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Jayalalithaa set to return as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after party lawmakers' meeting

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Jayalalithaa

Chennai: J Jayalalithaa was today elected by AIADMK lawmakers to take over as chief minister of Tamil Nadu at a party meeting in Chennai this morning. The 67-year-old leader, who was not present at the meeting, is likely to take oath tomorrow.

144 of 150 party lawmakers attended the meeting at the AIADMK headquarters where five rebel MLAs from actor-politician Vijayakanth’s DMDK were also present. Current chief minister O Panneerselvam headed straight to Ms Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence after the meeting. He is expected to resign today.

Nearly eight months ago, Ms Jayalalithaa was convicted in a corruption case and forced to step down in the midst of her third term as the state’s top leader.

Ms Jayalalithaa’s return as the head of the government was enabled by her acquittal earlier this month in the same case, and a party that has expressed its unwavering devotion to her in unabashed shows of sycophancy.

Ms Jayalalithaa was found not guilty of illicitly amassing wealth adding up to nearly Rs. 50 crore by the Karnataka High Court. She must win a state assembly seat within six months of taking over as Chief Minister.

The leader, who is known as “Amma” or “mother” will appear in public today for the first time after her acquittal to garland statues of AIADMK leaders including founder MG Ramachandran.

In a statement on Monday that broadly hinted at her plans, Ms Jayalalithaa had told party workers that “whatever our cadres wish will happen soon.”

When her replacement O Panneerselvam took over as Chief Minister, other AIADMK leaders and he wept through the swearing-in ceremony; when she was jailed, Ms Jayalalithaa’s enraged supporters set buses on fire; she has said more than 200 people killed themselves to protest against her incarceration.

(Agencies)

Blooper: Subramanian Swamy attempts to tie a knot to a bride

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subramanian swamy

Tirunelveli: A gag reel showing senior BJP leader and self-styled nationalist Subramanian Swamy almost getting married for the second time is doing the rounds on social media platforms of late.

As per media reports, the BJP leader was invited to bless the bride and groom at a wedding held in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. During the wedding ceremony, he was asked to hand over the nuptial chain or ‘mangala sutra’ to the groom and bless the couple.

Swamy, who seemed to be absent-minded, almost tied the nuptial chain to the bride instead of handing it over to the groom.

However, an alert elderly lady pulled back Swamy at the spur of the moment. Swamy finally handed over the nuptial chain to the groom.

(Agencies)

Cholera kills Burundi refugees as aid agencies struggle

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At least 33 people die amid worsening medical conditions while tens of thousands stranded on Tanzania’s Kagunga Island.

Some refugees have been transferred to Kigoma, where they are processed at the Lake Tanganyika stadium [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]

Some refugees have been transferred to Kigoma, where they are processed at the Lake Tanganyika stadium [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

Kigoma: Humanitarian agencies are struggling to cope as tens of thousands of Burundian refugees stranded on Kagunga Island in Tanzania face worsening medical conditions.

UNICEF officials told Al Jazeera on Thursday that conditions at Kagunga were “tough” and that a cholera outbreak had made conditions even more dire.

At least 33 people have died, with 27 deaths believed to have been cholera related.

The World Health Organization declared cholera a level 1 emergency in the region on Wednesday.

“It is very, very tough in Kagunga, and our focus now is to try and save those living in these very poor conditions,” said Thomas Lyimo, a health officer at UNICEF.

More than 100,000 people have crossed into Tanzania since political unrest began in Burundi on April 26.

At last count, some 70,000 refugees were still in Kagunga, waiting to be transferred to the Nyarugusu camp outside Kigoma.

Christopher Kamugusha, programme officer for WHO in Tanzania, said it was now a matter of case management and establishing a treatment centre in Kagunga.

“We have enough drugs and we are putting our resources into this and ensuring this does not spread”.

Authorities say there are just 94 latrines for use by the 70,000 people currently in the fishing village of Kagunga.

The arrival of so many refugees in a village with a population of no more than 11,000 has overburdened every health and social service facility.

