Oreo fritters to teacup pizza: Indian street food gets trendy

A crowded Rajasthan food stall at Saras Food Festival organized by Ministry of Rural Development at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Placeshabby pictures

American street food has a long history of having special flavors. However, as vloggers and social media influencers try to make popular moments, food vendors have been experimenting with increasingly unconventional ingredient combinations in recent years. Om Routray, a freelance journalist, writes about this somewhat peculiar pattern.

Consumers line up at the Odeon Shukla Paan Palace in the center of Delhi, mouths wide open and eyes closed in fear and excitement as shop owner Vijay Chukla quickly shoves a flaming dish into them.

South Asians have been fascinated by ingredients, a betel nuts leaves with consumed lime, rose flower jam, and lips fresheners like cardamom and cloves, for centuries.

In the American investment, Mr. Shukla’s business has been selling ingredients for 75 years. However, it gained notoriety eight years ago when it started selling fire paans, a variety made with crushed ice and eucalyptus that is served to customers after it is set on fire.

Mr. Shukla, the company’s fourth-generation successor, skillfully folds the ingredients into the plant and places the burning pile in the mouths of the customers.

Thousands of videos of the treat were posted on social media when it was first introduced, and they featured delighted customers giving the camera a thumbs up. The pleasures and challenges of trying it out were discussed in magazines.

Paan

shabby pictures

Since then, Indian customers have witnessed an endless array of experimental street foods, including kulhad pizza ( pizza baked in earthen teacups ) and Fanta Maggi ( instant noodles made with orange soda ).

Indian food has always included street food as a crucial component. Breakfast places offer affordable native fare. A diverse workforce is satisfied by the cheap food that lunch stalls outside of offices and factories serve in sizable portions. In the evening, streets vendors offer a variety of delicious treats to families and friends.

Additionally, research are never new. Anil Mulchandani, an artist and food writer based in the state’s Kolkata area, claims that Jasuben Pizza, a now-successful ring in Gujarat, added spicy sauce and grated organic cheese to their sandwiches in 1975.

Around the same time, vendors started serving king-sized rolls and making deep-fried savory dishes out of goat brains in Kolkata ( formerly Calcutta ) city.

According to Mr. Mulchandani, some places, like Ahmedabad, have a reputation for being foodie-adventurous, largely due to the entrepreneurial spirit of their vendors and patrons.

However, these advances were initially restricted to a small portion of the nation.

With the rise of popular social media changes and viral videos, this changed. Experiments became more popular, and many people started experimenting with unusual combinations.

A large portion of these tasks, which are frequently intended to go viral suddenly, is shock and awe.

In fact, a lot of outrageous procedures are meant to be online marketing feats that draw in new customers.

Additionally, these meals video appear to have a career of their own. Making snow milk out of gutka, a chewing cigarette made of areca nuts and slaked salt, was the subject of an online video that recently gained popularity.

Numerous other bloggers and even well-known media outlets picked up the picture. However, no one was able to locate the merchant who made the meal.

Lingraj Lassi with yoghurt, rabdi, grated coconut, cottage cheese, dry fruits and syrup

Om Routray

However, not all street food masterpieces are made for the cameras; some are based on famous buzzwords.

More than 50 sandwiches are available at Bipin Big Sandwich in Mumbai capital. The most well-known one is known as Copy and is named after the 2015 box office-dominant American historic fantasy movie.

The burger is made up of four enormous bread slices that are spread with cheese, green sauce, fruit jam, fruit slices, jalapenos, olives, onions, capsicum, mayonnaise, tomatoes, grated cauliflower, and beetroot, among other spices. Baby corn slices are also included in the sandwich.

The sandwich costs 400 rupees ($ 4.8, £3.78 ), or at least four times as much as the other sandwiches, due to the variety of ingredients.

The restaurant’s user, Bhavesh, who goes by a different brand, claims that the popularity of the sandwich is unrelated to popular food trends and that his success is solely the result of his own “effort and creativity.”

Similar sandwiches are offered by many different food vendors, but I am never bothered. All enters the business with their own luck and talent, he claims.

