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We unintentionally killed 1,300 civilians in air strikes on Islamic State: US-led coalition

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The US-led coalition said Friday it had unintentionally killed more than 1,300 civilians in air strikes during its fight against the Islamic State groupin Iraq and Syria since 2014.

The figure is far lower than the death tolls given by groups which have monitored the conflicts in the two countries.

“The coalition conducted 34,502 strikes between August 2014 and the end of April 2019,” it said in a statement.

During this period, it “assesses at least 1,302 civilians have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes”.

The coalition said it was still assessing 111 additional claims of civilians deaths and was ready to receive new allegations or fresh evidence to review.

The coalition has repeatedly said it does all it can to avoid civilian deaths.

Watch: Wounded and alone, children emerge from last Islamic State enclave in Baghouz

Airwars, an NGO which monitors civilian casualties from air strikes worldwide, estimates more than 7,900 civilians have been killed in coalition raids — well in excess of the total acknowledged by the coalition.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, says coalition strikes have taken the lives of 3,800 civilians in Syria alone.

IS jihadists seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” in areas they controlled.

But several offensives with coalition backing chipped away at the “caliphate” until it was declared eliminated on March 23.

Ambushes and hit-and-run attacks have continued in both countries.

The coalition is continuing to work “to deny Daesh any physical space and influence in the region as well as deny Daesh the resources they need to resurge”, it said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Agencies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi knocks off seniority as a criterion for top 4 ministries

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new Cabinet represents bold new ideas to run the country. It is best exemplified through the constitution of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which comprises Home, Defence, External Affairs and Finance Ministry.

Modi did not buy into the logic of political seniority for picking the top four members of CCS. The direct inductee, a former Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar is the case in point.

He reflects Modi’s top concern of handling China and managing Indo-US relationship. Modi has put a micro manager at the helms of the affair as global politics is changing rapidly. 

The Prime Minister promoted Nirmala Sitharaman and handed her Finance portfolio which requires a hands-on minister. Similarly, Amit Shah is a multi-tasker and de facto number two in the government. His elevation as the Home Minister was not a surprise but Modi has chosen him because, after ages, internal security and nationalism have become public issues and Modi would want robust handling of security matters in time to come. 

The only political adjustment has been that of Rajnath Singh who has been shifted to Defence. The ministry does not need handling on a daily basis. It requires gentle guidance and thrust so that services can execute the national mandate. It is for this reason, he also remains number one minister in the order of precedence after Narendra Modi.

Rise and Rise of Nirmala Sitharaman

Her rise looks meteoritic, but she had caught Narendra Modi’s eye as a fiery spokesperson of BJP during UPA 2. Her entry into public life took place when she was made a member of NCW in 2003. She joined BJP in 2006 and went on to become one of the 6 spokespersons under the stewardship of Ravi Shankar Prasad when Nitin Gadkari was the party president. She has surpassed them all. Not only she was appointed a minister of state with independent charge for commerce in 2014 but went on to become the Defence Minister in 2017. She is not a mass leader but is one of those politicians, Prime Minister finds it easy to work with. She is a workaholic and keeps up with the razor-tight time table set by the Prime Minister. 

After a long time, the Finance Ministry will have a hands-on minister. Her elevation as the Finance Minister has sealed her position in the party and government for a long time.

 Less Noise and More work

This mantra underlines the making of the Cabinet. Despite being a giant killer, Smriti Irani was not given a heavyweight industry. She debuted as HRD minister in 2014 but had to be shunted to Textiles for the controversies generated by her. Same is the case with VK Singh who as MOS will have to report to Nitin Gadkari. In the previous dispensation, he had independent charge of Development of North Eastern Region General (DONER) and also looked after overseas affairs. He had the opportunity to travel to Yemen to evacuate Indians but today he only has one portfolio under his belt. 

