Archives for 2020

The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to Facebook’s decision to remove his account, according to the statement.

NEW DELHI: Under pressure for weeks over its handling of hate speech, Facebook on Thursday said it has banned BJP politician T Raja Singh from its platform and Instagram for violating its policy on content promoting violence and hate.

“We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook for violating our policy prohibiting those that promote or engage in violence and hate from having a presence on our platform a Facebook spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led to Facebook’s decision to remove his account, according to the statement.

Facebook – which counts India among its largest markets with over 300 million users – has been in the eye of a storm after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report alleged that Facebook’s content policies favoured the ruling party in India.

The report had alleged that Facebook had ignored posts containing hate speech by BJP MLA Raja Singh.

Since then, the ruling BJP and Congress have been trading barbs over social media giant’s alleged bias.

In the wake of the WSJ report, a Parliamentary panel had summoned Facebook representatives to discuss the issue of alleged misuse of the social media platform on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also written to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg accusing the social media platform’s employees of supporting people from a political predisposition that lost successive elections, and “abusing” the Prime Minister and senior cabinet ministers.

According to sources, the decision to remove Singh from the platform was taken after an extensive process that the company follows in determining which individuals meet the criteria for policy violation and the work had been ongoing for some time to review Singh’s actions.

The company had previously removed the content Singh had posted that violated its policies, including its hate speech policies, but the decision to ban Singh from the platform has been taken now, one of the sources said.

Post the ban, Singh has been designated under Facebook’s dangerous individuals and organisations policy, and he will not be allowed to maintain a presence on the platform going forward.

As a part of the process, Singh will not be allowed on Facebook or its photo and video-sharing platform Instagram.

The company will remove Pages, Groups and accounts set up to represent him.

However, it will continue to allow wider discussion of him, including praise and support.

Another source said the signals used by Facebook to determine dangerous individuals and organisations include whether they’ve called for or directly carried out acts of violence against people based on factors like race, ethnicity, or national origin.

Other parameters that were taken into account include checking whether they’re a self-described or identified follower of a hateful ideology; or they have used hate speech on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media sites, the source said.

To date, the company has banned a range of groups and individuals across the globe for violating this policy.

The social media giant uses a mix of technology tools and reviewers to take action against content violating its policies.

In Q2 2020, it had removed over 4 million pieces of content tied to hate groups, over 96 per cent of which was removed before anyone reported it.

On Thursday, India reported 1,043 deaths taking toll to 67,376. Meanwhile, the health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

In biggest one-day jump, India reported 83,883 new positive cases and 1,043 deaths in the last 24 hours on Thursday, as per the data shared by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

With this rise of over 80,000 cases, coronavirus tally in the country now stands at 38,53,407 including 8,15,538 active cases, 29,70,493 cured/discharged/migrated and 67,376 death.

India is the world’s third most affected country by the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States and Brazil. 

However, it is to be noted that India’s case fatality rate (CFR) stands at 1.76 per cent, one of the lowest across the world.

A screengrab showed that hackers had put out a tweet proclaiming they had taken over the account.

NEW DELHI: Twitter on Thursday said the account linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal website was hacked, and it has now been restored.

“We’re aware of this activity and have taken steps to secure the compromised account. We are actively investigating the situation. At this time, we are not aware of additional accounts being impacted. Advice on keeping your account secure can be found here,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The compromised account has about 2.5 million followers.

After hacking the @narendramodi_in Twitter account, which is the Prime Minister’s personal website, the cybercriminal reportedly sent out posts seeking donations for the PM National Relief Fund for COVID-19 using crypto currency.

“Yes, this account is hacked by John Wick (hckindia@tutanota.com), We have not hacked Paytm Mall,” another message had said.

On August 30, cybersecurity firm Cyble had said hacker group ‘John Wick’ was behind a data breach at Paytm Mall, the e-commerce unit of Paytm.

Paytm Mall had said it had not found any security lapses after investigating claims of a possible hack and data breach.

Twitter on Thursday also said as per its investigation, the latest attack was not due to a compromise of Twitter’s systems or service.

There is no indication or evidence of any correlation between this account compromise and the incident that took place in July, it said.

Accounts of high-profile users like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and others were compromised on July 15.

In an update on its blog on July 30, Twitter had said attackers had used credentials of some employees to access its internal systems and gain information about its processes.

The attackers targeted 130 Twitter accounts, ultimately Tweeting from 45, accessing the DM inbox of 36, and downloading the Twitter Data of 7 accounts, it had said.

The announcement comes at a time when Infosys topped the list of IT service providers whose H1-B visa applications were rejected by the US government in FY20.

NEW DELHI: IT services giant, Infosys, will hire 12,000 more American workers by 2022 as a part of the firm’s commitment to create 25,000 employment opportunities in the US in next five years.

The company said that it will target experienced technology professionals as well as recent graduates from major universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges to create the best workforce for the future.

“Utilizing the training and reskilling programs it has built with partners, including the recently launched Reskill and Restart initiative, Infosys will prepare workers for 21st-century careers,” Infosys said in a statement.