A vendor serving panipuri to a customer at a table

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Others, however, assert that the food industry is now completely dependent on deliberately created styles.

BombayFoodie Tales ‘ Mumbai-based food blogger Abhay Sharma claims that he frequently receives requests from contractors to make viral videos for them.

For collaborations are not uncommon. Vlogs occasionally press companies to create something unique for their monitors. Vendors even ask us to think of ideas that can go viral, he continues.

Vendors, content producers, and consumers have all played a role in these trends, according to Anubhav Sapra, the creator of the food tour company Delhi Food Walks.

There is a group of people for whom theatrics appeal to them because streets meals is no longer about food.

In the formal dining area, this kind of collaboration between public relations and user engagement is well-established, but there are still no established guidelines for street food.

However, Mr. Sapra claims that” street food vendors have evolved into ambitious foodies.”

A Chinese Chat Stall at Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

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Although reports websites and social media websites increase their approach, street food vendors have not always benefited from this.

A food blogger posted his rum-filled puchkas ( fried discs of dough with potato and chutney fillings ) on her social media channels, forcing a food stall owner in Kolkata to shut down. Because the vendor did n’t have the authorization to serve alcohol, authorities tracked him down and revoked his license.

Experts wonder if this could alter what is regarded as true street food as the drama around foods and their viral videos change food culture.

What will happen to a region’s “quasiest” city products? Sapra beauties, Mr.

The rich variety and history of Indian streets food, according to other experts, will be little affected by these popular trends.

Solar panels used by British Army linked to claims of forced labour in China

Soldiers walk through a solar farm at the Defence School of Transport (DST) in LeconfieldArmy of the English

The Army of the English is using solar panels made by companies claimed to have a “very high” exposure to forced labour in China, the BBC can reveal.

The alleged abuse of Uyghur Muslims has been connected to the Xinjiang region’s solar panel creation.

The Army of the English is investing £200m in solar panels across four of its sites.

In response to a BBC Freedom of Information demand, the Ministry of Defense listed JA Solar, Trina, and Qcells as the manufacturers of solar panels.

According to a report released in July of this year by Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, the three businesses have “very large” exposure to generation in Xinjiang.

Trina did n’t respond to requests for comment despite JA Solar and Qcells ‘ assurances that they were taking steps to ensure that forced labor was not a part of their supply chains.

We have strong procedures in place that enable us to specialist and constantly check every aspect of our supply chain, which is kept under regular review, according to a Ministry of Defense spokesperson.

However, one of the Sheffield Hallam report’s authors, Alan Crawford, asserted that his studies were also valid after seeing the list of businesses the BBC had obtained.

He claimed that large thermal firms were doubtful to purchase pieces that they were specific were the results of forced labor because he was a chemical engineer with extensive experience identifying suppliers.

However, he continued, there was a “lack of clarity” in the supply chain, which caused some businesses to “hide behind” their “anti-slavery declarations.”

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, is being urged to take a tougher stance against China and cut off the UK’s rely on Chinese renewable energy.

Any thermal company connected to Uyghur forced labor should be prohibited from operating in the UK, according to older Conservative MP Alicia Kearns.

More than one million Tamils and another primarily Muslim minority have allegedly been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang prison camps by the Chinese government, according to the US.

According to the US Department of Labor, prisoners are required to produce goods such as silicon, a crucial component of solar panels, in state-sponsored programs.

All claims of human rights violations in Xinjiang have always been categorically refuted by the Chinese authorities.

There is” an ever-growing mass of evidence linking the solar market to the forced labor and murder of the Uyghur people in China,” according to Ms. Kearns, chair of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, who told the BBC this.

The MP claimed that the UK Ministry of Defense’s “exposure via thermal investments” “is indicative of the size of issue, which will only get worse as the US continues to lag behind global partners in acting.”

world hegemony

renewable energy is a significant source of alternative energy and is at the heart of the global effort to reduce carbon emissions caused by climate change.

According to the International Energy Agency, China has dominated the market and accounts for more than 80 % of all solar panel manufacturing globally.

