DMK MLA visits BJP office moments after suspension, says Stalin turned DMK into ‘family party’

https://t.co/HujOB6DGWT https://t.co/VxY3VQuBML

Tamil Nadu’s DMK MLA Ku Ka Selvam visited BJP’s office in Chennai soon after he was suspended by party chief MK Stalin for alleged violation of party discipline after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and met BJP president JP Nadda in Delhi on Tuesday and claimed the DMK had become a family’s party. Ku Ka Selvam, was temporarily suspended by party chief Stalin and also served a show cause notice asking him why he should not be expelled from the primary membership of the party.  While Selvan has in the past rejected speculations that he was inclined to join the BJP, his attack on Stalin on Wednesday at BJP’s office doesn’t indicate a reconciliatory posture. “The DMK now functions as a family’s party,” Selvam was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Selvam, who represents the prestigious Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai which houses DMK party’s headquarters and Stalin’s Chittaranjan avenue residence, is reported to be miffed with party for not picking him for DMK’s Chennai West district secretary post. On Tuesday, he travelled all the way to Delhi to meet railway minister Piyush Goyal with a request to install two lifts at a railway station under his constituency and also ended up meeting BJP president JP Nadda.  Reports say he was accompanied by former DMK leader V. P.  Duraiswamy who later joined the BJP. In Delhi, Selvam praised PM Modi for good governance and wished him well for the beginning of the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Also Read: PM Modi’s wisdom paved way for peaceful resolution of Ram temple issue: Yogi AdityanathAfter the meeting, he denied he was joining the BJP and said he requested Nadda to develop Rameswaram and other places associated with Lord Ram further. An upset DMK on Wednesday issued an official statement announcing Selvam’s suspension. “DMK headquarters office secretary and executive committee member Ku Ka Selvam is relieved from the posts effective today. ” He has also been asked to reply to a show cause notice for bringing disrepute to the party. Selvam has demanded that the DMK snaps ties with the Congress and condemn “Karuppar Kootam” channel, for allegedly denigrating ‘Kanda Sashti Kavacham’ hymn in praise of Lord Muruga.


Uttarakhand: A team of NDRF carries out a search operation in Alakananda river, Vishnuprayag.

#UttarakhandDisaster https://t.co/b49Q0k4X8e

This week, I took a three-hour boat ride down the Ganga, traversing a little over 30 kilometres from the Mehndi Ghat in Kannauj to the Nanamau Ghat in Kanpur Dehat, in pursuit of understanding why dead bodies are piling up on our river banks in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar and why corpses are floating in the river. Most recently, over a 12-day trip through rural UP, I personally counted more than 1,000 bodies at six different points, spread over a few thousand kilometres from the east to the west of the state. The presence of many graves, and the fact that those who have died during the Covid-19 surge are being abandoned and dumped either because of lack of money for cremations or the continued fear and stigma around the pandemic, is horrifying.  But what is even more horrifying is the Indian State’s callous refusal to acknowledge this truth. On the issue of these graves by the river banks in UP, we have seen one of three responses from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters.  One, there is absolute denial and a tendency to look the other way, while patting UP on the back for what is patently questionable death data.  Second, there is attack on the handful among us who are on the field, in extremely trying physical circumstances, with abuse and threats.  And finally, it is claimed that this is an old practice among some communities to bury the dead instead of cremating them and so to link it to Covid-19 is false. Also Read | Farm sector unscathed by 2nd Covid waveIt is this last claim that I will counter by drawing attention to scores of local testimonies recorded on camera. Subhash, a boatman, helped us navigate our way through the water, past stray animals that hovered about corpses and past pyres that were being lit by the banks even in the smallest villages.  He told us that the carnage, at its peak, was so bad that he shut down his boats and ran away for a few days.  “I have been working for 30 years and I have never seen so many bodies in my life.  Mujhe ghabrahat ho gayi (I panicked). ”Mayank, a young boy who helps with entries at the Mehndi Ghat cremation ground, said he had counted 1,500 bodies in all at the one single ghat he looks after in recent weeks.  “I have worked here for eight years and I have never seen anything like this,” he told me. In Kanpur, where the bodies lie stacked up in ravines so sandy and rocky that our car would not go down and we could only access the spot by motorcycle, local residents said people would come in the cover of the night, when no one was looking, and abandon the bodies and hastily make their way home. At Prayagraj, as the police watched, the Ramnaami chadars were ordered off the makeshift graves — the ultimate indignity.  A local pandit walked me through the banks and asked the fundamental question: “Will our Covid dead ever be counted, will we ever know how many people have died from Covid? ”Also Read | In a crematorium, a silent Hindu-Muslim bond Theoretically, without exhumation and testing, we cannot unequivocally prove that all of the deaths are from Covid.  But the fact that these bodies have piled up at multiple points within the last four to six weeks, the exact period of the second wave, is telling.  Especially when you couple it with what’s happening in our villages, where there is hardly any Covid testing and most people are dying in their homes without reaching hospital. At cremation sites, in cases where families had accompanied the bodies for the last rites, villagers testified to a surge of deaths in their hamlets.  There was a common refrain.  “Every day, four or five bodies leave for the funeral grounds. ” This account of a sudden surge in deaths in rural India was true for villages all the way from the east in Varanasi to the west in Basi Gaon, two hours from Delhi. Yes, locals have explained to us that children and young brides have always been buried and never cremated.  But none of these customs explain the volume of the bodies all along the Ganga.  Even in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Varanasi, in Sujabad, seven bodies had to be buried by locals as they washed ashore.  And at the farthest point in Unnao, by the river’s open fields, where there is hardly anyone to be seen, a young cowherd told me that over the past two weeks, 20 bodies had washed ashore or been left in the sand. Angry denials, obfuscation, calling those covering the issue vultures, none of this addresses what’s staring us in the face — the under-reporting of Covid-19 deaths and the stubborn refusal to even count the bodies.  India’s citizens deserve better, in life and yes, in death. Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and authorThe views expressed are personal


BREAKING: Large fire breaks out in the iconic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, authorities say. https://t.co/e05lEA74EM https://t.co/8m0Ut6MHqC

                Everything you need to know about bitcoin, blockchain, NFTs and more

    In Paris, people gathered in plazas and street corners, eyes trained on the all-consuming fire.  The rest of the world gathered via screens big and small.  United in helplessness.  Unsure of what to say.  But compelled to watch.

    Monday’s outbreak of fire at the Notre Dame cathedral was first captured by the camera phones of tourists and local journalists.

    One of the first social media posts came from a user named Ally, who tweeted a video of the smoke and wrote, in French, “Smoke escapes from Notre Dame ? !  A fire ? ? ” The question marks reflected the day’s disbelief.
  De la fumée s’échappe de notre dame ? !  Un incendie ? ?  #paris #notredamedeparis pic. twitter. com/IcQP95l9vk
    Eyewitness videos showed the progression of the fire as newsrooms scrambled to send staffers to the scene.  One of the most-shared posts about the fire on Twitter had a one-word caption: “Horrible. ”

    Parisians held their phones aloft, so they’d have their own copies of history burning, or so that they’d have something to do besides just watch in dismay.  Some called loved ones.  But mostly it was “eerily quiet as all these crowds watch Notre Dame burn,” CNN’s Hadas Gold said.

    Beyond Paris, word spread from person to person, mostly digitally, through text message chains and Facebook groups and emails.

    In South Carolina, a man asked, “Is it ok to cry for a building? ”

    “What an uncanny, horrible feeling: history about to disappear on a livestream,” BuzzFeed’s Anne Helen Petersen wrote on Twitter.

    “We’re not used to seeing a historic icon, something of so much significance in this world, no matter what your belief system, literally being destroyed before our eyes,” CNN’s Chris Cuomo said as he anchored the network’s live coverage.

    People shared links to close-ups of the spire’s collapse.  The tragic moment was recorded from seemingly every angle.

    Others shared photos from their past visits to Notre Dame.  Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer at The Atlantic, said she had been there just a day earlier.  She posted a snapshot of the cathedral and said “we were just walking around marveling at how something can be so extraordinary and so enduring.  I feel sick. ”
  Took this yesterday when we were just walking around marveling at how something can be so extraordinary and so enduring.  I feel sick.  pic. twitter. com/WDfG90e3aI
    People reached for ways to say that they were at a loss for words.

    Social media abhors a vacuum, of course.  So there was lots and lots said.

    Dawna Friesen, one of the top TV news anchors in Canada, tweeted, “I don’t want to sound too dramatic…but why do these flames destroying 700 years of history feel like a representation of the times we are living? ”

    The whole world was able to watch live — but, sadly, that was all we were able to do.
  All Content by CompareCardsMost stock quote data provided by BATS.  Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes.  All times are ET.  Disclaimer.  Morningstar: Copyright 2018 Morningstar, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.  Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018.  All rights reserved.  Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  and its licensors.  All rights reserved.  Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN.  Standard & Poor’s and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC.  All content of the Dow Jones branded indices Copyright S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates. © 2021 Cable News Network.  A Warner Media Company.  All Rights Reserved.   CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.


Coronavirus spread to more than 40% of children and teens within one week at a Georgia sleep-away camp, new CDC study says. https://t.co/CQ1T3bplNg https://t.co/NlxuHlgqDh

By Andrea KaneUpdated 5:10 PM ET, Fri July 31, 2020  (CNN)A Covid-19 outbreak at a Georgia sleep away camp this June could have implications for school reopening, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.


Pres. Trump and first lady Melania Trump are en route to the U.S. Capitol for the president's State of the Union address to Congress. https://t.co/z21h5Ddt05 https://t.co/MuykTw0Qym

By Phil Mattingly, Manu Raju, Jeremy Herb and Clare Foran, CNNUpdated 7:20 PM ET, Wed February 5, 2020  (CNN)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday morning that she "shredded" the President's State of the Union speech Tuesday night because Trump "shredded the truth" in his address, according to one person in the room.  CNN's Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.