“It is better than earlier, and it is in a manageable state, but there is so much to be done,” Lyimo said.

With just two boats operational, only 2,000 refugees are transferred each day to Kigoma, where they are processed at the Lake Tanganyika stadium in the town.

“Assuming the numbers don’t change in Kagunga, it will take a month to transfer all of them to safety at the camp,” Lyimo said.

But the refugees continue to arrive; at least 150-200 people continue to arrive every day in Kagunga, which is not the only entry point for them.

There are at least five other points but Kagunga is by far the busiest.

Many families have been separated from each other, with some cases of unaccompanied children making their way in to Tanzania.

Tharoor attacks media, calls it 'self-appointed liars'

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SHASHI THAROOR

Thiruvananthapuram: Former union minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has again courted controversy, this time by accusing the media of being “self-appointed liars and scum”.

However, as his comments Wednesday kicked up a furore, he sought to clarify that he had attacked “only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice”.

“I’ll speak to the police, not to self-appointed liars and scum,” he remarked while responding to a media person’s query here.

The lawmaker was asked why his aides were allegedly not speaking the truth in the case relating to the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, in the wake of a Delhi court allowing the police Wednesday to conduct a lie-detector test on three “suspects” in the case.

“It suits gutter journalists 2 pretend I attacked their entire fraternity. I attacked only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice,” the former Union minister tweeted Wednesday morning.

In another tweet, Tharoor said: “Let’s be clear: only 1 channel ran a witch-hunt yesterday all evening, lied & distorted facts, aired innuendo, ran a survey on purported guilt.”

(Agencies)

The real DK Ravi unveiled; his company attempted to acquired 50 acre Dalits’ land

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D-K-Ravi

Bengaluru: The CBI, which is investigating the unnatural death of IAS officer D K Ravi, has found that R&H Properties, a real estate company with which he had links, had attempted to acquire 50 acres of land belonging to SC/ST community in Chikkaballapur bordering Bengaluru.

The CBI has also found that unlike the claims by BJP and JD(S) leaders D K Ravi committed suicide by hanging himself.

The agency claims its investigation has shown Ravi was involved in an “improper attempt” to acquire around 50 acres of land for a real estate project that he and a friend had embarked on with investments from different quarters including his wife’s family and IAS batchmates.

The CBI, looking at the circumstances that may have led to the suicide apart from a failed relationship with an IAS batchmate to whom Ravi sent a final WhatsApp message, went through forensic evidence and questioned doctors involved in the post-mortem proceedings to come to the conclusion that it is “as apparent, a case of suicide’’.

The death of 34-year-old Ravi on March 16 rocked Karnataka. The Congress government in the state, under pressure from opposition parties and conspiracy theories that the officer was murdered for standing up to the real estate lobby in Bangalore, ordered a CBI probe a week later.

The agency, which registered a preliminary enquiry on April 16, claims its findings show Ravi and friend Hari K were involved with a real estate company R and H Properties which was attempting to acquire 50 acres of land belonging to SC/ ST communities in Chikaballapur region with money collected from friends and family.

CBI sources said the association of Ravi with R and H Properties first emerged when the IAS batchmate to whom he sent a final message told police that her husband had invested Rs 10 lakh in R and H Properties at the behest of Ravi who claimed he was buying land to start a real estate project.

Ravi’s name does not, however, figure in the firm or its bank accounts as a partner or joint account holder.

During the investigation of R and H Properties, Ravi’s friend Hari said the officer had ventured into a deal to buy 50 acres of land belonging to the SC/ST community, CBI sources said. The firm paid compensation to farmers for the deal but the acquisition was not cleared since acquisition of SC/ST land is prohibited under law, sources said.

The failure to acquire land resulted in Ravi running to several people for help to recover money paid as compensation for land, sources said quoting Ravi’s partner. Pressure was also building from investors in the firm for the return of money, the sources said.

In the days before his death, Ravi told Hari to withdraw Rs 2 crore from the R and H Properties account and give it to his wife Kusuma, CBI sources said.

