Hyderabad: Large scale violation of guidelines has resulted in spike in coronavirus cases in Telangana especially in Greater Hyderabad. According to the Health Department and medical experts, people in Hyderabad are least bothered to cover their faces with masks and follow social distancing due to lack of awareness among them.
The virus is fast spreading in the City and with the easing of restrictions, people showed carelessness in following the protocol, resulting in community transmission of the virus. At least 800 to 900 positive cases are being recorded in Greater Hyderabad daily. Experts have expressed suspicion over the official data. Government is announcing the positive cases on the basis of tests being done in government hospitals but according to unofficial sources, more than 2000 positive fresh positive cases are found daily in the state.
Lack of beds in the government hospitals and extortion of huge amount by the private hospitals have forced people to prefer home isolation in case of COVID infection. As the Covid-19 patients are being kept at home, the virus is spreading to other family members.
Most of the mask violations are reported in Hyderabad itself. People are gathering in the form of crowds at picnic spots and markets. 14,931 people have been booked for not wearing the mask in Hyderabad. Department of police has decided to take further action against violators. E-challans will be issued to them on the basis of photos and videos captured by CCTVs.
TOI quoted a senior Telangana police officer as saying, “Using technology, we are booking cases wherever it is possible. But we need voluntary cooperation from the public. While a significant number of people are following proper precautions there are many who are quite irresponsible.’’
Islamabad: A 105-year-old man in Pakistan’s Punjab province has been discharged from hospital after successfully defeating coronavirus, the media reported.
War veteran
Fazal Rauf, who is also a war veteran and has served in the Pakistan Army, was tested positive and had been quarantined in hospital since then, Xinhua news agency reported.
Rauf was tested for the disease again on Thursday and his report came out negative.
Condition remains stable
On Friday, he was shifted back to his home, and his condition remains stable.
According to Pakistan’s health ministry, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 221,896 with 4,551 deaths and 113,623 recoveries.
Lucknow: The YouTube channel of The Adam’s Kitchen, Lucknow says, the doors of Islamic Centre of India opens wide, before the sunsets, for those guests who come to dine in the Adam’s Kitchen (Langar – e Aadam).
Guests start arriving even before the langar starts and stay late at night. Followers of all religions arrive and maintain discipline. They sit in a row, maintaining social distancing. With the grace of Almighty Allah, this practice is being continued since 200 days. We appeal to Allah that it may continue like this. May Allah accept the sacrifices of all those who are related to the Adam’s Kitchen.
The anchor says, the Adam’s Kitchen in the Islamic Centre of India, has come into existence with the help of many doctors and many good Samaritans.
In last 200 days, Adam’s Kitchen fed thousands of people daily, without any interruption. The lockdown has completed 75 days; during these 75 days, not a single one has passed where Adam’s Kitchen was unable to feed the needful.
During the lockdown, many families came to dine in the langar. The number of guests is increasing day by day; 500-600 people attend the langar. With Allah’s blessings and under the supervision of many good doctors, Adam’s Kitchen is being managed efficiently. People are fed by observing Islamic tenets. In Islam, to serve humanity is regarded as the highest form of worship.
The anchor relates a qudsi hadith, which goes; ‘on the Day of Judgement, Allah will ask a person, “I was hungry, why did you not feed me”. The person would reply, “O Allah you don’t feel hunger”. Allah would say that a particular person was hungry, “if you had fed that person, you would have found Me with him.’
Therefore, it means that if someone feeds a poor or hungry person, Allah will be happy and will agree with us. If a person receives the blessings of Allah, then there would be success for him in this world and also in the hereafter.
The anchor humbly requests us to help the Adam’s Kitchen with whatever means that Allah has blessed us with. So that, this noble act of serving the underprivileged should last forever. Also, this system can be started in other centres and mosques. He further requests people to come forward to start the branches of Adam’s Kitchen in their cities. The Adam’s Kitchen service is spreading very fast; with other people’s cooperation, it would go a long way.
The commentator adds, anyone belonging to any religion can come to the langar from 7:30 to 9:30 pm and avail the opportunity to eat food.
The food is purely vegetarian so that brothers from other religions can also eat; the table is laid down before the schedule time. Many ladies and children also attend the langar, therefore there is a separate arrangement for ladies and only ladies are appointed to serve them. Apart from this, social distancing is observed strictly. The guests sit in a line, maintaining the required physical distance. Hygiene and sanitisation is maintained very carefully. Because cleanliness is next to Godliness in Islam. Apart from this, the guests are educated about cleanliness, all the guests wash their hands thoroughly with soap before eating. After dining, they themselves wash the plates and keep them in the specified place. Guests, who come to langar to dine also take part in service to feed others.
Dr. Ghufran Rashid, who is a volunteer at Adam’s Kitchen congratulates the management for successfully managing the langar. He hopes this candle which has been lighted in Eidgah, in Lucknow, will spread in every nook and corner of India, serving the downtrodden. He says, during pandemic, poor people were benefitted considerably.
