Middle East

Israeli military in ‘shock’ amid shortage of 1000s of forces: Report

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Months into Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the regime’s military is reported to be facing a critical manpower problem as it runs short of thousands of forces.

“The army is experiencing intensifying personnel shortages,” Ynetnews, the website for Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, reported on Friday.

The military, it added, “urgently requires an additional 7,000 soldiers, with half of these intended for combat roles.”

“It’s crucial to note that this figure is over and above the soldiers already slated for recruitment in upcoming cycles.”

The regime’s treasury is, however, only approving 2,500 additional forces.

These “unprecedented” figures underscore the “shock” that was being experienced by the Israeli military in the wake of nearly 150 days of the war, the website said.

The Israeli regime began waging the onslaught against Gaza on October 7, following al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise operation staged by the coastal sliver’s resistance groups against the occupied territories.

At least 30,228 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 71,377 others been injured so far during the war.

Ynet noted, meanwhile, that approximately 582 troops had been killed in the war. “Several more are physically and psychologically wounded, to the extent that they are unable to return to their roles,” it added.

On Wednesday, the Israeli minister for military affairs highlighted the heavy toll the war was inflicting on the regime’s military.

“We are paying a very high price in our ranks…The costs we incur in terms of the numbers of deaths and injuries are very high,” he said.

Despite causing a massive death toll and suffering fatalities, the Israeli military has stopped short of achieving the goals that it has been seeking to score through the war, such as “destroying” Hamas, finding the captives that the Gaza-based resistance movement is holding, and bringing about forced displacement of the Palestinian territory’s population to neighboring Egypt.

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TV Actor Says Friend Shot Dead In US, Seeks PM, Indian Embassy's Help

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TV Actor Says Friend Shot Dead In US, Seeks PM, Indian Embassy's Help

Devoleena Bhattacharjee said the attack took place on Tuesday. (FILE)

New Delhi:

Television actor Devoleena Bhattacharjee has sought the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government after her friend was shot dead in the US on Tuesday. She said her friend was taking an evening walk when “he was shot multiple times by an unknown (person)”.

“My friend #Amarnathghosh was shot and killed in St Louis academy neighbourhood, US on Tuesday evening,” Ms Bhattacharjee wrote in a post on X.

She said Mr Ghosh was the “only child in the family, mother died 3 years back and father passed away during his childhood”.

“Well the reason , accused details and everything are not revealed yet, or perhaps no one left in his family to fight for it except his few friends. He was from Kolkata. Excellent dancer, was pursuing PHD, was taking an evening walk and suddenly he was shot multiple times by an unknown,” the actor wrote.

The 38-year-old said that some friends in the US are trying to claim the body but still no update about it, while tagging the Indian Embassy in the US, PM Modi, and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on her post.

The post comes amid a spate of violence against Indians or Indian-Americans in the country in recent months.

Recently, an Indian-origin motel owner was shot dead by a homeless trespasser in Newport city in the US state of North Carolina.

On February 10, a 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive died after suffering life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in Washington.

Earlier, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was killed in Georgia state’s Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict.

Hyderabad

Tummala directs officials to ensure reasonable price to chilli

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Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao ordered the official to take measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents, to ensure that the farmers do not face any inconvenience in the markets

Published Date – 1 March 2024, 08:22 PM


Tummala directs officials to ensure reasonable price to chilli

File Photo

Khammam: In the wake of protests by chilli farmers in Khammam, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Friday held a review meeting with the marketing director at the secretariat in Hyderabad and expressed anger at the behaviour of the officials.

The marketing director told the minister that four to five percent of the farmers who brought the produce with moisture and low quality got low price and they staged dharna.The minister ordered the official to take measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents, to ensure that the farmers do not face any inconvenience in the markets.

He wanted officials to create awareness among the farmers, to provide necessary facilities to farmers and to ensure that the farm produce brought by the farmers offered a reasonable price.

Middle East

Israel kills IRGC military advisor, 2 Hezbollah members in strike on Syria

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The file photo shows IRGC military advisor, Reza Zarei, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Syria on March 1, 2024.