CBI sources said the account of R and H Developers had deposits of Rs 5.42 crore and withdrawals of Rs 5.42 crore over a two-year period including a September 14, 2014 deposit of Rs 10 lakh by Ravi’s IAS batchmate and several cash deposits of Rs 5 lakh each.

(Agencies)

MBA graduate denied job in diamond export company for being Muslim

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Zeshan Ali Khan

Mumbai: A young MBA graduate was declined employment in a leading diamond export company allegedly on the grounds that he was a Muslim.

The issue has snowballed into a controversy with the National Commission for Minorities saying it will conduct an inquiry if there is any truth in the matter.

Management graduate Zeshan Ali Khan applied for an opening in the company on May 19.

However, the company replied to him saying that they hire only non-Muslim candidates, according to Khan, who shared the details on his Facebook page.

“Thanks for your application. We regret to inform you that we hire only non-Muslim candidates,” the company said in a response to his application. Giving details, Khan said, “I was looking for a job, I came to know about a recruitment drive taking place at Hare Krishna Exports Pvt LTD, one of the leading exports houses of the country. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to start my career with them.

“I applied for a job day before yesterday in the evening at 5:45 PM and within 15 minutes I get a reply from them that we regret to inform you, we don’t hire Muslims. We only hire non-Muslim candidates. I was quite shocked when I read about this, I took a screen shot of it and posted it on Facebook,” he said.

“At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting foreign countries and inviting them for investment and pushing ahead the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the leading export houses are rejecting candidates for their religion,” he said.

Khan said he subsequently received a ‘regret’ mail from the company after his social media post generated sharp reactions. The company said it was a “personal mess” created by a trainee in the HR team.

“It was a blunder and personal mess created by one of our trainees who has no decision making power. We have 61 employees in our office here including one Muslim in the HR team,” Hari Krishna Exports Private Ltd said in the mail.

NCM chairperson Naseem Ahmed said, “We just received a petition this morning and as per our set procedure we will call for the comments of the respondent company and based on their response we will decide their course of action.

“If there is any truth in this, it is unfortunate. An inquiry should be conducted,” he said.

Reacting to the controversy, Minister of state for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “A person’s caste, area or religion cannot be a demerit.

“Discrimination on the basis of religion is neither allowed by our Constitution, nor by our administration. If there has been case in which he (Zeeshan) was denied or fired from the job only on the basis of his religion, then I feel its not right,” he said.

(PTI)

US releases trove of Bin Laden letters

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More than 100 documents taken from late al-Qaeda chief shed new light on his mindset before he was killed by US troops.

Osama bin Laden

by Al Jazeera

The US has published a trove of declassified documents that shed new light on the mindset of Osama bin Laden, the late al-Qaeda leader, before he was killed by US Navy Seals in 2011.

Hunkered down in his Pakistani compound, Bin Laden pleaded with his followers to stay focused on attacking the United States instead of being dragged into Muslim infighting.

“The focus should be on killing and fighting the American people and their representatives,” Bin Laden wrote in one of the documents revealed on Wednesday.

The letter was among thousands of files found by US Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011 when they descended on Bin Laden’s hideout in the garrison town of Abbottabad and shot him dead.

US intelligence agencies have now declassified more than 100 of these documents taken from Bin Laden’s archive, after politicians ordered the move and critics accused the CIA of withholding material.

The AFP news agency was given exclusive access to the documents ahead of their release.

CIA translations

Jeff Anchukaitis, spokesman for the US Director of National Intelligence’s office, said the release of “a sizeable tranche of documents recovered during the raid” was in keeping with US President Barack Obama’s call for “increased transparency”.

It was also in accordance with a law obliging the spy agencies to review all the Bin Laden materials for possible release, he said.

The documents are Central Intelligence Agency translations of the originals in English, and AFP had no way to independently verify the materials or the accuracy of the translation.

The release came shortly after US journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that Washington’s official account of the hunt for Bin Laden and the raid that led to his death was a lie.

But CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said the declassification had been long planned and had not been intended as a response to Hersh’s report.

From the strategic and theological discussions to the mundane details of domestic funding and security measures, the documents show Bin Laden once again attacking the West in a spectacular fashion.

Mindful of drone strikes taking out senior leaders, Bin Laden frequently referred to security headaches and advised against communicating by email.

He scolded his followers for gathering in large groups and fretted about a microscopic bug being inserted in his wife’s clothes.

He laid out plans to groom a new cadre of leaders willing to risk the dangers of joining al-Qaeda, and his associates discussed arrangements for smuggling Bin Laden’s favourite son and likely heir, Hamza, to Pakistan.

Citing domestic US public opposition to the Vietnam War, Bin Laden argued that the only way to alter US foreign policy was to “start striking America to force it to abandon these rulers and leave the Muslims alone”.

But the documents also highlight deep divisions among his followers over how to wage their campaigns.

Bin Laden warned that conflict with regimes in the Middle East would distract the extremists from hitting hard at what as far as he was concerned was the real enemy – America.

“We should stop operations against the army and the police in all regions, especially Yemen,” he wrote.

The correspondence reflected Bin Laden’s “worry that disunity within the global jihadist movement could spell its demise,” said a senior US intelligence analyst.

The letters also show Bin Laden was stunned by the Arab uprisings that erupted across the region from 2010 and urged his deputies to seize the moment of “revolution” and rally Muslim youth.

ISIL and Bin Laden

Al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq, which would later morph into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group – and which now increasingly overshadows al-Qaeda – also came up in the documents.

Bin Laden and his then deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, received a scathing rebuke in a letter from some Iraqi supporters, who demanded they denounce the bloodletting in Iraq.

The Jihad and Reform Front warned Bin Laden that God would hold him to account “for blessing the work done by the al-Qaeda in Iraq organisation without disavowing the scandals that are committed in your name”.

“If you still can, then this is your last chance to remedy the jihad breakdown that is about to take place in Iraq, that is mostly caused by your followers,” said the letter dated May 22, 2007.

Bin Laden wrote of the need for large-scale terror operations, even though some of his deputies were finding it difficult to organise massive attacks as they tried to avert drones overhead and US eavesdropping.

One document recently declassified in a terrorism trial in New York but not released on Wednesday quotes Abu Musab al-Suri, an al-Qaeda veteran, who advocated going after smaller targets of opportunity as a more realistic approach, intelligence officials said.

“Bin Laden at the time of his death remained focused on large-scale operations while other al-Qaeda leaders believed smaller operations, or inciting lone terrorist attacks, could succeed at bleeding the West economically,” the intelligence analyst said.

Bin Laden failed to win the argument. After his death, al-Qaeda’s leadership called for lone-wolf attacks, and Suri’s idea of “individual jihad” won out.

ISIL, which was officially excommunicated from al-Qaeda, now controls vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and its online propaganda has been blamed for inspiring attacks from Paris to the Dallas suburbs.

Rajasthan knocked out, RCB set up clash with CSK

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Royal-Challengers-Bangalore

Pune: An allround performance propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to an emphatic 71 run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) eliminator as the latter crashed out of the tournament here on Wednesday.

In reply to RCB’s formidable 180/4, the Royals were bundled out for a paltry 109 in 19 overs.

RCB now play Chennai Super Kings in the qualifier 2, with the winner facing Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in the May 24 final.

Ajinkya Rahane ploughed a lonely furrow for the Royals with a 39-ball 42, as none of the other batsmen came up with any notable contribution, as Sreenath Aravind, Harshal Patel, David Wiese and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets each for RCB.

Rajasthan were jolted early in their innings as inform batting allrounder Shane Watson (10) got out cheaply followed by the talented youngster Sanju Samson (5) who edged it to the keeper off a Harshal Patel delivery.

They could only manage to reach 40/2 in the powerplay as the willowers found it quite difficult playing the shots on the two paced strip.