Congress appoints DK Shivakumar as Karnataka chief

https://t.co/heVSpDd5Bo https://t.co/HUFgBM6it3

HighlightsD K Shivakumar appointed KPCC chiefThree working presidents appointed in KarnatakaPending appointments coincide with Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from CongressCongress made two important appointments to fill pending vacancies of party chiefs in Karnataka and Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, moments after former party stalwart Jyotiraditya Scindia formally joined the BJP in Delhi. Karnataka troubleshooter D K Shivakuamr was appointed KPCC chief while former party MLA Anil Chaudhary was appointed the president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. Apart from Shivakumar--a Vokkaliga-- the Congress also appointed three working presidents in Karnataka-- Eashwar Khandre, Satish Jharkiholi and Salim Ahammed. Among the three working presidents appointed on Wednesday, one is from the most dominant Lingayat community --Khandara, another from the Nayaka community (ST)--Jharkiholi and one is a Muslim-- Ahammed.  Caste equations are considered to be politically important in Karnataka.  The KPCC president’s post has been vacant ever since the party lost badly in the state by-polls held last year, helping the BJP consolidate power.  Former chief Dinesh Gundu Rao quit after the BJP won 12 of the 15 by-poll seats, giving it a comfortable majority in the assembly. The timing of the appointments couldn’t be missed as it came within moments of Jyotriaditya Scindia joining the BJP.  Many analysts have attributed his exit to a flux in the Congress. Shivakumar had established himself as the party’s main troubleshooter in times of crisis in Karnataka and the perceived delay in his elevation was said to be breeding “uncertainty” in the party’s Karnataka unit.  A Congress leader in the state and former Karnataka minister had raised concerns over the position of the party chief lying vacant since last year. “How long can the current uncertainty continue? ” he asked.  Shivakumar is seen as an aggressive leader who can rejuvenate the party marred by political bickering and factional feud since it formed a coalition government with the JD(S), which collapsed partly due to internal discontent among party leaders. Shivakumar is currently under probe by the income tax and enforcement directorate in cases of alleged tax evasion and money laundering.  He is currently out on bail.  He is a seven-term MLA and has served as a minister under three former Congress chief ministers, namely, S Bangarappa, S M Krishna and Siddaramiah and also under one former JD(S) chief minister Kumaraswamy. Shivakumar is also one of the richest politicians in the state and his brother D K Suresh is a two-term parliamentarian and is the sitting MP from Bangalore Rural constituency.  Also Read: It’s Lingayats vs Vokkaligas for Karnataka Congress chief’s post


An Aam Aadmi Party supporter at party office in Delhi. #DelhiResults https://t.co/7WhhzIhQao

The 2020 election campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which according to early trends and leads was set to return to power in Delhi, had some prime markers. These included concepts such as report card of the government and a crisp guarantee card for the future, town hall gatherings, intense use of social media leading to a virtual war over memes and parodies with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and a unique campaign song to resonate across all constituencies.  All these different approaches focussed on highlighting one thing - brand Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister and the party’s national convenor. Full Coverage: Delhi Assembly Elections | Track Live UpdatesThe AAP has so far contested six elections in the national capital - two Lok Sabha polls, three assembly polls, and one municipal election.  But this was the first time they involved a professional election strategist in the form of Prashant Kishor and his agency I-PAC, which has worked in the past with campaigns for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and leaders such as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.  Also Watch | Delhi poll results: Trends show majority for AAP, cadres celebrate“The report card was conceptualised around November, when the party was about to begin its third phase of the poll campaign, and had already drafted a plan for a thorough door-to-door drive covering 3. 5 million households.  The report card was essentially a list of achievements of the party and it had to go together with townhalls.  The idea was to project the chief minister like a confident leader who does not shy away from one-on-one conversations about his work and from taking questions from the crowd.  The plan worked out well and we could see more support,” said the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP and election campaign in-charge Sanjay Singh. With that, the party also released its campaign song, “Lage Raho Kejriwal”, created by Bollywood composer and self-proclaimed Kejriwal supporter Vishal Dadlani.  This soon became the theme for over 8,000 events - ranging from local public meetings by leaders of different ranks to Kejriwal’s roadshows - organised across the city.  In the roadshows, a large number of people across all constituencies could be seen dancing to the song that endorsed “Brand AK” even though, in many cases, it emerged that they did not know the party’s candidate from the seat, especially on the 23 constituencies in which new faces were fielded. Meanwhile, a new kind of war continued - of memes and parodies on social media.  The AAP was clearly on the front foot, with the social media team of the party led by Ankit Lal coming out with new video content every second day - taking digs at the BJP, its leaders such as party president Manoj Tiwari, and the Congress.  The content was based on a wide range of things - popular films and songs, to popular advertisements, to Web trends, to the Nintendo classic Super Mario Bros.  For this, a group of young volunteers joined the AAP’s Delhi war room from other cities.  At the forefront was a 23-year-old media studies graduate, Abhijeet Dipke from Pune. “In the very early stages, we realised that we were much ahead of our competitors in the social media battle.  Social media strategies can impact voters of wide demography.  The strategy worked well,” said Dipke. By the first week of January, however, something changed.  The Shaheen Bagh protests grabbed centrestage and the BJP lost no time in making it a campaign pitch, openly attacking the AAP, and with that, changing the discourse of the campaign, which, till that point, was focussed on core development and welfare issues. “That caused a delay in the manifesto, which the AAP was supposed to release on January 19.  So, on that day, the party released a guarantee card instead.  It was a document to assure voters that the Delhi government’s work on certain areas would continue unhindered if the AAP is voted back to power,” said a senior party leader who did not want to be identified. With time, the campaign turned toxic, diving people on religious lines.  Union minister Anurag Thakur was seen leading a “shoot the traitors” slogan, for which he was punished by the Election Commission, and BJP MP Parvesh Verma called Kejriwal a “terrorist”, for which he too was chastised. The AAP, at this point, acted quickly by changing this challenge into an opportunity by launching a campaign which stressed on asking voters if they saw Kejriwal as their “son” or a “terrorist”. “The new strategy helped a lot in bringing back the discourse of the campaign to Delhi’s local issues such as water, power, sewer, roads, schools, hospitals and welfare schemes among other things,” AAP convener in Delhi Gopal Rai said.


Jammu & Kashmir Police: Three terrorists affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were arrested today based on a credible input. Incriminating material including ammunition & live rounds recovered. A case has been registered. https://t.co/wbJvCgD4zg

Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday said they have arrested three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists in Kashmir. “Three terrorists affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were arrested today based on a credible input.  Incriminating material including ammunition and live rounds recovered.  A case has been registered,” Jammu and Kashmir police said in a tweet late Sunday evening. It was not immediately clear where and how the three were arrested but residents in city’s outskirts near Parimpora witnessed security forces intercepting and detaining some youth from a vehicle during the day.  Security forces have been aggressively pursuing JeM terrorists after a suicide car bomber of the outfit rammed a truck in a CRPF convoy in south Kashmir’s Pulwana on February 14 killing 40 troopers. Since then many JeM members have been killed in various gunfights across the valley. Eight JeM members were killed since Thursday in four gunfights with security forces.


There shall be a weekend Corona curfew in Chandigarh from 5 am on Saturday, 29th May till 5 am on Monday, 31st May: Chandigarh Administration https://t.co/SeLLAA46pV

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An image with ‘Breaking News’ templates of ‘ABP’ news channel is being shared on social media with the following quotes attributed to Rahul Gandhi-‘It is important to help Pakistan and we will definitely help them’, ‘As soon as our government gets formed, we will give five thousand crore loan to Pakistan without interest for 50 years’, ‘Congress Party belongs to Muslims and will remain theirs’ and ‘My ancestors were Muslims, I am Muslim’ (English Translations).  Let’s verify the claim made in the post. Claim: ‘ABP’ Breaking news templates mentioning Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements on Pakistan and the Congress party. Fact: The image shared in the post is an edited one.  The font used in the ‘ABP’ ‘Breaking News’ template is different from the font in the posted image.  ABP news channel itself had debunked a couple of quotes mentioned in the post.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE. When we searched to check whether the ‘ABP’ news channel had telecasted such quotes attributing them to Rahul Gandhi, it is found out that ‘ABP’ news channel had itself debunked a couple of statements mentioned in the post.  The statements debunked by the ‘ABP’ news channel are ‘मेरे पूर्वज मुस्लिम थे, मैं मुसलमान हू’, ‘हमारी सरकार बनते ही पाकिस्तान को 5 हजार करोड़ कर्ज देंगे बिना ब्याज 50 साल के लिए’.  ‘ABP’ news channel clarified that they did not telecast these ‘Breaking News’ templates of Rahul Gandhi.  They mentioned these templates as doctored images. #Urgent: This is to notify that the attached media which is being circulated online has been doctored with our channel's template.  The information about Sh.  Rahul Gandhi's statements, which these images carry have not been reported by ABP & have no relation with ABP News Network.  pic. twitter. com/qYU2sJXqslIn the past, the same ‘कोंग्रेस मुस्लिमों की है, और उनकी ही रहेगी’ statement was attributed to Rahul Gandhi on social media.  An Urdu news website ‘Inquilab’ had first published this statement attributing to Rahul Gandhi.  But, Congress leaders denied Rahul Gandhi making such a statement.  They clarified that Rahul Gandhi had not made any such statement stating Congress as a Muslim party.  Rahul Gandhi in a tweet stated Congress as an unbiased political party that belongs to every religion in the country. I stand with the last person in the line.  The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted.  Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me.  I seek out those in pain and embrace them.  I erase hatred and fear.  I love all living beings.  I am the Congress. Regarding the last statement (‘पाकिस्तान की मदद करना जरूरी है और हम यह जरूर करेंगे’), we could not find any reliable information to confirm that Rahul Gandhi had made these comments on helping Pakistan.  On comparing the ‘Breaking News’ template text in the post with the text of the actual ‘Breaking News’ template of the ‘ABP’ news channel, we could observe the differences in the font.  Also, the word ‘कांग्रेस’ is misspelled as ‘कोग्रेस’ in these screenshots. FACTLY had earlier debunked images with similar ‘ABP’ templates that claimed Rahul Gandhi’s family affiliation to Muslims. To sum it up, these ‘ABP’ news templates with Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements on Pakistan and Congress party are morphed images.


