Thursday, October 31, 2024

Trump Extends Diwali Greetings, Vows To Strengthen Ties With India, PM Modi

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said that the United States' "great partnership" with India and "my good friend Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi" will be strengthened under his administration.

In a post on X, Trump also extended his greetings on Diwali. "... Happy Diwali to All. I hope the Festival of Lights leads to the Victory of Good over Evil!," he posted.

In the same post, the former President condemned the violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

"I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos," he said, adding that it would have "never happened" on his watch.

Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden of ignoring Hindus across the world and in America.

He also vowed to make "America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength".

"We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi," he said.

The former President further said that Harris will "destroy your small businesses with more regulations and higher taxes".

"By contrast, I cut taxes, cut regulations, unleashed American energy, and built the greatest economy in history. We will do it again, bigger and better than ever before -- and we will Make America Great Again," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Iran Preparing Strike On Israel From Iraqi Territory Within Days: Reports

 Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.

The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, the Axios report added.

The report said that carrying out the attack through pro-Iran militias in Iraq could be an attempt by Tehran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.

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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Britain Detects Its 1st Case Of New Mpox Variant

Britain has detected its first case of new mpox variant clade Ib, the country's health security agency (UKHSA) said on Wednesday, adding that the risk to the population remained low.

The clade Ib variant is a new form of the virus that was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization in August, after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to neighbouring countries in Africa.

The case, in a patient who had recently travelled to affected countries in Africa, was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to a specialist hospital, the UKHSA said.

Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations, the UKHSA added.

There have been cases of mpox clade Ib reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany, as well as Congo. It is a different form of the virus from clade II, which spread globally in 2022, largely among men who have sex with men.

Mpox is a viral infection that typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while usually mild it can kill.

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"I Disagree": Kamala Harris After Biden's Trump Supporters "Garbage" Remark

White House rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris launched a frantic last week of election campaigning Wednesday, with the Democrat having to distance herself from comments by President Joe Biden that appeared to label Trump supporters "garbage."

Harris traveled to North Carolina and onward to Pennsylvania, focusing again on two of seven battleground states that could determine who wins the closest election in modern US history.

Republican Trump will also be in North Carolina on Wednesday -- in the town of Rocky Mount, about an hour's drive from Harris's Raleigh rally -- and will then head to Wisconsin, where he will appear alongside US sports star Brett Favre.

Trump is expected to reject the election result if he loses, with the Republican already seizing on isolated irregularities caught by election officials to amplify his claims of widespread "cheating."

On Wednesday, Harris had hoped to be basking in the afterglow of a speech attended by tens of thousands outside the White House, where she warned her rival was unstable and itching for unbridled power.

Instead, she was fending off questions about Biden's apparent gaffe when the president reacted to a warm-up speaker at a Trump rally referring to the island of Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage" in an off-color joke that risked alienating Latino voters.

"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters," Biden said, before the White House sought to clarify that he was referring to Trump's rhetoric, not to his supporters.

"Let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for," said Harris, Biden's vice president.

'Unstable, obsessed'

In Washington, Harris had given a powerful closing argument speech in a symbolic setting.

She spoke at the very spot where Trump stirred up a mob that went on to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a violent attempt to keep him in power even though he lost the 2020 election to Biden.

"This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power," Harris said.

But the vice president also gave an optimistic vision of the United States' future, with the White House lit up behind her.

"Each of you has the power to turn the page, and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told," Harris told flag-waving supporters.

'Cheating' claims

On Wednesday, Trump took to social media to repeat his claims of widespread voter fraud, appearing to set the stage for a repeat performance around the unfounded claim that his 2020 loss to Biden was rigged.

He denounced what he said was "cheating" at "large-scale levels never seen before" in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he had made similar comments on Tuesday evening.

At that rally in Pennsylvania, Trump also took credit for driving down public trust in US news media.

"I'm very proud of it. I've exposed them as being fake. But with your help, one week from today, we're going to defeat Kamala Harris and the media," he said.

Trump also engaged in damage control on Puerto Rico, saying "nobody loves our Latino community and our Puerto Rico community more than I do."

He termed Biden's comments about his supporters "terrible," and on Wednesday made a fresh plea for campaign donations by referencing them.

"My patriotic supporters are the BEST PEOPLE in the country -- I LOVE YOU!" he said.

One person who will not be voting for Trump on November 5 will be actor and former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, who endorsed Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.

Inflation and the health of the US economy have been key issues this election, and on Wednesday new government data showed solid economic growth solid despite a slight slowdown.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Doomsday Arctic Vault, The World's Backup Gene Bank, Sees Surge In Samples

An Arctic seed vault on Norway's Spitsbergen island received new samples last week from the largest number of depositors since 2020, reflecting fear about the threat of conflict and climate change to food security, a custodian of the facility said recently.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, set deep inside a mountain to withstand disasters from nuclear war to global warming, was launched in 2008 as a backup for the world's gene banks that store the genetic code for thousands of plant species.

Billed as a doomsday vault protected by permafrost, the deposit has received samples from across the world, and played a leading role between 2015 and 2019 in rebuilding seed collections damaged during the war in Syria.

"Climate change and conflict threaten infrastructure and impact food security for over 700 million people in more than 75 countries worldwide," Executive Director Stefan Schmitz of the Crop Trust said in a statement.

Among the new desposits, Bolivia's first contribution to the vault was made by the 400-year-old Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, and assembled by some 125 farming families from local communities.

"This deposit goes beyond conserving crops; it's about protecting our culture," the project coordinator of the Norway-funded Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development in Bolivia said in a statement.

Chad, another newcomer, deposited 1,145 samples of sesame, rice, maize and sorghum - all adapted to the country's climate and crucial for developing crops that can withstand rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.

The total of more than 30,000 new samples from 21 countries, also included seeds of vegetables, legumes and herbs from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Located on a sparsely populated island halfway between mainland Europe and the North Pole, the vault's chambers are only opened two or three times a year to limit exposure to the outside world.
 

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Monday, October 28, 2024

CrowdStrike, Delta Sue Each Other Over Flight Disruptions Due To July Crash

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said on Monday it sued Delta Air Lines in US District Court in Georgia after a faulty software update prompted a global outage in July.

The July 19 incident led to worldwide flight cancellations and hit industries including banks, healthcare, media companies and hotel chains.

CrowdStrike said it sued to make clear that CrowdStrike did not cause the harm that Delta claims, and that Delta repeatedly refused assistance from both CrowdStrike and Microsoft. Delta did not immediately comment on CrowdStrike's suit.

CrowdStrike is seeking a declaratory judgment plus legal fees.

Delta's lawsuit filed on Friday in Fulton County Superior Court called the faulty software update from CrowdStrike "catastrophic" and said the company "forced untested and faulty updates to its customers, causing more than 8.5 million Microsoft Windows-based computers around the world to crash."

Delta said the faulty update caused 7,000 flight cancellations, disrupted travel plans of 1.3 million customers and cost the carrier more than $500 million.

CrowdStrike's lawsuit, also filed on Friday, said Delta's own response and technology caused delays in the carrier's ability to resume normal operations.

CrowdStrike's lawsuit reiterated its contention that it has minimal liability, something Delta rejected.