Continuity and Generational Shift

The Cabinet has been altered considerably but it doesn’t mean that it does not have the element of continuity. Senior ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hardeep Singh Puri, RK Singh, Jitendra Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have retained their old portfolios. Though some have got additional responsibility, but it is an acknowledgement of their performance. Modi is perhaps the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who has successfully carried out a generational shift. Within five years, Modi has ensured that junior leaders like Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Piyush Goyal become full-fledged Cabinet Minister. In fact, he has inducted fresh faces as MoS in the government and the example in such case is Anurag Thakur.

Lastly

Modi’s Cabinet is free from the strain of coalition politics. He is the ultimate arbiter of the who gets to work with him and who does not. The only flip side of such arrangement is that contrary opinions become less prevalent and, in the long run, disappear as no one wants to be seen objecting to the supreme leader. I’m sure that this small limitation can be overcome by the new administration.

Agencies

Ananya Panday Skipped University For Student Of The Year 2, Clarifies Dad Chunky Panday

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“Ananya will be working in Bollywood now”: said Chunky Panday

Ananya Panday Skipped University For Student Of The Year 2, Clarifies Dad Chunky Panday

Ananya Panday with her parents Chunky Panday and Bhavna Panday (courtesy Instagram)
NEW DELHI: 

HIGHLIGHTS

  1. “Right now Ananya’s focus is on films,” said Chunky Panday
  2. “I was all set to go to college”: said Ananya
  3. “Wanted to give it one shot before I left,” she added

“Ananya is a great student, but right now her focus is on films,” says actor Chunky Panday of his daughter Ananya Panday, who has just made her Bollywood debut with the film Student of the Year 2. Apart from her acting stint, Ananya recently got talked about when some girls, who claimed to be Ananya’s schoolmates, shared on social media that the actress lied about her admission to international universities, stating she never applied for them.

The comments came earlier this month via an Instagram account after Ananya reportedly spoke about it in an interview how she gave up admission abroad for Student Of The Year 2.

“I was all set to go to college. I was going to USC (University of Southern California) to study, but wanted to give it one shot before I left. So I went and auditioned for the film. And luckily, I got it. This is a dream come true,” Ananya was quoted as saying.

Chunky told IANS he wasn’t aware about the social media buzz around his daughter’s education. “Yes, she got into two universities, but did not go because she got the film… I don’t think she will be going to the university now. She will be working in Bollywood now,” he said.

Chunky also praised his daughter’s first on-screen performance. “I am so proud of her. She performed well. I was scared if she would be able to perform well or not… But she did a good job. I am happy about her achievement. She is an intelligent person. She has a long journey ahead,” he remarked.

On the work front, Chunky is gearing up for the release of his short film Tap Tap, one of the films from anthology Shuruaat Ka Twist.

World Cup 2019: England Host South Africa In Much Anticipated Opener

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England will launch their World Cup 2019 campaign against South Africa at Kennington Oval on Thursday.

World Cup 2019: England Host South Africa In Much Anticipated Opener

England, under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan, will launch their World Cup 2019 campaign against South Africa at Kennington Oval, London, on Thursday. After having suffered a first-round exit in the 2015 edition of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, England have improved tremendously in last few years and shown the world what they are capable of. In their run-up to hosting the showpiece ICC event, England climbed to the top of the One-day International (ODI) rankings and scored record highest ODI total twice, which now stands at 481 for six.

Batting has been the basis of England’s ODI rejuvenation, with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan and the dynamic Jos Buttler among a top seven who can all change the course of an innings in the blink of an eye.

“It’s an exciting feeling being in this team as you have world-class players all around you and the opposition might get 370, but there’s a belief in the dressing room we can chase it down,” said England leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

“There is no hesitation or someone going ‘I don’t know about this’. We all have that belief and confidence we can do it,” added Rashid, whose ability to take wickets at key stages has also been an important part of England’s white-ball revival.

“We will hopefully stick to what we’ve been doing the past four years and hopefully the World Cup will work out well for us.”

South Africa have suffered plenty of World Cup heartache but having been losing semi-finalists four years there is a sense the Proteas are going under the radar this time around.

