Month: December 2020

In an unscheduled visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Guru Tegh Bahadur at Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi on Sunday morning.

He paid tribute to the Guru Tegh Bahadur and recalled the Sikh Guru’s vision for a just and inclusive society. While bowing to the Guru Tegh Bahadur, Prime Minister Modi said that the Sikh guru’s life epitomised courage and compassion.

The Prime Minister shared pictures on his official Twitter handle of his unscheduled visit to Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib.

“This morning, I prayed at the historic Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, where the pious body of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji was cremated. I felt extremely blessed. I, like millions around the world, am deeply inspired by the kindnesses of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji,” PM Modi tweeted.

“It is the special Kripa of the Guru Sahibs that we will mark the special occasion of the 400th Parkash Parv of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji during our Government’s tenure. Let us mark this blessed occasion in a historic way and celebrate the ideals of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji,” he added.

As seen in the pictures, the Prime Minister was wearing a bright yellow kurta along with an orange waistcoat and orange cloth to cover his head.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Guru of the Sikh religion. (ANI)

With the Karnataka Assembly passing an anti-cattle slaughter Bill earlier this month, meat traders and residents of neighbouring Goa are feeling the pinch ahead of Christmas.

Concerned about the unavailability of beef during Christmas, the meat traders of the state raised the issue with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday.

Goa’s beef traders have urged Chief Minister Sawant to use his “good offices” with the BJP to prevent Karnataka’s Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, from being notified.

In a letter to Sawant, Qureshi Meat Traders Association of Goa said that beef was part of a staple diet in Goa’s multi-cultural society and consumed by visiting tourists and if the law came into force in Karnataka, it would have a severe impact on the coastal state as well.

Dominic, a homemaker, told ANI with the unavailability of beef they will have one item less to serve. “The celebrations will be affected.”

A Panaji resident, Rafik, said beef is one of the main items served during Christmas. “Hope the government sorts it out.” (ANI)

The USS Mustin, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer on Saturday sailed through the Taiwan Strait to thwart Chinese expansionist designs in the region.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on December 19 (local time) in accordance with international law, said a release of Commander, US 7th Fleet.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” added the official release.

Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait, including exercises, training, port visits and operations have increased considerably.

The transit is a clear indication that the US would not tolerate China’s behaviour of encircling Taiwan’s territorial waters and airspace with warships and military aircraft, or its attempt to transform the Strait into Chinese territory.

Recently, the US had cleared up to USD 5 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan this year. It has also approved 11 arm sale packages to Taiwan to check the expansionist designs of China in the Taiwan Strait. (ANI)

After China and three other countries submitted data that was “inappropriately altered” with regard to the Ease of Doing Business Report, the World Bank has now corrected the data and now China has slipped seven positions below to 85 in the index for 2018.

In Doing Business report 2018, the published score of China including irregularities affecting the Starting a Business, Getting Credit, and Paying Taxes indicators was 65.3 with a global ranking of 78, identical to its rank in the Doing Business 2017 report, according to World Bank’s statement.

After correcting the irregularities described above, the Doing Business 2018 score is 64.5. Taking as given the published data for all other countries, China’s global ranking in Doing Business 2018 would have been 85, a decline of seven places relative to the previous year,” the statement read.

“These irregularities were reported to DEC management by Doing Business team members and triggered the pause of the Doing Business report announced on August 27, 2020, as well as this review,” it added.

Apart from China, three other countries reported irregularities in data that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Azerbaijan.

In the case of Azerbaijan, In Doing Business 2020, the published score including irregularities affecting the Getting Electricity, Enforcing Contracts, and Trading Across Borders indicators was 76.7 with a global ranking of 34. After correcting the irregularities, the Doing Business 2020 score is 78.5.

“Taking as given the published data for all other countries, Azerbaijan’s global ranking would be 28 and it would have been on the list of top 10 improvers in the Doing Business 2020 report had these irregularities not occurred,” the World Bank said.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, in the 2020 report, the published score including irregularities affecting the Getting Credit and Paying Taxes indicators was 71.6 with a global ranking of 62. After correcting these irregularities, the Doing Business 2020 score is 70.9. However, if irregularities had not occurred, Saudi Arabia’s position would stand at 63.

