An Indian TV news anchor has been sacked after she referred to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, as Eleven Jinping, apparently confusing Xi's name with the Roman numerals XI, a senior official at the state television channel said on Friday.
Xi left India on Friday after a visit to boost trade and economic ties that have been marred by a longstanding border dispute. The blooper occurred on Doordarshan News on Wednesday.
"It is an unpardonable mistake," the official said. "We have debarred her from newsreading for a few months." The official said the anchor had been employed on a casual basis, after a shortage of newsreaders forced the channel to run some news bulletins with casuals. The incident comes at a time when Doordarshan News is trying to reinvent itself to compete with private broadcasters. Its programmes are often a matter of public ridicule for their poor production quality.
The gaffe led to a wave of sarcastic comments on social media.
"The silver lining: at least the anchor knows Roman numerals," @kanikagahlaut posted on Twitter.
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