Month: January 2021

Kamala Harris, who will take oath on Wednesday as the first woman, the first Indian-American and the first African-American US Vice President, has broken many glass ceilings in her career.

She was the first Indian-American to serve as a US senator and first woman of colour to have been elected district attorney of San Francisco. When she was elected Attorney General of California in 2010, she was the first woman and first African-American to hold the post.

A leader who made her way up through her determination and hard work, she began her career in the 1990s at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in the city of Oakland.

Her mother Shyamala Gopalan emigrated from Tamil Nadu and was a cancer researcher. Her father, a Jamaican, taught at Stanford University.

Harris studied political science and economics at Howard University and pursued law from Hastings College.

In her first speech as Vice President-elect, Harris remembered her mother.

“When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in America where a moment like this is possible,” Harris said.

Harris said she might be the first woman vice president but she will not be the last.

“So I am thinking about her and about the generations of women, Black women, Asian, White, Latina, Native American women, who throughout our nation’s history have paved the way to tonight. Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all. Including the Black women who are often, too often overlooked but so often proven they are the backbone of our democracy,” Harris said.

Her election as Vice-President is of great significance to Indians, particularly the diaspora in the US and is a reflection to the success of the community and the respect it has attained.

As Senator, Harris was a member of key legislative committees including the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the Budget.

A US-based policy tracker has said that Harris has been one of the busier senators when it comes to introducing congressional legislation. “Her 54 bills introduced in 2019 tied for 19th-most among all 100 senators, while her 52 bills introduced in 2017-18 put her in the top third among senators,” the report by GovTrack said.

On the policy front, her priorities have been criminal justice reform and racial justice legislation. She has supported legalized same-sex-marriage and has called for a ban on assault weapons in the US.

Harris had announced that she was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and during a primary debate had an exchange with fellow candidate Joe Biden over his opposition to school busing in the seventies and eighties.

She later dropped out of the race and was picked by Biden as his running mate in August last year for the presidential election.

Her memoir ‘The Truths We Hold: An American Journey’ was published in 2019.

Biden and Harris won one of the most contentious elections in the US history with the incumbent Donald Trump unwilling to concede defeat.

On November 7 (local time), the US media projected that Biden would become the 46th President of the United States and Harris 49th Vice President after the duo clinched Pennsylvania to take them beyond the 270 electoral college votes necessary to clinch the election.

The electoral college certified the results in December – 306 electoral votes for Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence received 232 votes.

But the certification came after unprecedented violence in Washington and storming of the Captiol Hill by Trump supporters.

The US President was later banned from social media platforms.

The US Supreme Court had dismissed lawsuits seeking to overturn the results of presidential elections.

Sabrina Singh, then Press Secretary to Senator Harris and now Deputy Press Secretary to Vice President-elect, had said in an interview to ANI that if elected Biden-Harris administration will advance relationship between India and the United States.

Biden and Harris are faced with several challenges including that posed by the rise of China, climate change and the adverse impact of COVID-19 that has killed over 400,000 people in the US besides causing a recession.

Harris will create history and evoke smiles across continents as she takes the oath of office on Wednesday. (ANI)

As she returned to film sets after a few-month-long hiatus for the shooting of ‘Hungama 2,’ actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra on Wednesday paid an ode to the cabaret queen and veteran actor Helen.

Dressed in the avatar of the OG, the ‘Dhadkan’ actor posted a short boomerang video of herself on Instagram and announced that she has resumed shooting for ‘Hungama 2.’

The actor was seen dressed in a black coloured shimmery net cabaret ensemble and had hair done in a high puff with feathers in her hair adding to the retro theme of the look.

She also shared that, the shoot began after she got herself tested for COVID-19.

“Back on the sets.. COVID tested, Hungama 2 in retro vibes. An ode to the OG queen #helenji #vintage #fun #dance #retro #hungama2 #venusmovies,” the 45-year-old actor wrote in the caption.

Apart from Shilpa, ‘Hungama 2’ stars Paresh Rawal, Meezaan Jaffery, and South Indian actor Pranitha Subhash in pivotal roles.

Paresh Rawal, whose character was one of the highlights of ‘Hungama’ is reuniting with Priyadarshan after seven years. The duo has worked together in comedies like ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Bhagam Bhaag’, and ‘Malamaal Weekly’. (ANI)

The tenth round of talks between farmer unions and the Central government over the three farm laws began at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, among others, were present at the meeting.

The talks were earlier scheduled for January 19 and were later postponed to Wednesday.

After the ninth round of talks on January 15 remained inconclusive, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said the unions have been asked to form informal groups among themselves and submit a draft to the government regarding their demands.

Tomar had said the government will think about the draft with an “open mind”.

Saying that the government is concerned about the farmers protesting in cold conditions, he had asserted that the Centre is positive to reach a solution through talks.

