TEHRAN, Jan. 02 (MNA) – People from across Iran gathered at the tomb of martyr Qassem Soleimani in Kerman to commemorate his martyrdom anniversary.
Nova festival survivors sue Israel for military negligence
The survivors of the Supernova music festival, which was held near the Gaza border on October 7 when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories, have filed a lawsuit against the Israeli regime, blaming it for its failure to protect them during the attack.
Nearly 42 survivors of the music festival are seeking NIS 200 million ($55 million) in damages, holding Israeli military, police, and the regime’s Shin Bet spy service accountable for the tragic events of the festival and their failure to adequately protect the event, Israeli media reported on Monday.
The lawsuit further blamed the Israeli military for failing to notify festival organizers when signs of a possible Hamas attack emerged late the night before, stressing that the event could have been evacuated before the Hamas operation.
“All the defendants had to do was make a phone call to the responsible parties on their behalf in order for them to disperse the party in view of the notifications received on the night between 6/10/23 – 7/10/23,” the victim’s lawyers said.
“The disaster could have been avoided at so many points in time,” representatives for the survivors said.
Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7 in response to Israel’s violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East al-Quds and growing settler violence against Palestinians.
The raid shattered the occupying entity’s invincibility myth, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead, including 360 participants at the music festival.
In response, Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip that has so far killed at least 22,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured around 57,000 others.
Following the attack, the Israeli border police and Air Force responded, causing a large battle to erupt on Route 232 highway, adjacent to the festival site.
The Israeli helicopters killed Hamas fighters as well as some Israeli concert goers with airstrikes.
Israeli officials have not acknowledged the role the border police played, and instead suggest Hamas has killed all the 364 victims.
The lawsuit on behalf of the festival’s victims also does not appear to address the issue of Israeli fire killing many of the attendees.
Back in November, Haaretz reported that a helicopter belonging to Israel’s military killed a number of settlers attending the Supernova music festival near the Re’im military base, after Hamas attacked the occupied territories.
An Israeli army combat helicopter that arrived at the scene and fired at Palestinian fighters apparently also hit some party-goers, according to the report, which is based on interrogations from Hamas members and the Israeli police’s investigation of the incident, among other things.
Opportunity For UP's "Global Branding": Yogi Adityanath On Ram Temple Event
After January 22, Ram devotees from all over the world will arrive in Ayodhya. (File)
Lucknow:
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed to make the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 an “unprecedented and unforgettable” experience for visitors and said this is an opportunity for “global branding” of Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi Adityanath also said the Ram temple will be a symbol of cultural, spiritual and social unity of India in the form of ‘Rashtra Mandir’.
In a high-level meeting here, Yogi Adityanath reviewed various projects being underway in Ayodhya and gave necessary directions to authorities. The chief minister has given instructions to make all necessary arrangements at the state government level to make the consecration ceremony of Shri Ram Lalla at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya ‘alaukik’ (divine), ‘abhootpoorv’ (unprecedented) and ‘avismarniya’ (unforgettable), an official statement said.
“Today, the whole world is eagerly looking towards Ayodhya. Everyone wants to come to Ayodhya. This is also an opportunity for global branding of Uttar Pradesh,” Yogi Adityanath said.
“This Shri Ram temple will be a symbol of cultural, spiritual and social unity of India in the form of ‘Rashtra Mandir’,” he said.
He also said that the state government will leave no stone unturned to ensure a pleasant and satisfying experience for guests coming for the consecration ceremony and the subsequent arrival of tourists/devotees.
After January 22, Ram devotees from all over the world will arrive in Ayodhya. For their convenience, signage in different languages should be installed throughout the city, the chief minister said.
“Signage boards should be in the languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and nine languages of the United Nations,” he said.
Smart signage should be installed on Prayagraj-Ayodhya, Gorakhpur-Ayodhya, Lucknow-Ayodhya, and Varanasi-Ayodhya routes. There should be no encroachment on these routes, he said.
This historic programme of ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) is an occasion of joy, pride and self-satisfaction for crores of Sanatan believers, Yogi Adityanath said, adding that ‘Deepotsav’ will be celebrated at every temple in the evening of January 22.
“Every Sanatan believer will welcome Ram Lalla by lighting the ‘Ramjyoti’ in their homes/establishments. All of this is unprecedented, emotional. It is our good fortune that we reside in the region where Lord Shri Ram had incarnated,” he said.
According to the statement, the ‘bhojnalayas’ (eateries) run by the state government in Avadhpuri (Ayodhya) will be named after ‘Mata Shabari’. Similarly, other buildings will also be named after the characters of Ramayana, it said.
There should be availability of cranes and ambulances. For this, instructions should be given to the concerned districts by the Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister said.
He also directed to make preparations to help devotees/tourists from Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, and Lucknow reach Ayodhya by buses and helicopters. The three helipads in Ayodhya should be properly utilised, he said.
