World

Ukrainian attack on Russian city leaves many casualties

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At least 10 people including one child were killed and 45 others wounded in a massive shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod by Ukraine, the Russian Emergency Ministry stated, according to Sputnik.

At around 3 pm local time, explosions were heard in Belgorod, after which black smoke was visible over the city. A few minutes later, the siren began to sound. Security services blocked the intersection of Bogdan Khmelnytsky Street and Slavy Avenue. Motorists and pedestrians were advised to avoid the area.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on Friday night, Russian air defense systems destroyed 13 rockets over the Belgorod region. The region’s governor said that as a result of a direct hit by a shell on a private house during the massive shelling of Belgorod, one person was killed and four were wounded.

Numerous videos have appeared on social media showing the consequences of a Saturday strike by Kiev’s forces on the Russian city of Belgorod, located some 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, local Russian media reported.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Telegram that the attack claimed the lives of nine adults and a child. Some 45 people were injured, including four children, Russia Today reported.

One of the clips, published by the Shot Telegram channel, shows civilians lying on the ground trying to protect themselves from incoming projectiles, with loud sounds of explosions heard in the background. People were seen lying among the debris and pieces of broken glass. Cries and screams can also be heard on the video as people desperately call for help and children search for their parents.

The very moment of one shell impact was also caught on a video published by Shot. Footage taken from a moving vehicle shows a major blast hitting the road in front of it, raising plumes of grey smoke into the air.

Images published by RIA Novosti showed the immediate aftermath of the Ukrainian strike, which hit a busy city street. The video shows a road filled with damaged cars, with at least three of the vehicles still burning.

MNA

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For Palestinians Arrested Under Israeli occupation, A Childhood Disrupted

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For Palestinians Arrested Under Israeli occupation, A Childhood Disrupted

Israel charged Abdelrahman al-Zaghal with hurling a petrol bomb, which he denies.

Jerusalem:

Fourteen-year-old Abdelrahman al-Zaghal was one of the youngest Palestinians released by Israel in exchange for hostages seized during the Oct. 7 Hamas-led raid on Israel.

Weeks later, his life still bears little resemblance to that of a normal teenager – he is recovering from serious injuries sustained the day of his arrest, and said his school is still awaiting Israel’s permission for him to attend.

He was shot in August, when he said he left home to buy bread, only to wake up cuffed to a hospital bed, flanked by two police officers and with bullet wounds to the head and pelvis.

Israel charged Zaghal with hurling a petrol bomb, which he denies. His mother Najah said he was shot by a man guarding a Jewish settlement near their home in East Jerusalem.

A police statement released the night Zaghal was shot said Border Police officers shot at and critically wounded an unnamed teen after they sensed their lives were in danger.

As a Jerusalem resident, Zaghal’s case went to an Israeli civil court. The judge ordered him placed under house arrest, but outside his neighbourhood, until the end of his trial.

The day of his release, Zaghal said he jumped for joy. But the celebrations were muted as he was about to undergo surgery for brain damage caused by the shooting, his mother said.

Among the 240 Palestinians released by Israel during a November pause in the Gaza war, Zaghal is one of 104 under the age of 18. In exchange, Hamas released 110 women, children and foreigners kidnapped on Oct. 7.

More than half the Palestinians released as part of the deal were detained without charge, Israel’s records showed.

Since 2000, the Israeli military has detained some 13,000 Palestinian children, almost all boys between the ages of 12 and 17, said Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP).

“Everywhere a Palestinian child turns, there is the Israeli military to exert some kind of control over their life,” said DCIP advocacy officer Miranda Cleland.

Israel says it arrests Palestinians on suspicion of attacking or planning attacks against its citizens. Its military said enforcement agencies in the occupied West Bank “work to protect the rights of minors throughout all administrative and criminal proceedings”.

In the West Bank, Palestinians and Israelis are subjected to different legal systems. Palestinians, including minors, are prosecuted in a military court.

Based on collected affidavits from 766 children detained between 2016 and 2022, DCIP found about 59% were kidnapped by soldiers at night.

Some 75% of children were subjected to physical violence and 97% were interrogated without a family member or lawyer present. One in four are placed in solitary confinement for two or more days even before the beginning of a trial, said Cleland.

Lawyers work on getting children plea deals, she said, because the conviction rate is above 95%.

One of the challenges in post-release counselling is that teens expect to be re-arrested – and many are, said Dr. Samah Jabr, a psychiatrist who heads the Palestinian Health Ministry’s mental health unit.

Zaghal said he had been detained by Israeli forces twice before. The first time, at 12, he said soldiers beat him with their rifles while he was playing with his cousin in Jericho. He said they accused him of hurling rocks, which he denied.

Throwing stones is the most common charge against Palestinian minors detained in the West Bank, punishable by up to 20 years in prison under Israeli military law, said Palestinian rights group Addameer.