Volunteers and donors like Dr. Noor ul Haq Siddiqui, Sartaj Wali Khan, Dr. Salman Khalid, Dr. Ahmed Raza Khan, Dr. Anas Ahmed Abdullah, congratulated the management for successfully running the Adam’s Kitchen continuously for 200 days and opted for more Adam’s kitchens in other mosques, in different parts of India with the help of all broad minded people — without differentiating between religion, caste and creed. This would be helpful for the poor and the best service to our nation.
Dr. Anas Ahmed Abdullah commented that initially, they faced many difficulties. However, they overcame them by the grace of Allah and with the encouragement of the people. He adds that they thought to execute the work with 100 donors who can donate Rs. 100 every day or more. Fifty persons agreed and the Adam’s Kitchen has now completed 200 days. He further says, they wanted to expand this service by starting langar in other mosques of the city. He states that this type of service requires spirit and perseverance and professionalism. Donors may agree but unless there is motivation nothing can be done. He requests the Muslim community to start team work because one man cannot do all things. He advices to appoint professional cooks. He says, it is easy to start any project but it is difficult to manage and continue it for a long time.
Mohammed Feroz, who is a head cook says, in 200 days there was not a single day where they did not cook the food. There were marriages and deaths in the families of cooks; there were festivals, but the cooks never abstained from their duties.
Mohammed Atif Ansari, who is a volunteer and accountant at the Adam’s Kitchen says, they consume from 20-25 gas cylinders every month. He maintains the accounts and arranges ration, vegetables and other required items.
There is also a Mall in Islamic Centre of India, where people donate used belongings like clothes, toys, jackets, blankets, shoes purses, books, etc. Last winter, People who have extra things in their homes donated them to the mall, the needy people collect their requirements from this mall. If the clothes are soiled they get them washed and pressed. Just how we go to malls for shopping, in the same manner the poor people visit the Adam’s Mall and select whatever they want. Currently there are two Adam’s Malls in Lucknow. They are trying to open more malls in the future.
Dr. Abdul Ahad says Prophet Mohammed (mpbuh) spent two third of his life in serving the humanity and one third in propagating Islam. In serving the humanity, his most preferable act was feeding the hungry. As it were the early days of the advent of Islam, the majority of the people during that time were non-Muslims.
Dr Ahad insists to begin Adam’s Kitchen at least from the big mosques in the city where langar can be arranged. If anyone needs guidance on how to commence the work, the team of Adam’s Kitchen is always available to guide and help them.
Islamabad: UAE’s Emirates Airline has resumed passenger services to Pakistan’s four main cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Sialkot after a temporary suspension, but with a condition that passengers will be required to carry a negative COVID-19 report from a specified laboratory.
A spokesperson for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) airline said on Friday: “Following the receipt of relevant government approvals, Emirates has resumed passenger services to Pakistan. Customers can travel to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Sialkot if they meet the requirements of their destination,” reports Dawn news.
Emirates Airline takes precautionary measures
“The health and safety of our crew, customers and communities remain our top priority. Emirates have put in place a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey on the ground and in the air, to minimise the risk of infection spread.”
The spokesperson added that passengers travelling from Pakistan to Dubai and beyond must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result certificate at the time of check-in.
According to the spokesperson, children under the age of 12 years are exempted from the test if they are travelling with their parents who have tested negative and are fit to travel.
A senior official of Pakistan’s Aviation Division told Dawn news that the issue of the COVID-19 test report required by Emirates came under discussion at the meeting of the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday.
“Emirates have designated a laboratory for the COVID-19 test for passengers travelling by the airliner from Pakistan, but it has not been made mandatory by other countries so far,” the senior official said.
Earlier decision of Emirates Airline
On June 24, Emirates had temporarily suspended passenger services from Pakistan till July 3 after about 30 Pakistanis who arrived in Hong Kong on board an Emirates flight tested COVID-19 positive.
Of the 30 male and female passengers, some showed coronavirus symptoms, while others were asymptomatic.
This development came on the same day as Malayesia’s aviation regulator temporarily suspeneded pilots employed by domeestic airlines who hold Pakisetani licences, after the Islamabad government revealed that many had dubious qualifications.
BHUBANESWAR: Actor turned Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Anubhav Mohanty has received flak for pleading Bollywood actor Salman Khan to ‘like’ his picture.
Representing the Kendrapara parliamentary constituency in Odisha, Anubhav shared a picture of his chiselled body on Twitter and wrote, “O’ Life, I Won’t Let You Defeat Me.” – Anubhav Mohanty Have honestly worked very hard. I have been a sincere follower of @BeingSalmanKhan sir & @TheSlyStallone sir for their fitness. Need everyone’s blessings.”
“@BeingSalmanKhan Sir/Bhaijaan, don’t I deserve a single like from you please. Love you Bhaijaan even if you never like me.”
The followers have reacted sharply on the micro blogging site.
“This guy is our leader who is here to serve people, but unfortunately still in his fantasy world where he consider entertainer as his idol. wah bhai wah bhai .people of Odisha ,next time please chose someone little mature leader who understands life not just delivers movie dialogue,” tweeted a follower.
