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FIFA-certified football stadium soon in Mizoram

By
The Commune
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Mizoram’s Sports Minister, Robert Romawia Royte had visited the construction of a sports academy under  Sports Authority of India (SAI). He announced that the Kolasib town in Mizoram will soon have a football ground. The football ground will be certified by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

He was accompanied by Supply Minister and Kolasib MLA K Lalrinliana and Serlui MLA Lalrinsanga Ralte during the inspection. He said that the artificial turf being laid at the SAI academy ground at Saidan was certified by FIFA and the construction will be completed soon.

He said that the new football stadium will play a vital role to aid sportspersons of the state and pave way for them to cast their names in national and international competitions.

He visited other regions of the town to check if it is feasible to invest in new sports infrastructure and even upgrade existing facilities. The existing football ground at Kawnpui will be converted to a standard ground after laying artificial turf. In addition to that, a sports training center would be set up at Vairengte located on the Mizoram-Assam border.

The state of Mizoram passed the ‘industrial status’ to sports last month. This step means plenty of funds for various aspects under sports infrastructure. Moreover, it encourages private players to become important stakeholders in the space of sports.

Drones built by Thala’s tech team Dhaksha goes places, K’taka Dy. CM appreciates team’s efforts

By
The Commune
-

At a time when corona virus cases are increasing in Tamil Nadu and also in neighbouring Karnataka, the Dhaksha Team mentored by Thala Ajith Kumar has come to the rescue with a drone aiding in the fight against virus. The drone can spray disinfectant to sanitize large areas.

The drone was launched by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan who took to Twitter to congratulate the actor and the team for their efforts.

Team Dhaksha comprises of a team of researchers from Madras Institute of Technology and is mentored by Actor Ajith Kumar. The team had earlier won the Drone Olympics last year.

The team has been collaborating with state governments in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to sanitize areas and building using microbial organic disinfectant. The drone uses petrol as fuel.

Team Dhaksha has collaborated with Sugardhana Foundation, an common man’s initiative to fight COVID using drones.

The

New influenza virus in China?

By
The Commune
-

A new flu that resembles the H1N1 virus is surfacing in the air of China. It recently emerged from pigs, considering China’s significant population of pigs. According to researchers, the virus can grow and multiply in cells linked to the human airways.  The virus which they call G4 EA H1N1 started from people working in abattoirs and the swine industry in China, based on evidence found by researchers.

It is said that existing vaccines for flu do not seem to protect against this. “Distracted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we must not lose sight of potentially dangerous viruses,” says Prof. Kin-Chow Chang, who works at Nottingham University in the UK.

There is concern that it may further mutate to human beings and trigger a global outbreak. Researchers say that it has the potential to infect human beings and suggests close monitoring.

Robert Webster, an influenza investigator says that it is a guessing game with respect to if there is a chance for this to readily transmit between human beings. But this has not occurred yet. “We just do not know a pandemic is going to occur until the damn thing occurs,” she adds.

“The likelihood that this particular variant is going to cause a pandemic is low,” says Martha Nelson, an evolutionary biologist at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center. She studies pig influenza viruses and their spread to human beings in the United States of America.

She adds that no person was aware of the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 which resulted due to the virus transmitting from pigs to people until the first case was declared. Influenza “can surprise us” and there is high risk involved if neglected especially during COVID-19.

DMK MLA files complaint against AIADMK spokesperson

By
The Commune
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A video of Kaatiannan Arjunan, former DMK MP from Dharmapuri, abusing and attacking a police officer on duty in a toll plaza went viral on social media. The police officers on COVID duty were reportedly checking e-passes of vehicles passing through Omalur toll plaza falling under Salem district. When they asked the former DMK MP for his travel papers, he got off the front seat of the car and started behaving rudely with the police officer. He abused, hit and kicked them with his leg before leaving in his car.

It is to be noted that K. Arjunan was elected from Dharmapuri as a DMK candidate in the year 1980.

However, DMK mouthpieces Kalaignar Seidhigal and RK Radhakrishnan (Associate Editor or Frontline) peddled the story as Arjunan being an ADMK MP. They had confused the former DMK MP Kaatiannan Arjunan with former ADMK MP K.R. Arjunan.

On the other hand, some Twitterati mistook the person to be DMK MLA Vaagai Chandrasekar.

Following this, the Mr. Vaagai Chandrasekar along with former Mayor Ma. Subramanian registered a complaint with the cybercrime department to take action on a few persons.

One of the persons mentioned in the complaint was AIADMK Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan.  However, Mr. Sathyan had posted in his social media referring to the former DMK MP Arjunan and not Mr. Vaagai Chandrasekar.

