his hands high “signifies ibtihal [invocation].’” 
  2. In another phrasing of the hadith, Imam Abu Bakr Ibn Abu Shaybah and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra reported through Ibn ‘Abass that the Prophet of Islam said: “It is ikhlas” i.e. lifting the index finger when saying ‘illa Allah’. 
  3. Ibn Shaybah reported through Ibrahim Al-Nakh’i who said: “It is recommended to point with one’s finger when saying ‘illa Allah’ because it is tawheed. But it is disliked to point with two fingers.” 

It is pertinent to note here that when the article spoke of ‘Illa Allah’ it was probably referring to the Islamic Shahada ‘La Illaha Illallah’ which means ‘there is no God but Allah’.

Significance of the raised-finger gesture in ISIS

Nathaniel Zelinsky writes in Foreign Affairs that “when ISIS uses the gesture, it is affirming an ideology that demands the destruction of the West, as well as any form of pluralism. For potential recruits around the globe, it also shows their belief that they will dominate the world”.

The gesture, though rooted in Islamic tenets is deeply connected with the terrorist organisation ISIS. In fact, even Baghdadi had used the gesture in his first Friday speech from the Mosque after ISIS had taken over Mosul.

Baghdadi delivering first speech after ISIS taking over Mosul

“The gesture has been used by jihadis for years, including high profile ones like Osama bin Laden. Within the jihadi context, the raised index finger takes on political meaning as well, widely rejecting any form of government not under Shariah law,” she said.

Since then, it is not only used by fighters and supporters of IS but by those celebrating weddings in IS-held areas.

In fact, the one-finger gesture has become a common way for journalists and investigators to identify people with affliations or sympathies to ISIS.

Thus, while the one-finger gesture is intrinsically connected to Islam, it is to be noted that several analysts believe that the gesture itself pertains to the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and that it has now become synonymous with ISIS.

What about the Chennai patients?

The hand gesture in itself can be considered a simple expression of faith by the Muslims, however, given the context of today’s world where it has become synonymous with a terror organisation like the ISIS, it is bound to raise some eyebrows and questions.

In the UK, Islamophobia Awareness Month is run by an organisation called the Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend). Mend says the logo of a finger pointing upwards signifies the “oneness of God in Islamic prayer ritual” but due to the gesture’s association with ISIS, Bedfordshire Police had once deleted the poster it had tweeted after severe backlash.

Poster deleted by Bedofrdshire Police

Thus, given the context of the gesture, it is not unthinkable that the gesture could mean sympathy or affiliation to ISIS, however, even without the affiliation to ISIS, according to some experts, the gesture itself pertains to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.

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