Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi forces buoyed by the first US-led coalition air strikes on Tikrit made a final push Thursday to flush diehard jihadists out of Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

Washington had been reluctant to get directly involved in a battle in which Iran-backed militias have taken the lead but the Pentagon seemed keen to reassert itself as Baghdad’s chief partner in the war against the Islamic State group.

The tussle for influence over Iraq came as Washington and Tehran began fresh nuclear talks and also as Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen.

The US-backed air campaign against Shiite minority rebels in Yemen was announced by the Saudi ambassador in Washington and condemned by Tehran.

The operation to retake Tikrit was launched on March 2 but had failed to dislodge a relatively small number of IS fighters who have hemmed themselves in with thousands of bombs for a last stand in the city centre.

“The assault on the last (IS-held) pocket of Tikrit started from the southern front, in Awja,” said a brigadier general from the military headquarters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital.

View galleryIraqi fighters from the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), …
Iraqi fighters from the Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), a group formed by Iraqi Shiite Muslim cler …
He said Iraqi forces were also attacking from the west and north and were repairing a bridge over the Tigris that IS recently blew up to pile further pressure from the east.

The forces involved in the fighting include the volunteer Popular Mobilisation units, Shiite militia groups, the army’s counter-terrorism force as well as interior ministry units.

Iraqi air strikes had, by Baghdad’s own admission, not been efficient and accurate enough to break the back of IS resistance.

“Now the operation to take Tikrit really begins,” one US defence official told AFP.

– ‘Reliable’ partner –

View gallerySmoke rises in the horizon following US airstrikes …
Smoke rises in the horizon following US airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants at Mosul Dam ou …
Lieutenant General James Terry, who oversees the command in charge of the US war effort, said precision strikes would save “innocent Iraqi lives while minimising collateral damage to infrastructure.”

The exact number of civilians trapped inside Tikrit is unclear but a Red Crescent spokesman last week said “no more than 30,000, probably quite a bit less.”

Other countries in the 60-nation US-led coalition were taking part in the strikes but officials did not specify which ones.

Washington had expressed strong reservations over the leading role played in the Tikrit operation by Shiite militia groups, some of which have been accused of serious abuses.

Iran’s top commander in charge of external operations, Qassem Suleimani, has been ubiquitous on the Salaheddin front lines and is perceived by many Iraqis as the brain behind Iraq’s ground operations.

View galleryIraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation …
Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation units head towards the city of Tikrit on March 2 …
But at a briefing on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren insisted Washington remained Baghdad’s most precious partner in the war to reclaim the vast regions of Iraq IS conquered last summer.

“Reliable, professional, advanced military capabilities are something that very clearly and very squarely reside with the coalition,” he said.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki also defended the coalition’s record in the effort to restore the sovereignty of Iraq, which looked on the brink of breakup nine months ago.

Close to 3,000 strikes have taken out “thousands of fighters, numerous commanders, nearly 1,500 vehicles and tanks, over 100 artillery and mortar positions, and nearly 3,400 fighting positions, training camps, and bunkers in Iraq and Syria,” she said.

Groups backed by Iran, which is not part of the coalition, have insisted they do not need US support and some have threatened to pull out of the Tikrit area if coalition strikes were called in.

Washington wants Iraq’s regular forces to be the main beneficiaries of its return to the Iraqi theatre, which it quit in 2011 after an eight-year occupation.

A US official told AFP that President Barack Obama approved the Tikrit air raids on the condition that Iraqi government forces be given a larger role in the assault.

Tikrit holds both strategic and symbolic importance.

It was the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, remnants of whose Baath party collaborated with IS last summer.

And it is seen by military commanders as a key stepping stone to recapturing Iraq’s second city Mosul, the jihadists’ largest hub.

Hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus and Arab Americans have been included in the tracking list of the FBI, a move welcomed by the minority communities who have been targeted post 9/11.

