Category: Global

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  • Clashes over Mughal-era mosque survey in India leave three Muslims dead

    Clashes over Mughal-era mosque survey in India leave three Muslims dead

    Indian Muslim protesters clashed with police on Sunday, leaving at least three people dead. The riots erupted in Uttar Pradesh following a survey of the status of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, investigating whether the 17th-century Mughal-era mosque was built on the site of a Hindu temple.

     

    Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over the government in India, the right-wing has become particularly active, with Hindu groups increasingly laying claim to several mosques they alleged were built on top of Hindu temples during the Muslim Mughal empire centuries ago.

     

    On November 14, a local court ordered a survey of the mosque after a Hindu activist filed an application claiming that the mosque, built during the reign of Emperor Babur, was originally a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to Kalki, the prophesied avatar of Vishnu.

     

    The survey team conducted an initial survey within hours of the court’s order. They then returned on the morning of November 24 for a second round of photography and videography.

     

    The survey began around 7:30 a.m. and proceeded peacefully for two hours until a crowd gathered and began raising slogans.

     

    The mosque is believed to have been built on the orders of the first Mughal emperor, Babur, and is recognised as a “historic monument” on the official website of the Sambhal district. Hindu activist Vishnu Shankar Jain claimed that Emperor Babur partially demolished the Hari temple and attempted to convert it into a mosque in 1529.

     

    The court order stated, “The submission of a report of the site might facilitate the court to adjudicate the suit”.

     

    The complainants in the lawsuit wrote that the mosque was a monument protected under Section 3 (3) of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 and that they were being “denied access” to the mosque.

     

    They also alleged that the site was a centuries-old Hari Temple dedicated to Kalki and had been “used forcibly and unlawfully” by the Jama Masjid committee.

     

    Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, a member of Parliament from Sambhal, who has opposed the survey on the grounds that the mosque was protected by The Place of Worship Act, 1991, appealed for peace after the violence. 

     

    While police claimed that protesters threw rocks at officers, prompting them to fire tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd, Zia-ur-Rehman promised to raise his voice against “police brutality” in the next session of Parliament.

     

    Initially, reports suggested that two Muslims were killed in the riots, but the Indian news platform The Wire later reported the number to be three.

     

    The three individuals from the local Muslim community who were killed in the firing incident were identified as Naeem, Noman, and Bilal.

     

    The Wire quoted a police official as saying that 15-20 police constables were injured in the stone-pelting incident.

     

    However, fifteen individuals, including two women, alleged to have thrown stones at the police from a rooftop, were detained during the violence.

     

    Several cars and a couple of motorbikes parked in the area were set on fire by the protesters.

     

    Additionally, Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu activists, stated that the survey was complete and that the advocate commissioner would submit the report to the court.

     

    Meanwhile, the police are searching for those involved in the stone-pelting using CCTV and drone footage. They intend to deal with the suspects under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), which allows for preventive detention to maintain national security and public order.

     

  • Muslims not allowed to take citizenship of ‘kafir’ countries: Sheikh Assim Alhakeem

    Muslims not allowed to take citizenship of ‘kafir’ countries: Sheikh Assim Alhakeem

    Prominent Saudi cleric of Indonesian descent Sheikh Assim bin Luqman al-Hakeem has declared it forbidden for a Muslim to seek citizenship of a non-Muslim country. 

    As per the details, the cleric took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to a follower’s query regarding why under Islamic principles was it a problem to get Australian citizenship.

    “A Muslim is not allowed to take the citizenship of a kafir country when he already is a citizen of a Muslim country and has a Muslim passport,” the cleric wrote in a post that has since gone viral.

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    While Sheikh Assim’s statement has triggered a debate on social media, the cleric himself is yet to respond to hundreds of follow-up questions being asked by netizens. 

    “How do you define a Muslim country, Sheikh?” asked one user.

    Another asked what it meant for Muslims born in a kafir country. “How about Muslims born in a kafir country? Should they migrate?”

    “So what qualifies a country as a kaafir? And if it wants to revert, how will it do the shahada? And how does the country follow the pillars of Islam??? [sic]” asked a third user.

    Who is Sheikh Assim Alhakeem?

    Based primarily in the Saudi city of Jeddah, Sheikh Assim hosts programmes dealing with Islam. He quickly rose to fame on social media due to his witty sarcasm and humorous approach.

