Shit happens: Angry on Surf Excel’s Hindu-Muslim amity ad, saffronists target Microsoft Excel!

Malappuram, Jan 18: In a shocking revelation, a 17-year-rape survivor here has disclosed that she had been allegedly sexually abused by 38 people during the past few months. The teenager's ordeal came to light during a counselling session at a Nirbhaya centre recently, police said.

The minor girl had been sexually abused in 2016 when she was 13 and then a year later. After the second incident, she was sent to the Child Home and allowed to go with her mother and brother about a year ago.

According to Mohammed Haneefa, Circle Inspector of Police, the girl was missing for sometime after she was released from Child Home and was traced from Palakkad in December last and brought to the Nirbhaya centre.

During counselling sessions, she informed the Nirbhaya authorities about the series of sexual abuses and molestation she had been exposed to.

Almost all the accused, who were charged with various crimes, including sexual abuse, have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, the police officer told PTI.

The Malappuram CWC president Shajesh Bhasker said the CWC has taken all legal and logical steps to ensure the safety of the child, when she was released from the Child Home, about a year ago.

"The decision was taken by our five-member committee and in consultation with the Child Protection Officer. This was done in tune with the Juvenile Justice Act, which says institutionalising a POCSO survivor should be the last priority."

"They are supposed to be sent out with their parents to ensure their protection as well as enabling restoration to society," Shajesh Basker told PTI.

He said the CWC has been acting with utmost good faith and intentions. But there are some flaws in the after-care and follow up of POCSO survivors once they are released in the custody of their parents or relatives, who undertake to protect them, he said.

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is the statutory body for ensuring the rights and addressing the needs of the children in need of care and protection.

CWCs have been empowered as the competent authority to take reasoned decisions in the matter of children in need of care and protection.

Brisbane, Jan 19: Injury-hit India team rose from the ashes to hold on to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in one of the greatest Test victories against Australia. 

India scripted a story of grit, guts and glory at Brisbane Test as it scored 329 against Australia. 

India beat Australia by three wickets in the fourth Test in Brisbane, pulling off a record run-chase in a thrilling final session to hand Australia their first defeat at Brisbane's Gabba ground since 1988.

A fearless India, driven by its courageous youngsters, pulled of an exhilarating three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth Test to claim the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here on Tuesday.

Resuming at four for none on the final day, India overhauled the target with 18 balls to spare in a match that went down to the wire.

Rishabh Pant led the chase with his aggressive yet mature unbeaten 89 while Shubman Gill scored 91.

Cheteshwar Pujara enduring many a painful blows on his body in his dogged 56-run knock that he raised with a 211-ball vigil.

Australia had won the pink-ball Adelaide Test while India struck back with a victory in Melbourne. The third Test in Sydney had ended in a draw.

India had won a historic Test series Down Under two years back and now the team is cherishing back-to-back series victory.

The visitors had lost the ODI series before winning the T20 series that preceded the Test rubber.

At the start, India lost experienced vice captain Rohit Sharma (7) early but young Gill rose to the occasion with an impressive knock that kept India in the hunt as Pujara dug heels on the other end.

Rahane did try to build on the good start with his short but attacking 24-run knock before his sift dismissal.

With Pant's ability to strike the ball at brisk pace, India always had a chance to got for the kill.

Pant pulled off some breathtaking cover drives off Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the final session though he benefitted from missed stumping chance. 

New Delhi, Jan 14: WhatsApp, earlier in the month, released revised terms of service and user privacy policy to its messenger app subscribers. The company said the users must comply with the new change or else they are free to uninstall the application.

WhatsApp clarified that the one-to-one and group chat with friends and family are fully encrypted, but said that the conversation between the users and business/shop owner on the messenger app may be used by its parent company Facebook and subsidiaries for marketing ads and promote its services.

This apparently angered users and lead to the mass migration of subscribers from WhatsApp to rival messenger apps. In the last three days alone, millions of users shifted their base to Telegram and Signal.

Now, the Indian government has stepped in to see if WhatsApp's revised terms of service violate the user-privacy of the citizens and also may seek an explanation from the Facebook-owned company, reported The Times of India.

It has come to light that WhatsApp has a different version of terms of service with the European Union, where all conversation on the messenger is encrypted by default in all types of communication including people-to-business chat. It won't share any data with Facebook or any other sister firms.

Even Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma highlighted the double standards of WhatsApp and slammed the company on Twitter.

How long we will be taken for granted by such blatant double standards ?
Self claimed ad claiming respect of our privacy v/s actual policy.

For India 🇮🇳 For Europe 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/bT45XwvsO1

— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) January 13, 2021

It remains to be seen what steps the Indian government will take to see if there is any loophole in WhatsApp's terms of service and if there is, rectify it. 

Also, it would be great if the company confirm that the user privacy policy introduced in India is on par with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.