“MP asking for like from someone who has multiple criminal cases going on,” added another.
“We don’t like him.He is an actor.He became an MP because of Naveen ji.People didn’t vote him,they voted Naveen ji. Now he is begging for likes.yaa it hurts a little,” tweeted another user.
Earlier, the BJD MP was in trouble after Congress alleged him of submitting false affidavit about his educational qualifications during 2014 Rajya Sabha election.
Anubhav was elected from Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 polls.
Kohima: Taking a cue from neighbouring Mizoram, the Nagaland government has banned the trade and consumption of dog meat. State Chief Secretary Temjen Toy in a tweet on Friday said: “The State Government has decided to ban commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of dog meat, both cooked and uncooked. Appreciate the wise decision taken by the State’s Cabinet (on Thursday).” The Chief Secretary tagged his tweet with former union minister and well known animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, who is currently a Member of Parliament belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Journalist and former parliamentarian Pritish Nandy urging his followers to join a movement to ban the sale and consumption of dog meat in Nagaland markets, on Wednesday said in a tweet: “This is urgent. You can help make history by sending an email tonight to Nagaland Chief Secretary saying Nagaland must stop dog markets, dog restaurants, and smuggling of dogs into the state. Eating dog meat is inhuman, not just illegal.”
This is urgent. You can help make history by sending an email tonight to csngl@nic.in saying Nagaland must stop dog markets, dog restaurants and smuggling of dogs into the state. Eating dog meat is inhuman, not just illegal. The issue comes before the cabinet tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/4Bv42EXuYN
The Mizoram government had also recently taken steps to check the open slaughtering of dogs in the state and in March the Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed the Animal Slaughter Bill 2020. Humane Society International/India (HIS/INDIA) said in a statement that Mizoram is the first state in northeast India that has taken a step towards ending its dog meat trade, by amending the law to remove dogs from the definition of animals suitable for slaughter.
The HIS/INDIA statement, issued in Aizawl recently, said that the consumption of dogs is prohibited under India’s food safety regulations. “However, the regulations not enforced properly and thousands of dogs each year are cruelly and illegally captured from the streets or stolen from their homes, packed into plastic and jute bags with their mouth stitched or tied, and transported over many days to Mizoram,” HIS/INDIA said.
Frequent media reports also said that dogs were transported from neighbouring northeastern states and adjoining countries including Myanmar and Bangladesh and traded in Mizoram, Nagaland and other northeastern states. Animal rights activists said that the cruel transport and slaughter of dogs violates several provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Indian Penal Code, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations.
Around 30 million dogs and 10 million cats are killed across Asia for human consumption annually, with the trade most widespread in China, South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and several parts of north east India. However, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore have banned the dog meat trade and consumption.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), India’s apex animal rights body, had on Thursday made a fresh appeal to the Nagaland government to enforce stringent animal welfare laws banning the sale, smuggling and consumption of dog meat.
“We are once again shocked and terrified after finding recent images that have emerged from animal markets’ in Dimapur (Nagaland’s important commercial hub) where dogs are seen in terrified conditions, tied up in sacks, waiting at a wet market for their illegal slaughter, trade and consumption as meat,” FIAPO Executive Director Varda Mehrotra said in a statement.
The FIAPO said it has been engaging with the Nagaland government since 2016, underlining how dogs suffer because of the demand for meat.
According to the FIAPO, thousands of dogs are smuggled regularly to Nagaland and Mizoram from Assam, West Bengal and other states. A healthy big dog, caught in Assam for Rs 50, is sold for Rs 1,000 in Nagaland’s wholesale market. Dog meat sells for Rs 200 per kg on the streets of Nagaland, said the FIAPO, which works with more than 160 member organisations across 70 cities in the country.
Nagaland and Mizoram-bound vehicles carrying dogs tied in gunny bags with their heads sticking out are frequently caught in Assam and Tripura. But a lot of such vehicles slip through the security barricades.
Mumbai: People of Palghar were shocked as the sensational case of a shopkeeper – who allegedly killed a 32-year old woman customer and later had sex with her corpse – unravelled at the height of the ongoing lockdown, police officials said here on Saturday.
The accused Shiva Choudhary, 30, owner of a novelty shop in Nalasopara town was arrested on Friday and remanded to police custody till July 12, said crime branch official Santosh Gurjar.
The probe started when a resident of Priyanka Complex on Achole Talav Road registered a complaint with Tulinj Police Station a day after his wife went missing on June 26.
Guarjar said that according to investigations, the victim had gone to make some household purchases at Choudhary’s shop on June 26 and had an altercation with him on the price of some goods.
After the brawl, Choudhary slapped the victim, dragged her by the hair to the back of his shop, tried to strangulate her and then slit her throat with a knife.
Around 3 a.m. of June 27, Choudhary wrapped her body and carried it to a jeep van parked around half a km from his shop and dumped it there.
A day later on June 28, locals complained of a foul stench emanating from the van and alerted the police. A team was rushed to find the body which was later identified by her husband.
The autopsy report also made the shocking revelation – that she had been sexually assaulted after her murder.
