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Archives for September 2018

Gutkha scam: CBI arrests four

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The CBI on Thursday said it has arrested four persons including the promoters and directors of Jayem Industries and officers of the Food Safety and Drug Administration and Excise Department in connection with the multi-crore gutkha scam in Tamil Nadu.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source told IANS said the agency had arrested Jayem Industries promoters and directors A.V. Madhav Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta.

The source said it had also arrested a designated officer of the Food Safety and Drug Administration department, P Senthil Murugan, and a Superintendent of the Central Excise Department, N.K. Pandian.

The arrests come a day after the CBI searched over 35 places in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Puducherry, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

It raided the premises of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijayabasker and Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran, prompting calls for their resignation.

The CBI on May 29 registered a case against unknown officials of Central Excise, Tamil Nadu government, Food Safety Department, public servants and private persons on charges of criminal conspiracy and for corruption following a direction of the Madras High Court on April 26.

Its probe relates to the illegal manufacture, import, supply, distribution and sale of gutkha and other forms of chewable tobacco which are banned in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Dilip Kumar hospitalised due to chest infection

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Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, 95, was on Wednesday admitted to a hospital here due to chest infection, but he is recuperating, said a family friend.

The actor is at the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Bandra.

Faisal Farooqui, who tweets on behalf of the thespian, gave a health update on the ailing actor via Twitter.

“Saab has been admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He is recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers,” Farooqui tweeted.

Dilip Kumar, one of India’s most iconic actors, has appeared in some classics like “Kohinoor”, “Mughal-e-Azam”, “Shakti”, “Naya Daur” and “Ram Aur Shyam”.

He was last seen on the silver screen in 1998 in “Qila”. He is married to actress Saira Banu.

(IANS)

Mattis to remain Pentagon chief: Trump

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US President Donald Trump has said that Defence Secretary James Mattis will remain in office, dismissing reports that he is looking for possible replacements for the Pentagon chief.

“He’ll stay right there. We’re very happy with him. We’re having a lot of victories,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing Mattis.

The remarks came as The Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin wrote in an article that the administration has been considering possible replacements for Mattis for weeks.

Rogin added that no decisions were made yet, though White House officials expected that Mattis will leave his position in the coming months.

The Trump-Mattis relationship was put under limelight a day earlier after excerpts from an explosive book mentioned that the Defence Secretary had made disparaging remarks about the President.

According to the book, “Fear: Trump in the White House”, authored by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward, Mattis was quoted as having told associates that Trump acted like “a fifth- or sixth-grader”.

Mattis denied earlier that he ever said or heard the quotes attributed to him in the book.

“While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility,” Mattis said in a statement.

Trump called Woodward’s book “a total piece of fiction”, while praising Mattis’ statement as “beautiful”.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, “I stand by my reporting”. According to the author, the book was based on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players.

Woodward has been a reporter at The Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor. He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal, which prompted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.

(IANS)

Telangana cabinet meet ends, CM meets Governor

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The Telangana cabinet met on Thursday afternoon and is understood to have taken a decision on recommending dissolution of the Assembly to pave the way for early elections.

After the brief cabinet meet, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao left for Raj Bhavan to meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to convey the cabinet decision.

The cabinet meet began at 1 p.m. at Pragati Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s official residence, and concluded in less than 30 minutes. The cabinet is believed to have passed a resolution recommending to Governor Narasimhan to dissolve the Assembly.

Immediately after the cabinet meet, KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is popularly known, left for Raj Bhavan to hand over the cabinet resolution.

KCR will later reach Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters, to formally announce the cabinet decision at a news conference. He is also likely to announce the first list of TRS candidates.

The Assembly term is till May 2019 and elections in normal course would be conducted along with the Lok Sabha polls.

(IANS)

‘Yeddy’s son met IT chief – BJP trying to topple government’ – CM

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Karnataka chief minister (CM), H D Kumaraswamy, has fired a salvo against the BJP by accusing the saffron party of trying to bring his government down. He also said that B Y Vijayendra, son of state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa, had met chief of the income tax (IT) department and held secret discussions in this matter.

This statement has given rise to a major upheaval in the political circles in the state, and it also has paved way for a major verbal confrontation between the former and current CMs, Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy.

Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday September 5, the CM said that the BJP has been trying to rock the coalition government in the state with the assistance of central investigation agencies. “Already investigation officials have reached the city. Vijayendra has held consultations with director general of income tax, Balakrishnan,” he claimed. Saying that he is aware why Vijayendra met the IT head and that the BJP leaders have been trying misuse central agencies to unseat the state government, he reiterated that he was telling the truth.