A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy serving as a military advisor has been killed in an Israeli strike on Syria.

In a statement on Friday, the IRGC Navy said its member — Reza Zarei — was assassinated along with two members of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement on Friday.

They were killed in an Israeli attack on Syria’s northwestern Baniyas port earlier in the day, it added.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of resistance fighters, who have played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

Iran maintains an advisory mission in Syria at the request of Damascus to help the war-torn Arab country defeat the foreign-backed militants who have been fighting the democratically-elected Syrian government since 2011.

Back in January, five IRGC military advisors along with several Syrian forces were assassinated in an Israeli strike in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The attack targeted a three-story residential building in the city’s Mezza neighborhood which houses several diplomatic missions.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

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33% Of Rajya Sabha MPs Have Declared Criminal Cases: Report

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33% Of Rajya Sabha MPs Have Declared Criminal Cases: Report

The assets of 225 MPs are worth over Rs 19,602 crore.

New Delhi:

Of 225 Rajya Sabha sitting members analysed, 33 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves while the total assets of these sitting MPs stood at Rs 19,602 crore, according to poll rights body ADR.

Also, 31 of them, or 14 per cent, are billionaires.

In an analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch (NEW), two Rajya Sabha sitting members have declared cases related to murder under IPC Section 302, while four MPs have declared cases related to attempt to murder under IPC Section 307.

“Out of the 225 Rajya Sabha sitting MPs analysed, 75 (33 per cent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves and 40 (18 per cent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared serious criminal cases,” the report said.

The analysis also delved into the distribution of these criminal cases across different political parties. The BJP leads with 23 per cent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.

The Congress follows closely behind with 50 per cent of its 28 MPs facing similar charges.

The ADR analysis said five (38 per cent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha members from TMC, four (67 per cent) out of six members from RJD, four (80 per cent) out of five MPs from CPI(M), three (30 per cent) out of 10 MPs from AAP, four (36 per cent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha members from YSRCP and two (20 per cent) out of 10 MPs from DMK have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Moreover, when considering serious criminal cases, the trend persists, with significant percentages of MPs from various parties facing such charges.

“Ten (11 per cent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 9 (32 per cent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha MPs from Congress, 3 (23 per cent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from TMC, 2 (33 per cent) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from RJD, 2 (40 per cent) out of 5 Rajya Sabha MPs from CPI(M), 1 (10 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from AAP, 3 (27 per cent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs from YSRCP and 1 (10 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from DMK have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits,” the report said.

The report said 11 (61 per cent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra, 8 (50 per cent) out of 16 MPs from Bihar, 9 (29 per cent) out of 31 MPs from Uttar Pradesh, 6 (33 per cent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu, 6 (67 per cent) out of 9 MPs from Kerala and 7 (44 per cent) out of 16 MPs from West Bengal have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The analysis covers 225 out of 233 Rajya Sabha members, with one seat from Maharashtra vacant and four seats from Jammu and Kashmir undefined. Three MPs were not analysed due to the unavailability of their affidavits.

In addition to the criminal background, the analysis also delved into the asset holdings of Rajya Sabha members. It was found that the average assets per MP stand at a staggering Rs 87.12 crore.

Further dissecting the data, the report revealed significant disparities in asset holdings across different political parties.

Among major parties, 9 (10 per cent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha members from BJP, 4 (14 per cent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha members from Congress, 5 (45 per cent) out of 11 MPs from YSRCP, 2 (20 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha members from AAP, 3 (75 per cent) out of 4 Rajya Sabha members from TRS and 2 (33 per cent) out of 6 MPs from RJD have declared assets valued more than Rs 100 crore.

Among the major parties, the average assets per MP for analyzed MPs are as follows: BJP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 37.34 crore, Congress MPs have average assets of Rs 40.70 crore, TMC MPs have average assets worth Rs 10.25 crore, YSRCP MPs have average assets worth Rs 357.68 crore, TRS Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth a whopping Rs 1,383.74 crore, DMK Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth Rs 6.37 crore, and AAP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 114.81 crore.

