Gali Nagaraja

The Moroccan authorities said on Thursday that they raided an Islamic State (IS) affiliate cell in the central city of Berkane.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the seven-member terrorist cell had pledged allegiance to a so-called Caliph at the radical group.

“Investigations revealed that the cell members were planning to carry out dangerous terrorist operations in Morocco, including kidnapping and killing people who did not share their ideas, as well as tourists going to the eastern region’s sea resorts,” the ministry added.

The number of South Koreans diagnosed with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) rose to 122 since the first case was discovered on May 20, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Fourteen new cases were added on Thursday, including a 39-year-old pregnant woman, according to the ministry of health and welfare. The pregnant woman has been in stable conditions, Xinhua reported.

Among the new cases were eight people contracting the virus at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. The total number infected at the Samsung hospital surged to 55 with the eight new confirmations.

Govt. of India is taking steps for the selection of new Vice Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Some vested persons are making attempts to get the person of their choice appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of Urdu University. Lobbying is going on in the
Ministry of HRD.

Former Special Officer of A.P. State Wakf Board, Mr. Shaik Mohammed Iqbal, IPS had organized a press conference in which he had made derogatory remarks against Mr. Mahboob Alam Khan, Secretary of Anwar-ul-Uloom College. Mr. Khan filed a criminal case in the court of IV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The court cancelled stay order obtained by Mr. Iqbal and allowed Mr. Khan to proceed with the criminal case. It is reported that Mr. Khan is engaging noted lawyers for pleading his case in High Court as well as Supreme Court.

–Siasat News

An important meeting of the cabinet of Telangana State was held last evening at Secretariat which continued for 3 hours. CM of Telangana State presided over the meeting. It is understood that cabinet discussed in details various issues, especially the situation created due to note-for-vote crisis.

Two minor boys of 15 and 13 year old lured the neighbour’s girl by offering her chocolates and sexually assaulted her. The girl was afraid of telling her parents initially out of fear. When doctors examined her, they confirmed rape. A criminal case was booked in Saroornagar police.

The girl is a student of class 1. She was alone at home as her parents had gone out for work.

Mr. P. Venugopala Rao, ACP of L.B. Nagar told that the accused boys have been arrested after conducting a brief enquiry. He also said that minor boys will be produced before juvenile court soon.

Ms. T. Rajani in charge Judge at the court of the First Metropolitan Sessions Judge at Nampally convicted Mallikarjun guilty of raping her 2- year old daughter. She was admitted in Niloufer Hospital. Doctors confirmed rape and advised mother to allow her rest for two months. The victim died due to injuries and walking.

As the rupee slumped to 64.03 against the US dollar in early trade, Congress today took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the value of Indian currency has gone past his age.

The remark was made by party spokesperson Ajay Maken at the AICC briefing here.

Maken, however, chose to avoid a tongue-in-cheek query on whether he sees the rupee going past the age of 87-year-old BJP veteran L K Advani.

Pakistan Army Chief Raheel Sharif today took serious note of Indian “hostile rhetoric” and pledged to foil any “evil” design against the country.

Sharif made the remarks while chairing the Formation Commanders Conference in Rawalpindi comprising top military commanders to review the ongoing operation against militants in the country.

The forum took “serious notice of recent Indian hostile rhetoric coupled with their covert & overt actions to destabilise Pak”, Military spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said in one of seven tweets regarding the conference.

Following allegations of domestic violence levelled against Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti by his wife Lipika Mitra, the Delhi Police on Wednesday assured that appropriate action will be taken in the case.

“These kinds of matters are kept confidential. Her problems are being heard and proper action would be taken,” Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi told media here.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Commission for Women served notice to Bharti after his wife Lipika Mitra accused him of domestic violence.

The farmer, who had briefed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Sirhind, Punjab, on the plight of the farming community, committed suicide in Fatehgarh Sahib district’s Dadu Majra village today.

60-year-old Singh had briefed Gandhi on the plight of the farmers and distress caused to them by crop loss due to unseasonal rains.

According to reports, the farmer was unable to pay off the loan which he had taken. The farmer’s wheat crop was destroyed by the unseasonal rain in March and April.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday directed Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh to travel to Manipur to take stock of the situation there.

The Prime Minister’s directive has come a day after the army engaged two separate groups of militants along the Indo-Myanmar border after an ambush in Manipur left 18 army personnel dead, with a further 11 injured.