On January 12, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Centre’s three farm laws and asked the committee formed by it concerning the laws to submit its report within two months.The committee has been directed to hold a dialogue with farmers and submit its recommendations pertaining to the farm laws within two months from the date of its first sitting.However, the leaders of farmers’ unions rejected the committee, saying their members were already in favour of the farm laws.Bhupinder Singh Mann, National President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Mann) had recused himself from the four-member committee appointed by the top court over the new farm laws.

The first meeting of the Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to deliberate with concerned stakeholders on farm laws was held on Tuesday, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. (ANI)

India will be sending one million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Nepal on January 21 under VaccineMaitri, said Hridayesh Tripathi, Nepal Health Minister, on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Tripathi said, “India to provide one million dosages of COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal under VaccineMaitri programme. The vaccines will land in Kathmandu tomorrow.”

He further said that the frontline workers will be the first to be administered the vaccine.

While reiterating India-Nepal’s friendship, the Minister said that the first lot of vaccines will be on grant assistance.

As part of India’s Neighbourhood First policy, till now Bhutan and Maldives have been sent the gift of coronavirus vaccines.

India will be supplying vaccines on a gratis basis to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from January 20 onwards, according to an earlier statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

It had further said that India is awaiting confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances concerning the supply of medicines in respect of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius.

India had earlier supplied hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and paracetamol tablets, as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies to a large number of countries during the COVID19 pandemic. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Disha Patani on Wednesday treated fans to a stunning monokini picture from her beach vacation.

The 28-year-old actor posted a ravishing picture on Instagram from her New Year vacation album. In the picture, amid the picturesque view of the exotic location, Patani is seen posing effortlessly in a green bikini, in a no make-up look. The ‘Malang’ star looks sultry as her hair waves in the air while posing soaking sun. In the backdrop are palm trees, a clear blue sky and the beach.

Patani posted a palm tree emoticon in the caption of the post that garnered more than eight lakh likes including one from celebrity follower Vivek Oberoi within an hour of being posted.

In awe of the beautiful picture, fans left red heart and lovestruck emoticons in the comments section. (ANI)

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, suspected to be missing following Beijing’s aggressive crackdown on Alibaba Group, resurfaced on Wednesday.

“#JUSTIN: #JackMa not disappear, here we go: Ma just had a video conference with 100 village teachers on Wednesday morning, saying: after #COVID19, we’ll meet each other again,” tweeted Qingqing Chen, Chief Reporter of Global Times News, a China state-affiliated media.

Ma had mysteriously disappeared from the public eye after Beijing’s aggressive crackdown on his business empire.

She further added that Jack Ma met with 100 rural teachers in the country through video conferencing.

“Ma, who used to be an English teacher and founder of #Alibaba, also gives wishes to village teachers via a video on Wednesday,” tweeted Qingqing Chen. China state-affiliated media also shared a video in which the billionaire can be seen addressing the gathering.

Ma generally interacts with rural teachers in Sanya, Hainan every year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting took place via video conference this year.

“Usually the activity is held in Sanya in southern Hainan but this year, due to #Covid19 it has to be done via video conference,” tweeted Chen.

Ma was slated to appear as a star judge on the season finale of Africa’s Business Heroes, a reality TV show created by his own philanthropic organisation. However, he dropped out of the appearance and the show’s broadcast was postponed.

Jack Ma’s trouble with the Chinese government began when he gave a speech criticising China’s regulators and state-owned banks for their ‘backwardness’.

His remarks are said to have infuriated Beijing’s party brass, leading to Chinese President Xi Jinping to personally order a halt to the offering by Alibaba’s financial affiliate company, Ant Financial, which was set to raise USD 34 billion in the biggest stock-market debut in history. (ANI)

American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga, ahead of singing the national anthem at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration said she is praying for “peace for Americans.”

The 34-year-old shared a picture of herself in a church on her social media handles. She was dressed in a white cape and matching mask.

She captioned the post as: “I pray tomorrow will be a day of peace for all Americans. A day for love, not hatred. A day for acceptance, not fear. A day for dreaming of our future joy as a country. A dream that is non-violent, a dream that provides safety for our souls. Love, from the Capitol.”

The snap portrays the Grammy-winner with hands folded, head bowed and eyes closed.

The ‘Rain On Me’ singer isn’t the only star set to perform at the inauguration ceremony. Jennifer Lopez, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and others are also scheduled performers for the day’s big celebration. set to make a big appearance for the function as well as a TV screening.

Tom Hanks will host a primetime special ‘Celebrating America’ following President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration on January 20 in Washington DC. (ANI)

By Ankur Sharma

ITBP’s K9 team, which includes dogs like Belgian Malinois, have been given the task to secure Rajpath and India Gate area for the Republic Day parade.

This has done after Delhi Police requested ITBP to deploy its crack K9 team for deployment to sanitise and secure the area around India Gate and Rajpath.

These dogs are trained for all-region and weather conditions. Some of them, who were deployed in tough weather conditions, will be brought to Delhi for the Republic Day parade.

“These dogs are extremely friendly and get people’s attraction instantly. They are trained on how to behave with the public and how to react in case of any suspicious activity. They are at India Gate and Rajpath now,” ITBP official said.