Home Minister while chairing a meeting to review preparations for #COVID19 management said that Expert Committee has fixed a price of Rs 2400 for tests & if the price for such tests is higher in UP & Haryana they could decide to lower their prices after internal consultations:MHA https://t.co/WpA0lzBei1

The price of diesel rose for 18th day in a row on Wednesday.  With the current increase, diesel will now cost Rs 79. 88 per litre in Delhi, while petrol price remained unchanged at Rs 79. 76 a litre.  This is the first time that diesel costs more than petrol in Delhi. The two fuels have seen a hike of Rs 10. 49 per litre in the last 18 days. In January 2018, diesel retailed at Rs 61. 74 a litre in Delhi.  In about a year and a half, the price has gone up by mroe than Rs 18 per litre. In 2011, the difference was Rs 30 per litre. In June 2017, state-run fuel retailers Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum switched to daily price revision from a fortnightly pricing system.  And since the dynamic fuel pricing system began, the gap between the prices of the two fuels has been narrowing. Higher levies imposed by the Centre and various state governments also contribute to the higher retail price of diesel. The increase in fuel rates started on June 7 this year as oil companies resumed daily revision in prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day gap during the Covid-19 lockdown.  It has taken diesel prices to fresh highs and petrol price too is at a two-year high. People aware of the development said the fuel prices may soon cross the Rs 80 per litre mark soon as international oil prices continue to surge. The government has been facing Opposition’s ire over the daily increase in fuel prices.  The Congress said on Tuesday that it will launch a ‘Jan Andolan’ (people’s movement) across the country soon against the hike. Discussing the issue at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party condemned the hike in petrol and diesel prices and reminded the government of its “Raj Dharma”. The Trinamool Congress also slammed the Modi government at the Centre, saying it is “disgraceful to unleash a planned disaster” on the common people at a time when the country is in the throes of a pandemic.


ess President Rahul Gandhi was on a two-day UAE visit from January 11 to January 13

Gandhi visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  In the two days he was there, Gandhi reached out to the Indian expatriates in the UAE, assured them to accommodate all their problems in the party manifesto and had a "cordial discussion" with Sharjah ruler Muhammad Al-Qasimi.  Meanwhile, fake-news purveyors were busy spreading misinformation about Gandhi's UAE visit.  It started the week before he actually left for Dubai and is still going on.  Here are three fake news manufactured around Gandhi's UAE visit.  1) CLAIM ONE: Rahul Gandhiâs image was displayed on Dubaiâs Burj KhalifaA Facebook page supporting Gandhi, that goes by the name of "With Rahul Gandhi", posted a video that showed Dubaiâs Burj Khalifa, one of the world-famous skyscrapers, displaying Rahul Gandhiâs photo on it.  The claim was false and the video was fake and in reality, Burj Khalifa did not display Gandhi's photo as claimed in the Facebook post.  Times Fact Check has found that the video showing Gandhi's image being displayed on Burj Khalifa was made using an application called Biugo, and we had fact-checked this claim on January 8.  2) CLAIM TWO: Rahul Gandhi returned to India on a fighter plane, Dubai ruler broke protocol to enable thisA Facebook page that goes by the name "Viral in India", a serial fake-news peddler, made a post with a caption that closely translates to, "Rahul Gandhi becomes first such Indian leader", sharing a link to an article that said how Gandhi returned to Indian on a special Emirates flight.  The title of the article that closely translates to, "Rahul Gandhi to return by Dubai's fighter plane, Dubai ruler breaks protocol again" is misleading.  The article said that the "fighter plane" in question is usually made available only for prime ministers / presidents / rulers of other countries and that this is the first time the service was provided to a leader not holding a position of power in the government.  Times Fact Check found a report on Gulf News that said Gandhi returned to India on an Emirates flight at 3. 10 PM on Sunday, January 13.  We checked the official website of Emirates airlines to find a flight from Dubai to New Delhi at 3. 10 PM.  It is clear that no special arrangement was made for Gandhi.  One of the photos used inside the article posted by "Viral in India" showing Rahul Gandhi interacting with a kid, a fellow passenger, is from 2014 when Gandhi made headlines for travelling to Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram by a budget airline.   (Photo tweeted by @rojimjohn) 3) CLAIM THREE: Rahul Gandhi said Islam philosophy inspired Mahatma Gandhi to practice non-violenceAnother serial fake-news peddler - a Facebook page that goes by the name âPMO India: Report Cardâ posted a video that shows Gandhi talking at an event and saying, âMahatma Gandhi picked up the idea of non-violence from ancient Indian philosophy, from Islamâ¦â along with a caption that said, âNew knowledge for youâ.   The post has, by now, been shared over 6,700 times and viewed over 1,67,000 times.  The same video has been shared by many other pages and individual users as well.  Times Fact Check noticed the logos on the video and found the original, 27. 38-minute-long video on the official YouTube account of the Indian National Congress.  At 24. 10 minutes, Gandhi could be heard saying, "Non-violence is embedded inside our DNA.  And it's been embedded not for 50 years.  Mahatma Gandhi was a great exponent of non-violence.  But Mahatma Gandhiji picked up the idea of non-violence from our great religions, from our great teachers.  Mahatma Gandhi picked up the idea of non-violence from ancient Indian philosophy, from Islam, from Christianity, from Judaism, from every great religion; where it is clearly written that violence will not help anyone achieve anything. " Watch the video here: It is clear that the fake-news peddlers trimmed a longer video and took a part of Gandhi's speech out of context to portray he said Mahatma Gandhi picked up non-violence from Islam.  Please do not fall for such fake news.


"What the President is suggesting...that light at the end of the tunnel,  could be a train coming at us if people are out and about." House Speaker Pelosi responds to the President suggesting he'd like to reopen the economy, adding "I don't want to waste any energy on his tweets" https://t.co/HPJWzIvpqk

He said the government response to the virus "has to move much faster. "Joe Biden's biggest concern about the coronavirus outbreakFormer Vice President Joe Biden, currently the Democratic front-runner in the 2020 presidential race, joined ABC's "The View" on Tuesday, urging Americans and the Trump administration to listen to the health experts leading the novel coronavirus response -- criticizing the president in the process. "Listen to the scientists.  Listen to the doctors.  Listen to what they have to say," Biden told the hosts.  "I would respectfully suggest that you should have Dr.  [Anthony] Fauci on a lot more than the president -- or anyone who's not an expert like Fauci -- laying out exactly what's going on. "When prompted, Biden pushed back on President Donald Trump's argument that "the cure cannot be worse . . .  than the problem. " He said the focus of the response has to remain on flattening "the curve" and taking steps to curb the spread of the virus. "We have to take care of the cure.  That will make the problem worse no matter what," he said.  "No matter what.  We know what has to be done. "Biden also took issue with recent comments made by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, focused specifically on fixing the economy and sending Americans back to work amid the crisis. "I don't agree with the notion that somehow it's okay to let the -- let people die and I'm not sure that would happen," Biden told the hosts.  "I heard earlier comments on your show, to make sure the economy is there for our kids.  The whole world is suffering from this.  We have the strongest, most vital, most vibrant economy in the world.  We can bounce back, but we need workers to bounce back. "He added that his main goal is not to "criticize" Trump’s response to the crisis, saying he does not blame him for the outbreak, but added that it is important to call out what he believes are mistruths coming from the White House. "I think there's truth to both sides.  That's why, if you notice what I've been doing, I've not been criticizing the president but I've been pointing out where there's disagreement as to how to proceed," Biden said, adding "The coronavirus is not his fault, but the lack of speed with which to respond to it -- it has to move much faster . . .  as I pointed out, this is not about Democrat or Republican. "Biden also weighed in on the over $1 trillion stimulus package for those impacted by COVID-19 that is currently being negotiated on the Hill.  He said it is "pretty good," and feels both sides are close to an agreement. "The House and the Senate as of 10 minutes before . . .  this program, it looks like they're pretty close to a deal.  It's not everything that I would want, nor that I think the Democrats want, but it's pretty good," he said.  "It has about $1,200 direct checks or payments for folks and . . .  $500 per child. "He added, "We should be focusing on keeping people on the payroll. "Biden’s appearance on the show marks his first on-screen interview since the coronavirus pandemic put a pause on all in-person campaigning -- moving the 2020 race largely to the virtual world. Asked about his only remaining rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen.  Bernie Sanders, Biden said he is not urging him to exit the race -- but did call for unity as the party heads towards a general election matchup with Trump. "I have not had any personal conversations with him.  My staff and his staff have had discussions.  I think it's up to Bernie," he said. "Bernie and I have always gotten along well,” he continued, adding that he is listening to the Vermont senator’s supporters and has spoken with other leading liberals like Sen.  Elizabeth Warren about how to craft a policy platform that appeals to the entire party. Biden, who committed to pick a female running mate during the last presidential campaign, acknowledged that while he has not secured the nomination, he has begun to think about who he would want to serve as his second in command. "There is a short list, meaning somewhere between -- there's about 12-15 women who I think would be qualified to be president tomorrow, but I think we're going to narrow the list down to about 11.  We're going to start vetting soon,” Biden said, but did not give specific names that he felt would "raise expectations. "Biden cited his own relationship with former President Barack Obama as an example of the type of partner he would want in the White House with him, saying he has spoken to Obama about his vice presidential pick. "The lawyers are putting together what will be the nature of the vetting process.  It's got to be thorough, which it should be, and I'm, you know, we're looking at when to start sooner than later,” Biden said. The sudden shift to online campaigning created challenges for Biden’s team, who struggled with initial efforts at virtual events.  He's also faced criticism for being largely absent from the public’s view for the better part of last week, as they "desperately" worked to scale up the infrastructure needed to stay in regular contact with voters and reporters. Biden, joined "The View" remotely from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where his campaign recently constructed what he described as a television studio out of a recreation room, and said that while he is confined to his home, he is staying active. "I start the morning off with an hour and a half briefing with my medical experts on the health circumstances.  They send me all these graphs and lay out exactly what the status of things are," Biden said.  "And then I have an hour and a half meeting with my economic team, former members of the administration and others who are laying out what they think is about to happen and how we should be dealing with it.  I spend time on the phone with our congressional leaders. "The former vice president, who has built a potentially insurmountable delegate lead over Sanders, has been regularly excoriating the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis. During his remarks on Monday, Biden scolded the president for his contentious exchanges with reporters in the White House briefing room, urging him to level with the American people on what steps the government is taking to stem the outbreak. "These briefings are an important opportunity to inform and reassure the American public," Biden said during his roughly 15-minute address.  "They're not a place for political attacks, or to lash out at the press.  They're about the American people. "But as he looks to cast himself in a leadership role opposite Trump ahead of a likely general election matchup, Biden still has to contend with both Sanders’ candidacy and a primary calendar that has largely put voting on hold for the foreseeable future. As of Tuesday, at least 10 states have either postponed their nominating contests or have in some form changed the voting process. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