Delta said CrowdStrike is liable for over $500 million in out-of-pocket losses as well as for unspecified lost profits, expenditures - including legal fees - reputational harm and future revenue loss.

The incident prompted the US Transportation Department to open an investigation.

"If CrowdStrike had tested the faulty update on even one computer before deployment, the computer would have crashed," Delta's lawsuit says.

Delta said it has invested billions of dollars in information technology licensing and infrastructure.

Last month, a senior CrowdStrike executive apologized before Congress for the faulty software update.

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Sunday, October 27, 2024

US Man Finds $20 On Ground, Buys Lottery Ticket And Wins $1 Million

A $20 bill lying on the ground, outside a convenience store, became the road to a $1 million lottery for a North Carolina man. On October 22, when Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk was headed to a convenience store, he found a $20 bill lying on the ground.

“I found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway,” Hicks recalled, as per the press release. “I used that to buy the ticket.”

He picked it up, walked into the Speedway on N.C. 105 in Boone, and bought an Extreme Cash scratch-off.

“They actually didn't have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead,” he laughed.

He hit the jackpot with a $1 million lottery.

The winner had two options to claim his prize money - receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the latter and took $429,007 after required state and federal tax withholdings.

Hicks has plans for the family. He wants to use the winning amount to help out his children and retire after working as a carpenter for 56 years.

When asked, what is the first thing he would do to celebrate the big win, he said, “We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they've got.”



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Iran Supreme Leader's Hebrew X Account Suspended, Last Post Was...

The Hebrew language account opened by Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on social media platform X has been suspended after just two posts, as per Jerusalem Post.

The latest post from Sunday read, "The Zionist regime made a mistake, and erred in its calculation regarding Iran. We will make it understand what power, ability, initiative and desire the Iranian nation has."

The first Hebrew language post came on Saturday, reading, "In the name of Allah the merciful." Both posts came after Israel's strikes on Iran's military targets last week.

On his main X account, Khamenei often posts in Hebrew, often using strong language against Israel.

Khamenei had said that Israel's airstrikes on Iran should not be magnified nor downplayed. While Israel would like to amplify the impacts of its actions against Iran, Khamenei said on Sunday, adding it would also not be right for Iran to dismiss the strikes as insignificant, CNN reported.

"They're making a miscalculation concerning Iran," he said in comments published on his website. "They still haven't been able to correctly understand the power, capability, ingenuity, and determination of the Iranian people. We need to make them understand these things."

Iran said Israeli air strikes targeting its military sites killed two soldiers on Saturday, after Israel simultaneously struck missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other "aerial capabilities".

It said later that the air attack had "concluded" its response to Iran's October 1 missile attack, saying its warplanes had returned safely and the mission was "fulfilled". Iran's air force confirmed strikes on military bases in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces that "caused limited damage".



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Man Dials 911 Claiming A Bear Is Chasing Him. He's Now A Key Murder Suspect

A man in the US is wanted in a murder case after he called the emergency number 911, claiming he had been chased by a bear and leading first responders to a dead body.

According to a news release from the Monroe County Tennessee Sheriff's Office, 911 received a call about a "distressed hiker" on October 18 who claimed to be Brandon Andrade. He told the dispatcher that he had fallen off of a cliff while running from a bear and that he was injured and partially in the water.

When officials conducted a search in Tellico Plains, the area where they received the call from, a body of a man was recovered with an identification of Brandon Kristopher Andrade. 

After investigation, the officials found that Brandon Andrade was not the victim and that the identification had been "stolen and used" on multiple occasions.

"A male that was using the stolen identification of Mr Andrade, was discovered to be a Nicholas Wayne Hamlett, who was wanted out of the State of Alabama on a parole violation," the Sheriff's Office said.

Hamlett had used a false name when speaking with law enforcement after the distressed hiker call. 

Before his real identity was verified, he was believed to have fled from his Tennessee residence.

The victim has so far not been identified, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Hamlett, who is considered "armed and dangerous", for First Degree Murder, the Sheriff's Office said.



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Egypt Proposes 2-Day Truce In Gaza With Limited Hostage-Prisoner Exchange

Egypt has proposed an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's president said on Sunday as Israeli military strikes killed 45 Palestinians across the enclave.

Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made the announcement as efforts to defuse the devastating, more than year-long war resumed in Qatar with the directors of the CIA and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency taking part.

Speaking alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a press conference in Cairo, Sisi also said that talks should resume within 10 days of implementing the temporary ceasefire in efforts to reach a permanent one.

There was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas but a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters: "I expect Hamas would listen to the new offers, but it remains determined that any agreement must end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza."

Israel has said the war cannot end until Hamas has been wiped out as a military force and governing entity in Gaza.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have been spearheading negotiations to end the war that erupted after Hamas fighters entered southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

The death count from Israel's retaliatory air and ground onslaught in Gaza is approaching 43,000, Gaza health officials say, with the densely populated enclave in ruins.

An official briefed on the talks told Reuters earlier on Sunday that negotiations in Doha will seek a short-term ceasefire and the release of some hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners.

The objective, still elusive after multiple mediation attempts, is to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a halt in fighting for less than a month in the hope this would lead to a more permanent ceasefire.

At least 43 of those killed in Gaza on Sunday were in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have returned to root out Hamas fighters who it says have regrouped there.

'UNBEARABLE' CONDITIONS IN NORTH GAZA

The United Nations said the plight of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza was "unbearable" and the conflict was being "waged with little regard for the requirements of international humanitarian law".

"The Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) is shocked by the harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction in the north, with civilians trapped under rubble, the sick and wounded going without life-saving health care, and families lacking food and shelter, amid reports of families being separated and many people detained," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Israeli authorities were hampering efforts to deliver food, medicine and other essential humanitarian supplies, putting lives at risk, he said. The devastation and deprivation resulting from Israeli military operations in the north were making life there untenable.

Israel says its forces operate in accordance with international law. It says it targets Hamas operatives who conceal themselves among the civilian population which they use as human shields, a charge Hamas denies.

It denies blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, blaming international organisations for problems distributing it and accusing Hamas of stealing from aid convoys.

JABALIA IN FOCUS

Earlier on Sunday, 20 people were killed following an airstrike on houses in Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, which has been the focus of an Israeli military offensive for more than three weeks, medics and the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said.

Another Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in Shati camp in Gaza City, killed nine people and wounded 20 others, with many in critical condition, medics said.

Footage circulated on Palestinian media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed people rushing to the bomb site to help evacuate the casualties. Bodies were scattered on the ground, while some carried wounded children in their arms before loading them in a vehicle.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report on the strike on the school.

Three local journalists were among those killed at the school in Shati - Saed Radwan, head of digital media at Hamas Al-Aqsa television, Hanin Baroud, and Hamza Abu Selmeya, according to Hamas media.

On Sunday, Israel's military said it had killed more than 40 militants in the Jabalia area in the past 24 hours, as well as dismantling infrastructure and locating large quantities of military equipment.

Israeli military strikes on the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have so far killed around 800 people during a three-week offensive, the Gaza health ministry said.

