193_CH_15_July_2016

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CITY HILIGHTS Vol 1, Issue 193 `.1.00/- Friday, July 15, 2016 www.ibcworldnews.com www.cityhilights.news English Daily 4 NATION PM NARENDRA MODI CONGRATULATES NEW BRITISH PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated newly appointed British Prime Minister Theresa May and said he was looking forward to working with her for stronger ties between the two countries. “Congratulations to @theresa_may on taking over as the new UK PM. Looking forward to working with her for stronger India-UK ties,” Modi tweeted. The Prime Minister also appreciated former British Prime Minister David Cameron for his contribution towards India-Britain ties. Theresa May on Wednesday became Britain’s second female Prime Minister. INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION SHOOTS UP TO 1.62 PER CENT Ballooning prices of food articles pushed up India’s annual wholesale price index sharply to 1.62 per cent for June from 0.79 per cent for the month before. This kept the inflation level in the positive domain for the third month after 17 months in the negative. The annual inflation for potatoes, as per data on official wholesale price index (WPI) released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, was as much as 64.48 per cent, while for pulses it was 26.61 per cent. Vegetable prices were 16.91 per cent higher. Significantly, the final wholesale price index for the month of April was also revised to suggest a higher annual inflation rate of 0.79 per cent against 0.34 per cent as reported earlier. PARTLY CLOUDY MORNING IN THE CAPITAL It was a partly cloudy Thursday morning at Delhi with the minimum temperature recorded at 27.4 degrees Celsius, average for the season, the weather office said. On Wednesday, Delhi saw an average of 16.3 mm rainfall. However, that failed to afford Delhiites respite from the sweltering humidity. On Thursday, the humidity at 8.30 a.m. was recorded at 84 per cent. Visibility stood at 3,000 metres. The maximum temperature on Wednesday settled at 35.4 degrees Celsius, average for the season while the minimum temperature was recorded at 27.8 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average. ZAKIR NAIK AGAIN CANCELS INTERACTION WITH MEDIA Zakir Naik was slated to interact with media via Skype on Thursday, for which arrangements were made at a small hall in South Mumbai. Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, facing heat over allegation of inspiring some of the Dhaka attackers through his speeches, has cancelled his press briefing again, citing pressure from authorities of the venue. SATYENDAR JAIN’S DAUGHTER QUITS AS ADVISOR After receiving flak from the opposition, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s daughter on Thursday resigned as advisor to the Delhi government for its ‘mohalla clinics’ project. Jain, announcing the resignation of his daughter Soumya Jain, denied allegations of nepotism in her appointment in a non-executive post, and said she wasn’t being paid any money for the job. A controversy erupted on Wednesday after Soumya, 26, was appointed as advisor to Delhi’s Health Secretary for the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics. Addressing media persons in the national capital, Jain said, “My daughter has resigned from the post following the controversy over her appointment. Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for criticising her appointment, Jain said, “There are a number of examples of BJP’s leaders’ kin on plum posts. They should also resign.” KASHMIR VIOLENCE: INDIA TEARS INTO PAKISTAN’S ULTERIOR MOTIVE AT UN Tearing into Pakistan’s ulterior motive to cash in on the protest-related deaths in the Kashmir Valley by racking up the issue at the UN platform, India has dubbed it as “an attempt to misuse the UN platform by a country that covets the territory of others and uses terrorism as state policy towards that misguided end”. Participating in a high-level thematic debate on ‘UN@70 Human Rights at the centre of the global agenda, India’s Permanent Representative to U.N. Syed Akbaruddin said: “Regrettably, earlier on Thursday, we have seen an attempt at misuse of this UN platform. DADRI LYNCHING: COURT ORDERS REGIS- TRATION OF FIR AGAINST AKHLAQ’S FAMILY A court in Noida on Thursday ordered the police to file a First Investigation Report (FIR) against Mohammad Akhlaq’s family for alleged cow slaughter. The Uttar Pradesh Police had earlier refused to file a case of cow slaughter against Akhlaq’s family. A petition, seeking registration of an FIR against the family members of Akhlaq, who was lynched nine months ago on suspicion that his family stored and ate beef at their house, was earlier filed in the court. WOMAN PILOT TAKES IAF TO COURT AFTER BEING DENIED PERMANENT COMMISSION Wing Commander Pooja Thakur moved Armed BJP DUBS AAP AS SYNONYM OF ‘MISUSING PUBLIC MONEY AND CORRUPTION’ With the Election Commission set to commence hearing of 21 AAP legislators who were made parliamentary secretaries and