BREAKING: The rioter seen wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" hoodie during the siege on Capitol Hill has been arrested in Newport News, Virginia. https://t.co/6HvKRInsNZ

By Evan Perez, CNN Justice CorrespondentUpdated 11:34 AM ET, Wed January 13, 2021  (CNN)A rioter who stormed the US Capitol last week wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase "Camp Auschwitz" was arrested Wednesday morning in Virginia, according to a law enforcement official.   CNN's Curt Devine, Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin, Paul Murphy and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.


This image shows a close-up of the human eye.

A stunning image, purportedly showing individual fibres of iris, is viral on social media with the claim that it is a close-up view of the human eye. One such post viral on Facebook can be seen below. The archived version of the post can be seen here. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claim along with the image is misleading.  This is a digital artwork by a Poland-based texture artist, Eugene Filimonov. We did a reverse image search of the image in question and found the same image and two more images shared on the official Twitter handle of Foundry, a London-based company that creates software for creative industry. According to this Tweet, the image is a digital art created using Foundry’s tool, Nuke. Our Hall of Fame was introduced to celebrate the amazing work created by artists using our tools.  As 2019 wraps up, we highlight three winners who blew us away with their creations in Modo, Mari and Nuke.  pic. twitter. com/qM7OaNljjgTaking a cue from this we further searched and found the same image uploaded with the caption “Realistic Eye” on ArtStation, a showcase platform for digital artists from all around the world. The image was uploaded by Eugene Filimonov, a texture artist based in Poland.  In the description, Filimonov has also mentioned that this art is a joint project with another artist, Roman Lovygin from Russia. In the comment session, responding to a 3D artist who asked how he created the artwork, Filimonov has provided two links that show the stage-by-stage process of how he conceptualised and created the “Realistic Eye”. The final form of the artwork as shared by Filimonov can be seen below. The image in question is also shared by Filimonov on his Instagram and Facebook profiles. It is hence clear that the image in question is not a close-up of the real human eye, but a digital artwork. ALSO READ: Fact Check: Netizens trip over Ronaldo’s doppelganger reading Quran in viral videoALSO READ: Fact Check: Old video of Dilip Kumar shared as veteran actor’s last moments in hospitalThe number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.


Kolkata Knight Riders to acquire a 1.28 per cent stake in Reliance Retail.

With IPL fever on, here is one news about KKR that has gone viral on social media, but for the wrong reason. Several Facebook users have claimed that Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is acquiring a 1. 28 per cent stake in Reliance Retail at Rs 5,500 crore. Netizens have posted the screenshot of a web portal called "Shortpedia", where the headline reads, "Kolkata Knight Riders to acquire 1. 28% stake in Reliance Retail at Rs 5,500 crore". India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found it is not Kolkata Knight Riders, but US investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) which is investing Rs 5,500 crore in Reliance Retail for a 1. 28 per cent stake.  Clearly, the same acronym has got people confused. The archived versions of the posts are saved here and here. The 'KKR' confusionThe news about KKR investing in Reliance Retail has been reported by several news websites. According to these news reports, Reliance Industries on Wednesday, September 23, said American global investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts will invest in its retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL). This deal marks the second investment by Kohlberg in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following an investment of Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. The confusion on social media probably began due to a little-known web portal named "Shortpedia", which initially published a report on September 23 with the headline saying, "Kolkata Knight Riders to acquire 1. 28% stake in Reliance Retail at Rs 5,500 crore". Later, after realising the goof-up, it made the necessary correction. The cached version of the earlier article can be seen here. Former Kolkata Knight Riders team director Joy Bhattacharjya also wrote about the "KKR" confusion on his Facebook page, sharing an 11-year-old anecdote, when some people misconstrued KKR as a global investment company. News portal The Free Press Journal also cleared the confusion between Kohlberg and Kolkata Knight RidersHence, it is clear that it was not Kolkata Knight Riders but global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) that invested in Reliance Retail. (With input from Srijit Das in New Delhi)The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.


Bihar: Severe waterlogging in the Sadar Block Office in Darbhanga. https://t.co/A0Zvy0IWFE

A criminal complaint has been filed in a Bihar court against yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna, alleging that they have misled and put at risk the lives of lakhs of people by claiming to have developed a medicine to treat Covid-19.  The complaint seeking registration of an FIR on cheating, criminal conspiracy and other charges was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar here on Tuesday by Tamanna Hashmi, who identifies himself as a social worker and is often in news for his numerous court complaints against politicians over various issues.  The court posted the matter for hearing on June 30. The complainant has named Ramdev, the convenor of the Patanjali Research Institute, and his aide Balkrishna, the organisation’s chairman, as accused. Hashmi submitted that Ramdev and Balkrishna claimed to have prepared “Coronil tablet” to cure Covid-19, which is nothing but misleading.  The complainant submitted that the Ayush Ministry has asked Patanjali Ayurved to stop advertising and publicising its claims about the medicine. The Ayush Ministry has said that they have not been provided any information with regard to the details of the composition of the ayurvedic medicine, Hashmi said.  The complainant has sought registration of a case under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), among others.  Ramdev’s herbal medicine company Patanjali Ayurved has launched ‘Coronil tablet and Swasari vati’ medicines claiming they can cure the highly contagious disease within seven days. It has also claimed that the two Ayurveda-based medicines have shown 100 per cent favourable results during clinical trials on Covid-19 infected patients except those on a life support system.  However, the AYUSH ministry said that the facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to it.  It has sought from the company a detailed report on composition, testing and other data of the drugs.  The ministry also used powers under a 1954 law to ask the firm to “stop advertising/publicizing” claims of corona cure drug until the issue is examined by it.  A government notification bars companies from advertising a cure without government approval.  But it wasn’t immediately clear if the drug can still be sold.  Ramdev said the medicines have been developed by Patanjali Research Center, Haridwar and privately-owned National Institute of Medical Science, Jaipur following all protocols with clinically controlled trial-based evidence.  Patanjali group has an estimated turnover of around Rs 10,500 crore.


NEW: House Oversight Committee launching "in-depth investigation of the security clearance process at the White House," Chair Elijah Cummings says in letter to White House legal team, alleging "grave breaches of national security at the highest levels." https://t.co/3VaKh5waXM https://t.co/ktNAv2oGEp

    The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday announced it was launching a “wide-ranging” probe into the White House’s handling of its security clearance process, kicking off one of the first high-profile investigations into the Trump administration by the new, Democratic-controlled chamber.

    In a letter sent by committee chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland to White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Cummings requested a range of documents related to the security clearance process, writing that the investigation was in response to “grave breaches of national security at the highest levels of the Trump Administration, including by former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and others. ”

Elijah Cummings, key House Democrat, previews what oversight looks like

    According to the letter, sent Wednesday morning, the goals of the investigation “are to determine why the White House and Transition Team appear to have disregarded established procedures for safeguarding classified information, evaluate the extent to which the nation’s most highly guarded secrets were provided to officials who should not have had access to them, and develop reforms to remedy the flaws in current White House systems and practices. ”

    The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    Cummings’ letter also states that the investigation will look into why the administration “is currently defying federal law by failing to provide to Congress information about its security clearance process required by the SECRET Act. ”

    According to a statement released along with the letter, the committee is seeking information about a litany of former and current administration officials, including national security adviser John Bolton, senior adviser to the President Jared Kushner, former White House aide Rob Porter and former national security adviser K. T.  McFarland.

    In addition to those individuals, the committee is asking for information related to then-White House chief of staff John Kelly’s 2018 review of security clearance processes, which according to the statement found that dozens of individuals who began working at the White House in January 2017 with interim security clearances were still doing so well into Trump’s first year in office.

