Indo Nepal Dalit Maitri Sangh and Babu Jagjivanram Kala Sanskriti and Sahitya Akademi confer the B. R. Ambedkar International Award to Dr Sunil Baliram Gaikwad, a former MP from Latur has been named as an eminent social worker for his socio-political contribution.
The award would be presented on May 8, 2021, at Lumbini, Nepal in a grand ceremony.
The Mumbai Press Club condemns the filing of multiple FIRs against journalists and publishers that include Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pande, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath. The FIRs have been filed in Delhi as well as in some BJP-ruled states including MP and Uttar Pradesh, and are based on the coverage and comments the journalists made in respect of the farmers protest rally in the capital on 26th January. The Mumbai Press Club demands the immediate withdrawal of these FIRs against the 6 journalists, and calls upon the Union government to stop using coercive and threatening practices, like filing of cases under the UAPA Act, pressing charges of sedition, etc against newspapers and journalists.
The events that took place around the farmer’s rally on Republic Day was chaotic and information was not easily available. There was clear intelligence lapse on the part of the Delhi Police, which had lost control of the situation. In these circumstances, to pin blame on the journalists for being responsible for the violence and disruption is reprehensible. Worse still is the attempt of the Police to stick sedition charges on the journalists using archaic laws? It shows the growing intolerance of the Union government against those who do not toe the line of the ruling establishment.
The Mumbai Press Club sees the filing of these FIRs as part of a dangerous trend in the country against the Fourth Estate which seeks to demonize, and then neutralize, those who cover events and issues that are not in sync with the government’s policies. This was highlighted recently by the arrest of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) office-bearer Siddique Kappan by the UP Police under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Besides the harassment and attacks these journalists face, they are further demonized by being portrayed as ‘anti-nationals’, ‘terrorists’ etc.
A vibrant democracy requires a vibrant Fourth Estate that is allowed to function without fear or favour. FIRs, incarceration and using the heavy hand of the police against journalists show not only that the government is antipathy to a free press; but it also snuffs out information chains and contrarian views without which no mature civil society can function.
While the 85-year-old 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, still in excellent health, curiosity over his succession is growing, along with fears that his death could spark a religious crisis in Asia. Tenzin, from the Tibet Policy Institute, said that Beijing had been slowly raising the profile of their chosen Panchen Lama, who has recently appeared at senior CCP meetings and went on an international visit to Thailand in 2019, to try and build his authority when he selects the 15th Dalai Lama.
The 14th Dalai Lama said as early as 1969 that it was for the Tibetans to decide whether the institution of the Dalai Lama “should continue or not”. He has given orientation to a possible vote stirring in the future for all Tibetan Buddhists to decide whether they wish to recognize his rebirth.
The 14th Dalai Lama supported the possibility that his next incarnation could be a woman. As an “engaged Buddhist” the Dalai Lama has an appeal straddling cultures and political systems making him one of the most recognized and respected moral voices today. Despite the complex historical, religious and political factors surrounding the selection of incarnate masters in the exiled Tibetan tradition, the Dalai Lama is open to change.
In response to the possibility that the PRC might attempt to choose his heir, the Dalai Lama said he would not be reborn in a country strained by the People’s Republic of China or any other country which is not free. There were assumptions that the next Dalai Lama might come from the Tibetan cultural belt that stretches across northern India, Nepal, and Bhutan, presumably making him even more pro-Indian and anti-Chinese.
For your information, the name “Dalai Lama” is a combination of the Mongolic word Dalai meaning “ocean” or “big” (coming from Mongolian title Dalaiyin Qan or Dalaiin Khan, translated as Gyatso or rgya-mtsho in Tibetan) and the Tibetan word (laa-ma) meaning “master”. The Dalai Lama is also known in Tibetan as the Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che (“Precious Conqueror”) or simply as the Rgyal-ba.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama-the spiritual leader of Tibetans and he is the head monk of Tibetan Buddhism and traditionally has been responsible for the governing of Tibet until the Chinese government took control in 1959. Before 1959, his official residence was Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, was born on July 6, 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. Now he lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of Tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The traditional function of the Dalai Lama as an ecumenical figure, holding together disparate religious and regional groups, has been taken up by the present fourteenth Dalai Lama. He has worked to overcome sectarian and other divisions in the exiled community and has become a symbol of Tibetan nationhood for Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile.