“I have come to know that BJP has been planning to launch a major offensive against me through all the investigative agencies at the centre. One might wonder what evidence do I have to make this allegation, but it is not possible to provide documentary proof for everything. You should not forget that I never speak without concrete information,” he added.

When media persons wanted to know where the said meeting happened, Kumaraswamy said he cannot follow people with camera in hand and that he has received the above information which is not baseless. He asserted that Vijayendra had met the top income tax officer for engineering the downfall of his government.

In retaliation, Yeddyurappa dismissed the allegations and asked the CM, who is in a responsible position, to make statements responsibly. He wondered what relationship he has with income tax, enforcement directorate etc. He asked Kumaraswamy to desist from making irresponsible statements unnecessarily, create confusion in the minds of the people, and try to make someone a scapegoat by projecting him as a criminal.

B Y Vijayendra clarified that he has never met any income tax officials and he does not know that there is an official named Balakrishnan in that department. He dismissed the allegation of Kumaraswamy and challenged him as the chief of state intelligence, to order an inquiry and make public the findings. He felt that the CM should not undermine the honour of his own position by making baseless allegations.

The income tax department too clarified that Yeddyurappa’s son, Vijayendra, had not met any of the income tax officials. Office of Karnataka and Goa income tax commissioner clarified that the officials of the department have not met any politicians or members of their families, nor have any discussions been held.

Joint commissioner of the department, Tamil Selvam, dismissed the allegations in a press release and said that the department, since the last two years, has been conducting in-depth and impartial investigation into illegal accumulation of wealth and taking legal steps against the guilty.

(Vartha Bharati)

Bengaluru pays tribute to journalist Gauri

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Gauri, 55, editor of Kannada weekly tabloid ‘Lankesh Patrike’, was shot dead in front of her house on September 5 night a year ago.

Thought a year-long probe into Gauri’s killing by the Karnataka’s Special Investigation Team led to the arrest of a dozen suspects, including Parushuram Wagmare, 26, who is alleged to have shot her, and his accomplices, the police are yet to confirm who was or were behind her assassination.

Scores of activists, Kannada writers, journalists, artistes, lawyers and student leaders joined Gauri’s family, including elder sister Kavitha Lankesh, in fondly remembering her and paying homage to her soul.

Among those who participated in the day-long activities were social activist Swami Agnivesh, Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mewani, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, senior journalists Siddarth Varadarajan and Teesta Setalvad and multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj.

Family members of slain rationalists Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalaburgi also participated at some of the events in the city, organised by the Gauri Memorial Trust and other organisations.

The Gauri Media Trust released the first issue of her tabloid (Lankesh Patrike) in Kannada at the “Freedom of Expression Meet” in Central College, a year after its publication was suspended due to her sudden and untimely death.

A protest march was held from Gandhi statue in Cubbon Park to Raj Bhavan in the city centre, seeking justice to Gauri. Banners and posters carrying her picture and slogans “I Am Gauri” “Long Live Gauri” were carried.

Alleging that the forces that killed Mahatma Gandhi also killed Gauri, Agnivesh said her tragic death had led to the birth of thousands of Gauris across the country.

“We suspect that Hindutva forces are behind her killing as they were in the case of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi,” asserted Agnivesh.

Dabholkar was killed on August 20, 2013 at Pune, Pansare on February 20, 2015 in Mumbai and Kalburgi on August 30, 2015.

Said Kavitha: “We are living in dangerous times as the people who are opposed to fascism and authoritarianism are being arrested and jailed.”

Recalling that Gauri’s killing had changed his world view, actor Raj said narratives were being changed by the powers that be to silence the voices of dissent and fairness.

“We take our democracy for granted; often ignoring the price that people pay. Make no mistake, our democracy is alive because of the courage of people like Gauri. They chose to face death so that our democracy could live. We resolve to take your struggle forward,” tweeted former JNU student leader Kanhaiya.

Sharing a picture of him with Gauri, Mevani tweeted that the shirt he wore for the occasion was gifted by Gauri.

Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan of Swaraj Abhiyan said of the killers: “They (suspects) belong to several Hindutva (organisations) who were also making bombs to blow up Ganpati Mandaps and churches and Eid gatherings. (People) who celebrated her killing are still in power.”

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said even a year after her death, Gauri continued to live on among thousands of voices she has inspired.

“You can silence people but not ideas. My heartfelt remembrance to this brave soul,” tweeted Parameshwara, who also holds the Home portfolio.

(PTI)

BJP activists bash up two Congress members in Ullal

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Three BJP activists allegedly attacked Congress workers at Thokkottu on Wednesday, September 5.

The injured are George Lobo (51) and Mohandas (42), residents of Krishna Nagar here.

