One more Indian national killed in Maldives garage fire
Male(PTI): The number of Indians killed in the deadly garage fire in the Maldivian capital here rose to eight on Sunday after the only unidentified body was identified as that of an Indian man.
Thursday's fire is reported as the worst-ever recorded in Male City in terms of lives claimed and damage to property.
Police said the last body from the 10 deceased in the fire that broke out in a car repair garage in M Nirufehi, located near the Maaveyo Mosque, was identified and it was an Indian man, the Sun Online International reported.
The garage was located on the ground floor, while the first floor of the building housed migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
Authorities have confirmed the deceased as four women, including three Indians and one Bangladeshi, and six men. The five men that were previously identified were four Indians and one Bangladeshi.
Police said that the identities of all the deceased have been shared with the Foreign Ministry, and the diplomatic missions of their respective nations in the Maldives. The identities of the Indian nationals have not been made public.
The migrant quarters housed at least 38 people, and there were cooking gas cylinders placed next to each bed.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that 29 people, including 15 locals and 14 foreigners, are being provided with temporary shelter in guesthouses. Guardians of another 19 foreigners who were displaced in the incident have provided them shelter, it said.
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Viral video claiming Australian PM cancelled Pakistani visas after Bondi Beach attack is fake
New Delhi: A video circulating on social media claiming that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the cancellation of all Pakistani visas following the recent terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been found to be false and digitally manipulated.
The six-second clip was widely shared on X and Facebook. The video allegedly showed Albanese making the announcement in the aftermath of the December 14 attack.
An X user Tyagi (@mktyaggi) had shared the video on December 14. He claimed that the Australian government had decided to revoke all Pakistani visas after the incident and the post received nearly 50,000 views. A similar claim was amplified by another X account, Tiger Raja Satire (@TigerRajaSinggh), whose post garnered over 82,000 views and without verification, the video was also shared by multiple Facebook users
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A closer examination of the clip by Alt News revealed that the visible lip-sync discrepancies and suspicion about its authenticity. No credible reports of any Australian government decision to cancel Pakistani visas following the attack were found on any platforms.
To verify the source of the visuals, a reverse image search was conducted by Alt News, using key frames from the viral video. This led to several news reports published in August 2022 by The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and The Age, which featured Anthony Albanese wearing the same attire and standing against the same backdrop. Those reports related to a parliamentary discussion on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament and had no connection to the Bondi Beach incident.
There was no announcement regarding Pakistani visa holders during the press conference and authorities have also clarified that no link to Pakistan has been established in connection with the attack.
Police said, with roots in Tolichowki in Hyderabad, the attacker Sajid Akram had Indian lineage and had migrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa. He had visited India only on a few occasions for family-related reasons. Officials further stated that the factors leading to the radicalisation of Sajid and his son did not appear to have any connection with India or local influences in Telangana. While Sajid held an Indian passport, his children were born in Australia and were Australian citizens.