The UK, which obtains a significant amount of its solar panel from China, is faced with this problem.

The Army of the English’s use of Chinese-made solar panels comes as no surprise to Uluyol Yalkun.

Polysilicon market share in 2022

Mr. Uluyol, an intellectual native of Xinjiang, has been looking into the connections between admitted forced labor in his hometown and Chinese manufacturers.

According to Mr. Uluyol, his study revealed that forced labor “happens almost everywhere in every market.”

He continued,” The proof for this can be found in official Chinese records and the personal experiences of Uyghurs like members of his family.”

He claimed that his parents and other family members had been detained in detention services, with some having been “taken away to work in facilities.”

According to Mr. Uluyol,” Green power means respect for human rights and the culture.” ” Both are not present in the Uyghur place.”

The US government, which has passed a law requiring businesses to demonstrate that goods imported from Xinjiang were never produced with forced labor, concurs with Mr. Uluyol’s opinions.

Since passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021, the US has been preventing the shipment of renewable energy parts.

The same year that Project Prometheus got under way, accusations of forced labor in thermal supply chains gained more attention.

At Rock Barracks in Suffolk, the fourth and final page, which uses solar modules made by JA Solar, a Taiwanese company, was scheduled to open this year.

Uluyol Yalkun and his father

Uluyol Yalkun

Michael Parr, a thermal specialist who works with Qcells, responded that there was” no doubt that the extensive evaluation was pretty good” when asked to comment on the Sheffield Hallam statement.

According to Mr. Parr, the executive director of the Ultra Low Carbon Solar Alliance, conducting an vacuum independent assessment in China is “really difficult.”

” Obtaining precise information from the companies is challenging. The majority of the chip supply is provided by several businesses, and they frequently combine. China is a major source of supply for businesses purchasing polycrystalline from the US and Europe.

When told the Army of the English was using solar panels made by JA Solar, Trina and Qcells, Mr Parr said: “Europe has been less attentive to the risk of forced labour in solar than the US”.

He promised to “differentiate” between the three businesses that supply Project Prometheus ‘ sections.

He claimed that while South Korean company Qcells had “done a lot of job on trying to clean up their provide stores,” Trina and JA Solar “had the vast majority of their production” in China.

A graphic showing UK imports of solar materials

Thermal firms have moved to sever ties with Xinjiang in recent years.

While the solar industry has attempted to boost its surveillance of supply chains, some have diversified their creation to split out the area.

According to a Boon Solar spokesperson, the company is” firmly committed to making sure that our businesses and provide network are free from any form of forced labor.”

It continued, “JA Solar has credited diligence mechanisms in place, reviews its vendors, and has several ongoing projects to further improve the tracking of all Camp solar components.”

Segen, which provided Camp Solar panels to Project Prometheus, was” committed to achieving a detectable supply chain and has processes in place,” according to its director.

The Scottish solar industry, according to the director, is “driving best practice” through a program to promote shared production and oversight standards.

According to Qcells,” we do everything we can to record and track our supply chain because we take the forced labor problem pretty significantly.”

According to a Qcells director, “prohibits forced- labor made items in our source chain and we terminate contracts if suppliers fail to cooperate” is its code of conduct.

According to the director, Qcells had invested “billions of bucks” in” an completely American supply ring to make polysilicon-based solar sections.”

Requests for comment were never answered by Trina.

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Country clubs in Singapore seek to refresh offerings as youths lose interest in prestige factor

League FOR BROTHERS

In fact, a family-oriented environment has motivated team members like Mr. Windsor Chan to maintain their account.

The 53-year-old has been a part of Raffles Town Club since it opened in 2000 and the Chinese Swimming Club from 1991.

Because they have essentially positioned themselves as a second home, he said,” I favor the CSC design.” ” I can actually visit the team and work in the cafes and co-working place there.”

The social club, which was founded in 1905 and now has close to 9, 000 people, announced on Monday, November 27, that a 30-year contract renewal for its sporting advanced along Amber Road had been effectively negotiated.