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Saturday, October 26, 2024

24 Killed After Cargo Truck Collides With Passenger Bus In Mexico

A cargo truck collided with a passenger bus in northern Mexico on Saturday, leaving at least 24 people dead and five others injured, local authorities said.

"So far, the preliminary information available is that 24 passengers have died and five people are injured and are being treated," Rodrigo Reyes, a senior official in the government of Zacatecas state, said in a video on social media.

The accident, on a highway that connects Zacatecas with the central state of Aguascalientes, occurred when a container filled with corn fell off the truck, causing the bus to overturn.

The bus was traveling between the city of Tepic, in western Nayarit state, and Ciudad Juarez on the US border.

The highway was closed to traffic, Reyes said, adding that army, National Guard and civil protection forces were deployed.

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Friday, October 25, 2024

"In Environment That's Not Hers": Government On Indian Child In Germany

The case of Ariha Shah, a three-year-old Indian girl who has been in foster care in Germany, was raised during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz here on Friday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

At a media briefing, the foreign secretary also said the chancellor has assured the Prime Minister that he is "very closely following" the issue.

The girl has been in foster care in Germany for more than 36 months following allegations of minor physical abuse.

Her parents, Bhavesh and Dhara Shah, are residents of Mira Bhayander in Maharashtra's Thane district.

"The case has been followed very, very closely by us.... Our embassy in Berlin has taken it up. When the external affairs minister was in Germany a few weeks ago, he had raised it very strongly with his counterpart," Mr Misri said.

"Yes, I can confirm that it was raised during the meeting today as well. We have at all levels impressed upon the German side that an Indian child growing up in an environment that is not hers -- cultural, religious, linguistic environment -- is somewhat unnatural and that this situation needs to be addressed," he added.

The foreign secretary said Scholz assured PM Modi that "he is very closely following this issue and continues to pay close attention to it" ,adding, "I am sure that both sides will remain in touch on this issue through various channels." German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann had said on Wednesday that German authorities are in "very close contact" with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the relevant youth authorities in connection with the case of Ariha Shah.

Ackermann said this in response to a query during a press interaction held at his residence here on what Germany was willing to do to bring the girl back and whether her issue will be raised at the "highest level". 

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Waymo, Driverless Cab Start-Up From Google's Parent Firm, Gets $5.6 Billion

Alphabet's self-driving unit, Waymo, said on Friday it had closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by the Google parent, as it looks to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service.

Automakers and technology companies are investing in autonomous ride-hailing services to capitalize on the technology to drive commercial success, even as it faces widespread skepticism and tight regulatory scrutiny.

The investment round also saw participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price, Waymo said.

"With this latest investment, we will continue to welcome more riders into our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and in Austin and Atlanta through our expanded partnership with Uber," the company said.

Alphabet had planned a $5 billion investment in Waymo over a multi-year period, finance chief Ruth Porat said in July.

Waymo, which offers paid rides in autonomous vehicles in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, as well as in Phoenix, Arizona, spent years logging millions of miles of testing before it received its first permit in 2022 from the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates ride-hailing services.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the electric vehicle maker will roll out driverless ride-hailing services to the public in California and Texas next year.

General Motors' Cruise is testing cars with human safety drivers after an accident last year led it to pull all vehicles from the road. Meanwhile, Amazon's Zoox is expanding testing for its vehicles built without steering wheels and pedals.
 

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Thursday, October 24, 2024

Pak Ex PM Imran Khan's Wife Bushra Bibi Released On Bail Freed From Jail

Bushra Bibi, the wife of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, was released from prison on Thursday, a day after she was granted bail in a case linked to the illegal sale of state gifts, ending about nine months of imprisonment.

The release is the biggest legal relief for Imran Khan and his family since he was imprisoned in August last year. Bushra Bibi, who was arrested in January, was released from Adiala Jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Imran Khan still remains.

Local television channels showed a small number of supporters throwing rose petals on two white SUVs escorting her from the jail.

Bushra Bibi faces at least one other graft case linked to receiving land from a real estate developer.

"Welcome back Bushra Bibi! You have faced extremely difficult times, disgusting campaign and character assassination attempts against your during your illegal time in jail," Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said in a post on X.

Imran Khan himself faces dozens of other cases, including charges of violating anti-terrorism laws, brought since he was removed as premier in 2022 and launched a protest movement against a coalition of his rivals led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The Khans deny all the charges, saying they are trumped up by the government to discredit the 72-year-old former cricket star, who remains widely popular and whose candidates won the most seats in February's general election.

The Sharif-led government says it does not interfere in the judicial process. Imran Khan's standoff with the country's powerful military, who he says backs Sharif, has spawned the worst political turmoil in decades in the nation of 241 million people.

Bushra Bibi, whose actual name is Bushra Khan, is Imran Khan's third wife. The two married six months before he became prime minister for the first time in 2018.

Imran Khan has often called her his spiritual leader and she is known for her devotion to Sufism, a mystical form of Islam. She has mostly remained away from the public eye, appearing in only one television interview - that too wearing her traditional veil.

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Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Gisele Pelicot, French Mass Rape Survivor, Hopes Trial Will Help Women

Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old victim of mass rape whose ordeal has shocked the world, told a trial in southern France on Wednesday that she was determined that making her case public should help other women and change society.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, has admitted to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly ten years to their house to rape her after he had drugged her. Fifty other men also stand trial, accused of raping her.

Gisele Pelicot, her voice often shaking with emotion, told the court she was destroyed by what happened to her. She said how "unbelievably violent" it was for her that many of the accused in the trial, which started on Sept.2, said they thought she agreed to the rapes or was faking sleeping.

"I've decided not to be ashamed, I've done nothing wrong," Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence, told the court in Avignon.

She said she had insisted the trial be held publicly, and not behind closed doors, as is often the case to protect rape victims, in the hope it would help other rape victims.

"They (rapists) are the ones who must be ashamed," she said, adding that having videos, filmed by her husband, of some of her rapes, shown during the trial, was "very difficult but necessary."

"I'm not expressing hatred or hate, but I am determined that things change in this society," said Gisele Pelicot.

Protests have been organised across France to show support for Gisele Pelicot, with many women expressing admiration for her courage.

"It's not courage. It's determination to change things," she said. "This is not just my battle, but that of all rape victims."

Most of the accused told the court they have been manipulated by Dominique Pelicot, rejecting the blame on him. Only a few have admitted to raping Gisele Pelicot.

Some have apologised.

"I hear those apologies, but they are inaudible," she told the court. "By apologising, they are trying to excuse themselves."

Saying her husband's betrayal of her trust was beyond measure, Gisele Pelicot told the court: "I'm a woman who's totally destroyed."

She had thought he was the perfect husband, she told the court, before adding: "My life has tumbled into nothingness."

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Bangladesh Bans Student Wing Of Ex PM's Party Under Anti-Terror Law

Bangladesh banned the student wing of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's party on Thursday, citing its involvement in violent attacks on demonstrations that toppled the autocratic leader.

Sheikh Hasina fled the country in August as thousands marched on her official residence, ending a 15-year tenure that saw widespread human rights abuses.

