The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Tuesday that it had “confirmed information” that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said in June that it might have killed Baghdadi when one of its air strikes hit a gathering of Islamic State commanders on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials have been sceptical. Reuters could not independently verify Baghdadi’s death.
“(We have) confirmed information from leaders, including one of the first rank, in the Islamic State in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor,” the director of the British-based war monitoring group Rami Abdulrahman told Reuters.
Baghdadi’s death had been announced many times before but the Observatory has a track record of credible reporting on Syria’s civil war. Abdulrahman said Observatory sources in Syria’s eastern town of Deir al-Zor had been told by Islamic State sources that Baghdadi had died “but they did not specify when”.
Iraqi and Kurdish officials did not confirm his death. The U.S. Department of Defence said it had no immediate information corroborate Baghdadi’s death. Islamic State-affiliated websites and social media feeds have not carried any news regarding the leader’s possible death. The death of Baghdadi, who declared a caliphate from a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, would be one of the biggest blows yet to the jihadist group, which is trying to defend shrinking territory in Syria and Iraq.
Bhubaneshwar, Jul 10 : In a stunning show of dominance, India clinched five gold to top the medal tally for first time in the history of Asian Athletics Championships, pushing China to second spot, in their most successful campaign in the continental flagship event here today.
With today’s 5 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze, India ended the four-day championships on top with their highest ever medal haul of 29 medals (12 gold, 5 silver and 12 bronze).
India’s best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition where they had won 22 medals (10 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze).
China ended this edition on second position with 8 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze. They won 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze today.
Japan topped the medal tally in the first five editions of the Asian championships from 1973 to 1981. China’s domination began from 1983 at Kuwait City and continued till the previous edition at their home venue in Wuhan two years ago.
India snapped China’s monopoly this time though their northern neighbours had fielded only a second string team here as their athletes are reserving their best for the upcoming World championships in London next month.
The host country, however, suffered a huge setback after 800m runner Archana Yadav was disqualified, after being initially declared as the gold medal winner, for pushing Sri Lankan rival Nimali Waliwarsha Konda from behind near the finishing line. The gold medal was then awarded to Konda and India thus lost a yellow metal in dramatic circumstances.
Despite this setback, the Sunday crowd at the Kalinga Stadium were on the edge of their seats as the Indians dished out a superb performance.
It was heptathlete Swapna Barman who gave India the first gold of the day (as Archana was qualified) as she collected a total of 5942 points from the seven events.
The 20-year-old from Bengal collapsed just after crossing the 800m race, the last of the seven events, and was taken for immediate medical attention.
Japan’s Meg Hemphill was second with 5883 points while another Indian Purnima Hembram was third with 5798 points.
After that Lakhsmanan Govinda took the centrestage as he grabbed his second gold of the championship by winning the men’s 10,000m event in 29 minute and 55.87 seconds. Another Indian Gopi Thonkanal was second in 29:58.89.
World junior record holder javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra struggled in his initial attempts but got his touch in time to clinch the gold with a final throw of 85.23m. Devinder Singh, who was embroiled in a marijuana positive test case, was third by clearing a distance of 83.29m.
India fittingly wrapped up the championships by winning gold in the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay races to send the packed crowd to wild celebrations, knowing fully well that it was a historic moment with the host country topping the medal tally for the first time.
The men’s quartet of Kunhu Muhammad, Muhammad Anas, Rajiv Arokia and Amoj Jacob clocked 3 minute 2.92 seconds to win the race while the women’s team of Nirmala Sheoran, M Povamma, Jisna Mathew and Debashree Mazumdar clocked 3:31.34 to ran away winners.
Jinson Johnson in men’s 800m and Purnima Hembram in women’s heptathlon won a bronze each.
Caracas, Jul 10 : Venezuela hit its 100th day of anti-government protests today, one day after its most prominent political prisoner, Leopoldo Lopez, vowed to continue his fight for freedom after being released from jail and placed under house arrest.
Lopez’s surprise prison release triggered speculation over the prospect of negotiations between the opposition and Venezuela’s embattled leftist government of Nicolas Maduro, with a rising toll of death and destruction from three months of non-stop street protests.
Lopez, leader of the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party and a symbol of resistance to the Maduro government, emerged hours after his release from prison looking fit and happy.