The announcement comes at a time when Infosys topped the list of IT service providers whose H1-B visa applications were rejected by the US government in FY20.

According to the recent US government statistics, the rejection rate of Infosys’s H1-B visa applications stood at 59%, the highest among its peers.

In June, 2020 US President, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the entry of non-immigrant visa holders including H1-B into the US when unemployment had soared to record levels.

Many Indian IT service majors have picked up their local hirings in the US amidst the stricter visa regimes and are now substantially less reliant on the H1-B visa hires.

In 2017, Infosys committed to hiring 10,000 American workers over two years and has exceeded that goal by creating 13,000 jobs in the U.S. to date.

“Infosys has been intensely focused on creating jobs in the U.S. for the past three years, and I am proud that this new commitment to hire 12,000 American workers by 2022 expands on that previous initiative. We are excited to grow our presence in the U.S. as the digital transformation journeys of our clients accelerate,” Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys said in a statement.

The Bengaluru headquartered IT firm has over the past three years  launched six Technology and Innovation Centers in the U.S. across Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Arizona. 

Through these centres, the company is training the locals to support American businesses in an increasingly digital future.

“While we continue to leverage our established university partnerships to strengthen our talent pool, our recently launched Reskill and Restart platform will play a crucial role in our growth as we meet this commitment.

“We will bring a specific focus on building pathways for those who have been impacted by the economic downturn and look forward to bringing on board individuals without traditional four-year degrees. Workers who have been left out of the digital economy will now have the opportunity to gain the skills needed for 21st-century careers,” Ravi Kumar, President, Infosys said.

The high court allowed the writ petition filed by Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen and said the detention order by the district magistrate was illegal.

ALLAHABAD: Dr Kafeel Khan was released from Mathura jail after the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed his detention under the National Security Act and ordered his immediate release, saying his speech at the AMU didn’t promote hatred or violence and gave a call for national integrity.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh said the Aligarh district magistrate, who passed the order for Khan’s detention, did a “selective reading” of his speech, “ignoring its true intent”.

Khan’s lawyer Irfan Ghazi told PTI, “Mathura jail administration informed at around 11.00 pm that Dr Kafeel will be released, and at around midnight, he was released”.

The high court allowed the writ petition filed by Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen and said the detention order by the district magistrate was illegal.

The petition argued that Khan was granted bail in February by a competent court and he was supposed to be released on bail.

However, he was not released for four days and the National Security Act (NSA) was subsequently invoked against him.

Hence, his detention was illegal.

Khan was in jail since January after he delivered the allegedly provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in December last year.

He was lodged in Mathura jail.

On Tuesday evening, his family members said they would file a contempt plea in the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday if he was not released as per its orders.

Khan’s brother Adeel claimed that the jail administration told them that they will go by the order of the Mathura district magistrate and until the DM says, Kafeel would not be released.

Adeel claimed that after the High Court gave the order, an e-mail informing about the release of Khan was sent to the jail administration and the DMs of Mathura and Aligarh, but the authorities were “making an excuse” of not getting the order.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hailed the court’s decision and hoped the Uttar Pradesh government would immediately release Khan “without any malice”.

Quashing Khan’s detention order, the court said, “A complete reading of the speech primafacie does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence. It also no where threatens peace and tranquility of the city of Aligarh. The address gives a call for national integrity and unity among the citizens. The speech also deprecates any kind of violence.”

“It appears that the District Magistrate had selective reading and selective mention for few phrases from the speech ignoring its true intent.”

The court further said in the instant case, the “causal link is found to be missing or completely broken”.

Under the NSA, a person can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months if authorities are satisfied that he or she is a threat to national security or law and order.

Khan spent over six months in jail under the NSA.

In its order, the court said, “The writ petition for the reasons above is allowed. The order of detention dated 13th February, 2020 passed by District Magistrate, Aligarh and confirmed by the State of Uttar Pradesh is set aside. The extension of the period of detention of detenue Dr. Kafeel Khan is also declared illegal.”

“A writ in the nature of habeas corpus is hereby issued to release Dr. Kafeel Khan, the detenue, from State custody forthwith,” it said.

The Uttar Pradesh government had extended Khan’s detention under the NSA by three months twice — in May and August.

In an order dated August 4, the Home Department had said the NSA was invoked against Khan on February 13, 2020, on the orders of the Aligarh district magistrate.

After this, the matter was sent to the advisory council, which, in its report, said there were “enough reasons” to keep Khan in jail.

On her way to Mathura after the court delivered its verdict, Khan’s mother Parveen told PTI on phone, “I am very happy that my son is coming out of jail. I will be able to see him after a long time.”

“My son is a good person and he was never against the country or the society. It is also my daughter-in-law’s birthday today, and we are taking a cake with us as she is in Mathura,” she said.

“If Kafeel is not released from the jail, then we will file a contempt appeal in the High Court on Wednesday,” his brother Adeel said.

Mathura jail Senior Superintendent Shailendra Kumar Maitreya on Tuesday evening said he was yet to receive the court orders.