According to reports, Dr Singh will interact with members of civil society, political parties and security officials. He is also expected to visit Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Prof. Irteza Kareem, Director of National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, New Delhi visited the office of Siasat Urdu Daily yesterday and met Mr. Zahid Ali Khan, Editor of Siasat Urdu Daily. Prof. Irteza Kareem told that NCPUL has taken a decision to establish its regional centers throughout the country in order to highlight the plans of the council and also to review the issues relating to Urdu language.

Denying that the Telangana government has tapped anybody’s phone, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Wednesday said that his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu can’t escape from law in a cash-for-vote scam.

“I am not a police constable to arrest criminals. It’s for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to take action as it is investigating the case,” he told reporters on Wednesday night.

Saying that Naidu was caught ‘red-handed’ while talking to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson, he said law would take its own course against the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief.

The Syrian military forces on Wednesday recaptured key oil fields in central Syria, following battles with the Islamic State (IS) militants, a media report said.

The government forces fully captured the al-Jisel oil fields and the town with the same name in the eastern countryside of the central province of Homs, near the ancient city of Palmyra, which was overran by the IS militants last month, Xinhua reported citing the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The US will send up to 450 additional military personnel to train Iraqi forces combating IS militants, the White House said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama has authorised the deployment of up to 450 additional troops to train, advise, and assist Iraqi security forces at Taqaddum military base in Anbar province, aiming to improve the capabilities and effectiveness of partners on the ground, Xinhua quoted a White House statement as saying.

The US troops will “not serve in a combat role,” the statement stressed.

The Medicity, a multi-speciality institute located in Gurgaon, today introduced the ‘scar free breast biopsy’ treatment, which ensures 99 per cent scar free detection and removal of breast cancer tumour, for the first time in India.

The new technology makes early diagnosis possible and saves women from breast amputation and other causalities related to cancer.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today praised Maryam Asif Siddiqui, the winner of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League, saying she has set an unique example of respect for all religions by winning the championship.

Maryam, a resident of Mumbai, met Chouhan along with her father here.

Chouhan blessed the 12-year-old student for winning the Gita Champion League held this year by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) in Mumbai.

Tension prevailed in PGI area here today after some persons were allegedly found slaughtering a cow and calf, triggering protest by the locals, police said.

The incident was reported around 3.30 am when a boy saw some persons allegedly slaughtering a cow and a calf. The accused escaped as soon as the boy raised an alarm, police said.

The locals gathered on the spot and organised a sit-in dharna demanding strict action against those involved in the act, police said.

Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protestors in which few sustained minor injuries.

Former captain Rahul Dravid today emphatically ruled out the notion that he was interested in taking up the India coaching job after Duncan Fletcher’s departure.

“No, absolutely not. I am only looking at India A and Under-19 appointment (as coach). I am not thinking about that (national coach’s post),” Dravid told reporters here when asked about his coaching aspirations.

The Congress on Wednesday complimented the Indian Army for its operation against militants along the India-Myanmar border, but said such matters should not be politicised.

Party spokesperson Ajay Maken said there was a difference between what Minister of State for External Affairs Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore claimed and what the army has said.

“The Indian Army has never said that it entered Myanmar. What we would like to say is that such things should never be politicised,” he said.

A new report has revealed that the members of a United Nations peacekeeping mission engaged in ‘transactional sex’ with over 225 Haitian women but the cases were highly under-reported.

The report was a draft prepared by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which examined the way the peacekeeping mission dealt with the problem of sexual abuse and exploitation across the world.

Almost 125,000 peacekeepers are stationed in some of the world’s most troubled locales, reported The Guardian.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said that the charges of domestic violence levelled against Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti raises serious questions with regards to their strategy to tackle crime against women.

Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul are reportedly holding celebrations to observe the first anniversary of their capture of Iraq’s second largest city.

Images have emerged showing the terror group’s black flags hung at the top of every lamp post in one of the main streets. Posters and decorations have also been put up on important buildings, reported the BBC.

The victory over Mosul last year prompted the terror outfit to launch a massive offensive that saw it seizing large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. (ANI)

A court here on Wednesday granted 12-hour bail to TDP’s Telangana MLA A. Revanth Reddy in the cash-for-vote scam, to enable him to attend his his daughter’s engagement on Thursday.

The court dealing with Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases granted interim bail to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader from Telangana. Reddy will be released from jail at 6 a.m. on Thursday.

The court imposed the condition that while on bail, Reddy should not meet political leaders and media persons.