are facing charges in the Office of Profit case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party had become synonymous with ‘misusing public money and corruption’. “This government has become a synonym of misusing public money, of corruption and of benefitting members of the party. In the case of 21 parliamentary secretary, public money has been misused. There are seven ministers and you have made 21 parliamentary secretaries for them,” BJP leader Satish The attempt came from Pakistan, a country that covets the territory of others; a country that uses terrorism as state policy towards that misguided end; a country that extols the virtues of terrorists and that provides sanctuary to UN-designated terrorists; and a country that masquerades its efforts as support for human rights and self-determination.” The petitioner had urged the court to direct the police to register an FIR against Akhlaq’s family members on charges of cow slaughter and animal cruelty. The petition claims that two villagers from Bisada namely Ranvir and Jatan, saw Akhlaq and his son Danish beat up a calf on September 29 last year. Akhlaq allegedly told them that since the calf was attacking the people, he was going to tie up the animal at Jaan Mohammed’s house. The petition said another villager Prem Singh while passing by Akhlaq’s house saw the latter holding the calf down while his brother Jaan Mohammad was slitting the animal’s throat. Upadhyay told the media. “Secondly, there is no provision for it in the NCT act. Definitely, the EC has taken it seriously. I am hopeful that EC will follow constitutional norms and will rule against these 21 MLAs.They should understand that there is difference between other states and Delhi. Delhi is a UT state and if there is a provision in the laws let them show it,” he added. The EC will from today begin personal hearing AAP legislators, who are facing the risk of disqualification from the Assembly, in the Office of Profit case. According to reports, the 21 AAP legislators had sought a personal hearing Akbaruddin further said, “Pakistan is the same country whose track record has failed to convince the international community to gain membership of the Human Rights Council in this very Session of the UNGA. The international community has long seen through such designs. Cynical attempts, like the one this morning, therefore, find no resonance in this forum or elsewhere in the United Nations.” Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had said, “India cannot suppress the voice of Kashmiris, who are struggling for their just right of self-determination, by using brutal force and committing human rights violations in Kashmir.” Expressing Pakistan’s concern over the recent spate of violence in Kashmir, Aziz said: “Pakistan is raising the issue of Indian forces’ brutalities at international fora, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union and others.” According to the petitioner, Akhlaq was on the night of September 28 stopped near Bada transformer by some residents, while others reached his house and found a vessel with remains of some animal and meat. The petitioner claimed Forces Tribunal after being denied permanent commission by the Indian Air Force. She is the first lady officer to lead the Inter-Service Guard of Honour which was inspected by US President Barack Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan in January 2015. The Armed Forces Tribunal has admitted the matter and has sought IAF’s response within 4 weeks, Thakur’s Lawyer Sudhanshu Pandey told the media. before the poll b o d y in their reply to a notice by the Election Commission in June. The Delhi Government Bill to exclude the post of Parliamentary Secretary from the office of profit has been refused assent by the President, raising questions over the fate of 21 AAP MLAs, who have been appointed to the posts. The AAP Government had sought an amendment “The international community should come forward and honour their promises of resolving the lingering Kashmir ‘dispute’ in accordance with the United Nations resolutions,” he added. However, brushing aside Aziz’s contention and firmly asserting India’s commitment to human rights, Akbaruddin said, “As a diverse, pluralistic and tolerant society, India’s commitment to the rule of law, democracy and human rights is enshrined in its founding principles and we remain strongly committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all through pursuit of dialogue and cooperation.” Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry briefed the Islamabad-based Ambassadors of the member countries of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir - Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Niger - through its capital on Wednesday morning over the tense situation in Kashmir and conveyed Pakistan’s serious concern over the killings of civilians and violation of their fundamental human rights by Indian Security Forces. (ANI) the mob got out of control and beat up Akhlaq and his son Danish. Akhlaq was beaten to death. The petitioner had also cited forensic report by the Mathura forensic lab, which said the meat samples, were of an animal of the cow progeny. (ANI) The officer in her petition says that the IAF’s decision to reject her permanent commission is “biased, discriminatory, arbitrary and unreasonable”. The incident comes after the Air Force recently allowed women fighter pilots for short service commission. Last month, the IAF scripted history by formally commissioning its first three women fighter pilots. (ANI) to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 through which it had sought “retrospective” exemption for the parliamentary secretaries from disqualification provisions. Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung forwarded the Bill to the Centre, which in turn was sent to the President with comments. (ANI) SC TO HEAR BANKS PLEA AGAINST VIJAY MALLYA ON JULY 18 The Supreme Court said on Thursday that it would hear the contempt petition filed by a consortium of banks against businessman Vijay Mallya on July 18. It may be recalled that in April, the apex court had directed Mallya to disclose all of his assets held by him and his family. The consortium of banks had also rejected his offer to repay Rs 4,000 crores as settlement of all debts. The one-time owner of Kingfisher Airlines owes 17 banks, including the State Bank of India, over Rs 9,000 crore, including interest. One time Member of Parliament, Mallya is under investigation by various agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which probes white collar crimes. Last month, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai had declared Mallya a proclaimed offender in a loan default case. On March 13, Mallya claimed that the consortium had already recovered Rs 2, 494 crore from Kingfisher Airlines since 2013. On June 11, the Enforcement Directorate had attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore of Mallya and UB Ltd in connection with its money laundering probe in the IDBI Bank loan default case. Mallya left for the United Kingdom on March 2 using his diplomatic passport which was later revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI) OWAISI ACCEPTS LAPSES ON AIMIM’S PART IN FILING DOCUMENTS WITH MAHA EC All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi had accepted the lapses on part of his party in filing the requisite documents with the state election commission, which led the latter to cancel AIMIM’s registration as a political party in Maharashtra. “The norms are that a political party must submit regular accounts and other details. Unfortunately, there have been lapses on our part. After we received a show cause notice, we had given a notice to the Maharashtra Owaisi said there was a delay by the AIMIM to submit the documents and they have written to the commission to ‘condone their lapses’. state election commission requesting them to condone our lapses, “Owaisi told the media. “Then we also submitted our documents, but I think it was too late. We will definitely appeal to the commission and in future we will abide by all prescribed norms,” he added. The Maharashtra Election Commission earlier in the day cancelled AIMIM’s registration as a state political party for failing to file its income tax and funds details. The State Election Commission reportedly took this decision after the AIMIM did not respond to notices sent to the party asking it to submit the reports. The cancelation of its registration essentially means that the commission has barred AIMIM from contesting the state civic polls. (ANI) SC VERDICT A LESSON FOR GOVERNORS TO NOT ACT AS BJP, RSS MEMBERS: CONGRESS Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi -led BJP was running the government in a ‘dictatorial’ and ‘anti-democratic’ manner, the Congress party on Thursday said the Supreme Court verdict to restore Nabam Tuki-led Government in Arunachal Pradesh was a lesson for the Governors to abide by the Constitution and not behave like BJP or RSS workers. “The Modi Government is a dictatorial government. Modi Government does not believe in democracy. What happened in Arunachal and Uttarakhand was killing the very idea of democracy. Now, the Supreme Court has given relief. This clearly shows that the Modi Government is anti-democratic and the SC has forced this government to leave its dictatorial fashion of working,” Congress leader Shobha Oza told the media. “It has reminded them the Constitutional position of Governors, and that they should behave as expected, and not as a BJP or RSS member,” she added. Nabam Tuki on Wednesday evening took charge as Chief Minister of the state at Arunachal Bhavan here in Delhi. Hours after the Supreme Court ordered the restoration of his government, a jubilant Tuki met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her official 10, Janpath residence on Wednesday evening. The Congress president during the meeting, which was also attended by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, asked Tuki to take everybody on board and strengthen