The attackers have been identified as BJP activists Kavit Poojary, Arun Bhandari alias Maddy and Suni Belchada alias Chatni.

Chitra Chandrakanth, a contestant from Congress in Krishnanagar ward, won the Ullal City Municipal Council election held recently. She had also won the previous elections and had served as vice-president of Ullal CMC.

Sources said that her name was suggested for the post of the president this time and raged by this, BJP members who did not accept this decision attacked the Congress workers who took part in the election campaign for Chitra.

The case is registered at Ullal police station.

 

 

Deadly blasts target Kabul sports club

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Twin bombings at a sports club in Kabul on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded 70 others, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks in the Afghan capital.

No immediate claim of responsibility was made for the blasts in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Shia Muslim Hazara ethnic minority that has been targeted in the past by members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Images taken at the scene showed young men in torn wrestling kit helping the wounded onto vehicles to be taken to hospital.

The first explosion was triggered by a suicide bomber and was followed by a car bomb shortly after, said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the bombings. “An attack on civilians and media workers of the country is an attack on freedom of speech and crime against humanity,” he said in a statement.

A reporter and cameraman from Afghanistan’s largest broadcaster, Tolo News, were killed in the second blast and four other local television crew were wounded, according to NAI, a group supporting open media in Afghanistan.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of officers were wounded.

Reporting from Kabul, said the second bomb appeared to target first responders and journalists.

“It has been a very deadly year here for journalists and for Afghans alike,” Glasse said.

On April 30, twin explosions in Kabul killed nine media workers and 16 other people.

‘A lot of dead’

Suicide bomber targets school in Kabul
Social media users who purportedly witnessed the attack said the bomber killed the guards at the club before blowing himself up inside.

He “detonated inside where a large number of athletes had gathered. There are a lot of dead and wounded”, Mohammad Hanif said on Facebook.

Wednesday’s attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras – a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination.

In mid-August, at least 34 people were killed in a suicide attack in front of an education centre in Dasht-e-Barchi, west of Kabul.

ISIL – which has established a brutal reputation and which both the Western-backed government and the Taliban consider an enemy – claimed responsibility for that bombing.

(Aljazeera)

Dozens missing as powerful quake triggers landslides

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A powerful magnitude 6.6 quake rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Thursday, killing eight people, collapsing homes, and triggering landslides that left dozens missing.
Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week.

Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill that was engulfed by a landslide, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety.

Around three million homes lost power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.

The Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, which was not operational before the quake, was forced to turn to emergency back-up power to keep its cooling system working, said broadcaster NHK.

“There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes,” Kazuo Kibayashi, 51, a town official at hard-hit Abira town, told AFP news agency.

“It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it come in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse. Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didn’t have time to even start cleaning,” he added.

Moments after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area and dozens more aftershocks followed throughout the night and into the morning.

Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: “I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards. All the traffic lights are out and there’s no power at work.”

No tsunami warning was issued after the relatively shallow quake, which struck 62km southeast of the regional capital Sapporo.

Around 20,000 rescue workers, including police and members of the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) were responding to the disaster, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. Another 20,000 SDF troops are expected to join the effort.

“We will do our best to save lives,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after an emergency cabinet meeting.

NHK reported that eight people had lost their lives, six of them in the village of Atsuma, where the landslide engulfed the homes. Nearly 40 people were still missing, the broadcaster added.

Local media said the dead also included an 82-year-old man who fell down the stairs at his home during the quake and that around 130 people had sustained minor injuries.

“I urge people in areas shaken by strong quakes to stay calm, pay attention to evacuation information… and help each other,” Suga added.

Japan is still recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to the region’s main airport.
‘Ring of fire’
Officials warned of the danger of fresh quakes.

“Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one),” said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.

The risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased, he said, urging residents “to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas.”

The earthquake also caused travel disruption, with all flights cancelled from Sapporo’s main Chitose airport, where the quake brought down part of a ceiling and burst a water pipe. Local buses and trains and bullet train services were halted.

Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take “at least a week” for power to be restored to nearly three million homes after a fire in the area’s largest thermal plant was discovered.

And the national meteorological agency warned that more bad weather could be on the way for Hokkaido, urging people to be vigilant for landslides, high tides and heavy rain.

Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring more than 350.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

(AFP News agency)

Light tremors felt in J&K

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A low intensity earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale was felt in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, disaster management official said. No casualty or damage was reported.

The tremors were felt at 8.34 a.m. at a depth of five kilometres under the earth’s surface, he said. The epicentre was in the state.

Temblors have wrought destruction in Kashmir in the past as the area is situated in highly sensitive seismological region. Over 40,000 people were killed on October 8, 2005 in a quake.

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