Hot footing into the probe, police teams fanned out in the area and after scanning the CCTV footage of the neighbourhood, zeroed in on the possible suspect Choudhary.
“He was picked up and during sustained interrogation, confessed to murdering the woman and then having sex with her corpse. Thereafter, he was placed under arrest and further investigations are on,” Gurjar told IANS.
A police official said that Choudhary was living alone in the shop as his wife and children are in Pali village of Rajasthan since nearly a year, and could not control his urge after killing the woman.
“He had no previous acquaintance with the victim and we shall also probe whether he had any mental issues after he violated the body,” said the official.
Gurjar, who helped crack this first of its kind case in the district, said the accused is charged with murder and rape.
New Delhi: A Delhi Police sub-inspector posted with the PCR unit hit a 60-year-old woman with his car and dragged her to some distance in Chilla village of East Delhi on Friday evening.
The woman is under treatment at a hospital. The accused, identified as Yogendra, 56, has been arrested.
According to the police, the cop was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, which was captured on a CCTV camera in the area.
The video, which went viral on social media, shows the woman falling off the bonnet of the car after being knocked down. A man can be seen signalling the driver to stop while the passers-by helped the woman.
The driver tried to run over another person, when they stopped him.
Gadag: A grieving Class X student wrote her last SSLC board exam in Karnataka’s Gadag despite her father passing away early in morning on Friday, an official said.
“Holding back tears, an emotional 16-year-old Anusha Bhajantri mustered the courage to write her last SSLC board exam in Hindi (third language), hours after her father died at home early morning due to sudden illness,” Gadag block education officer S.S. Keladi Mata told IANS over phone.
Gadag is about 380 km northwest of Bengaluru.
“Though Anusha had the option of skipping the test and appear in the supplementary board exams due in August, she did not want any further delay, as the exams were already postponed from March due to the Covid-induced extended lockdown. She wrote five subjects since June 25,” said Mata.
Anusha is a student of the unaided Thontadavya High School in the town, but her exam centre was at the K.H. Patil high school, a little away from her home.
“Anusha’s father Suresh Bhajantri, 58, was ailing for some time after a surgery on his spinal cord at the state-run KIMS hospital in Hubballi, about 55 km away from Gadag,” said Mata.
Anusha is the younger daughter of Bhajantri, who was a teacher in the state-run HPS Primary School in Gadag. Her mother Sumithra is also a teacher in the same school.
Anusha rushed home after finishing her exam at 1:30 p.m. for the last rites of her father.
“The state education department has given Rs 15,000 to Anusha’s family for the funeral expenses of Bhajantri, as he was still in service,” added Mata.
Kanpur: A day after eight police personnel were shot dead by history-sheeter Vikas Dubey and his gang in Bikru village under Chaubeypur police circle in Kanpur, authorities on Saturday reached the village along with a team and started to demolish the well-fortified house of the gangster.
It was learnt that police had got Vikas Dubey’s father and his family along with servants to vacate the premises and cordoned off an area of 50 metres around the house before launching the demolition drive. Even the structures used to park vehicles within the compound have been demolished.
Kanpur: A earthmover vehicle is used to remove mangled remains of a car during the demolition of the residence of criminal Vikay Dubey, after an encounter in Bikaru village where 8 police personnel lost their lives, in Kanpur, Saturday, July 4, 2020. The encounter took place when the police team was approaching to arrest Vikas Dubey, a history-sheeter facing 60 criminal cases, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. (PTI Photo)
Kanpur: Mangled remains of vehicles outside the house of criminal Vikas Dubey, after an encounter in Bikaru village where 8 police personnel lost their lives, in Kanpur, Saturday, July 4, 2020. The encounter took place when the police team was approaching to arrest Vikas Dubey, a history-sheeter facing 60 criminal cases, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. (PTI Photo)
Even the media has been barred from the area during the demolition drive at the house, which has not only 30- to 40-feet-high thick walls on the perimeter, but is also secured by concertina wire and 50 CCTVs.
Sources said that Vikas Dubey had illegally occupied land worth crores of rupees in Kanpur and other places. He also owned a number of luxury vehicles, apart from expensive furniture and electronic gadgets.
After the encounter, police had sealed the house and conducted a thorough search at the house, where a bunker was also discovered in an old house within the premises.
Villagers said that the new residential building within the compound had come up only seven-eight years ago and that the ancestral house within the compound was now used to lodge servants.
Three of the four gates on the perimeter walls were wide enough for four-wheelers to enter and exit and were secured by CCTVs, both inside and outside.
It is pertinent to mention here that a police team comprising about 50 police personnel had gone to the village around 3.30 am on Friday after a tip-off about the presence of Vikas Dubey at his village house.
Dubey and his men had parked a JCB in a village bylane to block their way. As soon as the police team reached there, the gangsters started firing from the terrace of an adjacent house.
The criminals, numbering about a dozen, had also pelted the police team with stones. The deceased police personnel had received multiple bullet wounds in the incident.