the grand old party in the northeastern state. In a major setback to the BJP-ruled Centre, the apex court earlier on Thursday quashed “message and direction” issued by Arunachal Pradesh Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa and restored status quo as on December 15 when Congress’ Nabam Tuki was the chief minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, downplayed the Congress’ accusations of toppling elected governments and said the Arunachal Pradesh verdict is not a setback for the Centre. A five-judge constitution bench pronounced the verdict on a bunch of petitions dealing with discretionary powers of the governor to summon or advance the assembly session. Stating the governor’s direction on conducting assembly proceedings is unconstitutional, the apex court set aside all steps and decision taken by the legislative assembly pursuant to the governor’s December 9th last year order and said they are unsustainable. Arunachal Pradesh had been under President’s Rule since January 26. Tuki-led Congress government was dismissed following days of turmoil after 21 of its 47 lawmakers rebelled against the chief minister. The Congress, which had 47 MLAs seats in the 60-member assembly, suffered a jolt when 21 of its lawmakers rebelled. Eleven BJP MLAs backed the rebels in the bid to upstage the government. Later, 14 rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified. (ANI) GYM INSTRUCTOR ARRESTED FOR STABBING LIVE-IN PARTNER A gym instructor allegedly stabbed his live-in partner 32 times in a house in sector 73, leaving her in a critical condition, police said on Thursday. The accused Varun Goyal (28), who runs a gym in Ghaziabad, has been arrested. Varun had heated arguments with the woman, a divorcee, as she was apparently pressurising him for marriage. SHO Dinesh Yadav said Varun stabbed her 32 times with a kitchen knife. The neighbours heard her screams of help and informed police. The police team found the woman in a pool of blood and rushed her to a Noida hospital from where she was rushed to LNJP in New Delhi in a critical condition. The victim is five years younger to Varun and had rented the house a year ago. Varun had moved in the house as a live in partner, police said. The woman’s home town is in Gorakhpur and she works in private company at sector 63. She was earlier living with her brother in Indirapuram. She befriended Varun in the gym and thereafter shifted to the Noida sector 73 house. An attempt to murder case has been filed against Varun on the basis of a complaint of the woman’s brother. (PTI)
CITY HILIGHTS Vol 1, Issue 193 `.1.00/- Friday, July 15, 2016 www.ibcworldnews.com www.cityhilights.news English Daily 5 WORLD UKRAINE CRISIS: IM- PUNITY ‘PERVASIVE’ IN EAST, SAYS UN A climate of “pervasive impunity” in eastern Ukraine has meant very few people have been held accountable for a catalogue of alleged summary executions, the UN says. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says some of the cases could amount to war crimes. It investigated the disappearances and deaths of at least 47 people in areas held by Russian-backed separatists. The report also lists 29 cases in government-controlled territory. Almost 9,500 people have died in eastern Ukraine since conflict broke out in 2014. Pro-Russian rebels seized swathes of Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, weeks after the ousting of Ukraine’s President, Viktor Yanukovych. NO TALKS WITH RUS- SIA ABOUT LEAVING POWER: ASSAD Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said Russia has never talked to him about leaving power. “They never said a single word regarding this,” Mr. Assad told NBC News, referring to conversations with President Vladimir Putin and officials. He said “only the Syrian people” would decide “when to come and when to go”. The US, which accuses Syria’s leader of responsibility for atrocities, says he must go as part of a political transition to end the conflict there. Russia has given the Syrian government strong diplomatic and military backing in its fight against rebels, but Mr. Putin has said only a political solution can resolve the conflict. CHINA SHOULD RE- SPECT SOUTH CHINA SEA RULING: PHILIPPINES The Philippines has said China should respect an international tribunal’s rejection of its claims in the South China Sea. In a statement, it said Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay would raise the issue at a major two-day Asia-Europe summit starting on Friday, attended by China’s Premier Li Keqiang. A UNbacked tribunal ruled on Thursday that there was no legal basis to China’s claims in the South China Sea. China has vowed to ignore the ruling. It says the panel has no jurisdiction and its activities in the region will not be affected. US SENTENCES CHINESE HACKER FOR STEALING MILITARY INFORMATION A Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty to hacking sensitive military information has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison in the US. Su Bin admitted collaborating with hackers in the Chinese military to steal data from US defence companies between 2008 and 2014. He was arrested in Canada in 2014 and extradited to the US. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied any involvement in hacking foreign companies or governments. “Su Bin’s sentence is a just punishment for his admitted role in a conspiracy with hackers from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force to illegally access and steal sensitive US military information,” assistant attorney general John Carlin said in a statement. Dear Readers... City Hilights invites you to send in your suggestions, articles, photos, stories and ideas. We will publish them for you. This is your platform. Voice your opinion. Showcase your talent. Your suggestions are valuable to us. info@ibcworldnews.com U.S. CONGRESS PANEL DEMANDS CUTTING OF ALL ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN A U.S. congressional panel has demanded cutting off all U.S. assistance to Pakistan to persuade Islamabad to act against the Afghan Taliban groups, who allegedly uses the country’s territory to launch operations into Afghanistan. Reports suggest that some U.S. lawmakers and witnesses also suggested declaring Islamabad, a state sponsor of terrorism and imposing economic sanctions if it does not eliminate the alleged terrorist safe havens on its territory. At Tuesday’s hearing - “Pakistan: Friend or foe?” the discussions produced more heat than expected. Congressman Matt Salmon, Chairman of the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of House Foreign Affairs Committee said Pakistan is making ISIS CONFIRMS ‘OMAR, THE CHECHEN’ IS DEAD The ISIS has confirmed that its senior leader Abu Omar al-Shishani known as ‘Omar, 20-YEAR-OLD MAN SODOMISED IN PAKISTAN A 20-year-old man was sodomised by a taxi driver in Pakistan. The accused identified as Menhaj (40), a resident of Landi Akhun Ahmad has been arrested by the police and has confessed to the crime, after the victim filed an FIR with the Pishtakhara police. “The accused has been arrested in a raid conducted by the Pishtakhara police soon after registering the FIR. The victim has been sent for medical examination,” source said. SANKAT MOCHAN: RESCUE TEAM LANDS IN JUBA, SWARAJ CALLS ON INDIANS TO MOVE OUT IMMEDIATELY With the ‘Sankat Mochan’rescue team landing in Juba, External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Thursday called on all the stranded Indian nationals to move out quickly, adding that the evacuation might not be possible if the situation deteriorates. “South Sudan - My colleague @Gen_VKSingh has landed in Juba to evacuate Indian nationals from there. All Indian nationals - We have sent two aircrafts. This is the right time. Pls move out of South Sudan,” Swaraj said in a series of tweets. Adding that in case the situation deteriorates the Indian nationals will not be evacuated, she reiterated her call to move out as quickly as possible, adding that two aircrafts are waiting to carry them out. chumps out of us. “They see us we are being so stupid. It seems like paying the mafia.” Dawn quoted Salmon as saying. “Patsies chumps. Most Americans see out of this and yet our so-called leaders do not really get it,” he added. Former U.S. ambassador to Kabul, Baghdad and the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad said, “If I may use an undiplomatic term, we have been patsies.” Khalilzad, who is an ethnic Afghan, said that Pakistani leaders had gamed the American system for decades. the Chechen’ is dead, months after the Pentagon and a British-based monitoring group As per the report, the victim had hired a taxi from Karkhano Market when the driver stopped the vehicle near a CNG pump on Ring Road and forced him out of the car. The accused then took him to an empty plot where he raped him. “We have registered an FIR in the case under Section 377 of the PPC and the matter is being investigated,” the official said and added that the incident took place the night “Indians in South Sudan - Pls move out. We have sent two aircrafts for you. If situation worsens, we will not be able to evacuate you. Please ask all your relatives and friends in South Sudan to please make use of this opportunity and move,” she further tweeted. Meanwhile, Operation Sankat Mochan is in full swing as the rescue team headed by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh landed here and the process for the evacuation of the stranded Indians began. “Check-in formalities begin for evacuation as the first C-17 expected to land in Juba soon,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. The first IAF C17 Globemaster aircraft landed in Juba along with VK Singh, who met South Sudanese foreign affairs minister, Deng Alor Kuol. “Indian Blue Berets posted in South Sudan as part of UNMISS lend a helping hand in evac’n effort. Close co-ord’n with local authorities. MOS @Gen_VKSingh meets with S Sudan FM Deng Alor Kuol,” Swarup added. Sushma Swaraj thanked Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for the support towards the endeavour and also