The student wing of her Awami League party was accused of propping up her iron-fisted rule, which saw the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

A government notice accused the party's youth wing, known as the Chhatra League, of involvement in "murders, persecution, torture... and many other activities that threaten public security".

The statement added that the student group had been outlawed under anti-terrorism laws.

Initially peaceful protests that began in July against Sheikh Hasina's government turned violent when Chhatra League activists attacked student demonstrators on university campuses.

The attempt by pro-government cadres to quell the protests instead fanned public anger, culminating in Sheikh Hasina's overthrow weeks later.

More than 700 people were killed in the resulting unrest, according to official estimates -- most in clashes between police and anti-Hasina protesters.

A Bangladeshi court this month issued an arrest warrant for the exiled leader, who fled to neighbouring India on the day of her overthrow.

Dozens of Sheikh Hasina's allies were taken into custody after her regime collapsed, accused of culpability in the police crackdown.

Former cabinet ministers and other senior members of the Awami League have been arrested, and her government's appointees were purged from courts and the central bank.

Sheikh Hasina, however, has not been seen in public since fleeing the country by helicopter.

The 77-year-old's last official whereabouts are a military airbase near Delhi.

Her presence in India -- her government's biggest benefactor -- has infuriated the interim administration in Bangladesh that replaced her.

Dhaka has revoked her diplomatic passport, and the countries have a bilateral extradition treaty which would facilitate her return to face criminal trial.

A clause in the treaty, however, says extradition might be refused if the offence is of a "political character".

Sheikh Hasina was replaced by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who was sworn in to helm an interim administration days after her departure.

The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer's temporary administration is facing what he has called the "extremely tough" challenge of restoring democratic institutions.

Yunus has said he inherited a "completely broken down" system of public administration and justice that needs a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Russian Boxer Banned For Life After Knocking Out Opponent With Head Kick

Idris Abdurashidov, a Russian mixed martial arts boxer, was banned from fighting for life after knocking out his opponent with an illegal head kick on October 20 during his professional boxing debut in Phuket, Thailand. The 21-year-old, who has a 4-0 record and is unbeaten in mixed martial arts, is well-known for his ability to knock out opponents in MMA, but he made a risky switch to boxing rules.

By the fourth round of his bout with Iranian boxer Bagher Faraji, Abdurashidov seemed to be having trouble. In a startling turn of events, Faraji was immediately floored by the Russian fighter's MMA-style head kick. Both officials and onlookers were taken aback by this unlawful action.

Later, Abdurashidov boasted about his feat on social media while posting the knockout footage, which heightened the debate. 

Watch the video here: 

He captioned the video in Russian, which, when translated into English, reads:""So he debuted in professional boxing," the caption said. "And disqualification for life, that leg kick I threw (was) a machine gun!"

In addition to receiving significant criticism, the incident resulted in a lifelong boxing ban, with additional sanctions being considered.



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Trump Targets Latino Voters As Race With Harris Enters Final Two Weeks

One of the tightest US election races of modern times enters its final, two-week stretch Tuesday, with Republican Donald Trump making a special pitch to Latino voters as Democratic rival Kamala Harris sits down for a national network interview.

Both campaigns are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into a final push for any wavering, undecided voters who could tilt the balance in their favor, with polls consistently showing their candidates in a dead heat ahead of Election Day.

Whatever the outcome, Americans will make history on November 5: they will either elect the first woman president in the world's leading superpower -- or they will put the first convicted felon into the White House.

Polls appear to be giving Trump, who at 78 is the oldest nominee from a major party in US history, a slight edge recently -- but all within the margin of error, making them little comfort for a former president making his third consecutive White House run.

Vice President Harris -- who only threw herself into the race in July, when President Joe Biden made the stunning decision to drop out and endorse her instead -- will give a television interview to NBC on Tuesday.

The 60-year-old, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend, will also deploy one of her party's most popular emissaries back into the field: Barack Obama.

The former Democratic president will hold a series of rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan, two of the seven most hotly contested swing states in the election which, under the US system of indirect universal suffrage, are likely to decide the outcome.

15 million ballots cast

Trump, whose anti-migrant rhetoric is becoming coarser and more extreme by the day, will take part in a roundtable discussion with Latino voters at one of his Florida properties.

The Republican will then fly to North Carolina, another swing state where he also campaigned on Monday, for an event that is supposed to be devoted to the economy.

He rarely sticks to the topic at his rallies, however -- instead, he has been criticized for a tumultuous few weeks that have featured rambling monologues and threats about weaponizing the military against Democrats who he calls "the enemy from within."

One recent televised town hall veered into a surreal, impromptu music session as Trump abandoned discussion of the election to play his favorite hits while swaying on stage.

The Harris campaign has begun to hammer at his mental and physical fitness to serve.

But a tide of MAGA-capped supporters continue to flock to his rallies, convinced that he is the victim of political persecution, or that Democrats are instigating threats against him.

Democrats are also seeking to woo moderate Republicans turned off by Trump's ominous rhetoric and scandals.

Harris has sought to frame herself as a "joyful warrior" seeking to turn the page on Trump's years of outrage and move into a new generation of American political leadership.

More than 15 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person, according to the independent organization Elections Project, representing around 10 percent of the total turnout in 2020.

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Hezbollah Rules Out Negotiations During Fighting With Israel

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel and it claimed sole responsibility for a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.

The group "takes full and sole responsibility" for targeting Netanyahu's house, Mohammad Afif, head of the Iranian-backed operator group's media office, told a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

"If our hands didn't reach you the previous time, then days, nights and the battlefield are still between us," he said.

Israel said a drone was launched at Netanyahu's holiday home on Saturday. Netanyahu was not there at the time, but he described it as an assassination attempt by "Iran's proxy Hezbollah" and called it a "grave mistake".

Hezbollah also for the first time acknowledged that Israel had captured some of its fighters since it launched a ground offensive in south Lebanon, and said that Israel was responsible for their wellbeing.

Hezbollah had not captured any Israeli soldiers but had come close, Afif said. "It won't take long before we have captives from the enemy (Israel).".

He also denied that the group's Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association was involved in financing Hezbollah salaries or weapons and would fulfil its obligations to clients in full even after Israel targeted it with some 30 strikes on Sunday.

Israel and the US say Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which has over 30 outlets across Lebanon, is used by Hezbollah for money laundering and terrorism financing, assertions the group denies.

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Monday, October 21, 2024

Explained: How Does Aid Enter Gaza?

Israel has announced steps to boost aid deliveries to Gaza, but UN figures show a huge drop in supplies getting through to the war-battered territory and humanitarian workers doubt much is reaching those who need it most.

Aid workers and experts told AFP that there were still many obstacles to getting desperately needed supplies to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip's north, where intense Israeli military operations since early October have left hundreds dead.

Not only are there disputes over the actual volume of aid being allowed in, but agencies are often unable to reach people under constant bombardment, meaning it does not always make it where the dire humanitarian needs are greatest.

How does aid enter Gaza? 

Most trucks carrying humanitarian supplies enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip.

The shipments are inspected by the Israeli military for security reasons, a process cited by humanitarian groups as the main factor behind the slow delivery of aid.