The UAE on the other hand, including irregularities affecting the Paying Taxes indicator, was 80.9 with a global ranking of 16 and after correcting this irregularity, the Doing Business 2020 score is 80.8. The global ranking would be unchanged at 16 even after correcting the irregularity.

“Taking as, given the published data for all other countries, the United Arab Emirates’ global ranking would be unchanged at 16,” the statement said further.

In August, it was reported that China along with three other countries had submitted data that was “inappropriately altered”, which led to the World Bank put a pause on its ‘Doing Business’ report.

China along with three other countries — Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia– appeared to have inappropriately altered their data, said a person with knowledge of the decision, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The World Bank said that the review process did not identify any further specific data irregularities beyond those affecting these four countries as described in this document.

India had jumped 14 positions to be ranked 63rd among 190 countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business 2020 survey. (ANI)

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday accused the central government of using “intimidatory tactics” against the “arhtiyas” supporting the agitating farmers and said it was indulging “vendetta politics”.

According to an official release, the Chief Minister termed the income tax raids against some “arhtiyas” as an obvious pressure tactic to curb their democratic rights.

It said that 14 “arhtiyas” across Punjab received notices from the IT department, including Vijay Kalra (President, Punjab Arthiya Association), Pawan Kumar Goyal (President, Samana Mandi) and Jaswinder Singh Rana (Patiala district President).

“It is evident that having failed to persuade, mislead and divide the farmers into ending their prolonged protest, the central government is now trying to weaken their struggle by targeting the arhtiyas (middleman) who have been actively supporting the agitation since day one,” he said.

He noted that IT raids were conducted at the premises of several big “arhtiyas” of Punjab within a span of just four days of issuing notices without waiting for responses to the notices.

“This is a clear debasement of the due process of law. Even the local police were not informed or taken into confidence, as is the normal procedure, and instead, the CRPF was used to provide security during the raids by the I-T teams,” he added.

“What is this if not a clear case of vendetta politics by the Centre which is hell-bent on demolishing the farmers’ protest by hook or by crook?” the Chief Minister asked.

Noting that this was not the first instance of misuse of a central agency by the central government Singh said, “these bullying actions of the government do not augur well for the world’s largest democracy.”

“Even the Supreme Court has upheld the peoples’ right to protest peacefully. The central government’s actions amount to gross violation of the apex court’s directions and the spirit of the Constitution,” he added.

The Chief Minister reiterated his appeal to the central government not to stand on ego but to start a meaningful dialogue with the farmers and other stakeholders. (ANI)

As China-US relations continue to worsen, outgoing President Donald Trump on Saturday said that it could be possible that Beijing had a role to play in the recent cyberattacks on federal government agencies rather than Russia, as was being suspected.

Trump further said in a tweet that the true scale of the cyberattacks was greatly exaggerated by the media and said that the situation is under control.

“The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

He added, “Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!).”

In a subsequent tweet, Trump again claimed that the voting machines could have been hacked during the recently concluded Presidential election despite the Department of Homelandcalling it a safe election.

“There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA,” the tweet read further.

Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the massive cyberattack against multiple United States federal agencies and thousands of individual, federal and private entities, said US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday, who became the first member of the Trump administration to blame Russia.

“I can’t say much more as we’re still unpacking precisely what it is, and I’m sure some of it will remain classified. But suffice it to say there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of U.S. Government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well,” The Hill quoted Pompeo as saying on “The Mark Levin Show”.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned on Thursday that governmental institutions, critical infrastructures and private entities are in “grave” peril after the massive hacking attack. CISA did not identify suspects, but attributed the attack underway since at least March 2020 to “an advanced persistent threat actor.”

It admitted that removing malware from “compromised environments” would be highly complex and challenging, as reported by Sputnik.

Citing The Washington Post, it reported earlier that a hacking group called APT29, also known as “the Dukes” or “Cozy Bear,” allegedly linked to the Russian government, was likely behind the hacking but provided no proof for its claims.