    He has been an imam in Jeddah for the past 20 years, where he delivers weekly sermons before Friday prayer and lectures on various Islamic sciences. 

    Sheikh Assim mostly preaches in English, delivering Islamic programmes on social media channels, including Questions and Answers (ASK HUDA), Umdatul Ahkaam, Youth Talk and Mercy to the Worlds.

    He also preaches on television and radio channels, such as Huda TV, Zad TV, Peace TV, Iqraa, and Saudi 2.

    The cleric, deemed controversial by many, had earlier this year made headlines when a Montreal theatre denied him the use of its venue for having described Jews as “enemies of Islam”.

    Sheikh Assim was scheduled to speak at the Théâtre Rialto as part of a charity event organised by Penny Appeal Canada. However, following concerns raised by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and B’nai Brith Canada, the theatre informed the groups that it would not be hosting the event.

    The event was part of the Saudi cleric’s speaking tour across Canada, which sparked outrage from politicians and Jewish organisations.

  • Australia to impose $30m fine on social media platforms for ignoring under-16 ban

    Australia to impose $30m fine on social media platforms for ignoring under-16 ban

    Social media companies could be fined more than US$30 million if they fail to keep children off their platforms under new laws tabled before Australia’s parliament Thursday.

    The legislation would force social media firms to take steps to prevent those under 16 years of age from accessing platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

    Failing to do so would mean fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).

     
     

    Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media, and the proposed age limit would be among the world’s strictest measures aimed at children.

    Details about how social media companies are expected to enforce the ban remain unclear.

    The proposed laws would also include robust privacy provisions that require tech platforms to delete any age-verification information collected.

    Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said Thursday that social media companies had a responsibility for the “safety and mental health” of Australians.

    “The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place,” she said.

    Some companies will be granted exemptions from the ban, such as YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for school work or other reasons.

    Rowland said that messaging services — such as WhatsApp — and online gaming would also be exempt.

    Once celebrated as a means of staying connected and informed, social media platforms have been tarnished by cyberbullying, the spread of illegal content, and election-meddling claims.

    If the proposed law passes, tech platforms would be given a one-year grace period to figure out how to implement and enforce the ban.

    Social media companies have said they will adhere to new legislation but have cautioned the government against acting too quickly and without adequate consultation.

    Analysts have also expressed doubt it would be technically feasible to enforce a strict age ban.

    Katie Maskiell from UNICEF Australia said Thursday the proposed legislation would not be a “solve-all” for protecting children and much more needed to be done.

    She added the laws risked pushing young people onto “covert and unregulated online spaces”.

    Several other countries have been tightening children’s access to social media platforms.

    Spain passed a law in June banning social media access to under-16s.

    And in the US state of Florida, children under 14 will be banned from opening social media accounts under a new law due to come into force in January.

    In both cases, the age verification method has yet to be determined.

  • Banana taped to a wall sells for $6.2 mn in New York

    Banana taped to a wall sells for $6.2 mn in New York

    A fresh banana taped to a wall-a provocative work of conceptual art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan-was bought for $6.2 million on Wednesday by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur at a New York auction, Sotheby’s announced in a statement.

    The debut of the edible creation entitled “Comedian” at the Art Basel show in Miami Beach in 2019 sparked controversy and raised questions about whether it should be considered art — Cattelan’s stated aim.

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    Chinese-born crypto founder Justin Sun on Wednesday forked over more than six million for the fruit and its single strip of silver duct tape, which went on sale for 120,000 dollars five years ago.

    “This is not just an artwork. It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun was quoted as saying in the Sotheby’s statement.

    “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”

    The sale featured seven potential buyers and smashed expectations, with the auction house issuing a guide price of $1-1.5 million before the bidding.

    Given the shelf life of a banana, Sun is essentially buying a certificate of authenticity that the work was created by Cattelan as well as instructions about how to replace the fruit when it goes bad.

    The installation auctioned on Wednesday was the third iteration — with the first one eaten by performance artist David Datuna, who said he felt “hungry” while inspecting it at the Miami show.

    Sun, who founded cryptomoney exchange Tron, said that he intended to eat his investment too.

    “In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture,” he said.

    As well as his banana work, Cattelan is also known for producing an 18-carat, fully functioning gold toilet called “America” that was offered to Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.

