Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:
1. Al Qaeda leader Zawahiri killed in US strike in Afghanistan
2. Kerala monsoon: Casualties rise to 11, holiday declared in 2 districts tomorrow
3. Enforcement Directorate raids National Herald office, other locations in money laundering case
4. Another UAE returnee tests positive for monkeypox in Kerala
5. India records 13,734 new COVID cases, 27 deaths
Let's get into the details:
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1. Dealing the biggest blow to Al Qaeda since the death of founder Osama bin Laden in 2011, President of the United States Joe Biden on Monday said the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, over the weekend.
Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head, helped coordinate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the US.
US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Zawahiri died after a US drone strike in the Afghan capital of Kabul at 6.18 am on Sunday.
US intelligence determined with "high confidence" through multiple intelligence streams that the man killed was Zawahiri, a senior administration official told reporters. He was killed on the balcony of a "safe house" in Kabul that he shared with other members of his family. No other casualties occurred.
Biden said Zawahiri was the mastermind behind the attacks on the USS Cole and US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
According to a senior official, Zawahari's death deals a significant blow to Al Qaeda and will degrade the group's ability to operate.
In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that a strike took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of "international principles."
Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as Al Qaeda leader after years as its main organizer and strategist, but his lack of charisma and competition from rival militants Islamic State hobbled his ability to inspire spectacular attacks on the West.
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2. Heavy rains continued to batter Kerala on Tuesday even as the State government adopted a slew of measures to minimise the damages and intensify relief work. Four people lost their lives to rain fury in the state on Tuesday. With this, the total number of casualties has gone up to 11 as monsoon intensified in the last few days.
Meanwhile, Kozhikode and Alappuzha district collectors have declared a holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department sounded a red alert in 10 districts, including Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur. Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod were placed under orange alert.
The Chief Minister, during a press meet on Monday, said an Emergency Operations Centre of the State Disaster Management Authority has been set up and control rooms would be opened in all districts and taluks. Besides, four teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Thrissur districts and four more teams will be deployed in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Kollam and Malappuram districts, said the CM.
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3. The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided the head office of the Congress party-owned National Herald newspaper and 11 other locations as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation, officials said, a week after it questioned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
The searches were carried out under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to gather additional evidence with regard to the trail of funds.
The raids come after the probe agency questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her MP son Rahul at its headquarters in Delhi. While Sonia Gandhi was questioned for more than 11 hours, spread over three rounds, Rahul Gandhi was probed by the Enforcement Directorate for five days, at intervals, clocking over 50 hours in June.
The National Herald is published by the Associated Journals Ltd, and its holding company is Young Indian. According to officials, the location of a shell company in Kolkata linked to the case, has also been covered in the raids.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Both have 38 per cent shareholding.
The Enforcement Directorate action in the case was initiated after the agency late last year registered a fresh case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe against Young Indian based on a private complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
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Before we move on, here's a quick reminder to checkout Onmanorama's other podcasts, Wacky News and News Brake. Wacky News is a collection of the weirdest and strangest news from across the globe and News Brake is a clutter-free explainer of the major news story of the week. Both programmes are available on all podcast platforms.
Now, back to Daily News Dose.
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4. Kerala reported its fifth case of monkeypox on Tuesday after a 30-year-old who returned from UAE tested positive for the virus. He reached the State on July 27. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Malappuram and his condition is stable, Health Minister Veena George informed. His parents and two friends who were in contact with him have been placed under observation, she added.
With this, five people have been confirmed with monkeypox in the state.
While the first patient was discharged, the health condition of those undergoing treatment in the hospital continues to be satisfactory.
Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday informed the Upper House that scientists have isolated the monkeypox virus and a vaccine, like that for Covid-19, might be developed.
Only contact tracing and vaccinating people who were in close contact with a disease carrier are required and there is no need for countrywide vaccination for this disease. Scientists have isolated the monkeypox virus and will also develop a vaccine in India, said Mandviya.
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5. With 13,734 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases has risen to 4,40,50,009, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
The death toll has climbed to 5,26,430 with 27 new fatalities. The active cases have declined to 1,39,792. A decrease of 4,197 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.34 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.79 per cent, according to the health ministry.
The 27 new fatalities include six from West Bengal, three from Himachal Pradesh, two each from Delhi, Goa, Karnataka and Punjab, one each from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Pondicherry and Uttarakhand.
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That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.