China and the US are at loggerheads since he took office over many issues including trade, India-Pacific, coronavirus and treatment of Uyghur Muslims. The tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent times.

Earlier this month, Pompeo, announced sanctions against 14 vice-chairpersons of the National People’s Congress over the controversial national security law imposed on Hong Kong, and also designated China in its list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPC) for violations of religious freedom.

Prior to that, John Ratcliffe, US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), in an opinion piece on The Wall Street Journal, wrote: “If I could communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II.” (ANI)

The Miss Transqueen India pageant on Saturday crowned Shaine Soni as its winner for the year 2020 at an event here.

Soni, who is a fashion designer by profession, will now represent India at the Miss International Queen pageant that is set to take place in Thailand next year.

Shaine Soni is a renowned name in the fashion industry. After winning the pageant, she said that she will take this opportunity to work for the empowerment and betterment of transwomen.

She also said that winning the crown is not just a matter of dignity but it is also a promise that she will work with her heart and soul to normalise the conversations around the LGBTQ+ community.

This marks the fourth year of the Miss Transqueen pageant which celebrates the spirit of the LGBTQ+ community. (ANI)

Noting that he was seeing an electoral Tsunami in West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the entire scene in Bengal would change by the time elections are held in the state next year and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be left alone.

Amit Shah made the remarks at a rally in Paschim Medinipur in which 11 MLAs including former minister Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP. An MP and a former MP also joined the BJP.

Shah’s two-day visit to West Bengal began on Saturday.

“The Tsunami I am seeing in Bengal today, I must say that this is something that Mamata Banerjee would not have thought this would happen. By the time the elections come, the entire scene in Bengal would change. Didi, watch out,” he said.

“You (Mamata Banerjee) will be left alone by the time polls come,” he added.

The MLAs who joined the BJP in the presence of Amit Shah include seven from Trinamool Congress and four from Congress and Left parties.

TMC MP from Purba Burdwan Sunil Mondal and former MP Dasarath Tirkey also joined BJP in the presence of Shah here.

Shah said the BJP will form the government by winning over 200 seats in the 294 member assembly.

“When results of assembly elections are declared, BJP will form the government with more than 200 seats. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) keeps saying that BJP makes people switch parties. I want to ask her, was Trinamool Congress (TMC) her original party? Was she not in the Congress? Did she not switch to TMC when she had differences? Today when Suvendu Adhikari has done the same, you find that wrong.”

He said Mamata Banerjee wants her nephew to be the next chief minister of the state.

“Mamata Banerjee is busy trying to ensure nephew becomes next Chief Minister. You gave three decades to Congress, 27 years to Communists and 10 years to Mamata didi, give five years to BJP, we will make Bengal Sonar Bangla,” Shah said.

Earlier in the day, Shah paid tributes to the Swami Vivekananda during a visit to the Ramakrishna Mission, saying that Vivekananda was a “great son of mother India” who devoted his life to national resurgence.

The minister will visit Vishwa Bharti University at Shantiniketan in Birbhum district on Sunday where he will pay tributes to Rabindranath Tagore followed by an interaction with media.

The minister is also scheduled to visit Shyambati in Birbhum, where he will have lunch with the family of a Baul singer. Besides, he will hold a roadshow in Bolpur from Hanuman mandir on Stadium Road to Bolpur Circle. (ANI)

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has decided to reopen the campus for PWD-PhD students from Science streams from December 21 as a part of Phase IV reopening.

The JNU was physically shut in March in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier, the university had reopened partially from November 2 after months-long coronavirus-induced lockdown

In a statement, the university instructed students to undergo seven-day self-quarantine after arriving in the national capital from outstations.

“The Jawaharlal Nehru University to reopen the campus for students from 21.12.2020 in Phase IV. All students have to undergo self-quarantine of seven days after arrival at Delhi from outstation and before joining the university,” the varsity said.

Meanwhile, JNU Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar in a tweet said that considering the safety and security of the students, while following the government guidelines stringently, JNU is opening the campus in a phased manner.

In phase-IV, PWD-PhD students from Science streams are being allowed to come to campus, he added. (ANI)