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US air attack kills 13 ISIL fighters in Somalia

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The US military has stepped up its campaign of air raids in Somalia since President Donald Trump took office.

US forces are partnering African Union troops (AMISOM) and the Somali security forces in combined counterterrorism operations [File: Tobin Jones/Reuters]
US forces are partnering African Union troops (AMISOM) and the Somali security forces in combined counterterrorism operations

The US military has killed 13 ISIL fighters in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region in an air attack, it said, days after another raid killed three.

The US military has stepped up its campaign of air raids in Somalia since President Donald Trump took office, saying it has killed more than 800 fighters in two years.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has gathered recruits in Puntland, although experts say the scale of its force is unclear and it remains a small player compared with the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group that once controlled much of Somalia.

What you need to know about Africa's refugees
What you need to know about Africa’s refugees

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said late on Thursday that the latest raid on Wednesday targeted an ISIL-Somalia camp in the Golis Mountains.

“At this time, it is assessed the air strike on May 8 killed 13 terrorists,” it said.

In April, AFRICOM had said it killed Abdulhakim Dhuqub, identifying him as ISIL’s deputy leader in Somalia.

Last month, AFRICOM also said it has resumed air raids against the al-Shabab group in Somalia after a brief pause that followed a critical report condemning the “shroud of secrecy around civilian deaths” caused by the US military.

The aerial bombardment was believed to be the first since Amnesty International said in a March 18 report that 14 civilians had been killed and seven wounded in the course of five air raids between April 2017 and December 2018, all attributed to the US military.

Initially, AFRICOM denied its operations had resulted in any civilian deaths, but later acknowledged that a woman and a child had been killed in an April 2018 raid. 

Somalia has been mired in a civil war and armed rebellion since 1991 when clan warlords overthrew a dictator and then turned on each other.

Al-Shabab was pushed out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011, but retains a strong presence in parts of southern and central Somalia and has often clashed with the ISIL.

Aljazeera

Nun rape | Kerala court extends bail of Bishop Franco Mulakkal till June 7

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The Pala magistrate court in Kottayam on Friday extended till June 7 the bail of former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of sexually assaulting a nun between 2014 and 2016.

The court extended the bail where Mulakkal appeared in person. The court has posted the case for June 7.

Mulakkal who was arrested on September 21 last year in Kochi after three consecutive days of interrogation by the state police, is currently out on bail.

The Kerala Police on Tuesday submitted a 1,400-page chargesheet to the court against the bishop.

It names 83 witnesses, including the Cardinal of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mar George Alencherry, three bishops, 11 priests and several nuns.

The chargesheet was filed almost seven months after his arrest.

The Bishop’s arrest came after a nun complained that she was raped multiple times between 2014-16. The crime had occurred at a convent in Kottayam district.

The police in its remand report to a trial court had stated that Franco Mulakkal came to the convent with the intention of sexually assaulting the victim.

Four nuns had rallied behind the complainant calling for a speedy filing of the chargesheet.

Last month, the protesting nuns submitted a petition at Kottayam SP’s office seeking the speedy filing of the chargesheet.

The demand for the speedy filing of chargesheet came just over a month after the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was urged to ensure their safety by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

Agencies

Centre says Rafale not for ornamentation but national security; SC reserves order on review plea

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India and France got into a deal in 2015 for the procurement of Rafale fighter jets.

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved order on Rafale review petitions against its December 14, 2018 judgement upholding the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Earlier on Thursday, three petitioners, former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan had claimed in the Supreme Court that the Centre played fraud upon the court to obtain favourable order in the Rafale fighter jet case.

The petitioners filed a rejoinder stating the December 14, 2018 verdict should be subjected to a review as it was based on “multiple falsehoods and suppression of material and relevant information”.

The top court had dismissed the plea filed by Sinha, Shourie and Bhushan, who sought investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rafale deal.

The petitioners said since the government was suppressing information, they have sought production of relevant and material documents before the court.

Bhushan on Friday pointed out that a non-existent CAG report was referred to in the December verdict. He also claimed that three out of the seven-member International Negotiating Team (INT) had also raised objections to the inflated pricing of the Rafale aircraft.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, however, cited a CAG report to argue India got Rafale at a cheaper price. “Will this court sit on the computation of the prices? And what happens thereafter? Will this court then fix the prices of the aircraft and avionics?” questioned Venugopal.

The AG, on behalf of the Centre, argued that the deal was a matter of national security and cannot be examined by any court.

“This (Rafale fighter) is not for ornamentation. This is an essential requirement for protection of each and every one of us… Nowhere in the world will any such matter be brought before the court,” KK Venugopal, the centre’s top law officer, told the judges.

On May 4, the government filed a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court in the Rafale case, opposing the reopening of the whole matter by contending that the petitioners were attempting to get “a fishing and roving inquiry ordered”.