The team, according to Mr. Chan, “had done an excellent job reinventing themselves so they are fit for my purpose and my babies.” Its co-working place debuted at the beginning of next year.

Recently, Mr. Chan added,” I’m even very happy that they’ve also branched out into corporate social responsibility&nbsp,- giving back to society.” The league recently asked his competitive swimmer child Tedd to volunteering to tell some poor kids how to swim.

Rates FOR Account

Mr. Chan, on the other hand, claimed that costs are dropping “like crazy” and that he is attempting to sell his account to the Raffles Town Club.

Another Raffles Town Club individuals previously told CNA that membership cost around S$ 25, 000 to S$ 30,000 when it was first launched. Memberships listed for sale on the e-commerce system Carousell now range from as low as S$ 1,000 to$ 8, 000.

Another clubs’ prices vary depending on the type of account, membership, and whether or not the club’s land lease will be renewed.

According to The Business Times, SRC account is now priced around S$ 8, 500, while Singapore Cricket Club membership fees S$ 22, 500.

The costs for the more prestigious state clubs are still much higher. Membership costs at these clubs reached a record high last year, according to sport participation advisory firm Singgolf, with some claiming that this was mainly caused by an influx of foreign currency.

Singaporeans and permanent occupants had to pay an eye-watering S$ 500 000 to join Sentosa Golf Club as of December of last year, while S$ 300, 000 was required for SICC account.

Both clubs can command such prices, according to Mr. Tay on CNA’s Heart of the Matter podcast, because their leases wo n’t expire for another 17 years and because they continue to draw an “elite community” who want to join for exclusivity.

However, how many people in the population can obtain such a high price? He inquired. ” Europeans do play a significant role in driving up prices at these golf country leagues over the past couple time.”

Personal memberships at Orchid Country Club are about S$ 30, 000 at the lower end, while Warren Golf and Club Club’s membership is roughly S$ 23, 500. Both clubs ‘ contracts are set to expire in 2030.

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Commentary: Will leaving stubborn children behind teach them a lesson?

Given that they might not understand the differences between the two, being left behind may be interpreted by a kid as being abandoned by their caretakers. When a child is most vulnerable, they might think unwelcome and simply receive conditional love—when they meet the needs or preferences of their caregivers.

As a result, the child may know to agree at the expense of developing positive relationships with others and themselves by simply doing what they want rather than being aware of their own needs.

Some people have shared terrible thoughts of being “left behind” in shopping malls or scared into submitting through corporal punishment in my work with older adolescents and adults. Intense anxiety and the overwhelming sense of having to deal with it alone are frequent elements in their activities.

These people frequently struggle with making errors or trying new things, and they frequently mistrust both themselves and others, which can have a negative effect on the development of relationships.

More than “doing to,” “being with” is preferable.

What do we want our kids to learn, going back to the original issue of purpose? Discipline, according to psychologists Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson, may result from a place of love and respect between the baby and the child.

Our understanding of discipline and instruction may be reframed by the idea of “being with” the baby more than “doing to” it.

Ask yourself,” What do I want to teach my children?” the next time you’re tempted to abandon your kids. Do I want them to learn to respect day and be aware of how it affects other people, or do I just want people to cooperate and obey?

Being with could entail pausing, taking a breath, connecting at your child’s level, and asking for help, such as saying,” We need to leave in 10 minutes.” How does we support one another in achieving this?

It might also entail listening to your children’s emotions and confirming them, such as saying,” I know you want to stay here long, I get it, but,” and then directing them to the new behavior that you would prefer they adopt.

Before imposing restrictions, we may also make an effort to comprehend what is so thrilling about the environment they are in and try to share it with your child.

Your children may also learn the value of partnership by helping you create a plan before you leave with their input. Children may feel less confused and more convinced following parental instructions if there was some structure.

Finally, in this way, kids learn about themselves and other people and, despite how strong their emotions may remain, experience love. As a result, they might develop into more compassionate individuals who can continue to form strong bonds with their loved ones and themselves.

Clinical neurologist Dr. Cherie Chan works at The Other Clinic.