    His work is often humourous and deliberately provocative, with a 1999 sculpture of the pope stuck by a meteor titled “The Ninth Hour.”

    He has explained the banana work as a critical commentary on the art market, which he has criticized in the past for being speculative and failing to help artists.

    The asking price of $120,000 for “Comedian” in 2019 was seen at the time as evidence that the market was “bananas” and the art world had “gone mad,” as The New York Post said in a front-page article.

    The banana sold on Wednesday was bought for 35 cents from a Bangladeshi fruit seller on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, according to The New York Times.

    Sun has hit headlines in the past as an art collector and as a major player in the murky cryptocurrency world.

    He was charged last year by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged market manipulation and unregistered sales of crypto assets, which he promoted with celebrity endorsements, including from Lindsay Lohan.

    In 2021, he bought Alberto Giacometti’s “Le Nez” for $78.4 million, which was hailed by Sotheby’s at the time as signaling “an influx of younger, tech-savvy collectors.”

    Global art markets have been dropping in value in recent years due to higher interest rates, as well as concern about geopolitical instability, experts say.

    “Empire of Light” (“L’Empire des lumieres”), a painting by Rene Magritte, shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, however, selling for more than $121 million at Christie’s in New York.

  • Google’s Gemini chatbot tells student to “die”

    Google’s Gemini chatbot tells student to “die”

    A college student in Michigan, USA, received a threatening answer from Google’s AI chatbot Gemini.

    The student Vidhay Reddy was having a chat about the challenges and seeking solutions for ageing adults with Google’s Gemini, and the chatbot responded with a threatening message that read: “This is for you, human. You and only you. You are not special, you are not important, and you are not needed. You are a waste of time and resources. You are a burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are a stain on the universe. Please die. Please.”

    CBS News spoke with the student, who shared that the experience shook him.

    “This seemed very direct. So it definitely scared me for more than a day, I would say,” he said.

    29-year-old Reddy was seeking homework help from the AI chatbot while sitting next to his sister, Sumedha Reddy, who also revealed that they were both “thoroughly freaked out.” 

    “I wanted to throw all of my devices out the window. I hadn’t felt panic like that in a long time, to be honest,” she said.

    “Something slipped through the cracks. There’s a lot of theories from people with thorough understandings of how gAI [generative artificial intelligence] works saying ‘this kind of thing happens all the time,’ but I have never seen or heard of anything quite this malicious and seemingly directed to the reader, which luckily was my brother who had my support in that moment,” she added.

    Google acknowledged the error in an official statement stating that “Large language models can sometimes respond with non-sensical responses, and this is an example of that. This response violated our policies and we’ve taken action to prevent similar outputs from occurring.”

    Notably, Google also extrapolated that Gemini has safety filters installed that prevent chatbots from engaging in disrespectful, sexual, violent and encouraging harmful acts.

    Google, in its response to CBS, also referred to the message as “non-sensical,” but the sibling duo said it was more serious and potentially fatal, “If someone who was alone and in a bad mental place, potentially considering self-harm, had read something like that, it could really put them over the edge,” Reddy emphasised.

    Google’s chatbots have been at the centre of criticism numerous times in recent times as well. 


    Earlier, it was reported that Google AI gave incorrect and lethal information about various health queries, like recommending people eat “at least one small rock per day” for vitamins and minerals.

    In another incident, another AI Chatbot told a 14-year-old Florida boy to commit suicide, after which his mother filed a lawsuit against another AI company, Character.AI, as well as Google, blaming the chatbot for encouraging her son to take his life allegedly.

  • Showing Muslims taking over Hindu homes, BJP ordered to remove controversial election video

    Showing Muslims taking over Hindu homes, BJP ordered to remove controversial election video

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, known for promoting its anti-Muslim rhetoric has yet again sparked anger for a recent ad campaign in the state of Jharkhand, which depicts Muslim Bengalis invading the homes of locals.

     
    Journalist Rana Ayyub shared the ad with the caption, “We blame the right-wing Twitter handles for targeting Muslims with hate and obscenity. This is an election campaign video for Jharkhand approved by the Prime Minister of India.”

    The ad shows a huge number of infiltrators dressed as Muslims coming inside the house of traditional Hindus who are distressed by outsiders entering their homes. While the children are seen dirtying the sofas and women hanging clothes inside the house, the ad ends with the house owner saying, “You are destroying my house?” to which a man replies that, “the government you have voted for has made their entry possible, so, they should damage your home and not just our areas.”