The Centre further said that monitoring of progress by the PMO cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had on 10 April admitted three documents connected to the Dassault Rafale fighter jet deal as evidence in the review petitions and dismissed the Centre’s “preliminary objections” to them.

The Supreme Court on December 14 last year gave a clean chit to the Centre on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

A three-Judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dismissed all the petitions and said that no probe was required.

Agencies

SC reserves verdict in Rahul Gandhi contempt case

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Supreme Court, Verdict, Rahul Gandhi, Contempt case

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on the contempt petition filed by BJP MP Meenakashi Lekhi against Rahul Gandhi for attributing his ‘chowkidar chor hai’ comment to the apex court.

The Congress president, on the other hand, requested the top court to close the criminal contempt proceedings against him since he has apologised over the wrong attribution of the remarks.

Appearing for Gandhi, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that Gandhi has tendered an unconditional apology in the matter.

But senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Lekhi, told the bench that the apology tendered by Gandhi should be rejected and action must be taken against him as per the law.

He also argued that the court should ask Gandhi to make an apology to the public for his remarks.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph is hearing the case against the 48-year-old Congress chief.

Meenakshi Lekhi, the BJP Member of Parliament from the New Delhi constituency, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging that Rahul Gandhi had committed contempt by attributing his ‘chowkidar chor hai’ remarks on the Rafale controversy to the top court.

Rahul Gandhi, while welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to examine fresh revelations on the Rafale deal on April 10, made remarks about the prime minister and corruption

Ecstatic over the Supreme Court’s decision, Gandhi claimed a moral victory and said that the court has made it clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “committed theft”.

“The Supreme Court has made it clear that ‘chowkidarji’ (watchman) has committed a theft,” Gandhi told reporters during a rally in Amethi.

Lekhi said that the imputation that the court had ruled as such was contempt because it imputed words to the court that it hadn’t said.

Gandhi had on Wednesday filed a three-page affidavit stating his unconditional apology to the apex court.

In an earlier affidavit, Gandhi had said that he had no intention of dragging the court into politics and alleged that it was Lekhi who is playing politics. He had earlier expressed regret for his remarks.

On 30 April, Singhvi had said that the Congress president will file a fresh affidavit with an apology after BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that Gandhi has only expressed regret even as he “deliberately” put words in the mouth of the court.

Agencies

Sikh delegation lodges complaint against BJP candidate Sunny Deol.

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Sunny Deol faces charges of hurting Sikh sentiments; Sikh body takes action against BJP candidate

We all know that Sunny Deol has turned BJP candidate who will be standing for elections from the Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab for the Lok Sabha Elections. The actor turned politician, who was last seen in this week’s release Blank, has now been embroiled in a controversy. He is facing charges of hurting Sikh sentiments and Sikh activities have requested the body to take strict action against the actor turned politician.

If reports are to be believed, a Sikh delegation from Batala has approached the Akal Takht where they have lodged a complaint against Sunny Deol for disrespecting their religion and culture. A picture of Sunny recently went viral wherein the frame of Lord Shiva and their religious siropa were seen near the feet of the actor. This didn’t go down well with many of them from the Sikh community and activists from Batala based Guru Kalgidhar Gatka Akhara have decided to take strict action against the same. Sunny Deol who is currently busy in his political rallies, is yet to respond to these allegations.

Earlier, the Congress party too demanded an explanation over Sunny Deol’s alleged portrayal of disrespect towards Sikh community and has approached the police to take action against the actor. The complainant from Gatka Akhara, Harminder Singh explained about lodging his complaint wherein he described that as soon as Sunny Deol went atop a truck he put the siropa next to his feet and that he hasn’t apologized for the mistake. Singh also has requested people of Batala to oppose the visit of the actor politician in their town.

On the other hand, reports suggest that the Akal Takht has indeed confirmed about receiving the complaint, however, they are yet to take any action against Sunny Deol. They have maintained that the issue will be brought to the notice of the jathedar of Akal Takht after which they will take forward the process.

As for the police complaint filed by Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri, Sunny Deol has been summoned to record his statement on the matter.

Agencies

ACB raids Sub-Registrar office and seize Rs 60,000 unaccounted cash

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Kalaburagi, May 9 : Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths led by Superintendent of Police V M Jothi raided office of the Sub Registrar here today and seized Rs 60,000 unaccounted money.
Jothi said that some cash was also seized from a car owned by Sub-Registrar A Hasib.
Verification of documents and inquiry of office staff is going on, he added

India gaining respect, power and prestige under Modi’s leadership: Rajnath

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Deoria, May 9 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Thursday claimed that India was gaining respect, power and prestige under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a rally here in Salempur area, Mr Singh said India was known as a weak and poor country in early days but now our country has emerged as strong, powerful and influential country in world. He said that PM Modi worked hard day and night for betterment of the country.

