Newslaundry does not depend on advertisements

Also, to get reports regarding demand, collection and outstanding amount of tax per property, BMC is set to move online. It further said failure to pay property tax will lead to attachments of properties, auctions and disconnection of water supply.

Kangana Ranaut ‘explodes’ and ‘slams’ on our news feed. Yet again
Why do Indian media outlets routinely amplify dangerous conspiracy theories? It’s good for business.

Much to the chagrin of Indian Twitter anti-farmer lobby (channelling our inner Times Now), Rihanna has spoken.

The tweet was enough for Twitter trolls to let loose on the American singer with some bringing up disturbing images of domestic abuse she had suffered as a comeback. (Each day is a new low for establishment lackeys on Twitter.)

Not to be left behind, actor Kangana Ranaut stepped in to do what she does best – vomit out a volley of disjointed sentences that have zero connection to anything actually happening in the real world. We wouldn’t like to link to her tweet out of sheer consideration for your senses but for those of you who are curious, she essentially called protesting farmers terrorists working at the behest of the Chinese. Ranaut tweeting out madcap conspiracy theories comes as no surprise. What beats us is the media’s persistence in amplifying her statements.

So, we had NDTV telling us how Ranaut ‘slammed’ Rihanna.

“Explodes” sounds about right for a massive star turning into a black hole of misinformation. The supernova moment could have very well been Ranaut’s last interview on Republic TV.

There isn’t a media house that hasn’t amplified Ranaut’s tweets with headlines stressing how she thinks Rihanna is foolish.

This farce will continue so long as media outlets are dependent on advertisements to get which they need to generate clicks for their websites with non-stories. If you want actual news on the farmers’ movement, follow the Newslaundry Twitter handle, or log on to our website for reports from the ground.

Newslaundry does not depend on advertisements, what keeps us going is subscriptions from news consumers who care for real news and critique of news media. Do your bit and subscribe to Newslaundry if you don’t want Ranaut exploding and slamming on your news feed.

BMC official drinks sanitiser while presenting education budget

mumbai: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) deputy municipal commissioner Ramesh Pawar mistakenly drank sanitiser while presenting the civic body's education budget on Wednesday.During the presentation, he picked up a bottle and took a sip. He then realised that the bottle contained hand sanitiser and spat it out immediately.

Explained: How Burma became Myanmar after a military coup 3 decades ago
For many decades, many governments around the world ignored the name changes, and continued to call the country Burma and its capital Rangoon.
The Myanmar military grabbed power in a coup on Monday (February 1) – the third time in the nation’s history since its independence from British rule in 1948.

After the last such takeover in 1988, the armed forces went on to make a decision that would remain controversial for decades: changing the country’s name.

How Burma became Myanmar

When British imperialists annexed what is today’s Myanmar during the 19th century, they called it Burma after the dominant Burman (Bamar) ethnic group, and administered it as a province of colonial India. This arrangement continued until 1937, when Burma was separated from British India and made a separate colony.
Even after the country became independent in 1948, it retained the same name, becoming the ‘Union of Burma’. In 1962, the military took over from a civilian government for the first time, and amended the official name in 1974 to the ‘Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma’.

Then in 1988, Myanmar’s armed forces again took power in the country, after suppressing a popular uprising that led to the deaths of thousands, and reversed the official name to ‘Union of Burma’. But a year later, the junta adopted a law that replaced Burma with Myanmar, making the country the ‘Union of Myanmar’.

A number of other places in the country also saw their names changed, including the then-capital city, which went from Rangoon to Yangon (since 2005, the capital is Naypyidaw, 370 km away to the north).
Why the name change was controversial

While changing the country’s name, the military said that it was looking for a way to leave behind a name inherited from the colonial past, and adopt a new one which could unify all of its 135 officially recognised ethnic groups, and not just the Burman people.
Critics decried the move, arguing that Myanmar and Burma mean the same thing in the Burmese language, only that the ‘Myanmar’ is a more formal way of saying ‘Burma’– a word used colloquially. The other name changes too, such as Rangoon to Yangon, only reflected greater conformity with the Burmese language, and nothing else. Also, the name changes took place only in English. Even in English, the adjective form remained (and continues to remain) Burmese, and not Myanmarese.

Pro-democracy sympathisers said that the name changes were illegitimate, as they were not decided by the will of the people. As a result, many governments around the world opposed to the junta decided to ignore the name changes, and continued to call the country Burma and its capital Rangoon.

So, when did ‘Myanmar’ start becoming acceptable?

In the 2010s, the military regime decided to transition the country towards democracy. Although the armed forces remained powerful, political opponents were freed and elections were allowed to be held.

