KABUL: Taliban is again making headlines for its cryptic practices the latest being a Talibani commander using a military helicopter to take his newlywed bride home, media reported citing sources.

According to local sources in Logar province, the commander allegedly flew his newlywed bride from Logar to Khost province, in eastern Afghanistan, using a military helicopter.

As per Afghanistan’s local media, Khaama Press, the Talibani figure was referred to as a commander of the Haqqani branch of the Taliban on social media. The sources claimed that he resides in Khost and that his wife’s residence is in the Barki Barak district of Logar in the east of Afghanistan.

Providing further details of the situation, the sources said that the commander flew his wife on Saturday, to the Shah Mazar region of the Barki Barak district of Logar province. The wife of the Taliban commander was seen being transported in a military helicopter.

In a video that went viral on social media, the commander is seen landing near a house. Furthermore, it is claimed that this commander gave his father-in-law 1,200,000 Afghanis as dowry in exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage, as per the media portal.

However, defending the commander, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, argued that the allegations are false. He further termed the commentary on the commander as “propaganda of the enemy”. He added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan dismisses the allegation of a military helicopter being used by the Talibani commander.

People on social media registered their protest over the viral video that was circulated on social media. It incited outrage among the public. People condemned the action and said that it is a blatant misuse of public property.

This occurred after the Taliban have been in control for almost a year, but the group has notably failed to establish a government and gain domestic legitimacy and international recognition.

Taliban is also infamous for its crackdown on women’s rights. The list of Taliban violations of the rights of women and girls is long and growing, said Heather Barr, Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), as she raised growing concerns about the violation of the rights in the country.

When the Taliban announced in May that women and girls should not leave their homes unless necessary and should do so only with their whole bodies including their faces covered, only a few were surprised. Others, who lived through the last period of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, were not.

“Some diplomats and other Afghanistan watchers who listened to Taliban leaders promise during negotiations and at their news conference two days after seizing the capital that they would respect all women’s rights this time, including their freedom of movement and access to employment and education,” Barr had said.

She said Afghan women’s rights activists warned all along that the Taliban’s promises to respect women’s rights were false. Afghan rights activists warned in the days after the Taliban took the capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, that the group would intensify their crackdown on women.” The list of Taliban violations of the rights of women and girls is long and growing,” the high-ranking HRW official said.

Since the Taliban takeover, there have been many statements condemning their abuses from an impressive range of international and regional organizations and countries. What there has not been, however, is a clear plan for how the countries condemning Taliban abuses will work together to defend the rights of Afghan women and girls and pressure the Taliban to end these abuses.

Of the fresh cases detected from 12,897 tests in 18 districts, the maximum 202 cases were from quarantine and 144 local contacts. The test positivity rate (TPR) shot up to 2.68 per cent from 1.7 per centin a day. The TPR rose to 9.91 per cent in Khurda, 5.22 per centin Cuttack, 2.99 pc in Sambalpur, and 2.23 per centin Sundargarh. The active cases in the State have gone up to 1,310.

The number of infections jumped by 100 pc in Khurda in 24 hours as the district recorded 189 cases, of which 90 pc were from the Capital city Bhubaneswar, followed by 51 from Cuttack, 13 from Sundargarh, seven each from Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Nuapada and five each from Rayagada and Sambalpur.

Although Puri reported four cases, health experts fear the pilgrim town that witnessed a congregation of lakhs of devotees on the occasion of Rath Yatra on July 1 may see a spike in the coming days. Not only in Puri, large congregations of devotees and visitors were also seen in districts like Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Kendrapara and Keonjhar for the annual Car festival.

Anticipating a surge in cases, the State government has kept Covid beds with oxygen supply ready in most of the district headquarters. Health authorities said they are keeping a close watch on the rising trend and initiating measures as appropriate.

Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said the infections are mostly urban-centric and the disease severity is less among the patients as less than one pc people is hospitalised.“The second half of July is crucial as cases may arise due to the festival. But, we are ready to tackle any exigencies,” he added.

“Shelling from multiple rocket launchers on Sloviansk, the heaviest for a long time. There are 15 fires. Many dead and wounded,” Vadim Lyakh said in a video published on Facebook.