extended her best wishes Following the comment, which was broadcast live on the internet, the Pakistan embassy in Washington clarified that Washington and Islamabad were still allies and there is “positive Counter terrorism cooperation between the two countries”. Ambassador Khalilzad and Bill Roggio, senior editor of the Long War Journal, called for cutting aid to Islamabad and placing it on the list of state sponsor of terrorism. said that he was killed in Syria. Regarded by Pentagon as Islamic State’s “minister of war”, Abu Omar al-Shishani is said to have died in a U.S. air strike in Syria. During that time, the report was confirmed by both the high-level officials in Washington as well as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The ISIS propaganda agency Amaq on Wednesday claimed that Shishani had been killed in combat operation in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, before and the FIR was registered on Tuesday. Hayatabad ASP Hassan Afzal said the man (victim) provided enough clues for the police to nab the suspect within a short period. “Later, the victim identified to the Indian Air Force (IAF) who will be carrying out the operation. “We are launching OP #SankatMochan to evacuate Indian nationals from South Sudan. My colleague @Gen_ VKSingh is leading this operation.He will be accompanied by Secretary Amar Sinha, JS Satbir Singh and Director Anjani Kumar. Our Ambassador is South Sudan Srikumar Menon and his team is organising this operation on the ground,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a series of tweets. Two IAF C17’s departed for South Sudan around 5 am today with VK Singh leading the operation. The developments were set in motion after Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar appealed to Swaraj to help the Indian nationals stuck in the warstruck area. “.@SushmaSwaraj Ma’am request for speedy measures and actions to evacuate Indians stranded in Sudan. Prayers with them. #SaveIndiansInJuba,” Kumar said in a tweet. In response to this, Swaraj said, “Akshay Kumar ji - Pl do not worry. We are evacuating Indian nationals from Juba (South Sudan).” “At the end they are treating us like chumps. And we are more than willing to keep on handing out money to Pakistan,” Roggio said. He added that Pakistan’s ability to manipulate U.S. legislators and policy makers ensured assistance to Islamabad. (ANI) south of Mosul, source said. Meanwhile, the officials at the Pentagon said that they were aware of the report, but could not confirm or deny it. Head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, said that Shishani had been wounded in March and died soon after in the countryside east of Raqqa. Shishani was one of the most wanted militants under a U.S. programme that offered up to $5 million bounty on him. (ANI) the offender and the latter also confessed to the crime during initial interrogation” Afzal added. (ANI) Swaraj said the evacuation scheme is fully ready and if the situation worsens then the government will not delay and immediately evacuate Indians from there. “The situation in South Sudan deteriorated suddenly in the past three days. We have constituted a task force to constantly study the emerging situation in South Sudan and to closely tab on the occurrences there. The task force held a meeting in the morning,” Swaraj told the media. “There are around 600 Indians in South Sudan, of them 450 are in Juba (capital city of South Sudan) and nearly 150 are outside Juba. At present, the fighting is taking place in Juba,” she added. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has ordered a ceasefire after days of intense fighting in Juba left more than 150 dead and many more injured since fighting broke out on Thursday. The ceasefire announcement came as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki- Moon called on the Security Council to impose an “immediate arms embargo” and targeted sanctions on leaders and commanders blocking implementation of the peace deal. There was renewed fighting between the government and former rebel forces since Thursday in Juba. The latest exchanges were apparently sparked by a shootout between President Kiir’s and Vice President Riek Machar’s bodyguards. (ANI) WE PAKISTANIS SHOULD SUPPORT OUR KASHMIRI BROTHERS: HAFIZ SAEED Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed said that the ongoing protests on the Indian side of Kashmir would be intensified and warned that the deaths in the region would not be in vain. Addressing a meet in Lahore on Tuesday, Saeed said, “This time the people in Kashmir are on streets. This protest has become a mass movement. All groups in Kashmir have united. All the wings of the Hurriyat have become one. The Muttahida Jihad Council and all other groups have come on to the same platform. Those who have died in Kashmir, their deaths will not be in vain.” More than 30 people were killed and several others injured, with both people and security forces turning hostile in protest-related violence in the Kashmir Valley, after Kashmiris took