Kerala priest Tom Uzhunnalil finally rescued from ISIS captivity

News Network
September 12, 2017

New Delhi, Sept 12: Kerala priest Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued from the captivity of the Islamic State. He was abducted from Yemen in 2016.

Sources said the priest, who is currently in Muscat, will be flown to Kerala on Tuesday night. He was rescued after efforts by the Oman foreign ministry and Yemeni officials.

“Tom Uzhunnalil expressed thanks to God Almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release,” the Oman Observer reported.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter to announce the news.

Father Uzhunnalil was abducted in March 2016 by ISIS which attacked an old-age home, run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, in southern Yemeni city of Aden. At least 15 people at the home were killed in the attack.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has spoken to various countries through which contacts could be established in Yemen since India does not have an Embassy of its own in the country.

"Abduction of Father Tom Uzhunnalil is a matter of grave concern for us. Yemen is a war-torn country. We do not have Embassy there but we are looking for ways to reach him. Not only me, but the PM during his overseas visits has spoken to various countries through which contacts can be established with Yemen," Swaraj had said.

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News Network
April 18,2020
Mangaluru, Apr 18: Food kits were distributed to as many as 100 needy Beary poets, writers and artistes’ on behalf of the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy at a simple ceremony held at the Academy office here on Friday.
 
The service initiative during the Lockdown was taken up as per the guidance of Minister for Kannada and Culture C T Ravi.
 
Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary distributed the kits to the beneficiaries.

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News Network
June 23,2020

Bengaluru, June 23: Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar has urged his party colleagues to be active on social media to counter the propaganda of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking to media persons, the KPCC president said that no more than 20 out of the 68 Congress MLAs are active on social media.

“All those MLAs who are doing well need to be projected. We want leaders, not mere followers. They all should be the face of Congress in Karnataka. Party should not depend on just my face or Siddaramaiah’s,” he said.

Shivakumar’s diktat has resulted in the party’s social media unit scrambling to get leaders to create their accounts.

“We’re pressuring all the party MLAs and leaders. We’re asking their personal assistants or gunmen to operate their accounts if they are not savvy with social media,” KPCC social media chief A N Nataraj Gowda said.

He pointed out that the 20 MLAs who are active on social media include U T Khader, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Priyank Kharge, Krishna Byre Gowda among others.

“We’re also trying to get the accounts verified of those who are beginning to get active. For example, it was only recently that we got the accounts of S R Patil and Vijay Singh verified,” Gowda said.

Tapping the full potential of social media is crucial for the Congress because the BJP has found much success in reaching out to voters through various online platforms.

In fact, ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress found that there were 10 ministers and some 40 MLAs who had turned a blind eye towards social media.

Shivakumar said he was also working on putting in place a system in the party under which all developments related to the state and country will be communicated to all party leaders at 10 am every day.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Mangaluru, May 10: The Yenepoya Medical College Hospital at Deralakatte here has become the first private hospital in Dakshina Kannada district to get coronavirus (COVID-19) testing approval.

The laboratory at the hospital has received the nod from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct tests for COVID-19, a release here said.

Dakshina Kannada will now have two centres for coronavirus tests, the first one being the district Wenlock hospital, the designated hospital for Covid-19.

ICMR has approved 33 testing centres in the state of which 21 are government hospitals and 12 are private hospitals.

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