Israel, which imposed a siege on the Hamas-ruled territory in the early stages of the war last year, often blames the inability of relief organisations to handle and distribute large quantities of aid.

Once the aid enters Gaza, deliveries are subject to coordination with COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry agency that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories.

Many aid groups regularly report difficulties in communicating and coordinating with COGAT.

The distribution of aid is further complicated by shortages of fuel for trucks, war-damaged roads and looting, as well as fighting in densely populated areas and the repeated displacement of much of Gaza's 2.4 million people.

Several humanitarian officials told AFP on condition of anonymity that almost half of the aid that enters Gaza is being looted, especially basic supplies.

According to the United Nations, 396 trucks have entered Gaza so far in October, far below previous months.

In September 3,003 trucks got through, following 3,096 in August and 4,681 in July, according to UN figures which Israel's COGAT regularly disputes.

Some foreign countries have opted for dropping aid from the air. COGAT said 81 packages were parachuted into the narrow coastal territory on Saturday.

But this effort as well as a short-lived maritime aid corridor have not been able to meet the increasing needs of Gazans after more than a year of war.

What has Israel said?

A joint statement issued Tuesday by the military and COGAT said Israel "remains committed to facilitating humanitarian aid".

It came as the United States, Israel's top arms provider, has warned it may suspend some of its military assistance if Israel does not quickly improve humanitarian access to Gaza.

The Israeli statement highlighted patient transfers between hospitals in Gaza and the delivery of 68,650 litres of fuel to medical facilities across the territory -- many of which have been put out of service during the war.

The military has also announced that 30 World Food Programme trucks were recently able to bring flour directly to northern Gaza, not via the southern Kerem Shalom crossing.

Tania Hary, head of Israeli rights group Gisha which monitors access into Gaza, said that "Israel has come under (diplomatic) pressure to allow more aid in, especially to the north".

She told AFP that only a ceasefire would enable humanitarian operations on the required scale.

"But short of that, genuine action and cooperation by the Israeli authorities could ensure the safe and free movement of aid," Hary said, but cautioned that she had seen no "genuine will" from the Israeli authorities throughout the war.

What's the impact on the ground?

Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said there has been "no major change".

"What has come in is very, very little and is by far not enough in the face of the needs," Touma told AFP.

A displaced resident of the northern Jabalia area, a focus of the recent fighting, said the area "is being wiped out".

"If we don't die from the bombing and gunfire, we will die of hunger," said 42-year-old Umm Firas Shamiyah, demanding aid be sent to the north.

Sarah Davies, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that even if aid deliveries are boosted, the fighting makes it "very difficult to effectively distribute things to all those who need it".

A humanitarian worker whose group has a large presence on the ground said that some crucial items are banned by Israel.

"We're having great difficulty bringing in oxygen concentrates, generators and reconstruction equipment because the Israeli authorities consider them to be dual-purpose items that have both military and medical uses," he said.

"Some clinics are even running out of paracetamol," the common painkiller, the aid worker added.

"October has been catastrophic."

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Sunday, October 20, 2024

87 Killed In Israel's Attack On Gaza After Yahya Sinwar's Killing

Israel said it hit Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in its latest strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, while officials in Gaza said rescuers were still recovering people from the rubble after an Israeli strike that killed dozens.

At least 87 people were dead or missing following the air strike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza late on Saturday, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory said, one of the highest death counts for months from a single attack. Israel said it was investigating reports of the incident.

It marked an intensification of Israel's offensives against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, days after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar raised hopes of an opening for ceasefire negotiations to end more than a year of conflict in the Middle East.

With US elections approaching, officials, diplomats and other sources in the region say Israel is seeking through military operations to try to shield its borders and ensure its rivals cannot regroup.

Israel is also preparing to retaliate for an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month, though Washington has pressed it not to strike Iranian energy facilities or nuclear sites.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was the subject of an assassination attempt by "Iran's proxy Hezbollah" on Saturday when a drone was directed at his holiday home. In a call with former US President Donald Trump, the prime minister reiterated that Israel would make decisions based on its own interests, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.

Israel's government has spurned several attempts by the United States, its main ally and military backer, at brokering ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon.

EVACUATION ORDERS

In Gaza, the health ministry said rescue operations following the strike in Beit Lahiya were being hindered by communications problems and by ongoing Israeli military operations.

The strike came two weeks into a major assault around Jabalia, just south of Beit Lahiya, where Israel says its troops backed by tanks have been trying to root out remaining Hamas fighters.

Israel said the strike hit a Hamas target, questioning an earlier death count of 73 released by the Hamas media office.

As the fighting has continued, two of the three remaining hospitals in northern Gaza have been hit and patients, medical staff and displaced people injured, according to the United Nations. The UN has been urgently seeking access.

Israel says militants use civilian areas including schools and hospitals for cover, a charge Hamas denies.

Over 5,000 Palestinians left Jabalia via designated routes, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on social media platform X.

Evacuation orders have fuelled fears among many Palestinians that the operation is intended to clear them from northern Gaza to enable Israeli control of the area after the war.

Israel has denied this, saying it is trying to protect civilians and separate them from Hamas fighters.

Palestinians were also shocked by footage appearing to show a group of people in a street in Jabalia being hit by a strike as they approached to rescue someone who had already been hit. Reuters verified the location of the footage, but not the date. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.

The Israeli offensive, triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, has made most of Gaza's 2.3 million people homeless, caused widespread hunger and destroyed hospitals and schools.

"Horrifying scenes unfolding in Gaza, amidst conflict, relentless Israeli strikes & an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis," UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland posted on X.

BEIRUT STRIKES

In Beirut, Israel said its air force had followed strikes on Saturday with an attack on Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in the capital as well as an underground weapons workshop.

Fighter jets killed three Hezbollah commanders, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Reuters witnesses saw smoke rising from Beirut's southern suburbs, once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations.

Hezbollah made no immediate comment on the strikes, but said it had fired missiles at Israeli forces in Lebanon and at a base in northern Israel.

Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah erupted a year ago when the Iranian-backed group began launching rockets in support of Hamas.

At the start of October, Israel launched a ground assault inside Lebanon in an attempt to stabilise the border region for its citizens who had fled rocket attacks in northern Israel.

On Sunday in southern Lebanon, security and civil defence sources said two aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike on a house being used as a clinic, while the Lebanese military said three of its soldiers were killed in a strike on an army vehicle.

Over the last year, Lebanese officials estimate that more than 2,400 people have been killed and more than 1.2 million people displaced. Fifty-nine people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights over the same period, say Israeli authorities.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in the attack that sparked the war, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military response in Gaza has left more than 42,500 people dead, Palestinian officials say.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Saturday, October 19, 2024

"Thank you For Changing My Life": Liam Payne's Sister Shares Heartfelt Post

The sister of One Direction member Liam Payne shared a heartfelt message to him on Saturday, in the latest poignant tribute from around the world following his death earlier this week.

In a statement directly addressed to her late brother, who died Wednesday in Argentina, Ruth Gibbins said she does not "feel this world was good enough or kind enough to you".

"My brain is struggling to catch up with what's happening and I don't understand where you've gone," she posted on Instagram.

"Quite often over the last few years, you've had to really try hard to overcome all that was being aimed at you.