From 1642 until 1705 and from 1750 to the 1950s, the Dalai Lamas or their regents headed the Tibetan government (or Ganden Phodrang) in Lhasa which governed all or most of the Tibetan Plateau with varying degrees of autonomy under the Qing dynasty of China, in which Tibet had been under non-Tibetan suzerainty,[10] and a period of disputed “de facto independence” between 1913 and 1951.
This Tibetan government also enjoyed the patronage and protection of firstly Mongol kings of the Khoshut and Dzungar Khanates (1642–1720) and then of the emperors of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1720–1912).
In 1913, several Tibetan representatives including Agvan Dorzhiev signed a treaty between Tibet and Mongolia, proclaiming mutual recognition and their independence from China; however, the legitimacy of the treaty and declared the independence of Tibet was rejected by both the Republic of China and the current People’s Republic of China. The Dalai Lamas headed the Tibetan government afterwards despite that, until 1951.
The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the largest and most influential tradition in Tibet. The institution of the Dalai Lama is a relatively recent one. There have been only 14 Dalai Lamas in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and the first and second Dalai Lamas were given the title posthumously.
The political landscape of China started changing in the 1950ies. Plans were made to bring Tibet officially under Chinese control. But in March 1959, Tibetans took to the streets demanding an end to Chinese rule. Chinese People’s Republic troops crushed the revolt and thousands were killed.
The Dalai Lama fled from Tibet to India with thousands of followers during the 1959 Tibetan uprising, where he was welcomed by former Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru who permitted him to form the ‘Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala.
The Dalai Lama, and the refugees who followed him, created a society in which Tibetan language, culture, arts, and religion are promoted. In 1989 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for maintaining a policy of non-violence with the Chinese government. He has travelled the world and has spoken about the welfare of Tibetans, environment, economics, women’s rights, nonviolence, interfaith dialogue, physics, astronomy, Buddhism and science, cognitive neuroscience, reproductive health, and sexuality, along with various topics of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist teachings.
Because of the threat from China, the 14th Dalai Lama has made several statements that would make it difficult for a Chinese-appointed 15th Dalai Lama to be seen as legitimate. According to him, the institution of the Dalai Lama might not be needed anymore.
However, he has also said it was up to the people if they wanted to preserve this aspect of Tibetan Buddhism and continue the Dalai Lama lineage. Another option the Dalai Lama has proposed would be for him to appoint his reincarnation before he dies. In this scenario, the Dalai Lama would transfer his spiritual realization to the successor.
The Dalai Lama has also stated that if he dies outside of Tibet, his reincarnation would be located abroad, most likely from India.
More than a year after India’s fight against COVID-19 began, the virus is spreading faster than ever before and appalling stories of distress are being reported from across the country. The pandemic has disturbed the lives of everyone, especially the most vulnerable section of our society. Teachers have had to undergo salary cuts, many parents have not been able to pay the school fees due to job losses. For low-income households, the challenge is accentuated further. With classes going online, thousands of children have had to scramble for gadgets to get online. The digital divide has never been more obvious, resulting in several kids dropping out of school.