    In February 2018, Kelly ordered an overhaul of the security clearance process for current and incoming top administration officials.  Kelly’s memo came just over a week after Porter resigned following allegations of domestic abuse against him became public.  Porter’s ex-wives had leveled the accusations against Porter in interviews with FBI officials in early 2017, and FBI Director Chris Wray said the FBI provided the White House with updates on the investigation in March, July and November 2017 before closing the investigation in January.

CNN’s Maegan Vazquez, Jeremy Diamond and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
© 2021 Cable News Network.  A Warner Media Company.  All Rights Reserved.   CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.


A day after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, Tom Hanks, who is currently under quarantine in Australia with his wife Rita Wilson, offered a candid but humorous update to concerned fans. https://t.co/wylUw2Ig7Q https://t.co/Ww2SFTGnsd

By Faith Karimi, CNNUpdated 1933 GMT (0333 HKT) March 13, 2020  (CNN)Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson shared an update from Australia, where they are both in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus.  From here on out, the only Corona I want is from Mexico and you drink it. CNN's Angus Watson and Sandra Gonzalez contributed to this report


Video showing suicide bomber in a Volkswagen advertisement

Several right wing Twitter and Facebook users including Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi spokesperson, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, shared a nearly 15-year-old spoof video car showing a man attempting a suicide bombing, but ending up killing himself, claiming Volkswagen created an advertisement about "terrorists".   BOOM found that the video is from 2005, and a spoof, with Volkswagen then denying any link to it and also purusing legal action against the creators of the advertisement.  The video, shot as an advertisement shows a man get into a Volkswagen car and drive around the city, stop in front of a restaurant, and press a remote, which instead of causing an huge blast, just causes an explosion inside the car, killing him. The slogan, "Polo: small but tough" then appears to seemingly denote that the man was attempting a suicide bombing mission but failed and only killed him instead.  The man in the video has been styled to look like a Palestinian, even wearing a checkered scarf made famous by the late Yaseer Arafat, a leader at the forefront of the Palestinian liberation movement.   Bagga shared the video with a caption claiming, ""Terrorist Commercial Ad by Volkswagen" Interesting? " "Terrorist Commercial Ad by Volkswagen" Interesting ?  pic. twitter. com/AYs98BmMYE View an archive of the post here Bagga also shared the video on his Facebook page with the same caption following which it quickly went viral.  View an archive here View an archive here  FACT CHECK BOOM first ran a keyword search for 'Volkswagen Terror advertisement' and found several news articles about the same from 2005, when the video first appeared on various websites.   According to a Jan 20, 2005 article in the UK based news outlet Guardian, the video is a spoof created by a "maverick advertising wannabe".  The article also quoted a Volkswagen statement denying the company's involvement in the creation of the video.  The statement as quoted by the Guardian read, "Volkswagen UK and its agencies strenuously deny that they have any involvement in the creation of a viral advertisement that has been accessible through the internet depicting an explosion taking place inside a Volkswagen Polo" The article further quoted an investigation done by the digital newspaper wing of the site, mediaguardian. co. uk who tracked down the makers of the video.  According to the story, the filmmaker identified as Lee who then ran leeanddan. com, "apologised for the spoof advert, which he said was released accidentally".  The story further said, the makers run a website leeanddan. com and said they had "made the advert for Volkswagen. . . never really intended it for public consumption. " We ran a search for the website leeanddan. com and found that while the site has shut, an archive exists of the same where the duo describe themselves as, "recognised leaders in viral brand communications".       Subsequent Guardian stories also identified the director of the film as a Stuart Fryer.  We then ran a search for the same and found a website run by Fryer where he uploaded the same video with the message, "This exploded onto the internet.   Still one of the biggest ever seen viral films, this put me in some hot water at the time.   Made for a mere £360 ($500), it got me signed to production companies in the UK.   With some agencies loving it and some hating it, the film still splits opinions. "


A lot of social media users have been making Facebook posts and tweets claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be attending a Jallikattu event in Tamil Nadu's Madurai in January, 2020

Jallikattu is a traditional bull-taming event conducted in different parts of Tamil Nadu as part of Pongal celebrations.  Sample some of the tweets and Facebook posts making the claim:Russian President Vladimir Putin is to witness bull taming bravery #Jallikkattu on January 11 ,2020 in #TamilNadu. â¦ https://t. co/UR73L8HjSh— R.  RAJAGOPALAN (@RAJAGOPALAN1951) 1572337499000Russian President Vladimir Putin and PM @narendramodi are set to visit Madurai in January 2020 to witness the Jallikattu. — Pinky Rajpurohit (ABP News) ð®ð³ (@Madrassan_Pinky) 1572329989000Modi is putting tamil nadu and it's culture on the world stage Wonder what some idiot tamilians who hate him willâ¦ https://t. co/XyizSYGe5K— The Communal DentistÂ©ð®ð³ (@dr_bharathsn) 1572361817000There have been a few media reports that speculated about Modi and Putin attending Jallikattu in Madurai during Pongal celebrations in January next year.  TRUTHNo, PM Modi and President Putin are not attending Jallikattu in Madurai in January, 2020.  A tweet from the official handle of Press Information Bureau (PIB) Gujarat debunked this false claim saying, "The tweets that PM Narendra Modi and President Putin would attend Jallikattu at Madurai are fake and wrong.  Please don't share fake news. " The tweets that PM @narendramodi and President Putin would attend Jallikattu at Madurai are fake and wrong.  pleaseâ¦ https://t. co/PSd5DqRTMs— PIB in Gujarat (@PIBAhmedabad) 1572369511000Times Fact Check also reached out to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to verify the claim.  The PMO denied there was any such plan and said that all stories saying PM Modi and Russian President Putin will witness Jallikattu are incorrect.


Jammu and Kashmir: Encounter underway between security forces and terrorists in Shopian district. More details awaited. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) https://t.co/xioVUQFXLH

An encounter broke out Saturday between terrorists and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Based on specific information about the presence of terrorists in Gahand area of Shopian in south Kashmir, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there this morning, a police official said. He said as the forces were conducting searches, the terrorists fired upon them. The forces retaliated, ensuing an encounter, the official said, adding the exchange of firing was going on and further details were awaited.


241 terrorists were killed J&K during 10 years of Manmohan Singh rule while 1701 terrorists were killed in four and half years of Modi government.

A newspaper clip that claims the Modi government killed more terrorists than Manmohan Singh's government. The newspaper clipping says, "Manmohan Singh ka 10 saal ka sashan, 1788 aam log mare, 1177 jawan Shaheed aur sirf 241 aatanki mare.  Modi ke 4. 5 saal ka sashan, 61 aam loge mare, 303 jawan Shaheed hue aur 1701 aatanki mare, (During 10 years of Manmohan Singh's regime, 1,788 civilians were killed, 1,177 army men were martyred and only 241 terrorists were killed.  In four-and-a-half years of the Modi government, 61 civilians were killed, 303 jawans martyred and 1,701 terrorists were killed). "India Today Fact Check found that the entire claim is false and the newspaper clipping is photoshopped. The claim in the viral image has been shared by many users on Facebook.  A page named BJP Munger also shared it. India Today Fact Check used reverse search tool Yandex and found a tweet by user Aman Ansari posted on June 28, 2018.  The figures mentioned in the newspaper clip tweeted by Ansari are completely different from the image that has gone viral. ##alka mam that’s the reality of this government pic. twitter. com/8I53UNcmNRWe searched various Hindi newspaper reports to look for articles related to terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir and found an article by Bhaskar. com with same figures posted by Twitter user Ansari. Comparing the original newspaper clip with the viral one, we confirmed that the viral one has been photoshopped. The Bhaskar article states that 4,241 terrorists have been killed in 10 years of Manmohan Singh's rule while 701 terrorists were killed in four and half years of Modi's government. The statistics given in the viral newspaper clipping do not match with the Home Ministry's report too.  According to the data published in the 2017-18 annual report by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), 100 civilians and 581 terrorists lost their lives while 248 jawans from security forces were martyred between 2014 and 2017.  Alt News has also debunked this claim. MHA Annual reports of 2004-05 and 2013-14 mention that from 2004 till March 2014, a total of 4,029 terrorists were killed; 1,058 men from security were martyred and 2,085 civilians lost their lives. India Today found that the viral claim with a newspaper image comparing the terror situations in Jammu and Kashmir between the two regimes of Prime Minister Modi and of his predecessor Manmohan Singh is totally false. The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.