Mr Singh said that India is fastest developing country of the world. Our economy was growing swiftly and we have gained sixth position in terms of development while in earlier days the rank was 9, he pointed out adding that our country will be their biggest economy of the world in coming days.

Hitting out at Congress for underdevelopment Mr Singh said that Congress provided 25 lakh homes in six years under Pradhanmantari Avas Yojna while in BJP government regime about 1.30 crore houses were gifted to poor, unprivileged and backwards. Apart from that poor families got free LPG connection and electricity in past five years, he added.

Union minister claimed that every poor family will have shelter and gas connection in coming days if Modi government comes to power at the Centre. He said that constriction of roads at grand scale was started in Atal government and now in Modi government national highways were being constructed at the rate of 32 kilometer per day.

He said that inflation was under control in BJP regime and over 7 crore poor were lifted above poverty line and the line will be eliminated in next five years.

Ankita Raina reaches to quarters of ITF singles in Luan

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New Delhi, May 9 : India’s no 1 tennis player Ankita Raina moved to quarter-finals in the women’s singles of the ITF tournament in Luan, China on Thursday.
Ranked 175, the Indian player won in straight sets 6-2 6-3 over her Chinese rival Yue Yuan in the round of 16.
Ankita was on a high after she beat three-time Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur at the USD 125k tournament in Anning and also made the final of a 60k event in Istanbul.
She next plays Hong Kong’s Eudice Chong, who is ranked as low as 497.
She reached a ranking of world no 181 becoming the fifth Indian national in April 2018 to crack to the top-200 ladies singles rankings, following Nirupama Sanjeev, Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberoi, and Sunitha Rao.
In August 2018, Ankita won the bronze medal in the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia in singles event. Raina and Sania Mirza are the only players representing India to have won a singles medal at the Asian Games.
She also peaked at world no 159 in the doubles rankings on August 28, 2017. Raina has also won gold medals in the women’s singles and mixed-doubles events at the 2016 South Asian Games.

DC eyes maiden IPL final against Defending champ CSK

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Visakhapatnam, May 9 (UNI) Coming from a win in the IPL Eliminator, Delhi Capitals will look to win and seal their place on May 12 final and as they face Defending champions Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2019 at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Friday.
Delhi Capitals will enter this match after a great win against SRH in the eliminator whereas CSK lost the first qualifier match against MI.
Delhi will create history if they win against CSK as they are the only side to have never played an IPL final.
DC’s young batting unit have done a remarkable job in this year’s IPL and somehow managed to score the runs whenever the team needed them.
In the last match against SRH, Pant played a superb knock of 49 runs in 21 balls in a high-pressure situation and helped DC in getting over the line. Another young batsman Prithvi Shaw too played an important innings of 56 and gave signals of returning in form.
India opener Shikhar Dhawan is also in great form and has scored runs freely at the top in the powerplay overs.
Apart from Shikhar, Skipper Shreyas Iyer too has played a couple of match-winning knocks and has led from the front.
In bowling, DC fast bowler including Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma, did a good job in the absence of Kagiso Rabada and were well supported by Keemo Paul, who picked up three wickets. Veteran spinner Amit Mishra and Axar Patel also did well against SRH.
On the other hand, Defending champions Chennai Super Kings had a bad loss against MI in the Qualifier 1 and will look to bounce back in this match. CSK also have the experience of playing the big matches, having won three titles besides being runners-up four times.
CSK captain Dhoni who is good form will expect a better performance from his batsmen after the disappointment against Mumbai Indians.
CSK’s top-order has been their concern as they haven’t fired consistently. Opener Shane Watson has not been among the run scorer ever since smashing a 53-ball 96 against Sunrisers on April 23. The likes of Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis Ambati Rayudu will be also the key factor in this match.
Bowling has been CSK’s strong point so far this season. The responsibility will be again on the young pacer Deepak Chahar to pick up early wickets and Imran Tahir the second highest-wicket taker this season after Kagiso Rabada will look to carry forward his great form.
Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja and DJ Bravo will be raring to continue their magic with the ball.
The winner of the Qualifier 2 will face Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 final in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Notification issued for election to 63 ULBs in Karnataka

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Bengaluru, May 9 : Notification was issued for holding elections to 63 Urban Local Bodies in Karnataka and over 14 lakh eligible voters are expected to exercise their franchise on May 29.

Thus filing of Nominations began for 22 City Municipal Councils, 33 Municipalities and 22 Town Panchayats in 22 districts of the State.

As both the Coalition partners in the Government–Congress and JDS– have decided to go alone in the ULB election there will be a triangular fight.

Last date for withdrawal of Nomination is on May 20, while counting of votes polled will be taken up on May 31. The election code comes into force with immediate effect in all the ULBs where election are scheduled.

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