Tag: India

  • Man arrested for eating a snake, claims ‘kept COVID-19 at bay’

    Man arrested for eating a snake, claims ‘kept COVID-19 at bay’

    A man from India’s Tamil Nadu ate a dead snake to “protect” himself from contracting the COVID-19.

    The  50-year-old Vadivel was arrested and charged with a fine of Rs 7,000 after he posted a video of him eating a poisonous snake on social media.

    He claimed that snakes are good antidotes to Covid-19 and keep the deadly virus at bay.

    As per reports, the man caught the reptile in a field and killed it before eating it.

    ‘Mouse plague’ in Australia: Mice crawl into beds and bite residents

    A forest officer in Madurai district said the agriculture worker had been prompted to eat the snake by other people. He had been drunk at the time of the incident.

    Fortunately, the man didn’t bite into the venom glands of the snake, identified as a common krait, a species of highly venomous reptiles native to the Indian subcontinent.

    Its venom consists of powerful neurotoxins that can even be fatal for humans if not treated. The reptile had been found dead in a drain, the forest officer said.

    Warning: This video contains graphic content.

  • VIDEO: Flight returns after bat seen flying in business class cabin

    VIDEO: Flight returns after bat seen flying in business class cabin

    An Air India flight from New Delhi to New York City had to return back to New Delhi shortly after takeoff as a bat started flying around the cabin in business class of the plane.

    Once the plane was back at the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, the staff contacted the wildlife department.

     “On arrival, it was learnt that crew members saw a bat inside the cabin,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials told news agency ANI.

     “Wildlife staff were called to catch and take away the bat. The aircraft landed safely at around 3:55 am and later it was declared Aircraft on Grounded (AoG).”

    Read More: Man ‘books entire flight’ to avoid COVID-19

    The plane reportedly underwent a complete fumigation, after which the bat’s body was found from the business class cabin.

    “The probable reason/cause may be loading vehicles like those for catering,” an Air India official told Business Today. “All the time rats/bats come from their vehicle.”

  • Relations with India would be ‘betrayal’ to Kashmir: PM

    Relations with India would be ‘betrayal’ to Kashmir: PM

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that normalisation of terms with India would be a betrayal to the Kashmiri struggle.

    PM Imran held a live Question and Answer (Q&A) session with the public on Sunday. He said that “re-establishing ties with India would be ignoring all the struggle of Kashmiris as more than 100,000 people have martyred.”

    PM Imran said he tried to resolve problems with India through dialogue. However, it cannot be the case now as India has illegally annexed Kashmir. The normalisation of terms after this is a betrayal to the Kashmir cause, said PM Khan.

    “There is no doubt that trade will improve but all their [Kashmiris] blood will be wasted, so this cannot happen. This cannot happen that our trade improves at the cost of their blood.”

    Pakistan can resume talks if New Delhi reverses its longstanding semi-autonomous status of Indian Occupied Kashmir, he maintained.

    On August 5, 2019, Modi government revoked the status of Article 370 and other related provisions and split Kashmir into two federally controlled areas. The government also locked down the region, imposed movement restrictions while imposing communication blackout.

    In retaliation, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India while also suspending trade.

  • ‘Safer in jail’: 21 Indian prisoners don’t want parole amid COVID-19

    ‘Safer in jail’: 21 Indian prisoners don’t want parole amid COVID-19

    21 prisoners in Uttar Pradesh, India do not want parole to stay safe and healthy during the Covid pandemic. Parole is a temporary hold-up of the sentence.

    As per reports, the Director-General of Jail Administration Anand Kumar said that the prisoners who have requested that to the authorities are kept in nine prisons of Uttar Pradesh.

    He said that the reason is that when they get three months of parole then these days will be added to the sentence period later.

    Read More: Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid COVID restrictions

    The second main reason is that the prisoners feel that the kind of food and the healthcare services they are getting in jails will not be possible once they are out on parole for 90 days.

    They said that medical facilities are available and daily health checkups are done in jails. They also get food on time so they are safe and healthy in prison and not when they are out trying to make money and living.

    Four requests from Lucknow jail, two from Maharajganj jail and three from Ghaziabad jail have been reported.

    Kumar said that the prisoners have written their requests clearly so they have to agree to take their viewpoint and respect it.

    Due to the extraordinary gush of Covid-19 cases in the country, the Supreme Court on May 8 ordered for decongestion of jails with immediate release of all the inmates who were approved for bail or parole last year.