77 inmates & 26 police personnel at Mumbai's Arthur Road prison have tested positive for #COVID19. They will be sent to Saint George's hospital for treatment: Anil Deshmukh, Maharashtra Home Minister https://t.co/0IAzpOd4Yz

A day after a 45-year-old undertrial tested positive for Covid-19, 77 more inmates and 26 officials at Mumbai’s Arthur Road prison were on Thursday found to have contracted the disease, an Indian Police Service officer said and added the number of infected people was likely to go up.  The prison has a capacity to house 800 prisoners but it is housing 2,700.  No new prisoners have been sent to this jail since the first week of April because of overcrowding. The undertrial, who is facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, developed a high fever on April 30.  He was taken to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital on May 2 after he suffered a paralytic attack.  Samples of 150 people working in and lodged at the prison were taken for testing after the undertrial tested positive.  “At least 200 more swabs were taken from the Arthur Road prison on Thursday,” said the officer.  Two staff members who stayed at a guest house near the jail and had taken another prisoner to JJ Hospital, too, tested positive. Jail authorities were yet to identify the source of the virus.  The officer said the possibility of cleaning staff, sanitisation workers or essential service providers being the source cannot be ruled out. The outbreak of the disease in the prison has led to panic among family members of the inmates.  “Relatives of the prisoners have been asking us to file bail pleas.  We have to explain to them that the courts are not entertaining any applications for bail in cases where punishment is more than seven years,” said lawyer Prakash Salingekar. Chetan Banne, another lawyer, said he is filing a plea for an accused who has multiple cases registered against him.  “The accused is desperate to be out on bail because of the condition at the Arthur Road jail. ”Former Supreme Court judge A K Sikri cited the Supreme Court’s order in April on decongesting jails and said it should be followed in letter and spirit.  Another retired Supreme Court judge, Madan Lokur, said the undertrial review committee should meet regularly and expedite the applications for release on bail.  “The state and district legal services authorities should play a proactive role in ensuring the inmates are released,” said Lokur.  He added section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for the release of inmates, who have served more than half of their sentences. Madhurima Dhanuka of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative said it is a difficult situation and needs to be tackled on a war footing.  “Preventive measures need to be taken to stop the further spread of the virus in jails. . . ” (With inputs from KAY Dodhiya & Charul Shah)


The Vatican issued tougher, comprehensive laws governing the sexual abuse of minors within the Vatican City State, Vatican offices and its diplomatic embassies abroad https://t.co/ueAYQhnx9n https://t.co/UYmfjgQ1ic

Pope Francis has issued sweeping new sex abuse legislation for Vatican personnel and Holy See diplomats, requiring the immediate reporting of abuse allegations to Vatican prosecutorsVATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has issued sweeping new sex abuse legislation for the Vatican City State and Vatican diplomats that requires the immediate reporting of allegations to Vatican prosecutors, as he seeks to create a model policy for the Catholic Church. The mandatory reporting provision, while limited in scope to Vatican officials, marks the first time the Holy See has put into law requirements for Catholic officials to report allegations of sex crimes to police or face fines and possible jail time. Francis also issued child protection guidelines for Vatican City State and its youth seminary, acting after the global sex abuse scandal exploded anew last year and The Associated Press reported that the headquarters of the Catholic Church had no policy to protect children from predator priests. While the new norms only cover Vatican City State, affiliated institutions and the Holy See's diplomatic corps, they were still symbolically significant and were welcomed by a former seminarian whose case helped spark the reform. "I see this as something positive," Kamil Jarzembowski told the AP. The law for the first time provides a Vatican definition for "vulnerable people" who are entitled to the same protections as minors under church law.  The Vatican amended its canon law covering sex abuse to include "vulnerable adults" in 2010, but never defined it. According to the new Vatican definition, a vulnerable person is anyone who is sick or suffering from a physical or psychiatric deficiency, isn't able to exercise personal freedom and has a limited capacity to understand or resist the crime. The issue of whether "vulnerable people" can include seminarians, religious sisters or other adults who are emotionally dependent on clergy has come to the fore in the wake of the scandal over ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a once high-ranking American cleric who molested seminarians, and revelations of priests and bishops around the world sexually preying on nuns. The new law covers all personnel who live in or work for the Vatican and any abuse that occurs in the Vatican, the 44-hectare (110-acre) city state in the center of Rome and its other territories, as well as the Holy See's vast diplomatic corps. The Vatican's own ambassadors have figured in some of the most scandalous cases of sex abuse in recent years, with papal representatives accused of groping, distributing child pornography and sexually abusing minors in their far-flung posts. The provisions to punish them criminally are now contained in the city state's criminal code, and are separate from the canon law which also imposes canonical penalties, such as defrocking, for predator priests worldwide. The law now requires any Vatican public official who learns of an allegation of abuse within the law's jurisdiction to report it to Vatican prosecutors "without delay. " Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to 5,000 euros ($5,615) or, in the case of a Vatican gendarme, up to six months of prison. Information obtained during confession is exempt from the reporting requirements, in keeping with Catholic doctrine. "With this document the Vatican wants to send a message that it takes these crimes seriously, wants to prosecute them, to avoid cover up, and also to create an atmosphere that prevents these crimes from happening in the first place," said Ulrich Rhode, a canon law professor at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability, an online database about clergy abuse, said any law that protects even a single child is to be applauded.  But she faulted its limited scope as reinforcing the Vatican claim that it is only responsible for protecting children in the city state. "Let's hope (Francis) finds the courage soon to enact new, sweeping laws in this larger jurisdiction," she said. Francesco Zanardi of the Italian survivor advocacy group Rete L'Abuso (Abuse Network) echoed her call, saying: "If minors have the luck of being abused in the Vatican City State, their rights will be protected.  Outside, we can't do anything. "Many of the law's provisions answer longstanding victim complaints about how they are treated by the church, while also ensuring that the accused are entitled to a defense and efforts to restore their reputations if the claims are not substantiated. The legislation requires that victims be welcomed, listened to and provided with medical, psychological and legal assistance, and sets the statute of limitations at 20 years past the victim's 18th birthday. They must be kept apprised of the investigation, a significant point given that victims are usually kept in the dark about canonical sex abuse investigations. Victims and their families are to be protected from any retaliation.  Jarzembowski, who reported abuse at the Vatican youth seminary, was kicked out the following year. Mimicking some provisions in place in the U. S.  church, the guidelines require background checks for Vatican staff and volunteers working with minors and calls for safe environment training for all Vatican personnel. The Vatican's editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, acknowledged that very few children actually live in the Vatican City State.  But he said Francis decided to make the legislation and accompanying guidelines a model. Last year, the AP reported that Vatican City had no policy to protect children, even though the Holy See required such policies in Catholic dioceses around the globe and had told the U. N.  in 2013 that such a policy was in the works. The absence of clear-cut policy became evident following revelations that Jarzembowski, then a teenage seminarian in the Vatican's youth seminary had, in 2012, accused one of the older boys of sexually molesting his roommate. Nothing came of it.  Vatican police, who have jurisdiction, weren't called in to investigate.  A series of bishops and cardinals said they investigated, but no one ever interviewed the alleged victim.  The accused was eventually ordained a priest. On Friday, Jarzembowski told the AP the law answered many of the loopholes into which his case fell, particularly its recognition that the youth seminary falls under Vatican jurisdiction. "Before, there was a situation where a group of kids were there, in the Vatican City State, but they were seemingly in a legal limbo," he said. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Kerala govt docs call for #COVID19 war room in medical colleges

https://t.co/Z5cL6glfBq https://t.co/VtZkBWLGei

A section of doctors have urged the Kerala government to set up a 'COVID-19 war room' in state-run medical colleges to coordinate the treatment arrangements for the pandemic and implement special disability insurance for medical staff suffering from permanant health issues due to the viral infection.  As the country was facing the second wave of the disease, the Kerala Government Medical Teachers' Association (KGMCTA) has submitted a set of expert suggestions to the authorities to consider for immediate implementation.  The suggestions prepared by an expert panel appointed by the outfit's Thiruvananthapuram unit, were handed over to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Health Minister K K Shailaja the other day, a statement said here on Saturday.  Among the suggestions, the association wanted the government to reserve the medical colleges exclusively for the treatment of critical COVID patients who are in urgent need of oxygen or ventilator support.  It also called for making the treatment of ordinary diseases via OP completely online or through smaller hospitals.  A COVID-19 war room should be set up in state-run medical colleges to coordinate the treatment arrangements.  "The information on ICU and oxygen bed should be collected in real time and treatment system should be coordinated accordingly," Dr R C Sreekumar, president of KGMCTA, Thiruvananthapuram unit, said here.  It also urged the government to ensure adequate stock of fresh high flow nasal oxygen and ventilator at medical colleges, he said.  Pointing to the high risk condititon, which the doctors and medical and staff were prone to,the outfit said over 200 doctors have turned COVID positive in Thiruvananthapuram government medical college alone so far.  "So, health workers in medical colleges should be provided with special facilities including an ICU if needed," it said.  As COVID-19 mortality rate was very high among people suffering from kidney diseases, the organisation called for an increase in dialysis facilities for those affected with the virus infection," KGMCTA added.  It also requested the government to consider a two-week lockdown in the state if possible in view of the super spread of the pandemic.  Kerala accounted for 28,447 COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest single day surge so far and 1. 78 lakh people were presently undergoing treatment for the infection, as per the government figures.


"Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution": Democrats on Capitol Hill were quick to denounce Trump's announcement that he is signing a national emergency declaration over a border wall -- and vowed to fight back against the executive action https://t.co/Ext6CnLC3E https://t.co/wAfaDYuOWm