The updated manual by the Department of Justice is the first new release since the FBI agreed to begin tracking hate crimes against Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans and Arab Americans in 2013.
The manual came amid increasing incidents of anti-Hindu hate crimes across the country, including several incidents of attacks and vandalism against Hindu temples.

The move has been welcomed by the minority communities and top American lawmakers who had campaigned for this in the last several years.

This is the final step in the long-fought effort to encourage the federal government to finally begin tracking and quantifying hate crimes against these at-risk communities, said Congressman Joe Crowley, who was one of the leading US lawmakers to push the Department of Justice in this regard.

“For too long, the government hasn’t been able to fully understand the scope of the problem as there was no way to measure it,” said Crowley, who has been a leader on the issue and rallied his colleagues to sign letters in support of expanded hate crime tracking before and after the 2012 Oak Creek tragedy when six worshippers were killed at a Gurdwara.

The lawmaker said that the new changes announced by the FBI will go a long way in helping policymakers better understand the magnitude of hate crimes against Sikhs and other at-risk communities, and to develop more effective prevention programmes.

Hailing the decision, Rajdeep Singh, Director of Law and Policy at the Sikh Coalition, said, “Until now, anti-Sikh hate crimes were not recognised by the FBI…Year after year, Sikh Americans were being targeted for harassment and violence because of their distinct identity.

“For the first time, the FBI now officially acknowledges that Sikhs are targeted for being Sikhs. While refinements are needed to the agency’s tracking system and training standards, we are making progress.”

Harsh Voruganti, of the Hindu American Foundation, said, “We believe the manual can be a powerful tool for law enforcement officials to fight anti-Hindu hate crimes.”

“We look forward to continue to working with the FBI and our coalition partners to further improve the manual and other community resources,” he said.

“We are hopeful that this manual, along with other HAF-led trainings for law enforcement officials and community leaders, will help law enforcement better protect all targeted communities,” said Samir Kalra of Hindu American Foundation.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the proposed Metro 3 car shed project at Aarey Colony has been temporarily put on hold and a committee has been set up on shifting the project away from the colony.

The government has also proposed three alternate locations to relocate the project from Aarey colony, city’s green belt.

Fadnavis, while replying to a query during the Question Hour, informed the Legislative Council that a total of 2,298 trees will have to be felled for the proposed car shed, of which 2,044 trees will be replanted.

“The Tree Authority has suggested that of 2,044, 800 trees can be planted in the same area and the rest somewhere else. Remaining, 254 trees cannot be planted,” Fadnavis informed the House.

He, however, conceded that people residing in the area are against the construction of the Metro car shed and said that all efforts are being made to shift the project to a more suitable place.

“I’m aware of people’s sentiments. They do not want green spaces to be hacked. Respecting people’s sentiments, we have constituted a committee that is seeing if this project can be shifted somewhere else. We will take a final decision based on their report,” Fadnavis said.

“We have even proposed three alternate places for this project and the committee has also been asked to suggest more suitable places,” he said.

Fadnavis also said no decision regarding not requiring to take forest department’s permission to undertake infrastructure projects can be taken by the government.

PTI

Mumbai: A local court today remanded in police custody the police constable in connection with the recovery of 12 kilograms of mephedrone drug from his cupboard inside his police station in the city.

“The accused constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe has been remanded in police custody till April 1,” public prosecutor Wajid Sheikh said.
Sheikh said that the police sought his custody on the ground that they want to know from where he sourced the drug and who were the intended recipients.

“We also sought his custody saying that we want to unearth the entire nexus of the cartel,” Sheikh told PTI.

Meanwhile, Kalokhe’s lawyer told the court that there was a possibility of the accused being tortured in the custody to shield a senior IPS officer and some Customs officials who were also involved in the case.

Kalokhe’s lawyer also moved an application saying that the accused should be interrogated in the presence of his lawyers and also be allowed to speak to them. Sheikh said that the application will be heard on March 27.