Hyderabad: Owner of Sohail Hotel, Syed Mohiuddin Jameel passed away on Saturday at the age of 54 years. He was in Care Hospital, Nampally for the past more than a week.
As per details furnished by his family members, his health was not good for the past few days.
He will be laid to rest after Isha Prayer at Nagabowli Graveyard, Dabeerpura.
Personal background of Sohail Hotel Owner
He was the resident of Farat Nagar, Dabeerpura. He is survived by wife, son, Syed Sohail and three daughters.
Before starting Sohail Hotel, he was an employee at Iqbal Hotel, Purani Haveli.
London: A Muslim convert and supporter of Islamic State terror group has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years after admitting to a plot of suicide bomb attack on St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Though Safiyya Shaikh was caught after an elaborate operation but doubts in court questioned whether the drug-addicted and emotionally damaged woman would ever have gone through with the attack.
On 24 September last year at Uxbridge London Underground station, Safiyya Shaikh had finished wiping away her tears as she had finally got a friend Azra to combat her loneliness. Shaikh poured her heart out before Azra who is actually an undercover agent monitoring Sheikh.
Shaikh then – happy she had found someone who understood her – handed over two pink bags so that her new friend could take them away and fill them with bombs to blow up St Paul’s Cathedral.
Now, Azra would probably have stopped the covert recording she had been making but she and other undercover investigators had slowly, patiently, reeled in Shaikh – saving London from an appalling attack.
Sheikh along with her pink bag to meet friend Azra. Image: YouTube grab
Sheikh’s family and drug addiction
Shaikh was born Michelle Ramsden in 1983 and converted to Islam in 2007 after being impressed with the kindness of a neighbouring Muslim family.
Sheikh later admitted that she had a troubled upbringing. She’d spent time in care homes and her family was riven by drug and alcohol abuse. She too had become an addict.
“It was the only life I really knew,” she said. “Inside my heart always felt empty – I think this [is] why I used drugs to try to fill the emptiness,” she wrote in one message online.
In the years that followed her conversion to Islam, she had become increasingly distanced from her own family. She initially found a new family – the small community of female converts in London who supported others on the same faith journey.
But drugs soon overwhelmed her. In 2013 she was cautioned for theft and given a community order for burglary. Two years later she was arrested for heroin possession.
Rajan Basra has studied Shaikh’s online footprint as part of his research at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College London.
“It’s clear that she had several underlying vulnerabilities – she created a [YouTube] list specifically about surviving drug addiction,” he says.
“Her Facebook content shows that she was very isolated from her family. And like many converts, she found it difficult to make that transition – and so she was reaching out to other people in a similar situation.”
Safiyya Shaikh’s drugs playlist. Image Courtesy: BBC
Looking at the 90 YouTube playlists Shaikh created, a change in her mindset could be seen – particularly around 2016 – said Mr Basra.
“Throughout this whole period, she was then watching a lot of extremist content – content produced by supporters and activists generally affiliated with the Islamic State,” he said. “And judging by the playlist that she created, she was watching this for hours.”
Evidence from court shows that she was in contact with members of Al Muhajiroun, the British network headed by the jihadist preacher Anjem Choudary. One particular influence on her life was Abu Waleed, whose real name is Shahid Janjua. He sent her extremist material – and when she began to voice these opinions within the convert community, she found herself excluded from society.
Image captionAbu Waleed was an influence on Shaikh’s life
Between August 2016 and September 2017, the national Prevent scheme – in which police, social services and others aim to stop people sliding towards violent extremism – looked three times at Shaikh.
She denied having extremist views but MI5 ultimately reached a different assessment, based on its own intelligence-gathering. It made her a “subject of interest” – one of the 3,000 potential or active terrorists under investigation, as reported by BBC.
Admin of jihadist group
Shaikh had become an administrator of “GreenB1rds”, a secret jihadist chat channel dedicated to encouraging attacks in the name of the Islamic State. She posed as a man, using the name Al Amriki, “the American”, to maximise her chances of encouraging others to join up.
Shaikh worked with Dutch IS supporters who issued a threat against a church in The Netherlands, leading to its evacuation. Image courtesy: BBC
A Dutch follower was arrested last summer and Shaikh posted a picture threatening an attack against a church in the city of Hilversum.
The picture was shared on mainstream social media – and then made it into Dutch newspapers, causing alarm in the city.
In turn, there was a bomb hoax against the church – causing a major alert.
Shaikh joked online: “Kuffar [disbelievers] always publish my work they don’t even realise they promote us.”
Another of her online contacts was a Dutch woman, Yousra Lemouesset.
Yousra had previously been banned from the UK – and had joined her British fighter husband in Syria. His fate is unclear but she returned to Europe and since Shaikh’s arrest, she’s been jailed in The Netherlands for assisting the IS group.
Trapped by undercover agents
On 18 August last year, Shaikh went to Luton Airport to fly to Amsterdam to meet Lemousset. But she was stopped from flying by counter-terrorism officers who questioned her about her plans.
Furious, she returned home created an image of the New York skyline. In lettering mimicking blood, she added: “PIGS YOU WILL SOON PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES”.
