India TV anchor's number is up after naming China's Xi 'Eleven'

NEW DELHI: An Indian TV news anchor has been sacked after she referred to 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 long-standing border dispute.

The blooper occurred on a show on Doordarshan News on Wednesday.

"It is an unpardonable mistake," the official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity, saying the anchor was employed on a casual basis. "We have debarred her from news reading for a few months."

The official said a shortage of news readers had 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.