In Madhya Pradesh, which is battling the second COVID wave like many other states, several shocking incidents have come to the fore in the last few days. In the latest incident, CCTV footage recovered from a government hospital in Shivpuri, about 300 km from state capital Bhopal, has led to a probe into a coronavirus patient’s death as his family alleged the oxygen supply was stopped by the hospital staff. The hospital administration had earlier denied any lapses. The COVID patient’s son said he was with his father till 11:30 PM on Tuesday. Hours after he left for home, he received a call from the hospital mentioning his death.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for the resurgence of COVID-19 in parts of the state and said had the government vaccinated everyone in time, there wouldn’t have been this second outbreak of the pandemic. Speaking at an election campaign rally at Jalpaiguri in north Bengal on Wednesday, she attacked the BJP, without naming the party, for importing the virus into Bengal through the hundreds of “outsiders” it was bringing into the state for election campaigns.
Mumbai hospitals will use luxury hotels to treat COVID-19 patients with milder infection, the city’s administration said today as it tried to ramp up facilities for patients needing critical care with cases shooting up. Two hotels will start functioning as extensions of private hospitals from Thursday. Private hospitals will tie up with four-star or five-star hotels to accommodate more patients and those not needing critical care are likely to be moved from hospitals to hotels. Doctors have to approve such transfers.
A retired soldier suffering from COVID died without any treatment at a hospital in Bihar, as the hospital authorities were busy preparing for the visit of the state health minister Mangal Pandey. Vinod Singh died in the vehicle he was brought to the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital. The authorities did not admit him despite his family’s repeated requests.
Hundreds of thousands of people continued to throng to the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar as officials said the religious gathering will not be cut short due to the rising COVID cases and that it will continue till April 30.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, the district administration has appealed to both domestic and foreign tourists not to come to the city till the end of April due to the rise in COVID cases. Varanasi logged 1,585 cases on Wednesday and has over 10,000 active cases, the third-highest in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow and Prayagraj. Uttar Pradesh’s CM, Yogi Adityanath suffered from COVID soon after taking the first vaccination.
Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are among the states where doubt mutant strains were found, sources said, adding that these mutants are playing a role in the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. However, it cannot be said that double mutants are 100 per cent responsible for the rise in cases, sources in the ministry said. A “double mutation” is when two mutated strains of a virus come together to form a third strain. The one reported in India is the result of the E484Q and L452R strains combining. The L452R strain is found in California in the United States and the E484Q strain is indigenous.
Madhya’s Pradesh’s Tikamgarh municipality has converted a garbage truck into a hearse to ferry unclaimed bodies to the crematorium, sparking outrage. The municipality’s action drew widespread condemnation after a video of a body being carried in the “modified” vehicle on Thursday evening went viral. Tikamgarh’s chief municipal officer (CMO) Vijay Shankar Trivedi, however, defended the civic body’s ingenuity saying since the vehicle was not being used for collecting trash, it was utilised for carrying bodies as the civic body did not have a ‘Shav Vahan.’
The central government on Thursday ranked states/union territories in India based on confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases that have been reported. As per the central government, the 20 states and union territories with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, as of 8 am on Thursday, are as follows:
Madhya Pradesh Minister Prem Singh Patel on Thursday delivered a shocker on deaths from coronavirus in the country and said that while nobody can stop the virus deaths from occurring, “people get old and have to die”.
As India is witnessing a massive surge of COVID-19 cases, many migrants, fearing a complete lockdown like last year, are returning to their home states. Uttar Pradesh’s additional chief health secretary on Thursday issued directives for the migrant workers coming to the state.
The state government has asked district administrators to prepare a list of all migrant workers which will have their addresses and mobile numbers. The district authorities have been asked to take every worker’s signature against the details.
As the daily COVID-19 cases are perceiving a massive outpouring in the state, people are lining up at all places where Remdesivir injections are provided. Expert doctors and the state government have warned against the unnecessary use of this injection stating that it can damage vital organs. But people panic and there is no counselling from government agencies. Above all when Modi announced Vaccine celebration week people are more impatient.
People are in search of Remdesivir injections, they are contacting medical centres, pharma companies, online searches and finally the private clinics. This comes amidst reports of shortage of vials and the government scrambling to meet the demand at public as well as private hospitals.