Skipper Steve Smith (12), however, tried to anchor the innings but just as the Australian was getting into the groove, he lofted one straight down the throat of AB de Villiers at sweeper cover.

At the end of 10 overs, Rajasthan were reeling at 68/3.

The wickets kept on tumbling as the Royals felt the scoreboard pressure with the asking rate going up after every dot ball.

Rahane perished in the deep while Australian allrounder James Faulkner (4) was out caught and bowled by Sreenath Aravind after he managed to squeeze one up in the air off his boots.

From 55/3 in 8.1 overs, the Royals collpased to 95/8 in the 16th over, as the innings never got going.

Earlier in the day, de Villiers top scored for RCB with a 38-ball 66, while Mandeep with his unbeaten knock of 54 from 34 balls was the other major contributor as the duo put together a 113-run partnership.

Choosing to bat on a two paced wicket, RCB were off to a steady start as both openers Chris Gayle (27) and Virat Kohli cautiously negotiated the bowlers who kept hurling at an impeccable line and length.

But both Gayle and Kohli fell in quick succession and thereafter youngster Mandeep helped RCB reach 60/2 at the halfway stage after runs were down to a trickle.

However, de Villiers who had been quietly picking up the ones and twos, finally broke the shackles as he clobbered left arm spinner Ankit Sharma for 19 runs in the 15th over, in turn bringing up the 100 for his side.

Mandeep joined in the act as the duo cruised along on high gears notching 37 from the next 18 balls, which included two huge sixes from de Villiers off Chris Morris in the 18th over.

Though the South African got run out, Mandeep ensured they had a formidable total on the scoreboard.

For the Royals, Dhawal Kulkarni (2/28) was the pick of the bowlers.

(IANS)

Black money: Dossier on 15 entities with government

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BLACK-MONEY

New Delhi: The Supreme Court constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has received a new dossier on tax related business information on about 15 entities which have allegedly stashed illicit money abroad.

Work is also “in progress” in various investigation and enforcement agencies regarding 600 suspect names and addresses obtained from abroad by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB).

The information about the dossier is part of a note prepared by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for the SIT.

The note reveals that tax authorities and investigators probing black money cases have decided to hold one-on-one meetings with their overseas counterparts based in tax havens and other countries to “deepen” cooperation in the fight against illicit funds stashed abroad.

The note also says that “certificates of incorporation” of eleven entities listed in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report which were received from two foreign Financial Intelligence Units have been shared with CBDT for further action.

Sources said they have got additional information on about four more entities in this regard. The dossier is said to contain information about the circuitous manner and the route taken by the entities to stash money abroad.

The ICIJ brought out these names early last year while some additional details were published by the global group this year on suspected world entities holding assets and shares in overseas business structures, including those with Indian connections.

(Agencies)

No conclusion drawn on IAS officer DK Ravi's death: CBI

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ias-dk-ravi

Bengaluru: Investigation into the death of an IAS officer here, which had stirred a huge controversy over circumstances surrounding it, was still underway and no conclusion had yet been drawn on it, the CBI said today.

It said “all aspects/hypotheses” relating to the unnatural death of D K Ravi, found hanging at his house here on March 16, were being inquired into.

The clarification by the central agency came amid reports that CBI in its preliminary probe had found that Ravi, known as an upright officer, had committed suicide over some alleged real estate transactions involving him.

“In reference to reports in certain section of media regarding CBI concluding its investigation in DK Ravi’s case, CBI would like to state that all aspects/hypotheses relating to the unnatural death of DK Ravi are being inquired into. The matter is under investigation and no conclusion has yet been drawn on the matter,” CBI sources told PTI.

CBI had started a preliminary inquiry last month into the “unnatural” death of Ravi, an IAS officer of 2009 batch whose body was found hanging at his residence in Bengaluru a month ago.

His mysterious death had snowballed into a major controversy with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah agreeing to hand over the case to CBI after public outcry and demand from Ravi’s family which rejected the suicide theory.

(PTI)

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