Taslima Nasreen insults Mary, says Jesus' mom was not virgin

Mangaluru, Feb 9: A youth, native of Dakshina Kannada, was kidnapped and later robbed and then abandoned by a group of criminals, after he landed at the Karipur International Airport in Kerala early on Sunday morning.

In a complaint filed with the Kondotty police, the victim identified as Abdul Nazar Shamsad, said he was kidnapped while he was travelling in a shared auto from the airport to Calicut town. The kidnappers took him to an unknown destination where they tortured him.

Shamshad was reportedly subjected to physical assault and was asked to hand over the gold that he carried with him. It is learnt that the kidnappers had mistaken the youth for a gold smuggler and tortured him in order to get hold of the smuggled gold. They also stole his money and documents before abandoning him.

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Former union minister and Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said that if at all there is a political future for Sachin Pilot it is in the Congress party.

While speaking to news agency, Moily said Sachin Pilot achieved everything by being in Congress party.

"Sachin Pilot became MP, union minister in UPA-II, PCC president in Rajasthan and Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Whatever grievances you have, it needs to be resolved within the forum of the party. There is no hurry for Sachin Pilot. If at all there is a future for him it is in the Congress party. He has to realise that. He says he won't join BJP, it is good," Moily said.

The former Union Minister Moily further said that Pilot could not become Chief Minister as in Congress, the high command sends an observer and opinion of MLAs is ascertained, be it in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan.

"The leader who enjoys the support of elected MLAs is made Chief Minister," Moily said.
On July 14, Congress party had sacked Sachin Pilot from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and also from PCC president.

The Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil over the past few days. State Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has blamed the BJP for attempting to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs. The Congress government in the state is facing a political crisis after simmering differences between Pilot and Ashok Gehlot came out in the open.

A controversy broke out in Rajasthan after Special Operation Group (SOG) sent a notice to Pilot to record his statement in the case registered by SOG in the alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state.

Bengaluru, Jul 10: Alarmed by the surging COVID-19 cases across the state, especially in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday urged the state capital’s residents not to visit their villages to prevent the infection’s spread.

“I urge the people of Bengaluru not to travel to their villages and prevent the infection from spreading in rural areas,” Yediurappa told reporters.

Admitting that the battle against the virus would be long, he said that the fight against COVID-19 could be won only through persistent efforts and with people’s cooperation with the frontline ‘warriors’.

“Combating the pandemic through preventive measures, providing treatment to the infected and saving lives are our priority,” he said.

With a record 2,228 positive cases on Thursday, the southern state’s COVID-19 tally shot up to 31,105, including 17,782 active cases, while 457 people have died of the infection till date, 17 just in the last 24 hours.

Of the new cases in the state, Bengaluru accounted for 1,373, taking its tally to 13,882, including 10,870 active, while 177 have succumbed to the virus since March 9.

No deaths were, however, reported in the city on Thursday.

Of the 457 patients in intensive care units (ICU) across the state, 292 are in Bengaluru hospitals.

Since unlock began on June 1, COVID-19 cases shot up to 15,242 on June 30 from 3,221 on May 31 and to 31,105 in 9 days since July 1.

Similarly, in Bengaluru, positive cases shot up to 4,555 on June 30 from 358 on May 31 and rose to 13,882 in 9 days since July 1.

The Chief Minister also appealed to all legislators of the ruling and opposition parties to give priority to contain the disease in their Assembly segments.

“Visit the COVID-19 designated hospitals and inspect if the required facilities are in place and bring any shortcomings to our notice,” the CM said