Month: January 2021

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Monday introduced new rules that banned cadres from expressing opinions and dissenting views from its own ranks, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Jun Mai, writing for SCMP, stated that the revised rule book said that cadres can make complaints about their superiors but was prohibited from airing them in public and were also banned from expressing opinions that are ‘not consistent’ with the decisions of the central leadership.

The new rules also officially incorporate references to Xi Jinping’s “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, as the leader’s ideology is officially known – a concept that has already been written into the constitution, reported SCMP.

The new rules were issued just six months ahead of the Communist Party’s centenary in July and mark an attempt to inject new life into the party rule book which was last updated 16 years ago.

The new rule book made clear that the party that has about 92 million members will not tolerate dissenting views from its own ranks.

“A member of the party must not publicly express opinions that are inconsistent with decisions made by the central leadership,” said Article 16 of the revised regulations on safeguarding the rights of party members, reported SCMP.

Article 11 of the new rules stipulate that while party members are entitled to report misconduct by other members, including those who hold a higher rank, they must not disseminate such information at will and must not do so on the internet, reported SCMP.

State media hailed the revised regulations, which came into effect in 1995 and were amended nine years later. The amended party rules were described by state media as ‘boosting democracy within the party’.

However, Wang Qishan in an article published in People’s Daily, the party’s mouthpiece, in 2014, then the party’s top corruption buster and now vice-president, argued that joining the Communist Party means voluntarily giving up certain rights and freedoms.

The amended regulations were published on the first working day after the New Year break of 2021, a year that carries tremendous political significance for Beijing as CCP is planning extensive celebrations in the run-up to its centenary celebrations on July 1. (ANI)

Not many cricket captains can say they have the honour of leading their national side to World Cup triumph, but Kapil Dev, not only has this honour but he will always be known for giving the country their first Cricket World Cup title in 1983.

As the legendary Indian all-rounder celebrates his 62nd birthday today, let’s relive how Kapil Dev-led India managed to defeat the mighty West Indies in the finals of the 1983 World Cup at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium.

It was on June 25, 1983, when India lifted their first-ever cricket World Cup title, defeating West Indies in the finals by 43 runs. India’s World Cup final playing XI included Sunil Gavaskar, K Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, SM Patil, Kapil Dev, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani, and Balwinder Sandhu.

After the win, cricket got a fillip in the country, elevating the sport to religion for fans with every child wanting to become a cricketer. In the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each. For India, Kris Srikkanth top-scored as he played a knock of 38 runs, apart from him, no other batsmen managed to go past the 30-run mark.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow and Madan Lal then dismissed the key batsmen Vivian Richards (33), reducing Windies to 57/3. Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India its first-ever World Cup title win. In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs. Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord’s Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball. India has been the regular participant of the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition.

Earlier in the 1983 World Cup, in the group-stage match against Zimbabwe, Kapil Dev had played one of the most memorable innings in the history of cricket to make his team win.

In the match against Zimbabwe, India won the toss and opted to bat first. However, the side got off to the worst start possible as the side found itself at 17/5. Big guns like Sunil Gavaskar, K Srikkanth, and Mohinder Amarnath failed to get going and India was staring down the barrel.

Roger Binny provided a little support to Kapil Dev as the duo formed a 60-run stand, but Binny also departed after scoring 22, and India was left at 77/6. From there, Kapil Dev took charge and he started hammering the Zimbabwe bowlers to all around the park.

The all-rounder eventually scored 175 runs with the help of 16 fours and 6 sixes, taking India’s score to 266/8 in the allotted sixty overs. India, then defended the total as the side bowled out Zimbabwe for 235, winning the match by 31 runs. (ANI)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday cancelled his planned trip to India to be a chief guest on Republic Day, saying it was important for him to remain in the United Kingdom to focus on the domestic response to the virus.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said that Johnson spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the morning and expressed his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned.

“The prime minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

“In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the prime minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus,” she added.

The cancellation of the visit was announced a day after Prime Minister Johnson imposed the third lockdown in the UK amid rising coronavirus cases in the country.

The UK has reported more than two million COVID-19 cases and 70,000 deaths linked to the disease.

India had invited the prime minister of the UK as the Chief Guest in the Republic Day parade in 2021.

UK Foreign Secretary Raab visited India in December and announced Johnson has accepted India’s invitation.