Yogi Adityanath also said that there should be no compromise with the security and cleanliness of Ayodhya.
There should be continuous strong security arrangements in Ayodhya during the consecration ceremony and thereafter. Implement the Safe City project immediately without any delay, he said and directed to activate the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) of Ayodhya before January 22.
The Chief Minister also directed to develop a digital tourist app of Ayodhya which will have information about all the basic facilities and important places in Ayodhya.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Egypt rejects Israeli proposal to join US-led coalition in Red Sea
Egypt has rejected an Israeli proposal to join a US-led maritime coalition formed under the pretext of protecting shipping in the strategic Red Sea following Yemen’s retaliatory attacks on Israeli-owned and -bound vessels in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.
Israel’s i24NEWS website reported the development after an Israeli foreign ministry delegation headed to the Egyptian capital of Cairo last week to discuss the possibility of Egypt joining the Washington-led multinational task force in the Red and the Arabian seas.
The Israeli website said Egypt “refused to take an active part in the coalition forces,” leaving Bahrain as the only Arab country that has agreed to participate in the coalition.
The Pentagon announced in mid-December the launch of the maritime coalition under the banner of Operation Prosperity Guardian with five warships from the United States, France, and the United Kingdom patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden.
However, the task force has been beset by reluctant participation of its members and lack of interest from regional Arab states to be part of the coalition.
Yemen’s Defense Minister Major General Mohammad al-Atifi on Thursday warned foreign forces “against engaging in various activities supporting the Zionist entity in the maritime theater that spans between Arab states and Bahrain in the Red Sea.”
Atifi underlined that Yemeni Armed Forces “are closely and rigorously monitoring the movement of American, British and French military forces in both bodies of water.”
Moreover, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, in an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday acknowledged the failure of the multinational task force.
Cooper said Yemen’s Armed Forces and the popular Houthi Ansarullah resistance movement show no signs of ending their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway.
The Yemeni armed forces and the popular resistance movement have on several occasions announced that those vessels which are not owned by and bound for Israel can safely transit the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
US ‘shot itself in the foot’ by targeting Yemeni forces: Ansarullah
In a related development on Tuesday, Ansarullah’s Office Director Safar al-Sufi censured the recent American aggression against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea, where US Navy helicopters attacked four boats belonging to the Yemeni Naval Forces, sinking three of them and killing at least 10 Yemeni servicemen.
Sufi said the US revealed its “criminal face” by striking Yemeni boats and violating international navigation laws, stressing that America’s targeting of the Yemeni naval forces threatens the security of international maritime navigation.
“The United States shot itself in the foot by targeting Yemen’s Armed Forces, and of course will not be spared from Yemeni fighters’ response,” he added.
The Israeli regime launched its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed more than 22,000 people, most of them women and children. At least 57,000 individuals have also been wounded.
The regime has largely cut off access to water, food and power supplies in Gaza.
India To Scrap Free Movement Regime On India-Myanmar Border: Report
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long porous border with Myanmar. (Representational)
New Delhi:
The Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without visa, will be ended soon, a senior government functionary said on Tuesday.
The 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, currently has FMR. It was implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy.
Under the FMR, every member of the hill tribes, who is either a citizen of India or a citizen of Myanmar and who is resident of any area within 16 km on either side of border can cross over on production of a border pass with one year validity and can stay up to two weeks per visit.
“We are going to end the FMR along the Indo-Myanmar border soon. We are going to put fencing along the entire border. The fencing will be completed in next four-and-a-half years. Anyone coming through will have to…get a visa,” the functionary said.
The idea is to not only to stop the misuse of FMR, which is used by insurgent groups to carry out attacks on Indian side and flee towards Myanmar, but also put a halt to influx of illegal immigrants, and paralyse drugs and gold smuggling networks.
Tendering for an advanced smart fencing system for 300 km of the India-Myanmar border is already in pipeline and the work will be started very soon.
It may be mentioned that Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had urged the Centre in September 2023 to end the FMR. The state government has argued that insurgents use the free movement regime to further their activities.
Manipur shares around 390 km of porous border with Myanmar and only about 10 km has been fenced so far. In July last year, the state government shared data that around 700 illegal immigrants entered the state.
Besides, Mizoram has seen an influx of anti-Junta rebels in thousands since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021. According to government estimates, several thousand refugees are living in different parts of Mizoram since the coup.
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long porous border with Myanmar.
The Manipur chief minister had also said that several persons from Myanmar tried to enter into his state but returned on seeing the presence of a large number of security personnel. Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar.
Arunachal Pradesh shares a 520-km border with Myanmar while Nagaland shares a 215-km border with the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Israel Launches Air Strikes In Syria Amid War With Hamas: Report
The reported Israeli strikes were the year’s first in Syria. (Representational)
Damascus, Syri:
Israel launched pre-dawn air strikes near the Syrian capital on Tuesday, state media said citing a military source, at a time of heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel had targeted a military position that also housed members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, near the town of Kanaker.
