Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian state to sue Google over 'ugliest Indian language' search result

AN Indian state is planning to send a a legal notice to Google after the search giant showed the state's official language as the "ugliest language in India".

The southern Indian state of Karnataka said that it will sue Google as a search with these keywords on Thursday (3) showed Kannada as the top result, reported the BBC.


Later, the US firm fixed the search results and released a statement apologising for "the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments", the report added.

Many, including leaders from the southern Indian state, expressed their outrage at the search result.

According to the report, Karnataka minister Aravind Limbavali demanded an apology from the tech company saying that this was an attempt by Google to insult the pride of Kannadigas (Kannada speakers).

"The Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago. It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia," Limbavali tweeted.

Following the outrage, Google said that the search feature wasn't always perfect, adding that sometimes "the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries".

"We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms," a statement from the tech firm said.

"Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments."

"Not just Kannada, no language is bad, adding that abuse against languages is painful. Is it impossible for Google to curb such hatred against any language?," said HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister of the state, in a string of tweets.

More For You

Thunderstorms to Hit England and Wales: Met Office Issues Alert

The Met Office has cautioned that these conditions could lead to travel disruption

iStock

Weather warning issued for thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales

A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office for large parts of southern England, the Midlands, and south Wales, with the alert in effect from 09:00 to 18:00 BST on Saturday, 8 June.

According to the UK’s national weather agency, intense downpours could bring 10–15mm of rainfall in under an hour, while some areas may see as much as 30–40mm over a few hours due to successive storms. Frequent lightning, hail, and gusty winds are also expected to accompany the thunderstorms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Canada invites Modi to G7 summit

India's prime minister Narendra Modi. (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada invites Modi to G7 summit

CANADIAN prime minister Mark Carney invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the upcoming Group of Seven summit in a phone call on Friday (6), as the two sides look to mend ties after relations soured in the past two years.

The leaders agreed to remain in contact and looked forward to meeting at the G7 summit later this month, a readout from Carney's office said.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Lammy arrives in India for trade and security talks

Foreign secretary David Lammy. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

David Lammy arrives in India for trade and security talks

FOREIGN SECRETARY David Lammy arrived in Delhi on Saturday (7) for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening economic and security ties with India, following the landmark free trade agreement finalised last month.

During his visit, Lammy will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and is scheduled to meet prime minister Narendra Modi, as well as commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Seema Misra
Seema Misra was wrongly imprisoned in 2010 after being accused of stealing £75,000 from her Post Office branch in Surrey, where she was the subpostmistress. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Seema Misra says son fears she could be jailed again

SEEMA MISRA, a former sub-postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed in the Post Office scandal, told MPs that her teenage son fears she could be sent to prison again.

Misra served five months in jail in 2010 after being wrongly convicted of theft. She said she was pregnant at the time, and the only reason she did not take her own life was because of her unborn child, The Times reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
bradford-murder

Habibur Masum pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Bradford stabbing: Husband pleads guilty to manslaughter, denies murder

A MAN has admitted killing his wife as she pushed their baby in a pram through Bradford city centre, but has denied her murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. He denied the charge of murder. The victim, 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter, was stabbed multiple times on 6 April last year. The baby was unharmed.

Keep ReadingShow less