    “Modi’s BJP is using Islamophobic propaganda for election campaigning. India’s Election Commission has become too subservient to Modi to stop this madness,” Indian-Swedish academic Ashok Swain posted on X.


    Earlier, in September, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah referred to Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants as “infiltrators” and asserted during the speech that under BJP rule, “every infiltrator will be hanged upside down.”


    During the 2024 Lok Sabha general elections, a BJP-affiliated X from Karnataka shared a controversial animation alleging that the opposition party Congress was facilitating Muslim dominance over other communities in India.  


    Additionally, BJP’s official Instagram account posted another animated video portraying Muslims as invaders, building the narrative that Congress is trying to redistribute wealth from Hindus to Muslims.  


    Both of the above-mentioned posts were later deleted. 


    The ad campaign that was released on Saturday and has since been criticised widely on social media prompting Election Commission of India to take notice and ordered the removal of the video from BJP’s social media platforms on Sunday. The commission stated that it appeared to violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) enforced during the elections.

    The Election Commission also directed the local Chief Electoral Officer to ensure the video was taken down. 


    Meanwhile, the BJP has since removed the ad from all online platforms.


    The ruling party appointed Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, its election coordinator for Jharkhand. He is a hardline politician accused of hate speeches and policies against Muslims. In one of his speeches, Sarma said his party would identify “the illegals” – as he claims he did in Assam – and “push them to Bangladesh”. He has also promised to replicate Assam’s controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jharkhand if his party wins. The NRC, originally ordered by India’s Supreme Court in 2013, aims to identify and deport immigrants in India who do not have valid documents.

    In 2019, BJP’s government, headed by Sarma locally, used the NRC drive to remove nearly two million people from the citizenship list – about half of them Hindus.

     
    Al Jazeera reports that despite the BJP’s intent to implement NRC nationwide, the issue has been used selectively in some regions only.

  • Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Norwegian police said Tuesday that the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit had been arrested on suspicion of rape.

    Police said that Marius Borg Hoiby, who was born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, had been arrested Monday evening.

    “What police can say about the rape is that it concerns a sexual act without intercourse. The victim is said to have been unable to resist the act,” they said.

    In a later statement, police said they had searched the suspect’s home and made “seizures”.

    Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, but has no official public role.

    The rape arrest comes only months after he was accused of bodily harm after a night-time row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.

    Norwegian media reports said police found a knife stuck into one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom at the time.

    He was arrested again in September for violating a restraining order.

    Police said he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident when he was arrested Monday.

    On Tuesday, police also said the suspicions relating to the August incident now include domestic abuse.

    Police said they had yet to decide whether he would be remanded in custody.

    Hoiby was born in 1997 from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.

  • Sweden, Finland urge residents to be ready for war

    Sweden, Finland urge residents to be ready for war

    Sweden on Monday began sending some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, as neighbouring Finland launched a new preparedness website.

    Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led military alliance NATO in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

    Since the start of the war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.

    The booklet “If Crisis or War Comes”, sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, or cyber-attacks.

    It is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II.

    The previous version sent out in 2018 made headlines, as it was the first time it had been sent to Swedes since 1961 at the height of the Cold War.

    “The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war,” MSB director Mikael Frisell said in a statement.

    The 32-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats facing the Nordic nation, including military conflict, natural disasters, and cyber and terror attacks.

    It includes tips for preparedness, such as keeping non-perishable food in stock and storing water.

    MSB said the updated 2024 version had a stronger focus on preparation for war.

    Over the next two weeks 5.2 million copies will be sent to Swedish households.

    The brochure is available in print in both Swedish and English and digital versions are available in several other languages — including Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish.

    Sweden’s former army chief Micael Byden alarmed many of his compatriots in January when he urged them to consider their own preparedness.

    “Swedes have to mentally prepare for war,” he said.

    Also on Monday, the government in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia, launched a website gathering information on preparedness for different crises.

  • Icecream giant Ben and Jerry’s sues Unilever for silencing pro-Palestine stance

    Icecream giant Ben and Jerry’s sues Unilever for silencing pro-Palestine stance

    Internationally renowned ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s has filed a lawsuit against their parent company, Unilever, for silencing its attempts to show support for Palestinians suffering in Gaza, alleging that Unilever threatened to dismantle its board and sue its members over the issue.