Syria’s official news agency SANA said that around 4:35 am local time (0135 GMT) “the Israeli enemy carried out air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of sites in the Damascus countryside”.
It cited an unnamed military source as saying the strikes caused only “material damage”, without specifying the target.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch foe Iran, which backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government, to expand its presence there.
The reported Israeli strikes were the year’s first in Syria, where it has intensified attacks in the wake of its war with Palestinian group Hamas.
During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces as well as Syrian army positions.
Recent months have seen regular cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, in southern Lebanon.
Tehran in December accused Israel of a strike in Syria that killed Razi Moussavi, a senior commander in the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Resistance offers Egypt a deal, stressing UNSC guarantee
A senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, who asked to remain anonymous, told Lebanon’s news network Al Mayadeen on Tuesday that the offer of Resistance has been submitted to the Egyptians signed by the Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Regarding the details of the proposal, the official said that the Resistance conditioned in the first clause of its presented document a ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza, along with a reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip guaranteed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“Everything being discussed in the media regarding multi-phase prisoner exchange comes after the implementation of the ceasefire and withdrawal, not before it,” Al Mayadeen’s source added.
Previously, a temporary ceasefire between the Israeli regime and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect from November 24-30, 2023.
MP/IRN
Opinion: Don’t dump MPhil
The relevance of a degree is to be judged by a wider spectrum consisting of academics, policymakers and VCs and not merely by an agency like the UGC, which is more of a funding body
Published Date – 11:45 PM, Tue – 2 January 24
By KSS Seshan
The recent decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to drop the MPhil course has come as a rude shock to many aspirants who were planning to join the course this year. The Secretary of the UGC in a notification has pointed out that as per an earlier notice issued in November 2022, the UGC has decided to drop the course. No reason has been given for the closure of a course that has been in vogue all these decades. Though the UGC has every power to introduce a new course or drop any existing course offered at universities in the country, the way it has done with MPhil through notifications seems arbitrary.
MPhil is a condensed research course after postgraduation and thus is a midway course sandwiched between postgraduate and doctoral courses. A PhD is a long-term research course that may well extend to nearly four years in Science subjects and a little beyond for subjects in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Those who cannot pursue such a long-duration course can opt for an MPhil that extends to only three semesters.
There was a time when MLitt courses existed in several universities after postgraduation but in the 1970s, this course was replaced with the new MPhil. Thus only the nomenclature was changed to MPhil degree by research. The rationale was that it is not a Master of Literature (MLitt) but a Master of Philanthropy (MPhil) as in PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) as Philosophy encompasses several fields including Literature.
Students generally opt for a short-duration course like MPhil if they want to take up teaching careers in colleges where Plus 2 and degree courses are taught. For taking up teaching positions in universities, IITs, IIMs and other national research institutions, PhD becomes necessary though in recent times the UGC issued an advisory that PhD at the entry-level for faculty at any university is a desirable qualification and not a must.
Research and Teaching
Teaching and research, in fact, are two sides of the same coin. While teaching gets enhanced through research both are complementary to each other. However, the benefits of research for teaching at the university level are well-known. The purpose of research is to explore the unknown, it is an academic journey from known to the lesser known and a systematic enquiry of a chosen area hitherto unexplored. Research could be to unravel new knowledge or it could also be a new interpretation of the existing knowledge or data. In a way, the purpose of research is to push the existing frontiers of knowledge. In the pursuit of such knowledge, research thus differs from discovery and invention.
Research has several inherent benefits to offer for teaching. While research can stand on its own, teaching will have value-addition with research. A teacher equipped with a research degree develops a critical and analytical approach to his teaching. S/he can inculcate a rationale and questioning attitude among students. As the purpose of education is to acquire knowledge in its totality, research supplements teaching in the most effective way. That is the reason for preferring researchers as faculty at universities and national institutes of higher learning.
Need for MPhil
As research courses like a PhD take a long duration, those interested in taking up teaching positions at the collegiate level can do well with a shortened course like MPhil. Educational experts in their wisdom, therefore, carved out the MPhil course where the rudimentary principles of research are imparted to the researcher. The general principles of research being common for every branch, it was aimed that the MPhil course would provide enough information, enthusiasm and practical knowledge for the prospective teacher at the college level to be an effective communicator. The MPhil course thus was a boon for those teachers at the Plus 2 and undergraduate classes.