“The UK Prime Minister has accepted the very generous invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations (as chief guest) in January which is a great honour,” Raab had said at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. (ANI)

Putting the administration on high alert, nearly 400 crows were found dead in 10 districts of Madhya Pradesh so far, confirming the spread of bird flu in the state.

The presence of the H5N8 sub-type of the Influenza A virus was reported in dead crows found in Indore, Agar-Malwa and Mandsaur districts since Sunday.

Director of Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Department Dr RK Rokade told ANI that the bird flu has only spread in crows; chickens are still protected from the virus till now.

Reports of the deaths of crows from Indore, Mandsaur, Agar-Malwa, Khargone, Sehore, Dewas, Ujjain, Neemuch and Guna has come into the light, where nearly 400 crows have been found dead, the official said.

It is noted that bird flu is airborne and there is no vaccine for it, he added.

While talking about the source of the outbreak, the Animal Husbandry Department believed that it came from Rajasthan.

Avian influenza refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.

Bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. (ANI)

The Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed relevant authorities to start the restoration of the Hindu temple in Karak within two weeks besides summoning details of all temples from the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), reported ARY News.

On December 30, a mob of over a hundred people led by local Muslim clerics had destroyed and set on fire a Hindu temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A viral video clip on social media showed a violent mob destroying the walls and roof of the temple.

This act against the Hindu minority community has been widely condemned by human rights activists based in Pakistan and other parts of the world.

The mob incited by a local cleric was part of a rally organised by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan.

In the rally, speakers delivered inflammatory speeches after which the mob stormed the temple, set it ablaze, and razed it to the ground.

Taking suo motu cognizance of the vandalism, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed raised questions how could the police allow the mob to enter the temple’s premises instead of controlling the situation, reported ARY News.

The chief justice also remarked that the expenses to restore the site should be borne by the responsible persons. The top court directed the relevant authorities to start rebuilding the Hindu shrine in two weeks and directed ETPB to provide details of all functional and non-functional temples in the country.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing for two weeks, reported ARY News. (ANI)

India has accused the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of using “unorthodox weapons’ to escalate the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) while maintaining that the Chinese Army suffered “significant casualties” in the Galwan valley clash on June 15 last year.

In the year-ender issued by the Defence Ministry a few days ago, the Indian side said the “unilateral and provocative actions” by the Chinese to change the status quo by force, in more than one area on the LAC, were responded to in a firm and non-escalatory way, ensuring the sanctity of Indian claims in Eastern Ladakh.

“In a major skirmish in Galwan, 20 brave Indian soldiers lost their lives while preventing PLA troops from ingressing into our territory. The Chinese also suffered significant casualties,” the Defence Ministry said.

The Ministry said the Indian Army has maintained all protocols and agreements between the two countries while the PLA escalated the situation by utilisation of “unorthodox weapons and amassing large number of troops”.

The Indian Army with assistance from Air Force mobilised troops including accretionary forces in a very short duration including heavy equipment like guns, tanks as also ammunition, rations, and clothing.

“Own Engineers constructed roads, accommodation shelters and bridges to assist troop deployment,” it said

The Ministry said that, on August 28-29, Indian troops in a precautionary deployment, pre-empted Chinese expansionist designs and occupied heights along the southern bank of Pangong Tso.

“Braving inclement weather, own troops continue to be deployed on these heights. Advance Winter Stocking (AWS) and winter preparations for the enhanced strength has been completed and troops are well entrenched to counter any misadventure by Chinese forces,” the release said.

India also made it clear that “while the Indian Army is prepared for any eventuality, talks are also progressing to resolve the issue in an amicable manner.”

India and China have been engaged in a military conflict since the April-May timeframe last year. After the Chinese aggression on the LAC, India moved in very quickly to match up the build-up to deter any further movement in the areas. (ANI)

Kerala government has declared bird flu as a state-specific disaster and issued a high alert after the outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in certain parts of Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.

Director of Animal Husbandry KM Dileep said that the presence of the H5N8 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks in Karthikappally and Kuttanad taluks in Alappuzha and Neendoor in Kottayam.

“The Animal Husbandry Department has taken all steps to contain the spread of infection. The culling of ducks in the area where bird flu was reported will be started and will be completed within two days. All necessary precaution has been taken to dispose of the culled birds,” he said.

Bird flu was confirmed after the test result from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal.