Head Constable Kalokhe, posted at Marine Drive police station, was arrested on March 9 after 110 kg of mephedrone drug, whose market value police claim runs into crores of rupees, was seized from his residence in a village under Khandala taluka in Satara district.

The next day, 12 kg of mephedrone was seized from Kalokhe’s locked cupboard at the Marine Drive police station here, along with Rs 30,000 cash.

The procedure to dismiss the constable from service is also underway.

An FIR was registered against Kalokhe at Marine Drive police station under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. One kg of mephedrone, popularly known as meow-meow and M-Cat, costs Rs 20 lakh.

PTI

Mumbai: In a bid to attract foreign tourists, Maharashtra government today announced year 2017 as “Visit Maharashtra” year along with organisation of ‘international travel mart’ in September this year.

We are also trying to host the meeting of SAARC tourism ministers in the state,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds Tourism portfolio, told the Legislative Assembly in the reply to a debate on the budgetary demands of the department.

Fadnavis said a ‘single window scheme’ would be created for the hospitality industry and number of permissions would be drastically cut down from about 140 to 20.

The draft is being prepared and all departments would be taken on board before finalising it, he said.

Fadnavis told the House that a new tourism policy would be unveiled soon and that Aurangabad will be declared as a tourism district.

He said tourism in the state will be developed through a transparent public-private-partnership (PPP) model and an integrated tourism development plan for Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will be submitted for inclusion in the Central government’s coastal tourism project.

Plans are also afoot to develop sea forts in Konkan region, he added. Fadnavis said his government would aggressively market the tourism sector and strive to develop Maharashtra as a tourism brand.

A proposal to declare the Lonar crater in Buldhana district as a mega destination project is being prepared. Similarly, the Nagpur-Bhandara-Chandrapur area would be developed for lake tourism, the chief minister said.

He said the sea world project in Sindhudurg district in Konkan and the phase-III of Ajantha-Ellora preservation project will be vigorously pursued.

PTI

Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav’s son Shailesh Yadav, who was wanted in connection with the MPPEB scam, reportedly died of brain hemorrhage in Lucknow on Wednesday morning.
Both the Governor and his son are accused in the scam that broke nearly two years ago and involves several other accused from Uttar Pradesh.

While the Governor had challenged the FIR against him, his son was on the run and notices issued to him by the Special Investigation Team (STF) could not be served over last several weeks since his name appeared in a supplementary chargesheet filed in a local court. The Raj Bhavan in Bhopal had refused to accept a notice saying Shailesh did not live there.
READ: Governor named in exam scam, Centre asks him to step down
The investigating agency was reportedly preparing grounds to attach the properties owned by Shailesh in UP. Veerpal Singh, an accused arrested in November 2014, had alleged that Rs 3 lakh in cash was given to Shailesh in Raj Bhavan to ensure that 10 candidates from Bhind cleared the examination for contractual teachers. None of the 10 candidates were eventually appointed because they did not hold a diploma or a degree in education.
Madhya Pradesh’s octogenarian governor was admitted to a hospital in Bhopal a few days ago. Calling Shailesh’s death suspicious, the Opposition Congress has demanded a probe.

Lucknow: The population of Uttar Pradesh will reach 45 crore in the next 20 to 25 years, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly was informed today.

While replying to a question by Suresh Kumar Khanna of BJP on population control policy of the state government, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shankh Lal Majhi said that the state policy was launched in 2000 on the lines of the national policy.

“As per the state policy, the birth rate by 2016 has to be brought down to 2.1 which stood at 3.4 (per couple) in 2011,” the minister said, adding that in 2012 it came down to 3.3 and in 2013 to 3.2 (per couple).

Though the fall of 0.1 looks very meagre but when translated to the number of children it is quite impressive, he said.

Going by the present rate, the population of the state will rise to 45 crore in the next 20 to 25 years, he said.