And two days later, she thought she had finally met someone who could help. And that was Azra.
She began talking online to someone she called “H”. He appeared to be an IS attack planner in the UK but “H” did not exist – he was a fake identity, operated by an undercover team, tracking extremists on social media.
These “Online Role Players” are now seeking to infiltrate hidden chat groups and identifying the most dangerous suspects.
“I rather die young and get Jannah [heaven], quickest way possible,” she told “H”.
After a few days of thought, she replied: “So this is really what I want… I would like to kill a lot brother. Until I’m killed.”
“I would like do church… But want to do a place that also means something to kuffar. Like history. They will care more about the building than people killed… U know where they do the royal weddings? Is it possible to put, like, bomb with detonator and then keep shooting until I am killed?”
She meant St Paul’s Cathedral.
“Have you thought how you would do it?” H asked her.
“No brother, I don’t know.. I just want to do the most effective way possible. I don’t know a lot about them things,” she replied.
“But you must have an idea sis, so I can help?” he said.
Shaikh’s plan evolved in the following days to one involving a bomb for the landmark, another for herself and possibly another for a nearby hotel.
“I just want a lot to die… I had all the intentions to do this, but no other support,” she told him.
One of Shaikh’s messages about her plan. Image: BBC
On 7 September, she posted a document to her chat group on how to carry out surveillance of a target. The next morning, she visited the cathedral, carrying a pink bag that she thought would be right for a bomb and later reported back.
“I really thought it would not be possible. But it’s easy,” she wrote.
“So would you want it in the bag or strapped to you like vest? Or no vest?” asked “H”.
“I think bag better,” said Shaikh. “What u think? Or both? Won’t it be a bigger explosion, if both? Sorry, I expect a lot – lol.”
“I agree but it’s your niyyah [intention]. I need to know so I can prepare.”
“Is that OK then.. Both… U will teach me everything to do?”
“H” told Shaikh that she would now need to meet his “wife”, Azra, for the handover of the bags – and to measure her up for a body-worn suicide bomb.
Shaikh agreed a time and place and replied: “Am so happy to have family.”
The women met on 22 September in west London. Azra was recording everything Shaikh said.
“I had the really horrible path [sic],” said Shaikh. “I want forgiveness for everything in my life that I’ve done.” Sheikh began to cry.
“I’m scared of not going to Jannah [heaven]… I’ve had enough of this place… I want to give something back.”
The pair, fully veiled to hide their identities, walked back to the Tube station. And there, Shaikh handed over the two bags for bombs.
Safiyya Shaikh told undercover police she wanted to bomb St Paul’s Cathedral and a hotel
Arrested by police
Days later, she was arrested. But, the interrogations were not easy.
The first day of the police interviews had to be abandoned, he said, because Shaikh was in a state of heroin withdrawal.
“The terrorism attack that she is guilty of preparing would have been a truly dreadful act, if carried out, and she recognises that,” said Mr Newton.
“The key words are ‘if carried out’. Three people were involved in this plot, and two others were police officers. There was no bomb, there never would be. There were only police officers pretending to care about her, offering her words of encouragement to see how far she would go.”
Mr Newton said Shaikh had “cold feet”. She had cancelled a second meeting with the “wife” and had asked to put back the attack from Christmas to Easter.
“It is quite clear that her involvement in the organisation that she became involved in were all part of a craving to be part of a family that she never had.”
“She was desperate for those she engaged with to like and accept her,” said Mr Newton.
Alison Morgan QC, prosecuting, put it another way to the court.
“Had the role player not sat in this position, she would have found an equivalent.”
Hours after her defence mitigation finished in court, she made a call from prison, that was recorded as standard. A call she knew the authorities would have been listening to.
“I’m so tired about things,” she said to her confidante. “I didn’t get cold feet yeah… I was ready to go through with it… I wasn’t having doubts.”
Under the law, the officers did nothing wrong in playing a role that allowed them to gather critical evidence about Shaikh’s intentions and preparations. There is no defence in the British courts of “entrapment” – and the transcripts in the case show the officers asking questions, rather than proposing specific targets.
“Radicalisation is not always a straight line,”Rajan Basra said. “She could have waxed and waned in her support for the cause. And so the key thing with prevention services is you have to get there at the right time.”
“And then that support has to be consistent – and it has to have that long-term payoff. It’s really difficult to say what more that service could have done.”
MUMBAI: A certificate naming a celestial body (a star) in space as Sushant Singh Rajput is going viral on social media.
The Bollywood actor allegedly committed suicide at his Mumbai residence on June 14.
Quotely India Instagram page shared the certificate that a star in space is named after him.
The certificate that’s going viral online reads, “Let it be known to all that the star residing at the astronomically verified position of RA 22.121 and Declination -10.14 is hereby named for June 25th 2020 as Sushant Singh Rajput.”
It further stated that the name is permanently filed in the Registry’s vault.
The name is permanently filed in the Registry’s vault and copyrighted with The Star Register with all rights and privileges attended thereto” (sic).
Check out the certificate below:
Several fans of the actor celebrate as the certificate announcing the same went viral.