"You just wanted to be loved and to make people happy with your music," she added.

On Friday, Liam Payne's father visited the Buenos Aires hotel where his son plunged to his death from a third-floor balcony two days earlier, thanking fans gathered nearby in a shared moment of grief.

After landing in the Argentine capital that morning, Geoff Payne also visited the morgue where the body of his 31-year-old son was being kept pending the results of toxicological tests.

Meanwhile reactions continued to stream in, including from Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy, Payne's former partner and the mother of their seven-year-old boy, Bear.

She called his death an "earth shattering event".

In a social media message, Tweedy hit out at "abhorrent reports and media exploitation" following Payne's passing, which were causing "further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces".

"Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them," she said.

"Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last."

Payne died from "multiple traumas" and "internal and external haemorrhaging" after falling from the balcony of his room at the Casa Sur hotel in central Buenos Aires, an autopsy found.

Investigators said he appeared to have been "going through an episode of substance abuse."

Among others to pay tribute on Friday was Simon Cowell, the creator of and judge on "The X Factor" show that launched One Direction in 2010.

Cowell said he was "truly devastated", in an Instagram post also spoke directly to Payne.

"I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you," he said.

"I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared."

Cowell added that a meeting with Payne last year reminded him "that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Gaza Says 2 Patients Died During Israeli Siege On Hospital

Gaza's health ministry said two patients at a hospital in the territory's north died during a siege by Israeli forces around the facility on Saturday, while Israel's military reported its troops were operating in the area.

Since dawn, Israeli forces had surrounded and shelled the Indonesian Hospital in the northern town of Beit Lahia, Gaza health officials said.

"Israeli tanks have completely surrounded the hospital, cut off electricity and shelled the hospital, targeting the second and third floors with artillery," the facility's director Marwan Sultan said.

"There are serious risks to medical staff and patients."

Later on Saturday, the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory said two patients in the hospital had died, blaming the Israeli military siege.

It said the military operation caused "the death of two patients inside the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, as a result of the hospital's siege and the power outage and (lack of) medical supplies".

The ministry did not provide details about the two patients, their illnesses or the exact cause of their deaths.

It also accused the Israeli military of imposing a siege on hospitals across northern Gaza since midnight.

'State of great panic'

In an earlier statement, the ministry said Israel had targeted the upper floors of the Indonesian Hospital, adding there were "more than 40 patients and wounded in addition to the medical staff" present.

"Heavy gunfire" towards the hospital and its courtyard had sparked a "state of great panic" among patients and staff, it added.

When asked for a response to the ministry's allegation that the two patients had died due to the military siege, the Israeli army told AFP that its troops were "operating near the Indonesian Hospital".

"The troops operating in the area have been trained for the operational activity and briefed on the importance of mitigating harm to civilians and medical infrastructure," the military said in a statement.

"It is emphasised that the hospital continues to operate without disruption and in full capacity, and there was no intentional fire directed at it."

Israeli forces launched a new offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month, saying it was targeting Hamas fighters who were regrouping there.

Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike the night before killed 33 people in Jabalia, which is near the Indonesian Hospital.

The UN humanitarian affairs agency on Friday continued "to sound the alarm about the increasingly dire and dangerous situation that civilians in northern Gaza are facing. Families there are trying to survive in atrocious conditions, under heavy bombardment."

Indonesian Hospital was also damaged during Israeli shelling in October 2023, residents told AFP at the time.

Israel has come under strong international criticism for targeting hospitals in Gaza, which it has repeatedly accused of being used by Hamas militants for military purposes.

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Friday, October 18, 2024

Lebanon Issues Rare Rebuke To Iran Over "Interference"

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister on Friday made a rare rebuke to Iran and said Tehran's envoy should be summoned over reported comments by a senior Iranian official that it would be ready to help "negotiate" to implement a UN resolution on Lebanon.

Lebanese PM Najib Mikati said in a statement the comments amounted to "a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs".

Criticism of Iran by top Lebanese officials is unusual, particularly given Tehran's sponsorship of the powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which is currently locked in battles against Israeli troops along Lebanon's southern border.

In an interview published in France's Le Figaro on Thursday, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was quoted as saying his country would be ready to "negotiate" with France to implement United Nations Resolution 1701.

That resolution, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

Mikati said on Friday that he was "surprised" by Ghalibaf's comments and said they were an attempt to "establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon".

He said such a negotiation was the prerogative of the Lebanese state and asked Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to summon Iran's Chargé d'Affaires in Beirut.

There was no immediate comment from Ghalibaf or from Iran's embassy in Beirut.

An unnamed Iranian source close to Ghalibaf denied the interpretation of the speaker's comments, telling pro-Iran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen that any collaboration with Europe would aim to reach a ceasefire that is backed by Lebanon's government and "resistance," in a reference to Hezbollah.

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Thursday, October 17, 2024

All About Key Hamas Leaders, Commanders After Yahya Sinwar's Reported Death

Israel said on Thursday that Yahya Sinwar, the overall leader of Hamas and the architect of the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli soil, had been killed.

Here are some of the other leaders and commanders in Hamas.

MARWAN ISSA

In March, Israel said it had killed Marwan Issa, the deputy of Hamas' then military leader Mohammed Deif, but Hamas has not confirmed his death. Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike in July.

Issa, nicknamed the "shadow man" by fellow Palestinians for his ability to stay off the enemy's radar, had risen to No. 3 within the Islamist operator group. He and the other two top Hamas leaders formed a secretive three-man military council that made strategic decisions.

KHALED MESHAAL

Meshaal, 68, previously led Hamas between 2004 and 2017. He became known around the world in 1997 when Israeli agents injected him with a poison in the Jordanian capital Amman in a botched assassination mission. He is now based in Qatar with several other senior Hamas officials.

MOHAMMAD SINWAR

The brother of Yahya Sinwar, he is one of the most senior, veteran commanders of the armed wing of Hamas. Born on September 15, 1975, he has rarely appeared in public or spoken to the media.

Mohammad Sinwar, like his brother, has been one of the top targets on Israel's wanted list and, according to Hamas sources, has survived several Israeli attempts on his life, including airstrikes and roadside-bomb attacks. The sources said the last attempt on his life, until the latest Gaza war, was in 2021.

KHALIL AL-HAYYA

Hayya was Sinwar's deputy and had recently been leading the Hamas team in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel under the supervision of Haniyeh. Hayya was in the same residence when Haniyeh was struck by a short-range projectile, according to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in Tehran, but not in the same apartment at the time of the strike. The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that the explosion that killed Haniyeh was from a bomb.

In 2007, an Israeli strike hit the house of his extended family, killing several relatives and in 2014 an attack on his house killed his eldest son.

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR

Zahar was a surgeon by profession. Friends and enemies used to call him "General" for his hardline views towards Israel and other opponents of Hamas.

Zahar has made no public statement or appearance since October 7 and his fate remains unknown.

The 79-year-old official survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003. He served as the first Hamas-appointed minister of foreign affairs after the group assumed power in Gaza in 2007 in a brief civil war with the secular Palestinian Authority, a year after it swept a parliamentary election.