He stressed the need to control population growth, adding, that the rate at which population is growing will affect all development works.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya asked whether government will take effective action against sadhus and sadhvis associated with a political party asking people to bear four to eight children, apparently referring to BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj’s remark that every Hindu woman should bear four children.
PTI

In a new twist to the mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi, his father-in-law today alleged that the CID probing it has deleted sensitive evidence before the case was handed over to CBI.
The CID has deleted some of the CCTV footage in the digital video recorder installed at his residence, Hanumanthrayappa claimed.

Facing rising public anger over the death of an upright IAS officer with growing clamour for a CBI probe, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on Monday announced the government’s decision to handover the case to the central agency, saying it had nothing to hide and was not protecting anyone.

Hanumathrayappa, a local Congress leader, said CID had taken the CCTV footage two days after Ravi’s death and returned it on March 23 and he was surprised to see some portions deleted.

“Two days after Ravi’s death, the CID took away the footage and returned it on March 23. I was shocked to see the footage recorded before 10.30 AM on March 16 was deleted,” Hanumnthrayappa told PTI.

On March 16, the IAS officer was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his Koramangala apartment.

Asked to throw light on what could be the vital contents in the deleted footage, Hanumanthrayappa said, “I would be able to tell only after I can get to see the deleted portion.”

However, Hanumanthrayappa said he has heard and read in newspapers that the deleted footage shows Ravi shouting over a telephonic conversation to someone at the other end.

Questioning the intentions of CID in deleting the footage, he said, “I want to know why did the CID delete the footage recorded before 10.30 AM on March 16? What is their intention?”
Hanumanthrayappa said he has asked his technician to help him retrieve the deleted footage, which is possible.

“My technician is not in town. He is out of Bengaluru and expected in a couple of days. He told me it is possible to retrieve the deleted video footage,” he said.

Asked whether he suspected the intentions of the state government, which allegedly is trying to give a different angle to Ravi’s death, Hanumanthrayappa said, “I do not want to comment on it for now because the investigation is on. However, I would make a comment once I watch the retrieved video footage which was deleted by the CID.”

A 50-year-old man, who was battling for life after a bullet pierced through his skull, survived after undergoing a complex brain surgery at a city hospital here.

Kanpur based Hakim Singh, a katha-vachak (a narrator of scriptures) by profession, was injured during air-firing during a Shri Madbhagwat katha-vachan in Jhansi on January 10 and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Since the hospital lacked facilities to treat such a serious condition, he was taken to a bigger centre in Gwalior.

“Doctors at the hospital in Gwalior told us that father needs to be taken to a good neuro surgical centre. Thus we came to AIIMS Delhi but due absence of beds, they did nod admit my father there and suggested us to take him to Apollo hospital,” said the patient’s son Abhay Pratap.

Almost 27 hours after the incident, Singh was admitted to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

“He was brought in a critical state. The bullet had entered the head through one side and exited through the other side.

“The CT scan of head revealed extensive brain injury with depressed fracture in frontal region as the bone was broken at multiple places. The damage to the brain was severe as the right frontal lobe had multiple pieces of bone lying inside it along with numerous cerebral contusions,” said Dr Pranav Kumar, Senior Consultant of department of Neurology at the hospital.

In a complex surgery that lasted five hours, doctors removed the bone pieces lying inside the brain and treated the cerebral contusions. Repair of brain living membrane was carried out to to deal with dural tear.

“The patient had a long (about 13 mm) linear tear in the superior sagittal sinus which is the principal drainage channel of brain which caused heavy bleeding.

The tear was repaired through surgery and four units of blood transfusion were given to the patient during and after the surgery to make up for the intense blood loss. A tracheostomy was also carried out to allow direct access to the breathing tube,” explained Dr Kumar.

The patient was kept under intensive care and on anticonvulsant and other supportive medications. After 3 weeks of therapy and treatment, the patient was discharged from the hospital.

“His speech is close to normal with normal cognitive abilities and movement,” said Kumar.