In some states especially Gujarat BJP leaders are stocking the vaccines illegally in their party office, and some places like Surat BJP started distributing free Remdesivir injections at the party’s office. The vaccine drive has become a political war. In Surat to people lined up with doctor’s prescriptions. The party plans to distribute 5,000 such injections in the city and neighbouring towns in south Gujarat, represented by state BJP president C R Patil.
What we see is a deviation — stolen, a falsified and substandard product that undermines the health of the people who take it. State authorities have no planning and politicians are misusing their authoritative capacities. On Monday Rajasthan – among those states reporting high vaccine uptake – vaccinated only around 1.5 lakh people, whereas last week it averaged around five lakh per day.
The centre has played down the warnings; Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said there was enough stock, and that states were to blame for inefficient management. 320 doses of Covaxin – Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine – have been reported missing from a cold-storage facility at a government hospital in Rajasthan’s Jaipur.
The HB Kanwatia Hospital, which caters primarily to the nearby working-class neighbourhood of Shastri Nagar, said its stock of 200 doses was checked and accounted for on Sunday. The following day – Monday – a shipment of 489 doses was received. However, when stocks were re-checked the hospital found 320 doses were missing. Security guards were posted outside the cold storage unit in which the vaccines were stored.
The hospital has filed an FIR (first information report) with local police and an investigation is underway. Apart from figuring out how the vaccines went missing despite the presence of guards, the police will also examine CCTV footage from the hospital. The ‘case of the missing vaccines’ is particularly distressing because it comes as the country faces a continuing massive surge in fresh infections – over 1.84 lakh in the previous 24 hours, and over a lakh per day since April 7 – and an alleged shortfall in the supply of the life-saving drugs.
The first doses of coronavirus vaccines have been shipped and administered around the world. This development is a welcome sign of relief at the end of a long and difficult year. But almost simultaneously as vaccine distribution began, a warning was put out — not by health agencies or policymakers, but by The International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL. They told the world to be on the lookout for counterfeit vaccines and medical supplies.
People wait in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at every designated Riverside vaccination centre in each state, many of them spend two long days in line and return due to the short supply of doses. Scarcity of vaccines amid a fatal worldwide pandemic is fueling fears of a black market that could inflict great harm on public health and confidence, where potentially stolen, spoiled or fake vaccine is sold to those who can afford to pay while the real thing is in short supply in communities most heavily impacted by COVID.
Stolen, Missing and falsified vaccines are sold in the black market by the authorities, somewhere around 2000 to 20000, as per the capacity of buyers these vaccines are sold. Many government authorities are stealing the supply and supplying it to private vendors to earn money through the black market. The health of the community damages the brand of companies and torpedoes efforts of the government to get the economy up and going. Vaccine tourism, fake medicines, fake products, with multiple victimizations are on the rise.
Above all these stolen and managed doses are also reaching Political party offices, one such example is BJP that was discovered when a private car carrying Remdesivir injections entered the BJP office, members of the BJP youth-wing workers along with former corporator Manu Patel, distributed orange-paper tokens with the lotus symbol — BJP’s election symbol — and numbers on them. People are fed up they have no courage to battle, black-market and political vendettas both adding stress to common man’s lives.
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A well-known RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, renowned for 30 years of experience in the arena of social work, has joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday.
On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, and with due cognizance of the city-wide lockdown, the Party conducted the induction ceremony via an online platform, in the presence of the AAP State Committee.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Maharashtra Prabhari and AAP National Executive Committee member, Durgesh Pathak, welcomed Vijay Kumbhar to the AAP.
“AAP has already entered Maharashtra State politics through the Gram-panchayat Elections. Now, the contributions of senior RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar will help create a strong base for the party’s presence in the state,” said Durgesh Pathak.
Vijay Kumbhar has been appointed as a State Executive Member and ‘Pradesh Sanghatak’, as announced by Durgesh Pathak.
