Messi-meme by Kolkata Police creates social media stir
Kolkata, June 25: With the riveting football World Cup in far-off Russia keeping fans mesmerised in this soccer crazy city, the Kolkata Police's latest meme featuring Argentine legend Lionel Messi's missed penalty against Iceland has created a stir on the social media.
The meme captures Messi's moment of despair against newbie Iceland as he failed to convert from the spot in the June 16 Group D game. Side by side, there is an image of a traffic sergeant issuing a fine to penalise a helmet-less biker, with an English caption "You'll never miss a penalty. We won't let you!" The Bengali version is captioned "sob penalty miss hoi na!" (All penalties are not missed!)
It is the city police's way of promoting the West Bengal government's 'Safe Drive Save Life' initiative for better traffic measures.
The post has already received 5,500 reactions and has been shared over 2,400 times so far since it was uploaded on Kolkata Police's Facebook page on Friday evening.
While a section of social media users were impressed by the punning and termed it as one of Kolkata Police's best campaigns ever, some others, mainly comprising Argentina and Messi fans, dubbed it 'shameful' and accused the police of trolling one of the best players in world football.
Chattaraj Lionel Abir, a Messi fan, questioned how the lawmakers can troll a legend while another Facebook user, with the image of the Argentine star as his display picture, hinted that police might be getting such meme ideas from a troll they have recently arrested.
"You people cannot punish the offenders but can easily make fun of a player like Messi. How shameful," wrote a netizen.
In order to counter their hero's humiliation, some Facebook users have also came up with videos of Messi's fierce rival Christiano Rolando missing a penalty.
"Some penalties are awarded to those who illegally dive on the pitch and resort to play acting," wrote Sagnik Jha.
However, many have appreciated the cops' sense of humour, saying they have successfully used a hot topic like the World Cup to spread mass awareness.
"The witty meme by Kolkata Police is innovative and effective. Their message of mass awareness would successfully reach more people amid the ongoing World Cup fever. This should be appreciated," noted Facebook user Mainak Debnath.
"Really amazing post. Thanks to Kolkata Police. It is good to see you haven't lost your sense of humour under so much work pressure. Inspiring," wrote a woman.
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Rare polar bear showed up on shores of Iceland. Police shot it
A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.
The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Environment Agency, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told The Associated Press.
“It's not something we like to do,” Jensson said. “In this case, as you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman in there.”
The owner, who was alone, was frightened and locked herself upstairs as the bear rummaged through her garbage, Jensson said. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the nation's capital, by satellite link, and called for help.
“She stayed there,” Jensson said, adding that other summer residents in the area had gone home. “She knew the danger.”
Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally come ashore after traveling on ice floes from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Many icebergs have been spotted off the north coast in the last few weeks.
Although attacks by polar bears on humans are extremely rare, a study in Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 said that the loss of sea ice from global warming has led more hungry bears to land, putting them in greater chance of conflicts with humans and leading to a greater risk to both.
Of 73 documented attacks by polar bears from 1870 to 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States — which killed 20 people and injured 63 — 15 occurred in the final five years of that period.
The bear shot on Thursday was the first one seen in the country since 2016. Sightings are relatively rare with only 600 recorded in Iceland since the ninth century.
While the bears are a protected species in Iceland and it's forbidden to kill one at sea, they can be killed if they pose a threat to humans or livestock.
After two bears arrived in 2008, a debate over killing the threatened species led the environment minister to appoint a task force to study the issue, the institute said. The task force concluded that killing vagrant bears was the most appropriate response.
The group said the nonnative species posed a threat to people and animals, and the cost of returning them to Greenland, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) away, was exorbitant. It also found there was a healthy bear population in east Greenland where any bear was likely to have come from.
The young bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), will be taken to the institute to study. Scientists took samples from the bear Friday.
They will be checking for parasites and infections and evaluating its physical condition, such as the health of its organs and percentage of body fat, Sveinsdóttir said. The pelt and skull may be preserved for the institute's collection.
A Coast Guard helicopter surveyed the area where the bear was found to look for others but didn't find any, police said.
After the shot bear was taken away, the woman who reported it decided to stay longer in the village, Jensson said.