“ITBP’s K9s are some of the highly trained and loyal dogs who will sniff terror with zero error to ensure that the ceremony held under a very high threat perception goes off without a hitch,” ITBP official said.

These dogs have been serving in various parts of the country including Naxal affected areas.

“ITBP is the largest contributor of dog teams to Delhi Police for various assignments for the past one decade. These dogs belong to the ITBP’s K9 QRT (quick reaction team) which rushes to the assistance of Delhi Police whenever there is a requisition,” the ITBP said.

“All the majestic K9s deployed this year are hero dogs who have already had a stint in counter-insurgency grid and are battle-hardened dogs whose noses miss nothing,” the official added. (ANI)

Donald Trump who leaves his presidency has never in his four-year term in office attempted to be part of the local community. A case in point is that unlike his predecessors, Trump has visited only one restaurant – the one in his own Pennsylvania Avenue hotel.

While former President Barack Obama was known for hitting all the trendy hotspots for date nights, Trump, who is known for his love of fast food, has never stepped into a DC fast-food joint. He, however, had once sent a former bodyguard to make McDonald’s runs and even catered White House events with Burger King and Domino’s.

According to a report in Washingtonian, Trump is a creature of habit as when he does venture out for a meal at the Trump hotel’s steakhouse, BLT Prime, he pretty much always orders the same thing: shrimp cocktail, fries and well-done steak.

He did this because here he knows he will get exactly the food he wants in the way that he wants, along with fans cheering him on.

In 2016, he had told attorneys that “there aren’t that many” great restaurants in Washington as part of a deposition in a lawsuit with celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian. In 2017 he said in an interview on the Larry O’Connor Show, “In Washington, you do have some great restaurants, and I’m going to start going to them,” Washingtonian said.

He said that he would start visiting other restaurants too.

“I was accused the other day. Well, when I leave the White House, which is seldom, I always go to my hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, and they say, ‘He should go to other places.’ And I never thought of it. And I’m going to start doing that. I’m going to go around.”

In 2019, Trump said that he along with First Lady Melania Trump would stop by at the Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington while awarding the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal to Chief Patrick O’Connell. However, he is yet to step into the restaurant.

The magazine Washingtonian opined that “there aren’t a lot of places around DC where he would have been welcomed”.

“If he wasn’t outright asked to leave–like former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was at Virginia’s Red Hen–he’d likely have been met with booing and cursing from other diners. And any restaurant that hosted him–no matter its bipartisan stance–would have no doubt faced backlash by mere association,” the magazine opined. (ANI)

Turkey started mass vaccination against COVID-19 with China’s ‘Sinovac’ vaccine but its orders for the vaccine suffered many delays, which led to the Turkish opposition questioning whether Ankara was being punished for dragging its feet in ratifying an extradition treaty it had signed with Beijing that could affect its Uyghur diaspora, Nikkei Asia reported.

Early this month, Ankara announced it has granted emergency use authorisation to Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine. Mass inoculations began last Thursday starting with the elderly and health care workers.

The delay of the first batch in December prompted a phone call between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. By the end of the month, a few days before the first batch of vaccines was due to be sent to Turkey, Beijing unexpectedly announced it had ratified the extradition treaty with Turkey.

Turkey signed the extradition treaty with China in 2017 when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Initiative Forum. China had been asking Turkey to cooperate on the Uyghur issue, and it is largely believed that Turkey signed the treaty to solicit investment from China. The treaty was sent to parliament in 2019 and is awaiting ratification.

The move last month prompted members of the opposition parties in Turkey to question if China was withholding the vaccines to pressure Turkey into also ratifying the treaty.

Yildirim Kaya of the opposition the Republican People’s Party questioned the government, saying, “Are the allegations that China is postponing vaccine shipments to pressure Turkey into ratifying the extradition treaty true?” Opposition politicians have vowed to push back on ratification when parliament reconvenes on January 26.

China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.

Beijing, on the other hand, has vehemently denied that it is engaged in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang while reports from journalists, NGOs and former detainees have surfaced, highlighting the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal crackdown on the ethnic community, according to a report.

There are at least 50,000 Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim people, living in Turkey. The ratification of the treaty would be a huge cause of concern for those Uyghurs who have not yet received Turkish citizenship as they face the possibility of being sent back to China, where they are persecuted.

At a news conference at the end of December, Cavusoglu said ratification of the treaty would only be “routine” and strongly denied claims Uyghurs would be deported to China.

“China had such demands but we have not taken such steps,” he said adding that “Vaccines and East Turkestan or Uighur Turks have no relation at all.”

Last month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed shock over the reports that China has ratified an extradition treaty with Turkey that could target Muslim minority Uyghurs fleeing persecution from Xinjiang province.

“USCIRF is alarmed by reports that China has ratified an extradition treaty with Turkey that could target Uyghurs fleeing persecution, and calls on the Turkish Parliament to reject ratification and make every effort to protect Uyghurs and others at risk,” USCIRF had tweeted. (ANI)