A netizen wrote, “sushant had always been so fond of the stars & thus i found it quite fitting to name one after him. Dizzy symbol i shall forever be blessed to have witnessed such a beautiful & profound soul. may you continue to shine brightest! Yellow heart @itsSSR.”
An engineering dropout, Sushant was agenious when it came to science.
The talented actor was quite obsessed when it came to space and celestial bodies so much so that he had even purchased land on the moon and used to look at it with his high-end telescope, as confirmed by his father.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-R8N7uDfnb/
Sushant Singh, a resident of Patna, allegedly committed suicide on June 14 at his flat in Bandra, Mumbai. Since then, various social and political organizations have been demanding a CBI inquiry into his death.
Riyadh: Over two lakh people have reported positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Saudi Arabia.
The country’s Health Ministry on Friday reported that 4,193 COVID-19 patients have been detected in the last 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia announced suspension of Hajj a week ago due to the pandemic.
While the total number of confirmed cases has climbed to 201,801, 1802 of them have succumbed to the virus and 1,40,614 have recovered so far.
Cases in UAE
672 new cases of Covid-19 were detected in UAE on Friday taking the tally to 50,141.
UAE Health Ministry informed that the infected individuals are from various nationalities. Their condition is said to be stable. 39,153 COVID patients have recovered so far.
Hyderabad: The ride for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation has been rough. First, it was the strike called by all of its trade unions which demanded better working conditions and a conversion of the corporation into a full-fledged government department. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the state transport undertaking (STU) is facing massive losses in revenue.
The TSRTC used to generate revenues of between Rs. 10 crores and Rs. 13 crores per day, depending on the ridership, and still sustain losses. However, with its 10,000 buses going off the roads across the state ever since the lockdown was enforced, the revenue stopped altogether. Moreover, with bus services within districts and between districts resuming, the STU is facing an occupancy ratio problem.
Services were resumed on May 19. However, services within the Greater Hyderabad Zone – comprising Hyderabad district and the IT Corridor – continue to remain suspended. The revenue making inter-state services too remain temporarily closed.
“The occupancy was very low on the first day, around 30%. This increased to around 40% around 20 days later. Now, it is roughly 50%,” a TSRTC official said.
Despite this slow, but steady increase, the TSRTC continues to face problems in generating revenue. The problem is two-fold: firstly, the occupancy continues to remain low, and secondly, diesel prices continue to skyrocket.
“The biggest problem for the TSRTC has been diesel prices. For many years, diesel prices have increased and the fare was hardly increased. In the past month, the price has increased by around Rs. 10. This is a huge problem for revenue generation. When you talk about revenue generation, it is around Rs. 4 crore per day now and the number of kilometres run per day is half of the 36 lakh km/day which was the norm,” a member of a trade union said.
He explained the problem: the earning per kilometre will decrease due to the increase in fuel prices. “We can say that the running cost per kilometre would increase by Rs. 2. This is also very high and this means earnings will decrease. The cost of diesel which will be procured per month will increase by several crores. The only way to offset this is to increase the price of tickets. But this is a political decision and will not be done in the near future,” an analyst said. He also explained that the government should now look into the unions’ demand of bringing diesel under the Goods and Services Tax and also give exemptions under the MV Act.
Dubai: A Nigerian woman delivered quadruplets in a Dubai hospital. She was waiting for repatriation after losing her job as a sweeper. However, her joy of having four babies at one go (two boys and two girls) was marred by the mounting hospital bills as she does not have medical insurance.
29-year-old, Suliyac Abdulkareem’s husband Cijani Adigun Shakiru, 33 works as a chef. She underwent a C-section at a Dubai government hospital on Wednesday night.
According to Khaleej Times, the mother and babies are safe and healthy. Shakiru’s joy knew no bounds and he considers himself as the luckiest man on earth to be the father of four lovely babies. He plans to name their two sons Pride and Alesi, and the daughters Susseh and Almonc.
He said that after his wife lost her job as a cleaner a few months ago and he could not get regular work due to COVID situation, they were desperately trying to find flights so that she can go back to Nigeria before the delivery date. Now, he’s unable to decide how to pay the huge amount of hospital bill and hopes that God will show him a way.
Hyderabad:A leading industrialist and former member of the board of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Suraj Prasad Agarwal passed away recently.
A former President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) during 2008-09, his businesses were diversified from realty to commodities, with the noted White House complex in Begumpet, being one of his ventures.
Over the last half a century, Mr Suraj Prasad, served on the boards of several trade bodies, was a promoter Director of the Agrasen Bank, and associated with a number of professional, educational, religious, cultural and service organisations.
Some of them being the Chairman of Quli Qutub Shah ITI for Girls, Santoshnagar, and Vice President of Agarwal Siksha Samithi offering from primary to post graduate education through 11 Institutions. He was also part of national trade delegations to many countries and international Fairs.
A graduate of the Badruka College, Osmania University, Suraj Prasad Agarwal was the Managing Director of Praneta Housing, Managing Partner of Annapurna Builders & Landmark Builders, which promoted commercial, independent and residential complexes. He was also MD of Darshit Agrotech Ltd. (Ginning factory, Oil mill, refinery, warehousing etc.) at Adilabad.