Zaghal remembers going to swim at a Tel Aviv pool with his late father on the weekends, and wants to become a lifeguard. He said he loved school and was eager to go back.

Israel’s Education Ministry said Palestinians released from Israeli detention would not attend its schools until January 2024 and would instead be visited by assigned officers.

It did not respond to Reuters questions on the reason for this decision.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad

Congress not serious about Medigadda damages, says Laxman

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Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy himself as TPCC chief demanded CBI probe into the irregularities of the Kaleshwaram project and now after coming to power he was trying to show as if the issue was not so big or serious, said K Laxman

Published Date – 07:25 PM, Sat – 30 December 23


Congress not serious about Medigadda damages, says Laxman

File photo

Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member K Laxman said the Congress government was not serious about probing the alleged corruption in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Laxman alleged that the government instead of taking action against the officials responsible for the damage to a pier of Block 7 of Medigadda barrage were being allowed to continue on the posts. “Government is allowing these officials to make powerpoint presentations on the Medigadda barrage. Though over 20-days have passed the government has not taken any action against the officials responsible for the barrage design. They are just making claims about punishing the guilty but doing nothing,” he said.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy himself as TPCC chief demanded CBI probe into the irregularities of the Kaleshwaram project and now after coming to power he was trying to show as if the issue was not so big or serious. “The Government is trying to show as if only a few pillars of the project have been damaged and there is nothing to worry. It is not serious about probing the irregularities taking place in the project,” he alleged.

He said that if the Congress failed to take action against the people responsible for the irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project, the people of the State would teach it a lesson.

Middle East

Hamas praises South Africa for filing genocide case against Israel at ICJ

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has lauded South Africa for filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over crimes of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after nearly three months of relentless air and ground strikes.

The Gaza-based group described South Africa’s application as “a significant step to punish the leaders of the Zionist entity and present-day criminals, who have committed the most heinous murders in modern history.”

“We call upon all world countries to adopt a similar measure against the Zionist Nazi regime both at national and international courts of law. The regime threatens international peace and security, and must not be allowed to escape punishment for the brutal crimes it has perpetrated against children and defenseless civilians in Gaza,” the Hamas’s statement read.

In an application to the ICJ, also called the World Court, on Friday, South Africa described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.

“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” the application said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank with his country’s past apartheid system, which saw the minority white population rule the majority black nation using a system based on segregation as its base. The white-minority rule ended in 1994.

Israel waged the bloody war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Hamas fighters and members of other resistance factions launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm in the occupied territories in retaliation for the Tel Aviv regime’s incessant crimes against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Since the start of the aggression, Israel has killed more than 21,300 Palestinians, including 6,200 women and 8,200 children, and injured more than 55,600 others. It has also imposed a complete siege on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

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Don't Buy Diesel, Petrol Vehicles: Himachal Chief Minister Tells Officials

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Don't Buy Diesel, Petrol Vehicles From 2024: Himachal Chief Minister Tells Officials

Himachal Pradesh government is promoting e-vehicles in the state (File)

Shimla:

In an initiative to achieve the goal of Green and Clean Himachal, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed all government departments not to buy diesel or petrol vehicles from January 1, 2024.

According to a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), “The ‘Green and Clean Himachal’ initiative promotes e-vehicles on a large scale.”

If necessary, the departments will be able to purchase petrol or diesel vehicles only after the approval of the state cabinet.

Aiming for Vyavastha Parivartan, the Chief Minister since his first budget speech took a pledge for the perseverance of the green cover of the state and announced various provisions to promote e-vehicles in the state.

“Due to the consistent efforts of the government, the number of government e-vehicles has reached 185, while that of private electric vehicles registered in the state is 2,733,” said the release.

The Chief Minister has also set an example by using an e-vehicle himself for the past several months.

“The Himachal Pradesh government is promoting e-vehicles in the state. The Transport Department has become the first department to replace its official vehicle fleet with e-vehicles and the other departments are to follow the same analogy,” said CM Sukhu.

“All the departments will replace their fuel vehicles with e-vehicles in a phased manner. The use of e-vehicles is not only a new beginning but also shows the commitment of the government towards environmental preservation,” he said.

“We have to preserve the environment for the coming generations and take initiatives from today itself,” said the Chief Minister.

To meet the requirement of vehicles in departments, permission has been given to ply e-taxies on a contract basis. Under the Rs 680 crore Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment Start-up Scheme, e-taxi permits are being provided to the youth by providing them with a 50 per cent subsidy on the purchase of the same.

The government is developing infrastructure for charging e-vehicles and these can also be charged at home. The Transport Department has finalised 54 locations for setting up e-vehicle charging stations in the state, some of which are almost ready.