MOHAMMAD SHABANA

Shabana, better known as Abu Anas Shabana, is one of the remaining top and veteran armed commanders of Hamas, heading its battalion in Rafah in the south.

Hamas sources said Shabana played a significant role in developing the network of tunnels in Rafah, which were used to attack Israeli troops along the border, including a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured.

Shabana took charge of the Rafah battalion after Israel killed three main commanders of the group during a 50-day war in 2014, during which the Islamist faction said it had abducted two Israeli soldiers.

RAWHI MUSHTAHA

Mushtaha was Sinwar's confidant and strongest ally within Hamas. Together with Sinwar, Mushtaha founded the first Hamas security apparatus in the late 1980s that was responsible for tracking and killing Palestinians accused of spying for Israel.

He was released from an Israeli prison with Sinwar in 2011 and has recently been tasked with coordinating between the group in Gaza and Egyptian security officials over a range of issues including the operation of the Rafah border crossing.

Israel said on October 3 Mushtaha had been killed in a strike in Gaza three months earlier. Hamas never confirmed or denied and Mushtaha's fate remains unclear.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

100-Year-Old Jimmy Carter Casts Historic Vote For Kamala Harris

Former US President Jimmy Carter, who recently turned a hundred, announced that he is voting for Kamala Harris and that is what he really cares about, dismissing his age-related milestone moment as "just another birthday".

"He said he didn't care about that. It's just a birthday. He said he cared about voting for Kamala Harris." James Earl "Chip" Carter III said in an interview to The Washington Post.

That is 100-year-old Jimmy Carter, the oldest ex-president who served in office from 1977 to 1981, during the Cold War era. Chip Carter also added that his father spent his days watching speeches from the Democratic National Convention. "He thought Michelle Obama was the best, and he thought Kamala was great, too," he said.

'I'm only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris,' Carter told his son Chip, his grandson Jason Carter told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Donald Trump has always been of the opinion that Jimmy Carter was "the worst president", however more recently he said, "Joe Biden is the worst president in the history of our country, worse than Jimmy Carter by a long shot."

Georgia - one of the seven key swing states is critical to the November election as Biden beat Donald Trump in 2020 by a hair's breadth - less than 1 percent of the vote in the state, and Carter's family said he can't wait to cast his mail-in ballot for Harris. Furthermore, he does not believe Donald Trump should be president again, Chip Carter said.

Although a 100-year-old exercising his rights might seem touching and inspiring, users on X have varying opinions regarding the centenarian ex-prez casting his vote and the photo has been widely shared on social media. One user commented, "This is crazy. I have some dead relatives I can dig up and take to vote for Trump if this is what we're doing now."

While another said, "Did he actually vote or was it a family member that did it for him? Does anyone know if he's even of sound mind and was capable of making his own decision?" Another user condemned the entire episode, saying, "Shame on the Democrats for wheeling him out in that state."

On the flipside, there were users who also celebrated the gesture, "Carter's vote serves as a reminder that in American politics, age doesn't necessarily diminish one's sense of duty or the desire to shape the future. Ok? Ok."

One of the most important questions that arises with this particular instance is whether the state will count Carter's ballot if he fails to make it till November 5th. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in such cases, most states haven't delineated what to do. Clearly such votes will likely not be numerous enough to sway the results of an election.

According to his son who spoke to the Journal-Constitution, Carter is very "interested in politics and the war in Gaza".

"After my grandmother passed, he had a pretty long low period when he wasn't really engaging much at all," The Washington Post quoted Jason Carter, his eldest grandchild. "But now he's talking about politics again."



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Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Fake Social Media Posts Claim India Becoming Permanent Member Of UNSC

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended and addressed the 79th UN General Assembly Session in New York last month, multiple social media users have shared posts claiming that India had secured a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

The PTI Fact Check Desk found the claim to be false. India is yet to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As of now, only five countries — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States — are permanent members of the UNSC and have veto power.

A Facebook user, in his post on October 2, wrote: "Congratulations "India got veto power" 180 countries of the world supported India, China's protest cooled down, India's decades old dream came true. This is - Modi's India's superpower. It is possible only if Modi is there." To check the veracity of the claim, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google. However, our search did not yield any credible reports supporting this claim. Had any such development taken place, it would have grabbed the headlines across global media, particularly in India.

The PTI Fact Check Desk then scanned the official website of the United Nations, which clearly mentioned that only five countries – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are permanent members of the UNSC.

The UNSC is composed of five permanent member nations along with ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the United Nations General Assembly.

Currently, Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland are the 10 non-permanent members of the UNSC.

India has argued for decades that it deserves to be a member of the UNSC. It last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22. While several countries, including the US, the UK, Russia, France, Portugal and several other countries have backed India's permanent membership bid, China has been stonewalling India's efforts with its veto power in the UNSC. From our investigation, it is clear that India is neither a permanent member of the UN Security Council nor holds veto power. The social media posts were shared with a fake claim.

For verification or truth of any claim viral on social media, contact PTI Fact Check Desk's WhatsApp number 91-8130503759.

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India At UN Condemns Pak's "Unsubstantiated Allegations" Regarding J&K

India exercised its right of reply against Pakistan at the Joint General Debate on decolonization at the United Nations on Monday. Counsellor Eldos Mathew Punnoose from India condemned Pakistan's "unsubstantiated allegations" regarding the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

He emphasised the need for Pakistan to cease its ongoing human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

Targeting Pakistan, he said, "Unsubstantiated allegations by Pakistan largely pertain to the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. India would like to reiterate that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are, were and will be an integral and inalienable part of India. Clearly, Pakistan does not merit a response on the internal affairs of India."

He further said, "At this juncture, we also advise Pakistan to stop the grave and ongoing human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL). The world is witness to the divisive activities that Pakistan tries to undertake day in and day out. India would like to stress that our foundations are built on the enduring pillar of democratic values, unlike Pakistan's."

Stepping up his criticism of Pakistan, he said that the nation is familiar with sham elections, incarceration of opposition leaders, and suppression of political voices.

"Given their tainted democratic record, Pakistan considers real democratic exercises as a sham, as reflected in their statement. All countries speak from their experience. Sham elections, incarceration of opposition leaders and suppression of political voices are what Pakistan is familiar with," Punnoos said.

"It is natural that Pakistan must be disappointed to see real democracy at work. It was only last week that election results were announced in Jammu and Kashmir. Millions of voters in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have spoken. They exercised their right to vote and have chosen their leadership according to the Constitutional framework and universal adult suffrage. Clearly, these terms must be alien to Pakistan," he added.

He further criticised Pakistan by highlighting the country's notorious reputation for supporting terrorism and engaging in transnational crimes. "It is ironic that a country which is infamous across the globe for state-sponsored terrorism and transnational crimes cast aspersions on the world's largest democracy. It has been Pakistan's consistent state policy to employ cross-border terrorism as a weapon against its neighbours," Punnoos added.

He also said that Pakistan has been implicated in several attacks, including the attack on the Indian Parliament. "The list of attacks orchestrated by Pakistan is indeed long. In India, they have targeted our Parliament, market places and pilgrimage routes, among several others. Normal Indian citizens have been victims of such dastardly and inhumane acts by Pakistan," Punnoos said.