He pumped his fist in the air, unfurled the Venezuelan flag and told a crowd of supporters who had gathered outside: “Yes, we can!”
“I maintain my firm opposition to this regime,” Lopez said in a statement read by a leader of his party. “I reiterate my commitment to fight until conquering Venezuela’s freedom.”
President Maduro, in televised remarks later Saturday, called for a message of “peace and rectification” from Lopez.
Maduro said he hoped the statement from Lopez could provide the basis for reconciliation “because the nation wants peace.”
Lopez, a 46-year-old Harvard-trained politician, was held for more than three-and-a-half years in a military prison outside Caracas for allegedly “inciting violence” by calling for anti-government protests.
His release has been a key demand of Venezuela’s opposition and the international community, amid an intensifying political confrontation aimed at forcing the unpopular Maduro to hold early elections.
Attorney General Luisa Ortega — the most senior figure to defy Maduro — accused the government of using Lopez to “improve its image.”
“People deprived of liberty cannot be used as if they were hostages that can be objects of negotiation,” she told the Chilean daily newspaper La Tercera.
At least 91 people have died since April 1 in clashes between protesters and security forces over moves by the courts and the government to strip the National Assembly of power, delay elections and rewrite the constitution.
The Supreme Court said it had ordered Lopez’s move to house arrest for health reasons, calling it a “humanitarian measure.”
In Madrid, Javier Cremades, Lopez’s Spanish lawyer, underscored that “all of Leopoldo Lopez’s civil and political rights must still be restored.”
“What’s more, there are still 300 political prisoners in the Bolivarian jails,” he added.
Foro Penal, an NGO, puts the number of political prisoners in Venezuela at 433. The government insists they are in jail for acts of violence.
The US State Department called the release of Lopez “a significant step in the right direction” — but said many more such steps are needed.
The former mayor of a Caracas municipality, Lopez was an early champion of street protests to force political change in Venezuela as the oil-rich country spiraled into a severe economic and political crisis after the death of Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
The government blamed Lopez for a months-long outbreak of anti-government protests in 2014 that left 43 people dead in clashes with security forces.
He was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison on charges that his defense said were politically motivated and based on “manipulated” evidence.
Since then the crisis has deepened, with more deaths and increasing levels of violence.
On Wednesday, pro-government militants wielding sticks and pipes stormed the grounds of the opposition-held National Assembly and beat lawmakers, injuring at least five at the only state institution that the opposition nominally controls.
Maduro condemned the violence and said he had ordered an investigation.
New Delhi, Jul 8 : Jammu and Kashmir, the only state that missed the July 1 rollout date of Goods and Services Tax (GST), today joined the new indirect tax fold making GST a true ‘one nation, one tax’ regime.
President Pranab Mukherjee promulgated today two ordinances — the Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Ordinance, 2017 and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Ordinance, 2017 — extending the domain of Central GST Act and the Integrated GST Act to the state from July 8.
The Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 was adopted by the state assembly yesterday.
With this, the Union Ministry of Finance said, Jammu and Kashmir has become part of the GST regime, making GST “truly a ‘one nation, one tax’ regime”.
“Congratulations to the Mehbooba Mufti led PDP-BJP Government of J&K for making the GST constitutionally possible in the state,” tweeted Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
GST was rolled out in the country on July 1 with much fanfare marked by a midnight programme in Parliament that was attended by Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other dignitaries.
However, because of the special provisions applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, extra steps had to be taken before the state could come under the GST fold.
On July 6, the state had taken the first step towards adopting the GST regime with the President of India giving assent to the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Amendment Order, 2017.
Resultantly, the One Hundred and First Amendment Act, 2016 to the Constitution of India that paved the way for introduction of GST in the country, became applicable to the state of Jammu and Kashmir also.
Following this, the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 was passed by the State Legislature yesterday, empowering the state to levy State GST on intra-state supplies with effect from July 8.
In an attempt to digitise its education system, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Thursday launched Digital Libraries comprising 68 lakh books which would cater to students from the primary level to PhD level thereby providing a digital platform to bookworms.
The libraries, which was launched by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, would be accessible on the NDMC website and mobile application for free.
“With an aim to improve education to move ahead in the digital era, the NDMC has endeavoured to provide digital libraries in its schools using the e-Granthalaya Integrated Library Management Software from National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.
“Students can have access to over 68 lakh books on subjects like literature, mythology, science, research papers and academics free of cost,” an NDMC spokesperson said, adding, the council now aims to digitise all its public libraries.