As per the release, “To promote e-vehicles, it has been decided to develop six highways as green corridors. Apart from this, all the diesel buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) are being converted into e-buses in a phased manner.”

Recently, in a meeting, the manufacturing companies of e-buses were requested to take into consideration the geographical conditions of Himachal while manufacturing the e-buses.

“The state government is going to run e-buses on long routes as well. Type-1, 2 and 3 e-buses are being included in the HRTC fleet in a phased manner so that the target of making Himachal a clean and green energy state by March 31, 2026, can be achieved,” reiterated CM Sukhu.

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

Hyderabad

Telangana: SSC Public exams to commence from March 18

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The Directorate of Government Examinations, which holds the Class X exams, has proposed the two dates to the government for approval

Updated On – 07:43 PM, Sat – 30 December 23


Telangana: SSC Public exams to commence from March 18


Hyderabad: The SSC Public Examinations 2024 will be conducted from March 18 to April 2.

As per the schedule released by the Directorate of Government Examinations on Saturday, the exams will begin with the first language on March 18. While major exams conclude with social studies paper on March 30, OSSC main language paper-1 and vocational course (theory) exam is on April 1 and OSSC main language paper-II on April 2.

The government has decided to hold the science examination on two days as against on a single day previously with physical and biological science papers scheduled for March 26 and 28.

The examinations will be held from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm except for physical and biological science papers, which will be conducted from 9.30 am to 11 am. So far, 5.08 lakh students registered for the examinations.

Meanwhile, the School Education department has come out with an action plan and launched a special programme named ‘Lakshya’, aimed at achieving best results in the Class X examinations in the government schools. As part of the action plan, the syllabus must be completed by January 10. While special classes have already commenced this month, the duration of such classes will be increased from next month till the examinations.

For the special classes, the schools have been asked to form groups – A, B and C on the basis of student’s academic performance and accordingly take necessary interventions particularly on those who are academically weak.

Prior to the final examination, schools have been told to hold special examinations to gauge preparation levels of students. Apart from special classes, the teachers are asked to hold counselling sessions and motivational classes to reduce exam stress and burden among students. WhatsApp groups have already been formed to pass regular updates and information to students and their parents.

Middle East

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 100, wound 158 in 24 hours

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At least 100 Palestinians have been killed and 158 others wounded in Israeli strikes in the central part of the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, as the occupying regime intensifies its ground offensive in the besieged enclave.

According to a senior health official in central Gaza, hospitals were filled with wounded Palestinians following Israel’s heavy bombardment, as fighting continued on Friday and early Saturday in al-Bureij, Nuseirat, and Maghazi refugee camps.

Israeli tanks pushed deeper into districts in central and southern Gaza overnight, with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) posting images of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, showing ambulances operating amid smashed streets, carrying injured children.

The Palestinian Culture Ministry also said that Israeli strikes had struck a medieval bathhouse.

Meanwhile, in a post on Telegram, the Government Media Office in Gaza announced that Israeli airstrikes have killed a journalist who worked for Al-Quds TV.

Jabr Abu Hadros and six of his family members were killed after an Israeli strike hit his house in Nuseirat refugee camp on Friday.

The media office said a total of 106 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war in early October.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said last week that the first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war were the deadliest recorded for journalists, with the most journalists killed in a single year in one location.

Most of the journalists and media workers killed in the war were Palestinian, CPJ said, adding that it was “particularly concerned about an apparent pattern of targeting of journalists and their families by the Israeli military.”

Israel waged the brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long violence against Palestinians.

Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 21,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 55,600 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. 

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Who Was Rakesh Kamal, Indian-Origin Millionaire Found Dead In US Home

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Who Was Rakesh Kamal, Indian-Origin Millionaire Found Dead In US Home

Rakesh Kamal’s wife, Teena, was an alumna of Harvard University and Delhi University (File)

Indian-origin couple, Rakesh Kamal (57) and Teena Kamal (54), along with their 18-year-old daughter Arianna, were found dead in their home in US’ Massachusetts.

Authorities termed the incident a “terrible tragedy” involving domestic violence, revealing that a gun was found near the husband’s body.

While details about the cause of death for all three family members were not disclosed, authorities are awaiting the medical examiner’s ruling before deciding whether to label it as a murder-suicide.

Who was Rakesh Kamal?

  • Rakesh Kamal, also known as Rick, was an accomplished graduate of Boston University, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Stanford University.
  • Mr Kamal, along with his wife, launched EduNova, an Ed-tech company that introduced a “student success system” aimed at enhancing students’ academic performance from middle school to college. The company is no longer operational. It was established in 2016 and dissolved in December 2021.
  • Before joining EduNova, Rakesh Kamal held numerous executive positions in the education-consulting field.
  • Despite an initially successful venture, financial challenges arose, leading to the Kamals purchasing a grand 11-bedroom estate worth $5.45 million in 2019. Unfortunately, the mansion faced foreclosure a year ago and was sold for $3 million to Wilsondale Associates LLC.
  • Mr Kamal’s wife, Teena, an alumna of Harvard University and Delhi University, filed for bankruptcy in September 2022, listing between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed two months later due to insufficient documentation.