Tetyana Ignachenko, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk region to which Sloviansk belongs, told Ukrainian media that the strikes left “six dead and 15 wounded”.

She also reiterated a call on residents to leave the region, as the frontline is just a few kilometres (miles) away.

Ukrainian media said one of the city’s markets was on fire following the strikes. 

Further south, the town of Kramatorsk, which is the administrative centre of Ukraine’s Donbas, was hit for the second day in a row by Smerch rockets, according to the town’s mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko. 

The strikes, which hit a residential area and an unoccupied hotel, caused no casualties, he said. 

Sloviansk and Kramatorsk are key targets for Moscow, particularly if the capture of Lysychansk in the northeast claimed by Russia on Sunday is confirmed. 

TUMAKURU: The controversy that erupted after former Congress MLA KN Rajanna’s statement on former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s health condition appears to be helping the JDS rank and file to unite in the Old Mysuru region especially in Tumakuru district.

The Vokkaliga community organisations have reportedly written to Congress party high command asking them to refused ticket to Rajanna from the Madugiri assembly seat in the 2023 assembly polls, sources told The New Indian Express.

KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who had been gaining traction among the community in the region, is worried by Rajanna’s statement that has hurt the feelings of the community. Evidently, the JDS is making most of the opportunity with protest rallies in Kunigal and Madhugiri taluks and there are plans to organise more, sources said.

Rajanna, an ST Nayaka leader, had helped BJP win Tumakuru seat for the first time in 1989 and had contested as a rebel against the Congress party’s official candidate Shafi Ahmed. He then shifted to JDS and was elected from the erstwhile Bellavi assembly seat when Gowda campaigned in 2004, but shifted his loyalty back to Congress in 2008 but lost from Madhugiri twice.

Shivakumar, after meeting Swamiji of Sringeri Sharada Peetham at his home on Sunday, told media persons, “Rajanna’s remarks has nothing to do with the party. The party leadership and myself suggested he should apologise. He has already tendered an apology. Let’s leave it there.”

LUCKNOW: AAP on Sunday protested here over Agnipath and said it has sent a cheque for Rs 420 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing his government of cheating the youth with the new military recruitment scheme, the party said.

In a symbolic protest, members of the Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing-Chatr-Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), sought money from the public amidst the slogans of “Narendra Modi ji ke liye bheek de do” (Give alms for Narendra Modi).

After announcing the military recruitment scheme on June 14, the Central government faced flak from defence aspirants across the country.

AAP’s Uttar Pradesh incharge and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said in a tweet in Hindi, “Modi Ji said that there is no money for the Indian army and jawans will be given jobs for only four years. The student and youth wing of @AAPUttarPradesh begged all across the state and sent a cheque of Rs 420 to the 420 government of Modi.”

The amount refers to the Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that deals with cheating.

“See the brutality of Baba’s (Adityanath) Police and remember that one day @Uppolice will also be on a 4 year contract,” he added in the tweet in which he also shared a video clip showing UP police personnel dragging protesting AAP members into buses.

In Lucknow, over two dozen AAP members were removed from the busy Hazratganj intersection by the police.

Police officials maintained that no one was arrested or detained.

Singh on Saturday said, that Modi would be told not to do ‘char sau beesi’ (cheating) with the Indian Army and AAP will also appeal to the government “to not cry for money to protect the country.”

He added that AAP will continue to protest against the scheme as the government is “misguiding” people by claiming “lack of money for the security of the borders” as the reason behind the scheme.

MUMBAI: The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on Monday passed the floor Test in Maharashtra Assembly.

Ahead of the trust vote, one more Shiv Sena MLA from the Uddhav Thackeray camp joined CM Shinde’s faction, taking its tally to 40.

The Shiv Sena currently has 55 MLAs in the 288-member state Assembly.

Santosh Bangar, the MLA from Kalamnuri in Hingoli district, on Monday morning switched over to the Shinde camp.

Earlier, in a jolt to Uddhav Thackeray ahead of the Eknath Shinde-led government’s floor test, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar had on Sunday reinstated Shinde as the Shiv Sena legislature party leader, removing Ajay Chaudhary.