“He is recognized for his work, which exposed several cases of lobbying between builders and politicians. People like Vijay Kumbhar will serve an indispensable role in the fight against anarchy and corruption in Maharashtra’s Politics,” said Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP National Executive Member and Spokesperson.
“AAP is the only solution for Maharashtra’s feudalistic and ‘Saam-Daam-Dand-Bhed’ politics. The AAP is held to a high standard of expectations by the common people, and Vijay Kumbhar’s entry in a Party will bolster the Party’s energy, enthusiasm and political will” said Ranga Rachure, AAP’s State Convener.
Co-Convener Kishor Mandhyan remarked that Vijay Kumbhar’s experience in political activism shall go a long way in helping us serve the common people’s needs.
Vijay Kumbhar is known for the Supreme Court legal clash against the Former Maharashtra CM Manohar Joshi’s son in the ‘Girish Vyas’ illegal constructions case. He also played a vital role in the expose of Builder D.S. Kulkarni, and the Temple Roj Real Estate Scam. He was a leading force in the establishment of the RTI Act 2005 and has also actively participated, alongside Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, in India Against Corruption Movement. Vijay Kumbhar was the first citizen of our country to use RTI for the examination of documents in government offices.
He is known for the conception of the Information Rights Library in the Pune Municipal Corporation. This library was named by late senior journalist Prakash Kudale and was inaugurated by Arvind Kejriwal.
With this, he became the first person in our country to demand the public perusal and scrutiny of government documents. In 2014, He started the ‘RTI Katta’, to address the problems faced by common people in the use of RTI.
Every Sunday, this Katta is curated and managed by him, and solutions are presented for pertinent issues faced by civilians in filing RTI applications. He was awarded by Time of India – Pune Mirror’s ‘Pune Hero’ Award, for which online voting was conducted. He has also been felicitated with many other prestigious awards, like the Sajag Nagrik Manch Sanman 2008, and the Navlinkumar Sanmaan.
Through the RTI, he has served relentlessly in many fights against corruption and lawlessness. He has stopped the misuse of public places, the illegal use of home gas cylinders in Pune, and has forced government bodies to improve financial provisions for public toilets in their jurisdiction. Moreover, He has exposed various scams in the provision of school uniforms and educational materials.
Vijay Kumbhar said, “I will not just work towards making the party stronger, but also towards the fight to preserve the due dignity to the citizens of the state. Currently, all the government offices are threatening citizens, by displaying posters of laws that can punish them, along with the duration and conditions for these charges. These posters are illegal and are threatening the owners of this country – the citizens. This is totally unacceptable in a democracy. We, through the Aam Aadmi Party, will remove these posters, and replace them with posters which declare the citizens as the rightful owners of this country, wherein our primary duty is to serve them.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a partial lockdown with strict boundaries for the next 15 days that include a ban on gatherings and only essential activities to tackle Covid infections that he said were “exploding dangerously” in the state.
He said that the “The war has begun again,” addressing people of the state on the extraordinary surge in Covid infections. From today, Section 144, a rule that bans the get-together of more than four people, will be in place across Maharashtra in the mornings and only essential travel and services will be allowed.
CM Thackeray advised people to move to Work from Home. From 7 am to 8 pm, only essential services will function; these are medical services, banks, media, E-Commerce and fuel. Explaining that his government was being tested by the crisis, Thackeray said while the state had postponed the Class 10 and 12 state board exams, “we can’t postpone the exam we are facing currently and it is one we have to pass with flying colours.”
Home deliveries from restaurants will be allowed. Also, home deliveries of essential items will be allowed. food takeaway will be allowed at roadside stalls, including fruit vendors. However, one cannot stand and eat there.
During the partial lockdown, maids, cooks, drivers, house help, nurses, and medical attendee who are taking care of old patients will be allowed between 7 am to 10 pm on all days.
All clinics including dentists, eye hospitals and general physicians, optical shops will be allowed to function within the given time frame.