The president also has signed a funding bill that averts a government shutdown.  President Trump declares national emergency for border wall fundingPresident Donald Trump capped months of political drama Friday, announcing he's signing a bill to fund the government, avoiding another government shutdown, while also taking the extraordinary action of declaring a national emergency to secure additional money for his proposed border wall that congressional Democrats refused to give him. "I am going to be signing a national emergency," Trump said. The president explained his highly controversial move in a Rose Garden announcement, saying "We're going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border and we're going to do it one way or the other. "He said he was taking "critical actions" but "not because it was a campaign promise. ""We're talking about an invasion of our country with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs," he explained. But even as the president sought to cast the situation at the border as a national security and humanitarian crisis, he also made an admission that could be helpful to those mounting legal challenges to his action Friday. "I could do the wall over a longer period of time.  I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster," the president said, seeming to concede that a national emergency was avoidable. The president asserted that he was not declaring an emergency because of the upcoming 2020 election, despite the fact that building a wall was his key campaign promise in 2016, but accused the Democrats of using the issue for campaigning purposes. "And the only reason we're up here talking about this is because of the election, because they want to try and win an election which it looks like they're not going to be able to do, and this is one of the ways where they think they can possibly win -- is by obstruction and a lot of other nonsense -- and I think that I just want to get it done faster that's all," he said. As he spoke, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted out a photo of the president signing the emergency declaration. Trump's decision to go along with a congressional border security deal funding deal comes after a 35-day shutdown -- the longest in U. S.  history -- and after three weeks of negotiations by a bipartisan group on Capitol Hill that delivered a bill without all the wall money the president wanted.  The measure includes $1. 375 billion for border security, enough to construct about 55 miles of new barrier in new areas, but less than the proposal Trump rejected late last year, triggering the shutdown. The president's emergency declaration order and other executive actions come on the heels of warnings from the Justice Department that the moves are nearly certain to be blocked by court challenges, at least temporarily. President Trump directly acknowledged that he expects the emergency order will be challenged in the court system, predicting how the battle will play out and that he will ultimately prevail at the Supreme Court. "We will have a national emergency and we will then be sued and they will sue us in the Ninth Circuit even though it shouldn't be there, and we will possibly get a bad ruling, and then we'll get another bad ruling, and then we'll end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we'll get a fair shake and we'll win in the Supreme Court just like the [travel] ban," Trump said. Trump is seeking to  a total of about $8 billion through a mix of spending from the congressional appropriations bill, executive action and the emergency declaration. A senior White House official familiar with the plan to get money beyond the congressional funding told ABC News $1. 375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund; $2. 5 billion would come from the Pentagon's drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3. 5 billion from the Pentagon's military construction budget. Both Republicans and Democrats have voiced opposition to Trump's emergency declaration, a workaround that would allow him to build a border wall without support from Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had previously opposed the president's moves, announced on the Senate floor Thursday the news that Trump would sign the deal, and that he would support an emergency declaration.  on Friday, he, too, blamed Democrats. “President Trump’s decision to announce emergency action is the predictable and understandable consequence of Democrats’ decision to put partisan obstruction ahead of the national interest," he said in a statement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a joint statement issued just after the president's Friday announcement, said, "The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation. "This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process," their statement continued.  "The President's actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, which our Founders enshrined in the Constitution.   The Congress will defend our constitutional authorities in the Congress, in the Courts, and in the public, using every remedy available.  "ABC News' Jonathan Karl, John Parkinson, Katherine Faulders and Mariam Khan contributed to this report. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offers prayers at Maharishi Valmiki Temple
#HathrasCase https://t.co/1e8ADktcqH

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Friday attended a prayer meet at the Valmiki temple in Delhi for the 19-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.  The woman died earlier this week. The UP police is accused by the family of forcing the cremation of the woman in the dead of the night.  District officials contended that they had consent from the woman’s family, but the manner in which the developments took place raised questions over the conduct of the administration and law enforcement. “We have come here to offer our condolences, but more than that we are all here to ensure that the family and our sister get justice.  We will not stop until we get justice,” said Priyanka Gandhi at the prayer meeting. The Congress leader urged every woman in the country to raise her voice against this injustice. “The family has received no help from the government.  Instead, they weren’t even allowed to light the funeral pyre.  It is not the culture of our country that the father and the brother don’t conduct the last rites.  It is not the tradition of our country to cremate any one after sunset,” she added. A tribute for the victim of the brutal gangrape victim in Hathras has been organised by the temple trust.  Senior Congress leaders PL Punia, Sushmita Dev and Anil Choudhary have already offered a floral tribute and are sitting in solidarity. “As the Mahila Congress under the aegis of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, we have to take the lead and protest against this injustice,” Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev tells Hindustan Times.  “It is the women of this country who will bring down Narendra Modi. ”On Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi and her brother Rahul, the Congress says, were briefly arrested as they tried to visit Hathras.  The UP police escorted them back to Delhi.  Back in the village, scores of police personnel in and around the area have been deployed to prevent the entry of opposition leaders and the media.  It is seen as an attempt to scuttle the growing anger over the administration’s handling of the young woman’s death. Earlier today, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien reached the district with some party leaders but was stopped 1. 5 km from the young woman’s house in Boolgarhi village.  Derek O’Brien, who still insisted on meeting her family, was pushed to the ground by a police team. A teenager who emerged from the village on Friday morning alleged the police had seized mobile phones of the rape victim’s family and the family wanted to make a statement to the media.


Former FBI Director James Comey "can't quite understand" why special counsel Robert Mueller passed obstruction decision to Attorney General William Barr. https://t.co/OvcEvPlNjX https://t.co/vAnHHR0Xyd

  Though President Donald Trump has claimed “complete and total exoneration” based on Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the American public disagrees, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

  A majority (56%) says the President and his campaign have not been exonerated of collusion, but that what they’ve heard or read about the report shows collusion could not be proven.  Fewer, 43%, say Trump and his team have been exonerated of collusion.

  Although Mueller could not establish Trump or his campaign “conspired or coordinated with” the Russian government, according to Barr’s letter, the poll finds the American people continue to view the issue through partisan lenses.

RELATED: Full poll results

  Republicans and Democrats are on opposite sides of this question: 77% of Republicans say the President has been exonerated, 80% of Democrats say he has not.  Independents break against exoneration – 58% say the President and his campaign were not exonerated.

  Those who say they have heard or read “a great deal” about the report (about 23% of the public), however, are more apt to say the President has been cleared: 56% in that group say Trump and his campaign have been exonerated of any collusion, while 44% say it wasn’t exoneration but that collusion could not be proven.

  The 43% overall in the new poll saying the President has been exonerated is about the same as the 42% who said in a CNN poll earlier this year that Trump’s campaign did not collude with the Russian government to help get Trump elected.  That suggests the summary letter released Sunday did little to move public opinion on this matter.

  And most feel the investigation ought not to end with that letter.

  Nearly 6 in 10 Americans want to see Congress continue to pursue hearings into the findings of Mueller’s report.  Just 43% feel Congress ought to end the investigation completely following the release of Barr’s summary of Mueller’s findings.

  Here too, partisan divides are deep.  Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats (88%) say Congress ought to hold hearings, while just 17% of Republicans agree.

Democrats turn attention to defending Obamacare as Congress waits for Mueller report

  A CNN Poll conducted before the report was final found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans thought there should be a full, public report on the investigation’s findings, while just 9% felt that was unnecessary.  Barr’s letter said his plan was “to release as much of the special counsel’s report as I can” within legal limits.  The Department of Justice has said that release will come in weeks, not months.

  At this point, without the full report having been released, just 13% say that Mueller’s findings will sway their decision about whom to support in 2020 either way, with 7% saying it makes them more apt to back the President, and 6% less likely to do so.  A combined 86% say that they had already figured out whether they would vote for or against Trump, or that the investigation won’t matter to them even though they are undecided now.

  The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS March 25 through 26 among a random national sample of 701 adults interviewed online after being recruited using probability-based methods.  Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5. 4 percentage points, it is larger for subgroups.
© 2021 Cable News Network.  A Warner Media Company.  All Rights Reserved.   CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.


Delhi: Security deployment at Tikri border as protesting farmers are gathered here despite being given permission to hold their demonstrations at the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari area https://t.co/mpYSvyQU5x

