Republic top 10 headlines: Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees Sri Lanka, Gujarat riot case & more

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Escaped To Maldives With Govt's Approval: MoD

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country with his wife and 2 bodyguards, were subjected to full approval by the Ministry of Defense for immigration, customs and other laws to fly to the Maldives, confirmed Sri Lankan Air Force Media Director. The country's air force facilitated the transportation of Rajapaksa to the Maldives according to the constitution and power vested upon the President.

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Sri Lanka's Buddhist Priest Ready To Nominate Civil Activists For Presidency If Needed

If political parties in Sri Lanka failed to reach a consensus on appointing the new President, the country’s Buddhist priest Omalpe Sobitha Thera said that the clergy are ready to nominate five civil society activists suitable for the post. Thera called on the party leaders amid political turmoil in the country, to allow the activists to be appointed through the national list to the Parliament. 

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UK: Eight Conservative Candidates Remain In Race To Be PM; Javid & Chishti Withdraw

Eight candidates gained enough support required to make it into the first round of the contest to be the next UK Prime Minister after former Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti withdrew their candidatures. All eight British officials who will compete in the first round secured the backing of at least 20 Conservative MPs in the House of Commons. The registrations of Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi, has been completed. 

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Shiv Sena Youth Leader Vikas Gogawale Joins CM Shinde Camp; Claims '50 More To Jump Ship'

In further damage to the Shiv Sena, its youth leader Vikas Gogawale joined the rebel camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction. 

On Tuesday night, Vikas was seen at the Chief Minister's residence, where he formally extended his support to the Shinde camp on the occasion of Guru Purnima. He also claimed that more than 50 office bearers of Yuva Sena will be jumping ship by the end of this week. It is pertinent to mention that Vikas' father Bharat Gogawale is the chief whip from the CM Shinde faction.

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India Denies Facilitating President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's Escape From Sri Lanka

The Indian High Commission in Colombo on Wednesday denied "baseless and speculative" media reports that New Delhi facilitated the travel of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, out of the island nation. Reiterating its support to the people of Sri Lanka, the High Commission dismissed any role in facilitating Rajapaksa's travel to the Maldives amid the mounting political and economic crises in the country.

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J&K: Footage Of Srinagar Terror Attack Accessed; Terrorist Seen Holding Gun At Police

After the terrorists opened fire at a police Naka party at the Lal Bazar area in Jammu & Kashmir's Srinagar wherein J&K police's ASI Mushtaq Ahmad succumbed to his injuries, Republic has now accessed the footage of the terror attack.

In exclusive footage of the Srinagar terror attack that Republic Media Network has accessed, a terrorist is seen carrying a gun in his hand behind a tree and pointing it at the J&K police personnel. It is pertinent to mention that on Tuesday terrorists attacked the J&K police Naka party in the Lal Bazar area of Srinagar injuring constable Fayaz Ahmad and SPO Abu Bakar while killing ASI Mushtaq Ahmad.

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Biden Hails US Army After Drone Strike Eliminates IS Group Leader Maher Al-Agal In Syria

United States President Joe Biden hailed the American military and intelligence officials for carrying out strikes and eliminating the leader of the Islamic State group in Syria, Maher al-Agal. After Pentagon's successful counter-terrorism operation in Syria, the US Central Command said that al-Agal was killed on Tuesday and an unidentified senior IS official was severely injured. The Pentagon also stated that there were no civilian casualties in the mission in Jindaris, a northwestern town in Syria near the Turkish border. 

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Ukraine Becomes Member Of NATO's Program Of Technological Cooperation Between Armies

Amid the ongoing brutal war between Moscow and Kyiv in Eastern Europe, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that his nation as an associate member has joined the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), which organises the military-technological cooperation of NATO member nations. According to Ukrinform, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the relevant decision was adopted by vote at the MIP Steering Group's annual meeting. 

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Tamil Nadu: BJP's Annamalai Demands DMK Minister's Ouster For 'beating Up' Woman

Sharing a shocking video on Twitter, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Tuesday demanded the ouster of DMK Minister KKSSR Ramachandran. At present, the latter is in charge of the Revenue and Disaster Management departments in the MK Stalin-led government. In the video, the aforesaid Minister is purportedly seen hitting a woman who approached me seeking a resolution of her grievances. Enraged at this incident, Annamalai asked Ramachandran to resign within 48 hours failing which BJP will stage a protest. 

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Gujarat Riots Case: Jailed Ex-IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt Arrested For Forgery Of Evidence

A Special Investigation Team of the Gujarat Police on Tuesday arrested former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for allegedly conspiring to falsely implicate innocent persons in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Bhatt, who was serving life imprisonment in a 1990 case, was arrested by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch through a transfer warrant. 

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