to the streets to condemn the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. Saeed asserted that the people in Pakistan should support Kashmiris. “We Pakistani should support our Kashmiri brothers. Their sweat, blood is our sweat and blood. Their way of thinking is also our way of thinking,” he said. “We in Pakistan will intensify the movement which is taking place in Kashmir. When Pakistan join hands in this movement with Kashmir then Kashmir will become part of Pakistan,” he added. Saeed, who is the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, told people here to make the movement a national one. “We have to take the movement to national level so that even the government of Pakistan understands the matter,” he said. (ANI) UK GETS SECOND WOMAN PRIME MINISTER- THERESA MAY Theresa May emerged from the Buckingham Palace on Thursday as United Kingdom’s second female Prime Minister, shortly after David Cameron tendered his resignation. According to the sources, May paid the traditional visit to the Queen to be invited to form a government and went to the palace to “kiss hands” with the Queen, as the ceremony is known. Cameron, had earlier congratulated May as he left 10 Downing Street for the last time with his wife and children. Addressing the waiting media outside No 10 before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally resign, Cameron said, “It’s not been easy journey, and of course we’ve not got every decision right,” he said, alongside his wife, Samantha, and children Nancy, Elwen and Florence. Meanwhile, in her first address as Prime Minister, May said that the mission of her government is to forge a positive role for UK in the world as it leaves the European Union. “When we take the big calls, we will not listen to the mighty but you. We will do everything we can to help everyone. We’ll make Britain a country that doesn’t work for privileged few but everyone of us. And together we’ll build a better Britain. When it comes to taxes, we’ll prioritise not the wealthy, but you. When it comes to opportunity, we won’t entrench the advantages of the fortunate few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you,” she said. (ANI) INDIAN-US COUPLE TO PAY USD 7.75 MN FOR HEALTHCARE An Indian-American couple, who owned a mobile diagnostic testing company in New Jersey, has been ordered by a US court to pay USD 7.75 million for committing a multi-million health care fraud. Kirtish N Patel and Nita K Patel, both aged 53, had earlier pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud. The government’s civil complaint had alleged that they created fraudulent diagnostic test reports, forged physician signatures on these reports and then billed Medicare for the fraudulent reports. They also billed Medicare for neurological tests that they conducted without the required physician supervision, the Justice Department said. The lawsuit was filed under whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in this case. The whistleblower who brought the misconduct to the government’s attention will receive 15 to 25 per cent of the more than USD 7.7 million recovered by the government. According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in the court f r o m 2006 through J u n e 2014, N i t a a n d Kirtish owned and operated Biosound Medical Services Inc and Heart Solutions in New Jersey, which were mobile diagnostic companies and approved medicare providers. As per court documents, Biosound technicians would travel to the office of a primary care physician in the New York and New Jersey area to conduct diagnostic testing. Biosound was responsible for sending the tests to a reading physician, an appropriate specialist who would interpret the results. “After the reading physician prepared a report, Biosound was responsible for providing it to the referring physician. Biosound was paid millions of dollars by Medicare and other payors for the diagnostic testing, the reading physician’s interpretation of the results and the reports, the prosecutors said. Kirtish admitted to fraudulently interpreting and writing diagnostic reports produced by Biosound despite having no medical license and knowing that the reports would be used by the referring physicians to make important patient treatment decisions. Nita assisted her husband in forging physician signatures on the fraudulently produced reports to make them appear legitimate. The couple admitted falsely representing to Medicare that the neurological testing performed by Biosound was being supervised by a licensed neurologist, the Justice Department said. According to reports, more than half of the diagnostic reports generated by Biosound between October 2008 and June 2014 were never actually reviewed or interpreted by a physician. Nita and Kirtish were paid more than USD 4,386,133.75 by Medicare and private insurance companies for the fraudulent reports, which they used for personal expenses, including multiple residences and luxury vehicles, it said (PTI)
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