Several high-voltage stand-offs later, farmers protesting three contentious farm bills passed by the government in September entered the national capital on late Friday, marking a headway in their Delhi Chalo march.  Thousands in count, these farmers faced multiple flashpoints with the police in riot gear using tear gas, water cannon, barricades and barbed wires upon entering Delhi from adjoining states like Haryana as they insisted to protest the three laws cleared by the Parliament, alleging that these laws will reduce their earnings in the market and give more power to corporations.  Also read: Farmers let into Delhi after clashes at borderUnion agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured farmers on Saturday the government was ready for talks on December 3. On the other hand, Union minister Amit Shah on requested farmers to halt their protests and assured them that the Centre will discuss every issue that has been troubling them.  Here are the latest updates:Haryana BKU chief, farmers booked for attempt to murder, riotingBharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni was booked by the Haryana Police for attempting to murder and rioting during the ongoing farmers protest, officials told news agency PTI.  UP farmers reach Delhi border to support ongoing protestsFarmers from Uttar Pradesh arrived at Ghaziabad - Delhi border expressing their support to the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march.  Demands for guarantee in Minimum Support Price (MSP) were made and they said that further plans to be decided after discussion with other farmers, reports news agency ANI. Farmer union meeting ends, decides to halt protests at Delhi Haryana borderGeneral secretary of Punjab’s Bharatiya Kisan Union Harinder Singh has said that the protests will continue at the Delhi Haryana border, after farmers’ meeting.  He also said that meetings would be held everyday at 11am to discuss further strategies, reports news agency ANI.  Narendra Singh Tomar assures talks with farmers on December 3Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has assured that government is ready for talks with the farmer unions on December 3.  He also asked all political parties to avoid ‘playing politics in the name of farmers’ and said that he hopes to meet the farmers during the meet, as reported by news agency ANI. Randeep Singh Surjewala calls out Haryana government In his latest tweet, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has accused that the Haryana government has ‘gone mad with ego. ’ He said that the government had no problem using water cannons on famers, but when a young man tries to stop it, he is charged with ‘attempt to murder. ’ अहंकार में पागल हो गई है ‘खट्टर सरकार’ ! खट्टर-दुष्यंत चौटाला किसान पर सर्दी के मौसम में ‘वॉटर केनन’ चलाएँ, वो ठीक,और. . . एक नौजवान उन ‘वॉटर केनन’ को बंद करे, वो ‘हत्या के प्रयास’ का आरोपी।डूब मरो, शर्म करो भाजपा-जजपा सरकार ! https://t. co/zqQHYziPtWThousands of protesting Indian farmers and police face-off at New Delhi borderA day after clashes ended with an agreement that the farmers could demonstrate in the capital, tensions rose again in the protests over laws that farmers fear could rob them of minimum guaranteed prices for their produce. Centre fails to address farmers’ issues, says Bharatiya Kisan UnionRakesh Tikait, leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said that the Central government has failed to address the issues of the farmers. “The government has failed to address the issues of the farmers.  We are proceeding to Delhi now.  We demand that there should a provision stating that there will be no sale of produce below the Minimum Support Price (MSP),” Tikait told PTI.  .  After night halt, Punjab farmers resume march towards DelhiPunjab farmers resumed their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march against the Centre’s new farm laws on Saturday morning after halting for the night to join thousands who have already reached the national capital’s borders. Rahul Gandhi blames ‘PM Modi’s arrogance’ behind viral photo of farmer getting beaten बड़ी ही दुखद फ़ोटो है। हमारा नारा तो ‘जय जवान जय किसान’ का था लेकिन आज PM मोदी के अहंकार ने जवान को किसान के ख़िलाफ़ खड़ा कर दिया। यह बहुत ख़तरनाक है। pic. twitter. com/1pArTEECsUFarmers gathered at Singhu, Tikri border points refuse to head to north Delhi protest siteThousands of farmers gathered at the Singhu border held a meeting on Saturday morning amid heavy security presence and decided to continue demonstrating there even after being offered a site in north Delhi to hold their protest. Those gathered at the Tikri border continued to hold ground as well.  A decision on whether they would head to the designated protest site is expected soon. Farmers start gathering at Delhi’s Burari GroundFarmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana on Saturday morning began arriving at the Nirankari Samagam Ground on the outskirts of the national capital for a protest against the new farm laws. After days of a standoff with police and after facing teargas shells, water cannons and barricading on various points on the Delhi-Haryana border by police, the farmers ‘Dilli Chalo’ march was allowed to enter Delhi on Friday and proceed to the ground in Burari situated in its north-west.  The Tikri border was opened up for them. Security deployment at Tikri border Protesting farmers gathered at Tikri border despite being given permission to hold their demonstrations at the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari area. Delhi: Security deployment at Tikri border as protesting farmers are gathered here despite being given permission to hold their demonstrations at the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari area pic. twitter. com/mpYSvyQU5xFarmers from Fatehgarh Sahib on their way to Delhi to protest against Centre’s farm laws Punjab: Farmers from Fatehgarh Sahib on their way to Delhi to protest against Centre's Farm laws pic. twitter. com/0scMjWS6rlFarmers reach Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari Some farmers who managed to cross the border and enter Delhi yesterday have reached at the approved protest site -Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari.  A farmer says, “Our protest will continue till the Farm laws are not withdrawn.  We are here for the long haul. ”Delhi: Farmers at the approved protest site -Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari A farmer says, "Our protest will continue till the Farm laws are not withdrawn.  We are here for the long haul. " pic. twitter. com/lkOSHDllZISecurity measures scaled up at Delhi-Haryana’s Singhu borderHeavy security deployment is seen at the Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana) where protesting farmers are gathered.  Heavy security deployment at Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana) where protesting farmers are gatheredDelhi Police yesterday gave permission to farmers to hold their demonstrations at the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Delhi's Burari area pic. twitter. com/AN9tVbMKyWProtest may intensify, farmers from 4 states look to join stirPunjab and Haryana farmers protesting in Delhi on Friday got support from their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, who will join the stir in the next few days, farmer leaders from these states said. Protests were observed on Friday in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as well.  There could be a possible stand-off on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh interstate border on Saturday as farmers from UP, Uttarakhand and MP will try to enter the Capital from there. Read more hereProtesting farmers retire for the night at Singhu border, set up langarFarmers from Punjab who were part of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement retired for the night at the Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) border on Friday, after a gruelling day of confrontation with the police.


Farmers at Ghazipur border (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) continue sit-in protest against the Centre's #FarmLaws https://t.co/0W8Kz8i1OH

Police and local administrations started removing farmers from some of the protest sites in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh on Thursday morning and vacated several toll plazas occupied by members of farm bodies demanding repeal of the three new agriculture laws. Farmers across rural Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh held local maha-panchayats to discuss the future course of action on Thursday, deciding to intensify the protest after a few days.  They blamed the government for the violence at Red Fort and Delhi’s ITO on Republic Day. Late on Wednesday night, local police used mild force to remove protesting farmers from a highway in Bhagpat in western Uttar Pradesh.  Farmer leaders alleged that police were harassing families of farm union leaders and protesting farmers in villages. At Ghazipur on Delhi border, the local administration snapped electricity and water supply to the protesting farmers and asked them to remove the blockade going on for the past two months.  Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shanker Pandey asked the farm leaders to vacate the site by Thursday night.  “The district administration has asked protesters to vacate the dharna site by tonight,” said a district officer. “I will not vacate the place,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.  His supporters in Muzaffarnagar urged him to continue, declaring that thousands of farmers would get themselves arrested if Tikait was taken into custody. A small farmers’ group, which had started a dharna (sit-in) against three new agriculture reform laws at a college ground in the Bajna area of Mathura district on December 2, suspended their agitation on Thursday after talks with Mathura police and district administration officials. “We have suspended our agitation for one month after assurances (were) given to look into our local issues,” said Ram Babu Katelia, the national president of the Bhartiya Kisan Kalyan Samiti. Farmer leaders in Haryana said that the district administration and police were mounting pressure on them to clear the toll plazas and ensure free movement of vehicles. Azad Palwan, a farm leader from Jind, said district officials called them and asked to vacate Khatkar and other toll plazas in the district.  “The farmers have refused to vacate the toll plazas in the district until our demands are met,” he said. Balwant Nambardar, head of Phogat Khap, along with four other farmers had a meeting with Bhiwani deputy commissioner, Jaibir Arya, and told him that they will not vacate the Kitlana toll plaza, where hundreds of farmers have been protesting for over a month.  “We will clear the toll plazas in the district after our top leaders call,” he said. The farmers protesting at Masani village in Rewari have vacated their protest site and shifted to Shahjahanpur on the Haryana-Rajasthan border in the neighbouring state’s territory.  Rewari deputy commissioner Yashendra Singh, said they have cleared the National highway 8, which connects Delhi to Jaipur, in their territory.  The protest is continuing at Shahjahanpur on the Rajasthan side. Police cleared the Palwal protest site on the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) expressway on Thursday morning.  “The nearby villagers had requested them to vacate the sites on Wednesday late evening.  The protesters had assured them that they will leave early morning and had packed their stuff at night and left on tractors and other vehicles,” said Jangsher, inspector of Gadpuri police station, in whose jurisdiction the protest site falls.  The protesters at this site had tried to break police barricades and enter Delhi on January 26, said Deepak Gahlawat, superintendent of police, Palwal. In UP’s Muzaffarnagar, two kisan panchayats held on Thursday reiterated their support to Tikait and said they would intensify their agitation in the coming weeks. At least 12 khap panchayats in Jind and Hisar districts of Haryana reiterated their support to the farmer protests in Delhi.  “They (khap panchayats) have unanimously decided to support the ongoing farmer protest.  The attack at Red Fort was a government conspiracy,” said Sahil Rukaya, who participated in the meeting in Hisar. On Thursday, mobile internet services in three districts of Haryana – Sonepat, Jhajjar and Palwal – were suspended till 5pm on January 29, a government order said.  The services were shut down on the evening of January 26 for 24 hours initially.


Kolkata TV predicts Suvendu Adhikari will win Nandigram in opinion poll

A fake opinion poll falsely credited to Bengali news channel Kolkata TV predicting Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Suvendu Adhikari's winning vote share in the Nandigram constituency is viral on social media.   In a news bulletin Kolkata TV debunked the opinion poll that has been misleadingly attributed to the channel.    The opinion poll is viral in the backdrop of the second phase of West Bengal assembly elections that will be held on April 1.  The second phase of elections in Bengal will see polling in 30 assembly constituencies across four districts - Bankura, West Midnapore, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas.  Nandigram, where West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee will contest against former aide and now rival Suvendu Adhikari from BJP, will go on polls in the second phase.  Political analysts have touted the Nandigram constituency contest as 'Battle Royale', as Banerjee faces Adhikari, her longtime friend turned foe.  Both Banerjee and Adhikari were instrumental in swinging the votes of Nandigram that helped them dethrone the Left bastion in 2011 and come to power.  In this wake multiple fake surveys and letter are doing the rounds on social media.     Also Read:West Bengal Election: 'Leaked Surveys' Claiming BJP, TMC Defeat Go Viral The opinion poll features the vote share percentage of all the four candidates contesting from Nandigram.  It claims that BJP's Suvendu Adhikari will receive a 48. 3 per cent vote as opposed to his chief contender Mamata Banerjee, who will receive a 45. 1 per cent vote share.  CPI(M)'s Minakshi Mukherjee and Socialist Unity Centre of India's (Communist) Manoj Kumar Das will receive 4. 8 per cent and 0. 6 per cent vote share respectively.  A logo of Kolkata TV can be found on top right.  Netizens took a dig at Kolkata TV saying even a pro-Mamata Banerjee channel has accepted her defeat.   This post can be seen here.  Click here for the archived post.   "Opinion Poll by Kolkata TV is fake" In an announcement on the channel Kolkata TV clarified that the opinion poll is fake and has not been conducted by the channel.  The news presenter clarified, "There is a special announcement for Kolkata TV viewers.  Since yesterday, a fake opinion poll has been circulating on social media, in the name of Kolkata TV.  This opinion has been particularly predicting only one constituency - Nandigram.  This survey is not Kolkata TV's.  We are terming this opinion poll as fake news. "  The channel has also stated that it will complain to the Election Commission of India and local authorities against the piece of misinformation.


Vatican Treasurer Cardinal George Pell convicted of child sex offenses, lifted court order reveals https://t.co/G6Yw1FERvS https://t.co/HmXijCShJ2

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