South Africa coach Ottis Gibson is convinced the pressure is all on the tournament hosts and cited comments by England quicks Stuart Broad and James Anderson — both of whom no longer play ODI cricket — as an example. 

“I heard somewhere that my two very good friends Broad and Anderson have said that England will have to do something really bad not to win this World Cup,” recalled Gibson, who knows the pair well from his time as England bowling coach.

“As far as they are concerned England have won it already.”

Former West Indies fast bowler Gibson added: “To play the hosts, the number one team, is the best way to start, because it gives us a real sense of where we are and what we need to do going forward. 

“But you don’t have to be number one to win the tournament and sometimes you can win the tournament and you don’t even go to number one.”

South Africa, captained by Faf du Plessis, are without retired star batsman AB de Villiers but their top order includes the talented Quinton de Kock.

They will be without Dale Steyn on Thursday as the outstanding fast bowler nurses a shoulder injury but South Africa have become used to his absence in recent times.

Of arguably greater importance for Thursday’s match is that Kagiso Rabada, arguably the leading paceman in world cricket today, has been passed fit following a back injury.

Teams:

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris.

“Hat And Sunglasses” In Advisory For Media Covering PM Modi’s Swearing-In

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The swearing-in ceremony will begin at 7 pm, with nearly 8,000 guests attending the grand event at Rashtrapati Bhavan, including leaders from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan

'Hat And Sunglasses' In Advisory For Media Covering PM Modi's Swearing-In

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, will also be present at the oath ceremony
NEW DELHI: 

Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, for which 8,000 people have been invited, the government’s media department put out an advisory urging journalists to wear hats and sunglasses to prepare for “a long summer evening”. 

A communication sent from the PM’s Publicity and Reference Unit said: “We are preparing ourselves for a long summer evening. So, it will be better if you carry hat and sunglasses.”

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), temperatures today will touch a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius and weather conditions have been described as “heat wave”.

The swearing-in ceremony will begin at 7 pm, with nearly 8,000 guests attending the grand event at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Leaders of BIMSTEC countries, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, have been invited in line with the government’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.

PM Modi began the day with a series of visits. He first visited the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and then paid tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his memorial Sadaiv Atal Samadhi.

He also visited the National War Memorial near India Gate.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance returned to power with a massive haul of 352 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 303 seats on its own.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, will also be present at the oath ceremony.

Chief Ministers of non-BJP ruled states will also attend the event, except for Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, who pulled out accusing the BJP of trying to politicise the occasion. She accused the BJP of falsely alleging that 54 of its workers were killed in political violence in Bengal and then inviting their families to the oath.

Jagan Mohan Reddy Takes Oath As Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

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Jagan Mohan Reddy Takes Oath As Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

VIJAYAWADA: 

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who led his party to an astounding victory in Andhra Pradesh, took as the Chief Minister of the state. He is the second Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh post its bifurcation.

Jagan Reddy, 46, was administered the oath by Governor ESL Narasimhan at 12.23 pm at a grand public function in Vijayawada. He got a hero’s welcome as he reached the venue in an open jeep, with people cheering as his convoy passed.

N Chandrababu Naidu, who was virtually decimated by Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress, turned down the latter’s invite to the swearing-in. Mr Naidu chose to send a delegation of his party to congratulate Mr Reddy at his home before the ceremony.

Among the VIPs in attendance were Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and DMK chief MK Stalin from Tamil Nadu. Both the leaders will fly to Delhi for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in this evening for a second term.

On Sunday, Mr Reddy had met PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi. “I met the first and second most important persons in the country, to seek best possible assistance for Andhra Pradesh,” he said after the meeting.

The YSR Congress bagged 151 of the 175 seats in the state assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, handing out a huge blow to Mr Naidu’s Telguu Desam Party.