Narvekar also recognised the appointment of Bharat Gogawale from the Shinde camp as the chief whip of the Sena, removing Sunil Prabhu, who belongs to the Thackeray faction.

The development comes as a major setback to the Thackeray faction, which will be bound by the whip to be issued by Gogawale for the trust vote.

If these MLAs refuse to follow the whip, they face disqualification.

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here to record his statement in a money laundering probe, and left after more than 10 hours.

Raut reached the ED office located at the Ballard Estate in south Mumbai around 11.30 am. He was seen leaving the office around 10 at night.

Heavy police force was deployed outside the central agency’s office as a large number of Shiv Sena workers were present at the spot. Barricades were placed on the roads leading to the office.

After his arrival, the Sena MP, sporting a saffron muffler around his neck, waved at his supporters before entering the office with his lawyer.

Speaking to reporters before going inside, Raut said, “I will cooperate with the agency in the investigation. It had summoned me, they require some information from me and it is my duty as a Member of Parliament, a responsible citizen and a leader of a political party to cooperate with them.”

He said he was “fearless and undaunted” as he has “not done anything wrong in life”. When asked whether it is a politically motivated case, Raut said, “We will come to know that later. I think I am appearing before an agency which is neutral, and I have full confidence in them.

“Earlier in the day, the Sena leader posted a tweet saying, “I will be appearing bfore the ED today at 12 noon. I respect the Summons issued to me and it’s my duty to co-operate with the investigation agencies. I appeal Shivsena workers not to gather at the ED office.

Don’t worry!” The ED had summoned the Rajya Sabha member for questioning in the money laundering probe linked to the re-development of a Mumbai ‘chawl’ (tenement) and related financial transactions involving his wife and friends.

The agency had earlier summoned him on June 28.

However, Raut had termed the ED’s summons as a “conspiracy” to stop him from fighting against the Shiv Sena’s political opponents in the wake of a rebellion by party MLAs, and said he will not be able to appear before the agency on Tuesday as he had to attend a meeting in Alibag (Raigad district). The ED then issued a fresh summons and asked him to appear before it on Friday.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of Delhi police on a plea by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair challenging the legality of his police remand in a case related to an alleged objectionable tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice on the petition and granted two weeks to the investigating agency to file its response to the petition which challenges the legality and proprietary of the trial court’s June 28 order granting four days of custody of Zubair to the police.

The judge listed the case for further hearing on July 27 and said that proceedings before the trial court would continue without being influenced by the present proceedings.

The court noted that the remand order would expire on July 2 and said, “The police remand order is for four days. I will have to hear the other side. I will issue notice”.

Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets and was sent to one-day police custody by the trial court on the same day.

After being produced on the expiry of his one-day custodial interrogation, his custody was extended by another four days by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria.

As per the trial court’s order, Zubair would be next produced before it on July 2 upon the expiry of the four days of police remand.

Earlier this month, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language, etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Police said the case was registered on the complaint of a Twitter user who accused him of hurting religious sentiments.

Police, while seeking an extension of Zubair’s custody by five days, had told the trial court that the accused was allegedly following a trend where he used religious tweets in an effort to get famous and that there was a deliberate effort to create social disharmony and hurt religious feelings.

The investigating agency had also said that the accused joined the probe but did not cooperate and various material from his phone was deleted.

Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the accused, had opposed the police plea alleging that the agency had called Zubair for questioning in some other case but he was arrested in the present case in haste.

Zubair’s counsel had also said that the photo which the accused used in the tweets is of an old Hindi film from 1983 by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, ‘Kissi Se Na Kehna’, and that the film was not banned.

The trial court had, however, rejected the submission saying it was of no assistance to the accused at this stage.

“Considering that mobile phone/laptop of accused used by him for posting the tweet in question is to be recovered at the instance of accused Mohammed Zubair from his Bangalore residence and that accused has remained non-cooperative and the disclosure statement on record, four days PC (police custody) remand of accused is granted since accused is to be taken to Bangalore,” the trial court had said in a 3-page order.