In 2015, currently detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a majority of seats in the national parliament, a feat it repeated in 2020.
As the Myanmar-vs-Burma debate became less polarising, most foreign governments and international organisations decided to recognise Myanmar as the official name. Many governments, such as Australia’s, decided to use both Burma and Myanmar, as means of signalling support for the democratic transition within the country and following diplomatic protocol at the same time.

Suu Kyi, who became the country’s civilian leader in 2016, also expressed support for using either Myanmar or Burma.

Not all countries followed suit, however. The US remains among the few countries to not recognise the current legal name. This was highlighted after the latest coup took place on Monday, when President Joe Biden said in a statement, “The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy. The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws.”

Explained: Who is Rihanna, the superstar who wants focus on farmers
Rihanna, the singer-businesswoman with a net worth of more than $600 million, is well known for her association with humanitarian, philanthropic, and cultural causes.
Barbadian pop sensation Rihanna on Tuesday became one of the first global personalities to back the protesting farmers in India, and was followed by climate activist Greta Thunberg, actor John Cusack, US Vice president Kamala Harris’s niece Meena Harris, and Lebanese-American model Mia Khalifa, among others. The 32-year-old singer-actor’s tweet to her 101 million-plus followers, “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest” quoted a CNN report headlined ‘India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police’. The Ministry of External Affairs issued an unusual reaction to the criticism by “celebrities and others”, calling them “neither accurate nor responsible”.

‘Can’t mess with nature’: Eagle flies away with drone, video triggers hilarious reactions online
The clip, which was originally shared on Facebook, later went viral on several social media platforms. "Eagle plucks a drone out of the sky and flies off with it," wrote a user @buitengebieden while posting the clip on Twitter.

A video of an eagle flying off with a drone has left netizens amused after it went viral on social media.

The undated video features the drone filming a beach and moving towards the shore before being plucked by the bird, who flies away with it.

The clip, which was originally shared on Facebook, later went viral on several social media platforms. “Eagle plucks a drone out of the sky and flies off with it,” wrote a user @buitengebieden while posting the clip on Twitter.

Viewed over one lakh times, the clip has prompted several reactions among netizens with many quite amused with the incident.

Sanjana Sanghi keeps it casual yet powerful; steals the show with latest look
Sanjana Sanghi was styled by celebrity stylist duo Pranay Jaitly and Shounak Amonkar and the end results are fabulous!

If you follow Sanjana Sanghi on social media, then we do not need to tell you that the actor’s fashion game is always on point. Whether it is pairing a denim crop top with an intricately detailed skirt or acing an ombré sequin sari — the Dil Bechara actor knows how to turn heads with her style choices.

So when she spotted one of her latest looks, we admit that we simply loved it — in fact, it even made it to the list of our current favourites!
Sanjana totally killed it in a lime green co-ord set from Lovebirds Studio. The set comprises an oversized blazer paired with matching ankle-length pants. The highlight of the look, however, was the matching waistbelt which gave the collared blazer some structure.
A strong outlook for the tractor industry, on the back of higher farm incomes due to better crop yields and prices, increasing mechanisation and government focus on infrastructure development, bodes well for the tractor-maker Escorts and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), according to analysts who see an up to 21 per cent upside in the former following its December quarter numbers.

Escorts, whose stock has rallied 152 per cent since its March low of Rs 527.10 on the BSE, posted an 83.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its net profit at Rs 280.7 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2020, led by robust sales across business segments. M&M, on the other hand, has gained 232 per cent from its 52-week low hit in March. The S&P BSE Sensex and the BSE Auto indices have gained 94 per cent and 136 per cent, respectively since March lows, ACE Equity data show.

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala owns 4.75 per cent stake in Escorts as of December 2020 quarter, according to the shareholding pattern available on the BSE. During the said quarter, he reduced his stake by 0.89 per cent.

Going ahead, while analysts see the tractor volumes for the firm growing, revival in the economy and government spending are likely to boost the revenues for the construction equipment and railway segments. Following Escorts’ Q3 numbers, Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) maintained a 'BUY' rating on the stock and raised its target price to Rs 1,700 from Rs 1,680 earlier, implying an upside of 21 per cent from the current levels on the BSE. The brokerage said it values the stock at 17 times March 2023E EPS.

Analysts at Phillip Capital and HDFC securities, too, have 'BUY' and 'ADD' rating on Escorts with a target price of Rs 1,615 and Rs 1,480, respectively.

Strong tractor demand

Analysts see strong tractor demand to continue in the fourth quarter of FY21 and well into FY22. According to KIE, total tractor volumes for the company will grow at 14.5 per cent YoY in FY2021E and 10.7 per cent in FY2022E. That apart, the company’s Rs 3.3 billion order book from Indian railway wit