Mr Reddy is the son of one of Andhra Pradesh’s most popular Chief Ministers, YS Rajashekhara Reddy, who died in a chopper crash in 2009. The 46-year-old, who inherited his father’s supporters, still had to make his mark at the head of a new party formed in 2011. The moment came during his two foot marches – the last one over the special status for Andhra Pradesh, undertaken last year.

It was Jagan Reddy’s push for the Special Status for Andhra Pradesh that is said to be at the bottom of Chandrababu Naidu’s move to part company with the BJP and join the opposition camp.

Farooq calls for collective efforts against ‘rise of communalism’ in India

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Srinagar, May 29 : Asserting that the secular visage of the country was reeling under the threat from the surge of communalism in the country, National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that need of the hour calls for making collective efforts for the protection of religious freedom and rule of law in the country.
Addressing various delegations, individuals, Dr Abdullah, who recently won Lok Sabha election from Srinagar parliamentary constituency, said, “The spur in the targeted attacks on the Muslims at various places across north India is just painful. The rise of the communalism in India has to be countered by all the right-thinking secular parties of the country. The fascist syndrome of communal strife if allowed to grow unchecked will eventually munch the very secular fabric of our society, which otherwise has been known for tolerance.”
“The strife of communal hatred is one of the biggest challenges for our society. It is for the new government to decide if they want to let the mammoth of communalism grow unhindered. The idea of development is impossible if 25 Cr Muslims are not a part of that story of that development,” he said.
“Government cannot think of taking the country forward without taking along the Muslims. Now we get to see Muslims men and women being attacked by unruly mobs across the country. The other day we saw how a Muslim boy was thrashed for wearing a skull cap, is this idea of India that was envisaged by the makers of our constitution. The biggest challenge ahead of the central government would be to stop such incidents from recurring again,” he added.
Addressing a delegation of women workers and functionaries led by party’s Women wing president Shameema Firdous, Dr Abdullah said, “The plight of girls remained an utmost concern. However, education is the key to reducing discrimination against girls. Gender inequality is a multifaceted issue. The need of the hour is to do away with the gender assumptions by educating society. It was National Conference that started the idea of co-schooling in the state of Jammu and Kashmir besides giving gender neutral voting rights to the people. Under the dynamic leadership of Omar sahib the forthcoming state government will work on numerous issues affecting girl child including Nutrition, Security, Lawful rights, and education.”

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu elected as TDLP leader

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TDP president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was unanimously elected as the leader of the Telugu Desam Legislature Party (TDLP) here on Wednesday.

A meeting of the TDLP, attended by the newly-elected MLAs and MPs of the party, was held at Naidu’s residence.

The TDP, which ruled the state from June 2014, faced a rout at the hands of the YSR Congress Party in the just-concluded election to the state Assembly, winning just 23 of the 175 seats.

In the Lok Sabha polls too, the Naidu-led party suffered a drubbing, bagging only three of the state’s 28 seats.

The TDP chief held a meeting with the 23 newly-elected MLAs and the three MPs, besides senior leaders of the party.

Since the election results were declared on May 23, there was speculation in party circles that Naidu would make way for another leader to lead the TDLP.

At the TDLP meeting, however, the lawmakers elected him unanimously, 
according to party sources.

“Only Chandrababu should be the TDLP leader. It gives us a lot of confidence and strength,” senior legislator Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary said.

Another legislator, N China Rajappa, said they had unanimously elected Naidu as their leader once again.

He said they had entrusted the choice of selecting the TDLP deputy leaders and the party whip with Naidu.

Later, Naidu appointed Galla Jayadev, who was re-elected as the MP from Guntur, as the leader of the Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party.

Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, who was also re-elected from Srikakulam, would be the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, while former Union minister Y Satyanarayana Chowdary would be the party leader in the Rajya Sabha.

The TDP’s strength in the Lok Sabha has fallen from 15 to three, while in the Rajya Sabha, the party has six members (five from Andhra Pradesh and one from Telangana).

Naidu has said his party will play the role of a constructive opposition and extend co-operation to the new YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh. 