In the wake of bird flu, restrictions have been imposed on the selling of ducks, chicken quail meat and eggs in the regions where bird flu has been confirmed.

Kerala Minister for Forest, Animal husbandry and Dairy development K Raju had said that about 12000 ducks had died and around 40,000 birds will be culled in the region where bird flu has been reported. (ANI)

On the occasion of Deepika Padukone’s thirty-fifth birthday, Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh on Tuesday shared the sweetest birthday wish for his beloved along with their picture.

The ‘Padmaavat’ star took to his Instagram on Tuesday and shared a loving picture of himself and his wife, in which he can be seen holding her in a tight embrace from behind and kissing her lovingly on her cheeks, while Deepika smiled at the camera. In the caption, he wrote “Biwi No.1 @deepikapadukone #happybirthday.”

The post from the star received more than seven lakh likes within 55 minutes of it getting posted.

Earlier today, the ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Behl’ star had shared Padukone’s childhood picture wherein the latter could be seen crawling on the ground while flashing a million-dollar smile. Scores of Bollywood stars and fans also extended their birthday greetings to the star on Twitter and Instagram.

On the professional front, Deepika will next be seen in a special appearance in Kabir Khan’s ’83’ which stars Ranveer Singh in the lead role. (ANI)

China has been waging “cognitive warfare” against Taiwan by using misinformation and an army of online trolls as weapons to sway public opinion in Beijing’s favour, a local think tank reported.

The report was published by the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a government-funded think tank. It asserted that the effect of the warfare had been limited due to strong-anti Beijing sentiment, however, urged the Taiwan government to remain on guard in case it started to influence public sentiment to the extent that it influenced policy decisions, reported South China Morning Post.

The think tank said that Beijing was trying to use both officials and unofficial channels, including Taiwanese and international media organisations and social media, to feed the public disinformation in an attempt to stoke resentment towards President Tsai Ing-wen’s government.

“The cognitive warfare launched by the Chinese Communists became more aggressive in 2020 as reflected by its employment of social media platforms to spread misinformation and create cognitive confusion through stepping up of military intimidation,” the think tank said in its annual report issued in late December.

China has tried to sell Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” as a model for cross-strait unification – a mission mainland leader Xi Jinping hopes to accomplish before he leaves office – but seeing what has happened to Hong Kong has scared Taiwanese away and undermined the efforts to sway opinion, Su Tzu-yun, a senior researcher at the institute, said.

“The growing military intimidation of Taiwan and the introduction of the national security law that abuses human rights and sabotages the so-called ‘one country, two systems’ in Hong Kong serves only to create a counter effect as people in Taiwan become more resentful of Beijing than ever,” said Su.

He said the government should set up a comprehensive fact-checking system to prevent misinformation.

Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, a professor of international relations and strategic study at Tamkang University in Taipei, said: “Cognitive warfare is part of the ‘grey zone conflict’ targeting the human brain to deceive, alter the enemy’s perceptions, and crush the will to defend via cyberspace, traditional media and shows of force (short of waging war).”

He said the growing anti-Beijing sentiment in Taiwan had expanded the psychological distance across the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

For several months, China’s People’s Liberation Army has been increasing military pressure on the island, sending warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone and stepping up military exercises on nearby islands, moves widely interpreted as a threat to Taipei, reported CNN.

In order to bolster its defensive capabilities, Taiwan is building a submarine fleet to mitigate Chinese nefarious designs to invade the island or install a naval blockade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has already made his intentions clear about Taiwan as he has vowed to never allow the island to become independent and has refused to rule out the use of force if necessary. (ANI)

American actor and singer Jennifer Lopez raised the temperature on Tuesday (local time) with her new monokini picture.

The clip shared by the 51-year-old star that shows her spreading Monday motivation for fans has been taking social media on the blaze as the post gained more than 12 million views in less than a day of being posted.

Lopez who is often seen sharing inspiration on social media by flaunting self-love posts is seen showcasing her toned abs while meditating on the shore. She wrote, “#Meditation and #affirmations #MondayMotivation”

The printed customized shrug that reads the initials of the name of the star ‘JLO’ complements her wavy open hair and hogs the attention on the micro-blogging site.

Of the late, Jennifer Lopez ringed into the New Year with a ‘smashing’ performance at the ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.’ Lopez was the star performer of the New Year’s Eve event that took place at Times Square in New York City. (ANI)