Thackeray, in an address on Tuesday evening, also announced a package of Rs 5,476 crore to help the marginalised, including daily wagers, rickshaw drivers, domestic help, and construction workers.
The impact of that lockdown — a 24.4% contraction in the economy in the first quarter which bore the brunt, and untold suffering for migrant workers left without food, shelter, and a safe way to return home — may have prevented Thackeray from announcing even a partial lockdown in the face of a second wave that has overwhelmed Maharashtra’s health infrastructure, even though experts have been calling for stronger restrictions for weeks.
A new WhatsApp vulnerability revealed, that might permit attackers to deactivate your account remotely. WhatsApp has recommended that users should provide their email address with the two-step verification to avoid such a hack.
Security researchers Luis Márquez Carpintero and Ernesto Canales Pereña have discovered the error that can allow attackers to remotely suspend your WhatsApp account. As first reported by Forbes, the researchers found that the flaw exists in the instant messaging app due to two fundamental weaknesses.
A large number of WhatsApp users are said to be at risk as a remote attacker can deactivate WhatsApp on your phone and then restrict you from activating it back. The vulnerability can be exploited even if you’ve enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) for your WhatsApp account.
WhatsApp has discovered a vulnerability that allows an invader to suspend your account remotely using your phone number. The flaw that has now been found by security researchers appears to have existed on the instant messaging app for quite some time now — due to fundamental weaknesses.
The first weakness allows the attacker to enter your phone number on WhatsApp installed on their phones. This will, of course, not give access to your WhatsApp account unless the attacker obtains the six-digit registration code you’ll get on your phone. Multiple failed attempts to sign in using your phone number will also block code entries on WhatsApp installed on the attacker’s phone for 12 hours.
However, while the attacker won’t be able to repeat the sign-in process with your phone number, they will be able to contact WhatsApp support to deactivate your phone number from the app. What they need is a new email address and a simple email stating that the phone has been stolen or lost. In response to that email, WhatsApp will ask for a confirmation that the attacker will quickly provide from their end.
Android Malware Discovered on Google Play That Spreads Via WhatsApp
This will deactivate your WhatsApp account, meaning that you’ll no longer be able to access the instant messaging app on your phone. You won’t be able to avoid that deactivation by using 2FA on your WhatsApp account as the account has been deactivated through the email sent by the attacker.
In a regular deactivation case, you can activate your WhatsApp account back by verifying your phone number. This is, however, not possible if the attacker has already locked the verification process for 12 hours by making multiple failed attempts to sign in to your WhatsApp account. This means that you’ll also be restricted from getting a new registration code on your phone number for 12 hours. The attacker can also repeat the process of failed sign-in attempts to restrict your account for another 12 hours when the first one expires. WhatsApp Could Soon Allow Moving Chats Between Android and iOS
This highlights that WhatsApp will treat your phone the same way it is treating the attacker’s one and will block sign-in access. You’ll only have the option to get your WhatsApp account back by contacting the messaging app over email.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told Gadgets 360 that users could avoid the problem of getting their accounts deactivated by attackers using the newly discovered flaw by registering their email address to their account via two-step verification. WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Faces Antitrust Probe From CCI
However, WhatsApp has not provided any details on whether it is fixing the vulnerability to avoid its adverse effect on the masses. It is currently unclear whether an attacker has exploited the vulnerability in the wild. However, considering the fact that the details about the flaw are now in the public, it could easily be leveraged to restrict anyone from using their WhatsApp — at least for a few hours.
WhatsApp has a massive user base of more than two billion users worldwide, with over 400 million users in India alone. Most of the users aren’t likely to have their email addresses registered with their accounts at this moment. Therefore, the scope of the reported vulnerability is quite wide.
The maximum population of India uses smartphones and WhatsApp. This app has become their life. WhatsApp has become an inevitable communication mode. When Facebook took over WhatsApp, there were many rumours that WhatsApp was sharing some data with Facebook, including phone numbers and profile name, but this has been happening for years.