Mr. Kovai Sathyan in his social media handle mentioned Arjunan as ex-MP and added a comment asking Stalin to seek advice from PK [Prashant Kishor, DMK’s political strategist]. Irked by this the DMK included his name in the complaint to the police commissioner. Upon contacting Mr. Kovai Sathyan, he said that he can only laugh at Mr. Vaagai Chandrasekhar’s complaint and added that he shall ask Mr. Vaagai Chandrasekhar to consult PK.

The current party affiliation of K. Arjunan is unclear. His records show that he is a party hopper beginning his political career with the DMK. He was DMK MP from 1980 to 1984. He later went to join ADMK’s Jayalalitha faction (Cock symbol) in 1989 and became MLA. He again was elected as ADMK MLA from 1991 to 1996. He quit and came back to join the DMK in 2006. His current political affiliation is not yet confirmed although it is being said that he is now with DMK or with AMMK after brief a stint with DMDK and Deepa Peravai.

GoI bans 59 Chinese apps

By
The Commune
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In view of the emergent nature of threats to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order, the Ministry of Information Technology, invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009  has decided to block 59 apps that includes TikTok, Helo, WeChat, SHAREit, etc.

It was reported that these apps engaged in activities that is prejudicial .

There have been raging concerns on data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians by these apps. The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously taking users’ data in an unauthorized manner and transmitting it to servers outside India.

“The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures.”, the PIB release read.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps. This Ministry has also received representations raising concerns from citizens in aspects relating to data security, risk and privacy relating to operation of certain apps. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) has also received many representations from citizens regarding security of data and breach of privacy impacting upon public order issues.

There has been bipartisan support by public representatives both outside and within the Parliament apart from the strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against Apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens.

On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs the Government of India decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices.

This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

Apps Banned

  1. TikTok
  2. Shareit
  3. Kwai
  4. UC Browser
  5. Baidu map
  6. Shein
  7. Clash of Kings
  8. DU battery saver
  9. Helo
  10. Likee
  11. YouCam makeup
  12. Mi Community
  13. CM Browers
  14. Virus Cleaner
  15. APUS Browser
  16. ROMWE
  17. Club Factory
  18. Newsdog
  19. Beutry Plus
  20. WeChat
  21. UC News
  22. QQ Mail
  23. Weibo
  24. Xender
  25. QQ Music
  26. QQ Newsfeed
  27. Bigo Live
  28. SelfieCity
  29. Mail Master
  30. Parallel Space

 
  1. Mi Video Call – Xiaomi
  2. WeSync
  3. ES File Explorer
  4. Viva Video – QU Video Inc
  5. Meitu
  6. Vigo Video
  7. New Video Status
  8. DU Recorder
  9. Vault- Hide
  10. Cache Cleaner DU App studio
  11. DU Cleaner
  12. DU Browser
  13. Hago Play With New Friends
  14. Cam Scanner
  15. Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile
  16. Wonder Camera
  17. Photo Wonder
  18. QQ Player
  19. We Meet
  20. Sweet Selfie
  21. Baidu Translate
  22. Vmate
  23. QQ International
  24. QQ Security Center
  25. QQ Launcher
  26. U Video
  27. V fly Status Video
  28. Mobile Legends
  29. DU Privacy

99 year old woman from Karnataka makes miraculous recovery from coronavirus

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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99-year-old Marceline Saldanha miraculously recovered from coronavirus after having contracted it from her grandson. This case of recovery has both puzzled and delighted the medical community.

Marceline along with her 70-year-old son Vincent, daughter-in-law Rita and grandson Vijay tested positive for the virus. She was admitted into the corona specialty ward on June 18th. Nine days after admission, she had tested negative, and walked out of the hospital on 28th June along with her grand son. Her son and daughter-in-law are still under observation in the hospital. As per her son, they developed symptoms like cold, cough, and fever while Marceline was asymptomatic. However, the family members are still clueless about where they contracted the virus from as all of them remained indoors in their Kumaraswamy layout residence. The lady’s grandson, Vijay, was the only one who would go out to buy groceries.

The doctors had said that they were very surprised about the old lady’s positive attitude and said that she was a very cooperative patient who didn’t trouble the medical personnel.

Like most families, they had been apprehensive about getting treated at a government hospital and had made reservations at a private hospital. But, due to the absence of beds there, they had gotten admitted at the Victoria hospital, which they claimed was surprisingly good and had been free of cost.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru has recorded 1379 cases in a single day as well as 7 deaths.

Assam Keelback spotted after 129 years

By
The Commune
-

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun spotted an Assam Keelback, (also known as Herpetoreas pealii), in Arunachal Pradesh after 129 years since it was first discovered in the region.  It is a non-venomous snake that belongs to the Natricinae subfamily of Colubridae. It is known to be endemic to the Northeast region of India especially in the upper Assam region.

“The snake was first discovered 129 years ago in 1891 in the Sivasagar district of upper Assam by Samuel Edward Peal, a British tea planter. The region was covered in an impenetrable evergreen forest teeming with rich wildlife,” said Abhijit Das, a scientist at WII.