    The top court had taken suo motu cognizance of the congestion of prisons all over the country on March 16, 2020, saying that it is hard for the prisoners to keep social distancing to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

  • Bride dies during her wedding ceremony, sister marries groom

    Bride dies during her wedding ceremony, sister marries groom

    A young bride fell ill, fainted and died during her wedding ceremony forcing the families to solemnize the marriage between the groom and a sister of the bride.

    As per reports, the incident happened earlier this week in Samaspur, India.

    After exchanging garlands and other wedding rituals, the couple was preparing for the final ceremony of ‘pheras’ when Surabhi suddenly fell unconscious beside her groom, Manjesh Kumar.

    The family instantly called a doctor who declared her dead telling them she suffered a severe  cardiac arrest.

    Read More – Bride marries wedding guest after groom-to-be ‘disappears’

    The wedding celebrations immediately turned into mourning.

    Surabhi’s brother Saurabh said: “We did not know what to do in the situation. Both the families sat together and someone suggested that my younger sister Nisha should be married to the groom. The families discussed the matter and both agreed.”

    Surabhi’s body was kept in another room and the marriage of Manjesh and Nisha was then celebrated. After the wedding, when the guests left with the bride, Surabhi’s last rites were held,” he said.

    Surabhi’s uncle Ajab Singh, said, “It was a tough call for our family. One daughter lay dead in one room and another daughter’s wedding was being solemnized in the other room.”

    “We have never witnessed such mixed emotions. The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding have yet to sink in,” he added.

  • Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid COVID restrictions

    Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid COVID restrictions

    Following a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, India has imposed a strict lockdown to curb the virus spread hindering the plans of those who had organised traditional and fancy Indian weddings.

    A couple hailing from Tamil Nadu did not bother even for a raging pandemic and seems to have decided nothing would stand in the way of their special day.

    Rakesh and Dakshina bucked restrictions in their home state to charter a SpiceJet flight from Madurai to Bangalore, along with over a hundred guests, so they could get married in mid-air with all their relatives and friends.

    The couple reportedly waited until the aircraft was flying over the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple to bless their union.

    India Today reported that the couple had actually tied the knot in a private ceremony held earlier, but decided to host a ceremony onboard an aircraft to make their big day ‘memorable’.

    Read more – Bride marries wedding guest after groom-to-be ‘disappears’

    The couple claimed that all passengers on board were their relatives who had taken the COVID-19 test and presented negative test results.

    An airport director confirmed to ANI that a SpiceJet chartered flight had been booked from Madurai but said officials were unaware of the mid-air marriage ceremony.

  • China’s current COVID-19 vaccines can tackle Indian variants, says expert

    China’s current COVID-19 vaccines can tackle Indian variants, says expert

    China’s current COVID-19 vaccines can fight new coronavirus variants spreading in India and can provide protection “to a certain extent”, based on preliminary research results, a disease control expert claimed on Thursday.

    Speaking at a news briefing, Shao Yiming, a researcher at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, did not elaborate on the specific vaccines or variants he referred to.

    Read more – Arjun Kapoor praises Pakistanis for offering help to India

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the predominant lineage of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was spotted in October 2020.

    The B.1.617 variant found contains two key mutations to the outer “spike” portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel.

    The WHO has described it as a “variant of interest”, suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity. Other strains with known risks, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, have been categorized as “variants of concern,” a higher threat level.

  • Bride marries wedding guest after groom-to-be ‘disappears’

    Bride marries wedding guest after groom-to-be ‘disappears’

    An Indian woman got married to a wedding guest after her groom-to-be mysteriously disappeared from the venue.

    As per reports, the incident happened in the Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The “jaimala ceremony” in which the bride and the groom exchange garlands had taken place in Maharajpur town. Family members were preparing for the final wedding rituals when the groom fled the venue.

    Both the families started searching for the youth but they could not find him anywhere.  After looking for a while, the bride’s family got to know that the groom was not missing. He had run away from the wedding for reasons only known to him.

    Read more – Bride marries neighbour after groom arrives late

    The bride’s family was surprised and the bride was also distressed after the incident. Meanwhile, one of the family members proposed that the girl can marry another suitable boy.

    The bride’s family then selected a potential groom from the wedding guests. Both the sides discussed a few things and agreed on the proposal. The wedding was then celebrated at the venue.