Rakesh Kamal’s daughter, Arianna, was a student of Vermont’s Middlebury College and had graduated from Milton Academy. The school released a statement on Friday in response to her untimely death, reported USA Today. The statement read, “Our thoughts are with all members of the Kamal family, their friends and our entire school community,” the school said. “Aria was a sweet, smart, kind young woman who was just beginning to realize her full potential. Her mother, Teena, who served as president of our Upper School Parents’ Association, was a committed and caring advocate for both parents and students at Milton. This is a devastating loss to our community.”

Hyderabad

Telangana: Vijaya Dairy milk in some centres found to be adulterated

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Allegations have arisen suggesting that certain dairy farmers, in collaboration with personnel at Vijaya Dairy’s milk procurement centers across four mandals in Siddipet district, were discovered to be adulterating milk by adding sugar and salt.

Published Date – 07:26 PM, Sat – 30 December 23


Telangana: Vijaya Dairy milk in some centres found to be adulterated


Siddipet: Some dairy farmers, with the help of some personnel working at Vijaya Dairy milk procurement centres in four mandals of Siddipet district, were allegedly found to be mixing sugar and salt in the milk. This was reportedly to increase SNF (Solids Not Fat) in the milk.

According to officials, farmers will get higher prices if the SNF of the milk is higher. After noticing that sugar and salt were added to the milk, Vijaya Dairy officials sent the milk from four villages of Cheriyal, Maddur and Komurvelly mandals back from Hyderabad twice. Normally, cow milk should have a minimum of 8 SNF and buffalo milk should have a minimum of 8.5 SNF.

When the farmers could not maintain the SNF to that level due to poor feeding of cattle, the farmers with the help of personnel working in procurement centres were allegedly mixing salt and sugar in the milk.

This can cause health issues among the consumers, officials said, adding that after noticing the adulteration, milk from Cheriyal was sent back from Hyderabad a couple of times. However, they had failed to stop the adulteration and continued the act. On Friday, local Vijaya Dairy manager Murali stopped them from sending the milk to Hyderabad.

The 52 cans of milk, approximately with 1,000 litres, were then dummped on the premises of the Bulk Milk procurement centre at Cheryial on Friday. When the farmers argued, the manager showed evidence of sugar and salt in the milk.

Vijaya Dairy deputy director Gopal Singh said they found evidence of adulteration after conducting thorough tests. Speaking to Telangana Today, Chief Quality Controller of Vijaya Dairy in Telangana, B Raj Kumar, said farmers must feed nutrient food like 100 grams of mineral mixture twice a day besides feeding three parts green grass and one part dry grass every day.

Farmers should also feed composite fooders, which should contain grains, bran, mash, pellets, millets, protein cakes and agro-industrial by-products to milch cows and buffaloes.

Middle East

Diseases threaten survival of Palestinians amid Israel's siege of Gaza: UN

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Residents of the besieged Gaza Strip, who have so far survived Israel’s 12 weeks of constant bombardment of their homeland, are now facing the growing threat of infectious diseases, the United Nations warns.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that the spread of diseases in Gaza has increased, especially due to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the southern part of the coastal enclave.

Israel’s brutal onslaught on the Palestinian territory that began on Oct. 7 has so far displaced some 85 percent of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has left a quarter of Gaza’s population starving.

According to OCHA report, about 180,000 people have been diagnosed with upper respiratory infections, with more than 136,000 cases of diarrhea recorded among the population.

At least 55,400 cases of lice and scabies and 5,330 cases of chickenpox have also been recorded.

The situation, OCHA said, has increased pressure on the already overwhelmed health system in the Palestinian territory, where only 13 out of 36 hospitals are partially functional.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a severe shortage of food in Gaza hospitals, which also serve as shelters for displaced people in the territory.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has now assigned its teams to educate children on how to maintain hygiene despite the water scarcity.

“Due to the spread of diseases and epidemics among displaced individuals in shelter centers, especially children, the PRCS Community Work teams have undertaken awareness activities with displaced children at the PRCS’s headquarters in Khan Yunis,” it wrote on X.

Israel imposed a “total siege” on the coastal enclave since it launched its onslaught on the Gaza Strip. The blockade has deprived the population of Gaza of food and water.

The United Nations expressed frustration at how life-saving aid is being hampered from entering the besieged coastal enclave. The persistent difficulty in getting humanitarian relief into the territory comes as a UN-backed report said last week that the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with 576,600 people at catastrophic – or starvation – levels.