WhatsApp the messaging app doesn’t gather the content of your chats, but it does collect the metadata attached to them – such as the sender, the time a message was sent and who it was sent to. This can be shared with “Facebook companies”. Facebook’s highly disparaged data collection tenet has worn trust in the social network.
When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, it vowed to keep the two services separate. Yet only a few years later, Facebook announced aims to integrate the messaging systems of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. This appears to have stalled owing to technical and regulatory difficulties about encoding, but it’s still the long-term plan.
All of sudden people not only felt cheated but they were scared of a data breach and switched to Signal, a secure messaging app, which has been the main beneficiary of the WhatsApp evacuation. Another messaging app, Telegram, has also qualified for an uptick in downloads, but Signal has been topping the charts on the Apple and Android app stores.
Signal aids from being the most similar to WhatsApp in terms of features, while Telegram has had problems as a secure and private messaging app, with its live location feature recently coming under fire for privacy breaches. Significantly, Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default, instead of storing your data in the cloud. The Signal is end-to-end encrypted, collects less data than Telegram and stores messages on your device rather than in the cloud.
Still, WhatsApp is used by millions of people, it is truly a dynamo when it comes to apps in general, let alone messenger ones specifically. With this level of success comes increased exposure to those who would do WhatsApp user’s harm. Those using WhatsApp on the iPhone were warned about a one-click attack risk earlier this year, for example. A reported “sharp rise” in WhatsApp security flaws across 2019 has even led to some reports of political staffers being advised to switch to contending secure messenger, Signal.
The fact is that no app is immune to security vulnerabilities; they are a fact of technological life. It’s the way those susceptibilities are dealt with that is vital. CVE-2020-1886 was a buffer-overflow problem in the WhatsApp for Android app, versions before v2.20.11 that could be caused by receiving and answering a malevolent video call.
CVE-2020-1889 affected the WhatsApp desktop client before v0.3.4932 and was an appreciation of privilege threat when combined with a remote code execution vulnerability to escape the system security sandbox. CVE-2020-1890 was another Android app problem, this time triggered by receipt of a malicious sticker message that could lead to privilege escalation once more.
CVE-2020-1891 was in both Android and iOS apps and involved the video call handler. All that’s publicly known is that it could impact confidentiality, integrity and availability. CVE-2020-1894 was a stack-overflow issue in Android and iOS apps that could allow for arbitrary code implementation triggered by a malicious push-to-talk message. Severity rating of vulnerability marked high
India’s cyber security agency, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) recently issued an alert against multiple vulnerabilities in older versions of WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for iOS. The severity rating of the vulnerability has been marked high. According to the alert issued by CERT-In, there were two critical vulnerabilities in WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business of iOS — an Improper Access Control vulnerability (CVE-2020-1908) and a User-After-Free vulnerability (CVE-2020-1909). These vulnerabilities have been disclosed by WhatsApp as part of its November update to its security advisories. The improper Access Control vulnerability can allow hackers to access WhatsApp even after a phone is locked. The vulnerability affects WhatsApp iOS versions prior to the v2.20.100.
The use-after-free in a logging library in WhatsApp can be exploited by a remote attacker “by sending a specially crafter animated sticker to the target while placing a WhatsApp video call on hold, resulting in several events occurring together. The CERT-In advisory suggests users install and update to the latest version of WhatsApp with security patches from the App Store. A high-severity vulnerability could allow cybercriminals to push malware or remotely execute code, using seemingly innocuous messages.
Security researchers have identified a JavaScript vulnerability in the WhatsApp desktop platform that could allow cybercriminals to spread malware, phishing or ransomware campaigns through notification messages that appear completely normal to unsuspecting users. And, further investigation shows this could be parlayed into remote code execution. More specifically, “The flaws leave users vulnerable to attacks by allowing both the text content and links in website previews to be tampered with to display false content and modified links that point to malicious destinations.