Mr Suraj Prasad served as a member on the Managing Committee of the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bengaluru and also the Mysore Chamber of Commerce, Mysore. He was the Vice President of Karnataka Khandsari Sugar Manufactures Association, Benguluru. He is a member of the Hyderabad Management Association too.
Worst situation, harrowing experience
Mr Suraj Prasad, who turned 75 on June 22, had a harrowing week, before breathing his last on July 1, due to acute respiratory problems. With a sudden spike in cases of COVID-19, getting beds in hospitals had become a big challenge.
The businessman, who was diagnosed with pneumonia, had to virtually move all big contacts to just manage a room in one of the corporate hospitals after lot of effort, when he required an ICU. Finally, as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to an ICU, with great difficulty. But it proved too little too late, his industry friends said.
Disturbed over the extreme difficulties Suraj Prasad, one of the most influential businessman in the country, faced in getting space in so-called Five Star Hospitals, his friends said that the coronavirus situation in the Telangana has alarmingly worsened. “With government hospitals over burdened and corporate hospitals saying there are no beds government has to intervene without any further delay. The Intensive Care Units in these big hospitals have a waiting list. Imagine a situation when a patient has to wait for a place in ICU,” they asked.
Hyderabad: Telangana continued to witness a spike in COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with as many as 1,850 new cases and five deaths being reported, taking the infection count in the state to 22,312 and toll to 288.
Out of the 1,850 fresh cases, 1,572 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Ranga Reddy district, neighbouring Hyderabad, with 92 cases.
A state government bulletin said 11,537 people have been discharged so far, while 10,487 were under treatment.
According to the bulletin, 6,427 samples were tested on Saturday. Cumulatively, 1,10,545 samples have been tested.
Mumbai: Actress Sanjana Sanghi bonded with late Sushant Singh Rajput over food and academics while shooting for “Dil Bechara”, and says she still has the “kindest note about what the colliding of academia and cinema means”, which she received from Sushant.
Dil Bechara
Sanjana will be making her Bollywood debut opposite late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in “Dil Bechara”, casting director-turned-filmmaker Mukesh Chhabra’s directorial debut.
Looking back at the first meeting over a script reading session, Sanjana said: “We both, nerds, had read the script down to its last word respectively, and both our copies looked like they were tattered old novels that had aged over years, with post-it marks, and added notes – the works. I was a bundle of nerves. Mukesh asked me to just relax, and we all jumped right in.”
Sanjana revealed how food was a huge mutual topic of love for them, in addition to academia.
“Mukesh, him and I — all helpless foodies. We ordered a lavish spread. Looked at the dining table, yet we decided to take to the floor, spread our meal on a mat, and started gorging. He mocked me for how much food I could eat, but the food was a huge mutual love for us in addition to academia,” she said.
The actress added: “This lunch, most oddly, was marked with my father sending me a text saying we got a letter home telling us I had become a Gold Medalist at Delhi University. Sushant, Mukesh and the whole team were ecstatic to hear this news too – and what followed was champagne (that we never got the chance to open and celebrate with) and the kindest note from him about what the colliding of academia and cinema means even to him and the value it holds, which I still have tucked firmly in my drawer.”
Official remake of 2014 Hollywood drama
“Dil Bechara” is the official remake of 2014 Hollywood romantic drama “The Fault In Our Stars”, based on John Green’s popular novel of the same name. Budding actress Sanjana Sanghi stars opposite Sushant in the film.
The film will see Saif Ali Khan in a cameo. Composer AR Rahman and lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya have collaborated to create music for the project. Sushant’s last film “Dil Bechara” will premiere on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar on July 24.
NEW DELHI: A junior resident doctor in Delhi, who had COVID-19 symptoms but had tested negative for the virus twice, has died, The Indian Expressreported on Saturday.
27-year-old Dr Abhishek Bhayana was a junior resident doctor at Delhi’s Maulana Azad Institute for Dental Sciences (MAIDS) died on Thursday.
According to Bhayana’s family, he had started experiencing coronavirus symptoms some ten days ago and was rushed to a chest specialist.
“An X-ray was performed and we were told he has a chest infection,” his brother Aman Bhayana told the newspaper.
“We were under the impression that it was nothing but viral fever. But he kept saying the symptoms were not of chest infection as he was having shortness of breath.”
His first COVID-19 test was done in end June at his hometown Rohtak while the subsequent test was conducted on July 1, reported Hindustan Times.
Both the reports were negative.
However, on Thursday hours before his death, Bhayana had complained of chest congestion and breathlessness. When his condition worsened, the family rushed him to a nearby private hospital but it was too late.
“Till his last breath, he kept saying he had symptoms of coronavirus,” his brother said.
Although Abhishek had not been posted in COVID-19 wards but was involved in the screening of suspected patients.
Abhishek was a doctor with unmatchable positive energy for his friends and colleagues, was going to turn 27 on July 22.