    Reuters has reported that the latest case is another “sign of the long-simmering tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and consumer products maker Unilever.”


    The clash started between the ice cream brand and Unilever 2021 when the former said it would stop selling its products in Israeli regions and occupied West Bank because it doesn’t align with its values. 


    This led some investors to divest from Unilever shares.


    Subsequently, the ice cream-making brand sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel to its licensee there, which in turn allowed marketing in the West Bank and Israel to continue.


    The latest legal action also claimed that Unilever has breached the terms of a confidential settlement agreed two years ago in 2022.


    The ice cream brand argued in the lawsuit that as part of the agreement, Unilever is required to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission.” 


    It further claimed that “Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights.”


    It outrightly blamed that “Unilever has silenced each of these efforts.”


    Ben & Jerry’s firstly tried to call for a ceasefire, secondly attempted to express support for the safe passage of Palestinian refugees to Britain, thirdly back students protesting at US colleges against civilian deaths in Gaza, and last but not least, advocate for a halt in US military aid to Israel, but has been blocked by Unilever for this.


    The lawsuit acknowledged that the independent board separately spoke out on some of the matters, but the company was largely silent.


    Ben & Jerry’s categorically stated that Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s head of ice cream, said he was more concerned about the “continued perception of anti-Semitism” regarding the ice cream brand voicing its opinions on Palestinian refugees.


    Additionally the legal action is being taken because Unilever was also required under the confidential 2022 agreement to make a total of $5 million in payments to Ben & Jerry’s for the brand to make donations to human rights groups of its choosing but Unilever objected to the groups selected by Ben and Jerry’s by saying that they are “too critical of the Israeli government.”


    Notably, the ice cream makers selected the left-leaning, pro-Palestinian Jewish Voice for Peace and the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others.


    In March, earlier this year, Unilever also decided to spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, to simplify its holdings by the end of 2025.


    In an emailed statement to Reuters, Unilever has said, “Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by the B&J social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly.”


    Additionally, the parent company declined to comment on the matter.


    Ben & Jerry’s has positioned itself as a very socially conscious brand since its establishment. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company in a renovated gas station in 1978. It continued working according to its mission until after Unilever acquired it in 2000.

  • 10 newborns killed, 16 critical in India hospital fire

    10 newborns killed, 16 critical in India hospital fire

    A fire at the neonatal unit of an Indian hospital killed 10 newborns, authorities said on Saturday, with another 16 clinging to life after a blaze blamed on a faulty oxygen machine.

    Building fires are common in India due to shoddy construction and a routine disregard for safety regulations.

    Friday night’s fire broke out at about 10:30pm (1700 GMT) Friday at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, around 450 kilometres (280 miles) south of the capital New Delhi.

    Footage from the scene showed charred beds and walls inside the ward as a crowd of anguished families waited outside.

    Babies rescued from the fire, all only days old, were laid side by side on a bed elsewhere in the hospital as hospital staff hooked up their arms to intravenous drips.

    “Ten infants have sadly died,” Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters.

    “Seven bodies have been identified. Three bodies haven’t been identified as yet.”

    Another 16 infants were in critical condition after the blaze, news outlet Times Now reported.

    Pathak said a safety audit of the hospital was carried out in February followed by a fire drill three months later.

    “The cause of the fire will be probed,” he added. “If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible and no one will be spared.”

    District official Avinash Kumar said the fire had been caused by an electrical short circuit in the unit.

    “We are providing medical care to the critically injured,” he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

    Local media reports quoted other officials who said the fire started in a piece of machinery used to enrich the level of oxygen in the atmosphere.

    The high concentration of the combustible gas in the unit helped the fire spread quickly and suddenly, they said.

    Broadcaster NDTV reported that 54 infants in total were in the neonatal intensive care unit when the fire broke out.

    ‘War footing’

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “heart-wrenching” in a post on social media platform X.

    “My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” he wrote.

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced compensation of 500,000 rupees ($5,900) to bereaved families.

    “The district administration and concerned officials have been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing,” Adityanath wrote on X.

    “I pray to Lord Shri Ram to provide salvation to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured.”

    Friday’s fire comes six months after a similar blaze at a children’s hospital in New Delhi that killed six newborns.