While launching the service, Naidu said that the school Library is not only to promote building a knowledge driven community for the future but also to develop a road map for students. He said that books are our best friends because books can provide us company in our bliss and rainy days and added that the step can help in transforming the manner in which information can be accessed.
The initiative is part of the Smart Classroom initiative of the NDMC under which the civic agency aims to digitise the education system in the schools of their jurisdictions.
NDMC has set up 444 Smart Classes in its 30 schools, with e-learning facilities in Class VI-XII, to raise the standard of education.
Bangkok, Jul 7: World youth champion Sachin Siwach (49kg) was the lone Indian to enter the final, while five others settled for bronze medals after losing their last-four stage bouts in the Asian Youth Boxing Championship here on Thursday.
Sachin defeated Thailand’s Panmod Thitisan to enter the final, where he will face Uzbekistan’s Samandar Kholmurodov in tomorrow.
However, none of the other Indians in fray could advance and settled for bronze medals.
Ankit Kumar (60kg) lost to Thailand’s Sakda Ruamthamin a close bout. The Indian went down in a split verdict despite a fairly dominant show, especially in the second and third round.
Naveen Boora (69kg) was the next man in for India and he too ended up on the losing side, beaten by Thailand’s Peerap Yaesungnoen.
In the super heavyweight (+91kg) category, Harshpreet Sahrawat lost to Uzbekistan’s Lazizbek Mullajanov.
Harshpreet was fighting his first bout of the tournament after getting a direct entry to the semi-finals owing to the small size of the draw.
Mohammed Etash Khan (56kg) also found the going tough against Thailand’s Pluem Wangkhlaklang and ended up with a bronze medal.
The last man to compete for India on Thursday was Sachin (75kg) and although he gave a good fight to China’s Zhu Chao, the effort could not get the judges’ nod, who ruled in his opponent’s favour in a split decision.
The tournament features 120 boxers from 23 countries.
Work is underway on China’s second railway line to Tibet that will wind through some of the world’s most mountainous and inhospitable territory and likely take the better part of a decade to complete, state media said today.
Work at the line’s two ends in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and Tibet’s capital of Lhasa has already begun, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Other feasibility studies have been completed, but the most difficult section, through the mountains from Kangding in Sichuan to Nyingchi in Tibet, is still being designed and may take seven years to finish once construction begins, Xinhua said.
Once completed, the line will run for 1,700 kilometers, 80 per cent of it consisting of tunnels and bridges. Total cost is estimated at 250 billion yuan (USD 37 billion), while the travel time from Chengdu to Lhasa will be cut from 48 to about 13 hours, Xinhua said.
Likening it to a roller coaster, designers said the line will traverse eight ascents and descents, topping out at 4,400 meters (14,400 feet), Xinhua said. Varying terrain, landslides and earthquakes are also major threats.
“It will be the most difficult super project in railway construction history,” Xia Lie, a senior engineer at China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, was quoted as saying.
The line is the latest in a seemingly endless series of hugely ambitious construction projects that include the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam, the world’s longest bridge over water in Jiaozhou Bay and the world’s most extensive high-speed rail network.
China opened an initial line to Lhasa from Qinghai province to the northeast in 2006 that runs for 1,956 kilometers (1,215 miles) and tops out at about 4,000 meters.
New Delhi, Jul 6: A Parliamentary panel is understood to have sought details from the government on the Air India disinvestment decision.
Sources said the government’s decision to divest stake in Air India was discussed today at the meeting of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.
After the discussion, it was decided to seek an explanation on the reasons behind the disinvestment decision from the civil aviation ministry. The aviation secretary is believed to have been asked to appear before the panel on July 12, sources said.
On June 28, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its in-principle approval for the disinvestment of Air India, which has been in the red for long.
During the panel’s meeting today, sources said the issue of Air India was raised by Congress member and former Minister of State for Civil Aviation K C Venugopal.
A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, would be looking into various aspects of Air India.
It would look into the treatment of unsustainable debts of the national carrier, hiving off certain assets to a shell company and de-merger and strategic disinvestment of three profit- making subsidiaries.
Air India, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 52,000 crore, is staying afloat on taxpayers’ money. The previous UPA government had extended bailout package worth little over Rs 30,000 crore to the national carrier for a ten-year period starting from 2012.