“Divider-In-Chief” To “Modi Has United India”: TIME Magazine’s Do-Over

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Weeks after a controversial cover story that labelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi “divider-in-chief”, TIME magazine, after the BJP’s massive election victory and return to power, has done a turnabout with a new headline: “Modi Has United India Like No Prime Minister in Decades”.

The latest article, published on the TIME website on Tuesday, asks how a “supposedly divisive figure not only managed to keep power, but increase his levels of support?” Its answer – “A key factor is that Modi has managed to transcend India’s greatest fault line: the class divide”.

The author, Manoj Ladwa, describes PM Modi’s second term as “a victory for meritocracy, and for opportunity, thanks to a slate of welfare policies for the country’s extreme poor”. He also highlights the Prime Minister’s rise from “one of India’s most disadvantaged social groups” as aspirational.

Mr Ladwa goes on to describe the demonetisation of 2016 as “short-term pain” that led to “long-term gain” and praises PM Modi and his government for “digitization that has empowered the poor”, increased tax revenue (as a result of demonetisation) and schemes like the Jan Dhan Yojana.

“Through socially progressive policies, he has brought many Indians, both Hindus and religious minorities, out of poverty at a faster rate than in any previous generation,” writes Mr Ladwa, the founder and CEO of Britain-based media company India Inc., which publishes India Global Business.

The previous article by British-born writer Aatish Taseer had criticised the Modi government as one in which “minorities of every stripe-from liberals and lower castes to Muslims and Christians-have come under assault” and which has lead” India down the road to a profound anti-intellectualism”.

The article was seized by opposition parties for attacks on PM Modi and the BJP during their campaign.

The BJP had termed the TIME article as an attempt to malign PM Modi’s image and had accused author Aatish Taseer, the son of journalist Tavleen Singh and late Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer, of pursuing Pakistan’s agenda.

“Time magazine is foreign, the writer has also said he comes from a Pakistani political family. That is enough for his credibility,” the Prime Minister said on May 18, the day before polling for the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were to take place.

The Prime Minister and his council of ministers will take oath on Thursday. PM Modi, in his speech to his party and the NDA, described his new government as being “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas (With everybody, for everybody and with everybody’s trust)” and also called on NDA leaders to earn the trust of minority communities in India.

Mamata Banerjee won’t attend Modi’s swearing-in, says BJP using occasion to score political points

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not going to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief announced her decision in a tweet on Wednesday, accusing the BJP of making false claims about political violence in Bengal.

“It was my plan to accept the constitutional invitation and attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, in the last one hour, I am seeing media reports that the BJP are claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is completely untrue,” Banerjee said in her statement posted on Twitter. The tweet accompanying the statement reads, “The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party.”

These deaths may have occurred due to personal enmity, family quarrels and other disputes; nothing related to politics. There is no such record with us. So, I am sorry Narendra Modi ji, this has compelled me not to attend the ceremony, Banerjee further said in her statement.

The BJP lost many workers in panchayat, local body and parliamentary elections in West Bengal during election-related violence. Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah repeatedly highlighted the issue at the rallies they addressed.

Fifty four special guests, besides leaders from BIMSTEC countries and a host of celebrities and politicians, would be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers on Thursday. The Prime Minister has specially invited family members of BJP workers who were killed in incidents of political violence in West Bengal over the past few years, a senior BJP leader said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Banerjee had said that she has accepted the invite to attend the ceremony. “I have spoken to other Chief Ministers also. Since it is a ceremonial program, we thought of attending it. Yes, I will go,” she told media in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Banerjee had indulged in a war of words with Modi during the campaign period in the run-up to the elections, in which the BJP has made deep inroads into the Trinamool territory in West Bengal by winning 18 Lok Sabha seats out of 42. The TMC’s victory was reduced from 34 in 2014 to 22 in 2019.

Modi will be sworn in for a second term as the prime minister on Thursday at 7pm in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, along with members of the Union Council of Ministers.

Agencies

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