The scrapping of the MPhil not only denies a short-term research course that has been serving its purpose but also puts the students in colleges in a very disadvantageous position. As the teachers at Plus 2 and at the college level do not have the opportunity and incentive to pursue a more rigorous and time-consuming PhD, they are just satisfied with a postgraduate degree. However, the losers are the students in such colleges as they are denied of the teachers equipped with research degrees. Those researchers with PhD degrees generally opt for universities and IITs and do not prefer to take up jobs in colleges. Therefore, undergraduate students will never get an opportunity to be taught by teachers with any research background. The dumping of the MPhil not only denies an intermediary research course but also impairs the students at the degree level as they cannot have the benefit of better-qualified teachers now.
Creating a Vacuum
The courses and the degrees, their relevance to the times, the job opportunities these courses provide, the very course content, the skills that these courses offer and other concomitant factors are to be judged by a wider spectrum consisting of academicians, policymakers, educationalists, Vice-chancellors and all other stakeholders and not merely by an agency like the UGC, which is more a funding body. There is every need for a national debate and discussion on the efficacy or otherwise of an existing course before it is being scalped lock, stock, and barrel.
The removal of MPhil is obviously not replaced by the introduction of any new course in its place. This in itself amounts to creating a vacuum which may not prove good for a healthy educational system. Hence there is every need for a rethinking on the part of the UGC on its decision to drop the existing MPhil course in the universities. In view of the benefits that the present MPhil course contains and the disadvantages that the students will be forced to face, there is a need for the UGC to rethink and continue the existing MPhil course till such time that it is replaced with a similar intermediary research course.
Hyderabad: Fire breaks out at CMR shopping mall, property worth several lakhs gutted
The incident occurred around 10.30 pm following which fire fighters reached the spot and started fire fighting operating
Published Date – 11:51 PM, Tue – 2 January 24
Hyderabad: Property worth several lakhs was gutted down when fire broke out at CMR shopping mall at Uppal on Tuesday night.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
The incident occurred around 10.30 pm following which fire fighters reached the spot and started fire fighting operating. The fire department senior officials are supervising the fire fighting operation. Half a dozen fire tenders are on spot. The fire fighting operations were continuing till filing of this report.
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails report surge in torture
Palestinian prisoners currently languishing in Israeli jails have reported being beaten by troops, and threatened with violence if they refuse to kiss the Israeli flag.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the latest instances of violence happened at several prisons in northern occupied territories and testimonies were submitted to the daily and human rights groups.
Detainees at Megiddo Prison have reported several cases of harsh violence and abuse carried out by prison authorities. Testimonies are emerging from the prison of severely inhumane conditions, which human rights groups have brought to the Israeli attorney general’s attention.
Haaretz also quoting detainees at Gilboa prison also reported that guards had assaulted, humiliated, and abused them since the regime launched war against Gaza on October 7
“Eleven prisoners were put in a cell that usually held a third of that. [The guards] threw the food on the floor, sometimes they mashed it with their feet, and every day – under the pretext of a “search” – they would beat the prisoners with iron sticks,” one Palestinian testimony said about the treatment of prisoners.
Inmates have reported several cases of harsh violence and abuse carried out by prison wardens, including guards kicking, punching and humiliating prisoners.
On Tuesday it was announced that a seventh Palestinian prisoner died in an Israeli jail since 7 October.
Palestinian officials have already said testimonies from released Palestinian abductees from the besieged Gaza Strip revealed they had been subjected to torture by Israeli forces. They stated that the abductees were subjected to all forms of beatings and ill-treatment during their detention.
The testimonies came from abductees who said they were held in a makeshift detention camp in Beersheba, also known as Bir as-Sab.
A Geneva-based rights group recently called for an urgent international investigation into the torture and murder of Palestinian abductees held in Israel’s “Guantanamo-like” jails.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said it had gathered testimonies confirming recent reports in Israeli media about the regime’s field execution of the Gaza abductees.
The Sde Teman Israeli army camp has been turned into “a new Guantanamo-like prison,” where detainees lose their lives after being subjected to extreme torture and mistreatment.
The Israeli army uses open-air chicken coops to house the inmates and withhold food or drink for long periods.
The rights group also noted that the Palestinians held in Sde Teman are caged in inhumane conditions, blindfolded and subjected to harsh interrogations with their hands tied.
One of the released detainees had said that he witnessed Israeli soldiers directly shooting and killing abductees in separate incidents.
Testimony from released detainees and human rights lawyers, as well as video footage and images, illustrate some of the forms of torture and other ill-treatment prisoners have been subjected to by Israeli forces over the past months
These include severe beatings and humiliation of detainees, including by forcing them to keep their heads down, to kneel on the floor during inmate count, and to sing Israeli songs.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry In a statement on Tuesday condemned the Israeli field executions of Palestinians as “the act of gangs”. it called on Israel to promptly reveal undisclosed detention facilities and give information on the identities and well-being of individuals captured from the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip has resulted in one of the worst civilian death tolls in modern history.
Since the start of the offensive, the Israeli regime has killed about 22,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