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Philippines earthquake: Tsunami warning after powerful quake hits

People gather on the streets of Butuan City after a powerful earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines. Photo: 2 December 2023Surigao del Sur on Facebook and Pinterest

After a significant disaster struck the island of Mindanao, officials in the Philippines have issued an alert about the possible “destructive tsunami.”

People in the Philippines ‘ Davao Oriental and Surigao Del Sur coastal regions have been instructed to leave for higher ground.

Officials in Japan have even issued Tsunami instructions.

On Saturday, the earthquake occurred at around 22:37 local time ( 14: 37 GMT ).

At a depth of almost 33 km ( 21 miles ) off the eastern coast of Mindanao, the tremor was 7.6 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey.

Although it was significantly smaller, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology cautioned that a “destructive wave is expected with life threatening storm levels.”

The Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental parts may experience the first storm waves before Saturday night native time, according to the university.

According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, waves up to one meter high could reach the country as early as Sunday at 0:30 ( GMT on Saturday ).

Waves “one to three meters above sea level are achievable along some shores of the Philippines,” according to a storm warning message from the American Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

There have n’t been any recent reports of harm or damage.

Map

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COP28: Singapore reaffirms commitment to domestic climate action, global collaboration

SINGAPORE: The 2015 Paris Agreement provided the framework for all the world’s nations, including Singapore, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

The world, however, is on track to heat up between 2.1 degrees Celsius and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100, according to the 2022 report by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

The UN also warned earlier this week that plans to expand oil, gas and coal production by major fossil fuel countries would push the world far beyond the Paris deal’s global warming limit.

Speaking at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai on Saturday (Dec 2), Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean referenced the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events of late, including heatwaves in Asia as “clear warning signs”.

COP28 will see the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement and the annual climate meeting is a “timely opportunity for the world to keep the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach”, said Mr Teo. 

As the window of opportunity to tackle climate change is “small and closing quickly”, he stressed this was an opportunity to “course-correct” and “take decisive action” to keep the aim set in Paris in sight.

To this end, Singapore “reaffirms its commitment to domestic climate action, regional partnerships and global collaboration”, Mr Teo said.

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Police investigating after commuter tries to force open door of moving MRT train

In one of the videos, another man tried to intervene after the commuter managed to open the train door slightly while the MRT train was in motion.

Pictures circulating on social media subsequently showed the commuter lying on the station platform floor, with Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) officers in close attendance. CNA understands that the platform was at Ang Mo Kio station. 

Mr Lam said its station staff entered the train to investigate the matter, but the commuter was “uncooperative and turned aggressive”.

He added that the commuter also resisted attempts by station staff when advised to leave the train so that other commuters could continue with their journeys.

“We take a very serious view of such behaviours and TransCom was activated and arrived on site. We are assisting the police in their investigations.”

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Singapore sees jump in COVID-19 infections with recent doubling of cases

SINGAPORE: There has been a significant rise in COVID-19 infections in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Dec 2), urging people to keep up to date with their vaccinations. 

The number of estimated COVID-19 infections doubled to 22,094 in the week of Nov 19 to 25, compared with 10,726 in the previous week.

“The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations and ICU cases have remained stable,” the ministry added.

MOH said the rise in infections could be due to factors such as the year-end travelling season and waning population immunity. 

EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3 remain the predominant subvariants in Singapore, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the cases sequenced.

“Currently, there is no indication that the predominant subvariants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to other circulating variants,” MOH said. 

GLOBAL RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES

Noting the rise in respiratory illnesses in northern-hemisphere countries in the winter months, the ministry said the overall incidence of respiratory illnesses in Singapore has remained stable over the past month.

“There is no indication of increases in severe respiratory illness, including in children,” it added.

China, which has seen a surge in “influenza-like illness” since mid-October, said the spike was due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, namely influenza and common bacterial infections that affect children, including mycoplasma pneumonia.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese authorities said they have not detected any “unusual or novel pathogens” in the north of the country.

Singapore’s Health Ministry noted that to date, the WHO has stated that the increasing trend of respiratory illnesses is not unexpected due to the onset of the winter season. 

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