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Maharashtra reports a significant rise in fresh Covid-19 cases. Amid talk of an extended lockdown and guidelines to curb the coronavirus spread. People’s litharge and administrative incapability, reasons are many. Afternoon Voice has taken the expert opinion of Doctor Amit Thadhani, a consulting general surgeon and Director at Niramaya Hospital in Navi Mumbai.
Over a telephonic interview with Hema Singh, Dr Thadhani has shared his insight on the second wave of COVID-19 and its consequences.
India has surged in new Covid cases, there is a tremendous rise in coronavirus cases in the country. What could be the reason behind this?
There are various reasons for the huge spread of Coronavirus. The situation is more complex than one could imagine. It is a combination of people becoming careless and the government becoming lenient.
Look at the way the social gatherings, weddings, election rallies are happening, as if everything is normal. People have no deterrence to the pandemic.
People have already resumed their normal lives and they are conveniently flouting the norms by not wearing masks or following social distance rules. They need to understand that the pandemic is here to stay and everyone should take responsibility for preventing the spread.
India’s foremost epidemiologists had warned that if the government and the citizens do not act immediately the second wave could be worse than the first, what’s your take on this?
It is already worse! We are running out of beds, we are running out of oxygen supply, what could be worse than this? The condition is getting worse as compared to the first wave. The only thing better here is that we know what to do, what measure can be taken and how to deal with it.
Why do you feel that the cases would rise from the end of April in Maharashtra?
It is going to arise sooner or later in all states. And if you see the pattern in some states, they have cases fallen now though could rise later. It is following the pattern where it goes lull for a few months and then booms again, so it’s just a matter of time. Most of the big states are showing an increase in the number of cases.
Why have people relaxed amid the pandemic and gone carefree without any safety measures?
There is a constant bombardment of misinformation that COVID is gone or “Corona jaisa kuch nahi hain” (there is nothing like corona) or we have already defeated Corona. There is a lot of misinformation that is going around the virus and because of this people are becoming carefree. Also, people are somewhere willing to get back to their normal life.
What are your suggestions to the government?
Only two things I want to suggest to the government – build capacity to manage more patients and mass access of masks on a war footing in all the states. Because these are the only two things, we can do to control the spread of the virus; as there’s no escape from this.
How long do we have to deal with COVID?
It will stay for a longer time. Right now, it is in a pandemic form after the pandemic we will have a post-pandemic, where the disease goes into a long-time mode. But if the entire population is vaccinated then the level of threat from the virus will be nothing more than a common cold; only the occasional serious patient coming up.
Does one need to change his/her diet to stay protected from the virus?
People should eat healthy food that they are normally eating. Just consume a good amount of food and a normal healthy diet. There is nothing specific diet that one can follow to avoid being ill.
What is your understanding of the scale and speed of spread of Covid in Maharashtra and Mumbai?
In Mumbai, the population density is high compared to various other cities where the wave started before Mumbai. Like the cities for example Amravati and Akola are showing a huge spike in cases before Mumbai started spiking. And in all these areas the local panchayat elections were going on and the wedding and other social gatherings were happening. So, the combination of these two factors has mostly led to huge explosions in cases.
Some experts and doctors are claiming that vaccination is the only long-term remedy for Covid and if we follow it meticulously then the third wave, (if at all it comes) won’t be too severe, do you also feel the same?
Yes… of course! Vaccination is the only remedy for COVID-19. Otherwise, we will have the third, fourth and fifth waves also coming in.
Will there be a permanent solution ever?
If we have a mass vaccination drive for the virus then we will be able to reduce the status of cold, cough; later we can deal with it.
Lastly, apart from maintaining hand hygiene and social distancing, what else can people do to protect themselves?
Mask and vaccination! People have to wear the mask properly once they are stepping out. A mask is the most important thing than social distancing and hand washing. Also, the moment you are eligible for the vaccine, go and get it done.