    Later, the bride’s family later registered a police complaint against the groom and his family members.

  • When Shoaib Akhtar gave Sachin Tendulkar a broken rib

    When Shoaib Akhtar gave Sachin Tendulkar a broken rib

    Record-breaking Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has opened up about the time when a delivery by Shoaib Akhtar gave him a broken rib.

    Speaking during a session on Unacademy, Tendulkar recalled that the injury happened during Pakistan’s India tour of 2007.

    “I got hit in my rib cage in 2007,” shared Tendulkar. “We were playing Pakistan in India and in the first over itself I got hit in the rib cage off a Shoaib Akhtar ball. It was quite painful. For a month and a half or two months, I was not able to cough or sleep on my tummy.”

    Interestingly, the cricketer continued to play despite considerable pain as he had no idea that he had fractured his rib.

    “I continued playing like that and had designed my own chest guard. I played the remaining four ODIs and the Test series. Before going to Australia as well, I played whatever cricket there was,” said Sachin.

    After hosting Pakistan for three Tests and a five-match ODI series in 2007, India then toured Australia for four Tests and VB tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka. Tendulkar was part of both the tours.

    In Australia, he suffered a groin injury following which he underwent a full-body scan after returning home. It was then the doctor told Tendulkar he may also have a broken rib.

    “When I went to Australia, I played the whole series – we played the VB series and towards the end of it, I had a groin injury. I came back to India and we did a full body scan. At that time, it was the doctor who told me about it,” Tendulkar recalled.

    “I did not ask him about my rib, I was worried about my groin injury because the Indian Premier League (IPL) was going to start. But I couldn’t get fit in time and missed the first seven matches. But the doctor told me that there was a hotspot. You must have broken your rib at some stage. It troubled me for two months,” he added.

    Meanwhile, the former captain of the Indian cricket team also revealed that he struggled with anxiety for much of his career, often suffering sleepless nights before a game.

    The ‘Little Master,’ who accumulated more Test and one-day runs than any other player, said he would shadow bat, watch TV and play video games in the small hours when he was unable to sleep.

    “In my mind the match started long before I entered the ground. The anxiety levels were very high,” said Tendulkar.

    “I felt anxiety for 10 to 12 years, and had many sleepless nights before a game. Later on I started accepting that it was part of my preparation.

    “Then I made peace with the times I was not able to sleep at night. I would start doing something to keep my mind comfortable.” Mental health has become a key consideration among athletes, including cricketers and especially during the pandemic when many are spending long periods in bio-secure “bubbles”.

    Tendulkar, who played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs during a 24-year international career, said it was vital to accept first that there is a problem.

    “When there is an injury, physios and doctors examine you and diagnose what is wrong with you. Same is the case with mental health,” he said.

    “It is normal for anyone to go through ups and downs and when you hit those lows you need people around.

    “Acceptability is the key here. Not just for the player, for people around him also. Once you have accepted you start looking for solutions. “

  • PETA India names cow after Kim Kardashian to honour her dairy-free diet

    PETA India names cow after Kim Kardashian to honour her dairy-free diet

    The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has honoured billionaire lifestyle guru Kim Kardashian’s “dairy-free diet” by naming a cow after her.

    “For Mother’s Day, PETA India names rescued mother cow ‘Kim Kowdashian’ after reality TV star Kim Kardashian,” tweeted the animal rights advocate’s India branch.

    “Thanks for promoting a dairy-free diet Kim,” it added.

    In a statement, PETA India said that they wanted to “thank the mother of four for showing compassion to mums of all species by promoting a dairy-free diet to her more than 200 million followers.”

    The bovine, which was described as having “striking eyes and long, dark eyelashes” was chosen as she is just like her 40-year-old celebrity namesake.

    ‘Kim Kowdashian’ was reportedly rescued by a PETA-approved sanctuary after the animal rights boy caught her being abused on the streets by her former owner.

    Read more – Kim Kardashian slammed for lavish 40th birthday celebrations amid pandemic

    Meanwhile, Kardashian has been very vocal about her no-meat, nearly vegan lifestyle. She is also believed to have converted three family members, including sister Kourtney, to a plant-based diet.

    Earlier this year in February, Kim posted an Instagram picture in which she flaunted her chiseled abs.

    “Plant based does a body good,” she captioned the post.