He deposited a specimen of the Assam Keelback at the Natural History Museum located in London. It was named Herpetoreas pealii by Lutly Sclater, a British zoologist. After this, it has never been spotted since.

Abhijit Das also says that in September 2018, his team set out to find that snake and happened to encounter a female in the Poba Reserved Forest. It is located on the inter-state border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. When they contacted the  Natural History Museum in London, they confirmed it to be the Assam keelback.

The finding of the snake in a forest region rather than near a stream has made wildlife experts opine that there is a need to focus on conserving ‘special habitats’.

Arrest warrant issued to Trump over Soleimani killing

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
-

Iran has sought Interpol’s aide for issuing an arrest warrant to US President Donald Trump over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. It has accused Trump and 30 others of their involvement in the airstrike on January 3rd, which caused the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General, and pressed “murder and terrorism charges” on them.

The arrest warrant for the US President comes nearly six months after the killing of the Iranian general caused by a US drone strike, preceded by the USA’s withdrawal from relations with Iran, in addition to the imposition of trade sanctions on the country.

Ali Alqasimehr, Tehran’s prosecutor, said on Monday that he identifies Trump as the primary accused in this case and that they will continue to press charges over him well after the end of his presidential tenure. He added that Iran also seeks a ‘red notice’ in Trump’s name, which is the highest level of arrest request that could be given in the name of someone to the Interpol. He also requested for the US President to be added to the ‘Wanted’ list. Interpol, however, was unavailable for comment on the same.

Soleimani was a general at Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of the elite paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. Under Trump’s presidency, he was named a terrorist and was blamed for several human rights violations in the country as well as abroad. Many experts say Trump breached international law with the Soleimani assassination.

 

Hike in fuel prices got Congress leaders cycling

By
The Commune
-

Frustrated by the rise in prices of fuel in India, the Congress party launched a campaign to oppose the “continuous and unprecedented” hike in prices of fuel on 29 June 2020.

A significant number of protesters gather on the streets of many states in India to join the Congress party against the government’s decision to raise prices of fuel.

“I urge the government to open their eyes to see the indescribable pain the common citizens are going through. The unprecedented hike has put an undue extra burden on the shoulders of common men,” said K C Venugopalan, General Secretary of Congress.

“Condemning the massive increase of petrol, diesel prices and taxes on fuel by the BJP government, I initiated a cycle rally in which senior Congress leaders, workers, and citizens joined to voice against this government’s exploitation of common people,” said Congressman D K Shivakumar.

Mallikarjun Kharge says that the COVID-19 pandemic has eaten into people’s incomes and the rise in price of fuel is a tremendous burden on the people of the country. He also says that the government has “lost direction and is not bothered about welfare” of the country.

Rizwan Arshad, a Member of the Legislative Assembly says that a cycle rally from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office to Income Tax Office was organized by the Congress government in Karnataka.

The BJP government came into power, guaranteeing low prices for fuel, but since then the government has not “given respite to people,” says Ashok Chavan, ex-president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Is the hike in price justifiable? The fuel prices are linked to the price of crude oil, that is a low price for crude oil leads to low price for fuel. Despite the fall in the price of crude oil, fuel prices are on a steady rise. As the lockdown restrictions slowly ease in the states of India, the demand for fuel is going to increase. The price of diesel scaled to a new height yet again to Rs. 11.14 per litre and for petrol, it increased by 5 paise per litre, across India in just a span of three weeks.

Twitter apologizes for misjudging tweets related to 5G conspiracy

By
The Commune
-

Twitter, does not fail to take action when misleading and fake information comes to its notice. It constantly updates its policies to eliminate a large presence of misinformation or conspiracy theories, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of COVID-19, conspiracy theories and misinformation surfaced the internet. One among them was the 5G network. It started even before the pandemic occurred and blew out of proportion when it was linked to COVID-19. It claimed that the 5G network had weakened the immunity of people, thereby causing them to contract the virus.

Twitter may have gone a little overboard by labeling tweets having words frequency, oxygen, and 5G with a misinformation tag even if they were factually correct. This may be due to the 5G conspiracy that surfaced Twitter.

“In the last few weeks, you may have seen tweets with labels linking to additional info about COVID-19. Not all of those tweets had potentially misleading content associating COVID-19 and 5G. We apologize for any confusion and we’re working to improve our labeling process,” the Twitter Security team tweeted.

“We may also use labels with links to additional context and information to help keep you informed about misleading or disputed topics,” it added

Liz Kelly, a Twitter spokeswoman said that this may have resulted due to a broken algorithm. The algorithms constantly vary according to what is happening on the platform.

This may have raised some eyebrows about the moderation of algorithms that resulted in misjudgment.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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