He also compared India and Pakistan, praising the former for its "pluralism, diversity and democracy," and highlighting the latter's "terrorism, parochialism and persecution."

Punnoos said, "India symbolises pluralism, diversity and democracy. In contrast, Pakistan reminds the world of terrorism, parochialism and persecution. Religious and ethnic minorities and their places of worship are targeted and vandalised on a regular basis. It is important for Pakistan to first look inward and set own house in order instead of meddling in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries."

He added, "Pakistan's obsession with India and their past practice corroborate that they will continue to use this august forum for spreading their malicious propaganda against my country. They will exercise their right of reply but I shall refrain from responding to it... As such, facts speak for themselves. Lies are lies, even if they are repeated over and over by Pakistan."

Meanwhile, Punnoose emphasised India's pivotal role in the global struggle against colonialism, highlighting the country's unwavering commitment to freedom.

He said, "India has been a global champion and leading voice in the struggle against colonialism. In 1962, India was also elected as the first chair of the Decolonisation Committee, a committee of 24, which was established to monitor the implementation of the 1960 Declaration on Granting of Independence to colonial countries and peoples and consider applications in this regard. Since the establishment of the Decolonisation Committee, India has been actively contributing towards its functioning. We have also been working constructively on the decolonisation agenda..."

Notably, Pakistan regularly brings up the Jammu and Kashmir issue at UN platforms and other international forums, irrespective of the agenda of the meetings.

India has repeatedly rejected Pakistan's attempts to raise the Kashmir issue on international platforms, asserting that the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh are "integral parts of India" and Pakistan has no "locus standi" to make statements regarding India's domestic matters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Monday, October 14, 2024

Kremlin Condemns NATO's Nuclear Drills, Cites Escalation Amid Ukraine War

The Kremlin said that NATO's annual nuclear exercise involving nuclear-capable military aircraft, which began on Monday, was fuelling tensions in light of the "hot war" unfolding in Ukraine.

NATO was due to begin its annual "Steadfast Noon" nuclear exercise on Monday, the alliance's Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday, something he cast as a powerful display of deterrence capabilities against a backdrop of heightened nuclear rhetoric from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers will be among some 60 aircraft from 13 nations taking part in the exercise, hosted by Belgium and The Netherlands, NATO officials said.

"In the conditions of a hot war, which is going on within the framework of the Ukrainian conflict, such exercises lead to nothing but further escalation of tension," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said it was also impossible to hold nuclear arms talks with the U.S., something Washington has signalled it is open to, because Western nuclear powers were involved in the conflict against Russia and any security talks would therefore need to be much broader in scope.

U.S. President Joe Biden said after the award of the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a movement of Japanese survivors of the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two, that the U.S. was ready to engage in talks with Russia, China and North Korea without preconditions to reduce the nuclear threat.

"In the context of the war that is being waged against Russia with the indirect and even direct involvement of nuclear powers such as the United States, Great Britain and France, it is absolutely impossible to talk about this without linking the issue to all other aspects of security," said Peskov.

"In fact, our president has already spoken about this. Russia considers such contacts necessary and they cannot be postponed, but we must consider all security issues as a whole, taking into account the current state of affairs."

Peskov dismissed a statement from Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, who said earlier on Monday that Russian forces would be in a position to attack NATO territory by the end of this decade at the latest.

"Russia has never moved with its military infrastructure towards NATO, it has always been the other way round," said Peskov.

"To say therefore that it is the Russian armed forces that pose a danger to anyone is absolutely wrong, illogical, and, most importantly, contradicts the entire course of history, which has led to the confrontation that we are now all experiencing together."

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Taliban Introduces Law Banning Media Publishing Images Of Living Things

Afghanistan's Taliban morality ministry pledged Monday to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced.

It comes after the Taliban government recently announced legislation formalising their strict interpretations of Islamic law that have been imposed since they swept to power in 2021.

"The law applies to all Afghanistan... and it will be implemented gradually," the spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) Saiful Islam Khyber told AFP, adding that officials would work to persuade people that images of living things are against Islamic law.

"Coercion has no place in the implementation of the law," he said.

"It's only advice, and convincing people these things are really contrary to sharia (law) and must be avoided."

The new law detailed several rules for news media, including banning the publication of images of all living things and ordering outlets not to mock or humiliate Islam, or contradict Islamic law.

Aspects of the new law have not yet been strictly enforced.

Taliban officials continue to regularly post photos of people on social media.

"Until now, regarding the articles of the law related to media, there are ongoing efforts in many provinces to implement it but that has not started in all provinces," Khyber said.

He added "work has started" in the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and the neighbouring Helmand province, as well as northern Takhar.

Journalists Summoned

Journalists in Kandahar told AFP on Monday they had not received any statement from the ministry or been stopped by morality police for taking photos and videos.

In central Ghazni province on Sunday, PVPV officials summoned local journalists and told them the morality police would start gradually implementing the law.

They advised visual journalists to take photos from further away and film fewer events "to get in the habit", a journalist who did not want to give his name for fear of reprisal told AFP.

Reporters in Maidan Wardak province were also told the rules would be implemented gradually in a similar meeting.

Television and pictures of living things were banned across the country under the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, but a similar edict has so far not been broadly imposed since their return to power.

When the Taliban authorities seized control of the country after a two-decade-long insurgency against foreign-backed governments, Afghanistan had 8,400 media employees.

Only 5,100 remain in the profession, including 560 women, according to media industry sources.

Afghanistan has also slipped from 122nd place to 178th out of 180 countries in a press freedom ranking compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Man With Shotgun And Loaded Handgun Arrested Near Trump's California Rally

A man found illegally in possession of a shotgun and a loaded handgun was arrested by sheriff's deputies assigned to protect a Donald Trump rally in Coachella, California, the Riverside County sheriff's office announced Sunday.

The Secret Service said that it was aware of the arrest and that neither Trump nor rally attendees had not been in any danger during the incident, which took place on Saturday.

"While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing," the organization tasked with protecting presidents and presidential candidates said in a joint statement with the FBI and the US Attorney's office.

The sheriff's team said the man, which it identified as 49-year-old Vem Miller of Las Vegas, was later released on bail and faces a court hearing on January 2.

They added that the deputies, manning a checkpoint near the rally, arrested Miller as he drove up in a black SUV.

They later booked him at a local detention center on charges of possessing a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine.

The incident comes on the heels of two assassination attempts -- one in Pennsylvania in which a bullet grazed Trump's ear, and a second, aborted attempt at his Florida golf course.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco -- a Trump supporter who also addressed the Republican's rally in Coachella on Saturday -- said that there was "absolutely no way that any of us are going to truly know what was in his head."

"If you're asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt," Bianco, a former member of the far-right Oath Keepers group, told a press conference.

Bianco said the man had "multiple" passports and IDs with different names in his vehicle, which was unregistered. He said any further charges would come from federal authorities.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump campaign.

Trump's decision to hold a rally in California surprised political analysts, who note that the state is heavily Democratic, but he drew a large crowd, even in temperatures near 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).

Coachella is known for its annual music festival.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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