District Magistrate Mathura Sarvagya Ram Mishra said orders of the court will be complied with.

“Since, the NSA was imposed on Kafeel by the Aligarh district magistrate, he should be contacted,” Mishra said.

Khan’s advocate Ghazi alleged that the Aligarh DM was not meeting him on the pretext of attending a meeting or other, despite hours of efforts made by him.

Khan, who worked as a paediatrician at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College, first hit headlines in 2017 after several children died at the hospital due to the lack of oxygen cylinders.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi welcomed the court order.

“The Allahabad High Court today ordered the removal of NSA and immediate release of Dr. Kafeel Khan. It is expected that the UP government will release Dr. Kafeel Khan without any malice,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.

While saying that he will continue to discharge his duties from home, Sawant also requested his close contacts to take the necessary precautions.

India’s COVID-19 tally of cases galloped past 37 lakh on Wednesday with 78,357 new instances of the disease reported in a day, while the number of recoveries crossed 29 lakh pushing the recovery rate to 76.98 per cent, the Union health ministry data showed.

The death toll climbed to 66,333 with 1,045 more fatalities reported in 24 hours.

India has so far reported 37,69,523 cases of the viral disease, while the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in the country has surged to 29,01,908, while the fatality rate has further declined to 1.76 per cent.

There are 8,01,282, active cases in the country which comprises 21.26 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

Punjab has decided to continue with the lockdown restrictions in September, while others states like Himachal Pradesh are persisting with the curbs on inter-state transport. Some others like Delhi are yet to come out with the guidelines for this month.

Also, some states announced the lifting of local or weekend lockdowns, except in containment zones, following a direction by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

His premature release was owing to his good conduct over the years he spent in the jail.

RAIPUR: After spending over 15 years in jail, Anand Nageshiya was excited to be reunited with his family in Aamdarha village in Ambikapur, North Chhattisgarh. 

Nageshiya was more thrilled to see his daughter Yamini who was barely over an year when he was convicted.

The 40-year-old was jailed for murdering his paternal uncle over some family dispute in 2005 and spent 15 years and 5 months in jail.

However, the joy soon vanished when he saw his daughter’s struggle to attend her regular online classes as she didn’t have any gadgets.

He rushed to the market to purchase a smartphone for Yamini with the incentive money he earned all these years for his work inside the prison. Yamini is a student of Class 12 in government school.

“I was moved when my daughter told me she was not having any device to attend online classes. She wished to become a doctor and render her service to humanity by joining the medical profession. I realised the importance of education while in jail. I will leave no stone unturned to ensure my daughter doesn’t face any hurdle to pursue her dream,” Nageshiya averred.

His premature release was owing to his good conduct over the years he spent in the jail.

“He along with 19 others were recommended to the government for granting remission of sentence from Ambikapur Central Jail after they were found maintaining overall good behaviour consistently. We saw Nageshiya, who was serving a life imprisonment for murder, has downright reformed and disciplined himself and his name was cleared on the grounds of good conduct,” said Rajendra Gaikwad, superintendent at Ambikapur Central Jail.  

While lauding his decision to purchase smartphone for his daughter, Gaikwad stated that Nageshiya led by an example for others on giving importance to girl’s education in the family.

“The prisoners who work inside the jail get an incentive amount of Rs 60 per day for semi-skilled and Rs 75 for skilled labour. Earlier this amount was much less and revised at various intervals. He invested his savings for the good cause,” the jail superintendent added.

Inside the prison, Nageshiya has learned gardening and carpentry under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

“Our family including my two brothers have 3 acres of agriculture land. We look forward towards livelihood security in horticulture,” he said.

A notice to this effect was issued by the government on Monday while also extending the lockdown till then end of September but with more relaxations.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has cancelled the e-pass requirement for inter-district travel from September 2 and allowed hotels in the state to function with 100 per cent capacity.

A notice to this effect was issued by the government on Monday while also extending the lockdown till the end of September but with more relaxations.

As per the notification, government offices in Mumbai and metropolitan regions – Pune, and Pimpri Chinchwad will operate with 30 per cent capacity against the current 10 per cent.

In other regions of the state, government offices can operate with 50 per cent capacity while private offices can operate with 30 per cent staffers.

Moreover, in all government offices, a vigilant officer will be appointed to ensure social distancing protocols including disinfection of the premises on a regular basis. 

The state government on Monday also lifted restrictions on obtaining e-passes for movement of private and goods vehicles but continues to place restrictions on travel of senior citizens and children below the age 10.

Schools and colleges will remain closed while e-learning and online classes will continue.

The government however, has not lifted restrictions on the operation of gyms, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, bars, auditoriums, metro rails and religious places in the state and they will remain closed.

Opposition parties on the other hand, have been demanding reopening of religious places.

On Monday, Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar also staged a protest to reopen ‘Vittar Mandir’ in Pandarpur.

Ambedkar said that he had spoken with CM Uddhav Thackeray who had promised to take a decision on this shortly.