Moreover, the total assets of the analyzed Rajya Sabha sitting members amount to a staggering Rs. 19,602 crore, according to the analysis.

When broken down by party, the total assets for analyzed MPs are as follows: BJP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,360 crore, Congress MPs have total assets of Rs 1,139 crore, YSRCP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,934 crore, BRS MPs have total assets of Rs 5,534 crore, and AAP MPs have total assets of Rs 1,148 crore.

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

Hyderabad

GRMB meet: Objections on six TS projects snubbed

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AP officials contended that there was no scope for allowing new schemes and additional components on existing projects as the river basin was left with no surplus.

Published Date – 1 March 2024, 08:11 PM


GRMB meet: Objections on six TS projects snubbed


Hyderabad: Telangana State officials strongly countered the objections raised by Andhra Pradesh on six projects taken up by Telangana on Godavari in recent years and disallowed further discussion on the issue at the Godavari River Management Board meeting here on Friday.

AP officials contended that there was no scope for allowing new schemes and additional components on existing projects as the river basin was left with no surplus. Dispelling their fears, TS officials made it clear that the Central Water Commission (CWC) was sufficiently addressed on all issues related to the new schemes on Godavari, and the objections were adequately answered.

They also shared copies of the letters addressed to the CWC on the new schemes with the Board and their AP counterparts. The Board Chairman, M K Sinha, who presided over the meeting, insisted that the new schemes proposed by Telangana were put to process in strict adherence to all the norms involved. He wished that AP would also be able to utilise the services of the board in the same manner.

Rs 16 crore budget

The Board has proposed a budget for Rs.16 crore for the financial year 2024-2025. The board wanted to streamline its functioning by opting for networking facilities. Both the states, in view of their financial constrains, requested the board to rework its budget proposals and identify the expenditure heads wherein it can cut down the spending.

Telangana State had cleared over Rs 5 crore of its share of dues and the process for clearing another installment of Rs 4.77 crore was already initiated. AP owed the board about Rs 9 crores and it assured board of clearing its share of dues in due process.

Middle East

Over 200 MPs from 12 countries urge arms ban on Israel

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More than 200 parliament members from 12 countries have urged their governments to impose a ban on arms sales to Israel, citing the occupying regime’s “grave violation of international law” in its war on Gaza.

“We know that lethal weapons and their parts, made or shipped through our countries, currently aid the Israeli assault on Palestine that has claimed over 30,000 lives across Gaza and the West Bank,” they said in a letter, organized by Progressive International, a network of socialist lawmakers and activists focused on international justice.

The politicians stressed that an arms embargo has become “a legal requirement”, especially after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to ensure its forces don’t commit genocide.

“We cannot wait. Following the interim ruling by the international court of justice (ICJ) on the genocide convention case against … Israel, an arms embargo has moved beyond a moral necessity to become a legal requirement,” said the letter, The Guardian reported on Friday. 

In January, the ICJ issued an interim ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel, ordering the occupying regime to take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in December 2023 over its war on the Gaza Strip. According to South Africa’s application, Israel’s actions in Gaza were “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 letter’s signatories are all lawmakers in parliaments where the governments allow arms sales to Israel, including nine current or former leaders of political parties.

Some 39 parliamentarians from the UK have signed the letter, in addition to politicians from Australia, France, Belgium, Canada, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey and the US.

The action by the parliamentarians is backed by the founder of France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the Spanish government minister Pablo Bustinduy and the Indian politician Jignesh Mevani.

The letter comes amid worldwide public anger over the Israeli atrocities in Gaza and mass protests calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Israel launched the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 30,228 Palestinians and injured 71,377 others.

Last week, UN experts also warned that “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.”

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Paytm Bank Fined Over Rs 5 Crore For Violations Under Money Laundering Act

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Paytm Bank Fined Over Rs 5 Crore For Violations Under Money Laundering Act

Paytm Payments Bank has been fined over Rs 5 crore over money laundering allegations

New Delhi:

Paytm Payments Bank has been fined Rs 5.49 crore over alleged money laundering in the latest setback to the fintech, a month after the Reserved Bank of India (RBI) ordered it to stop accepting any fresh deposits in its accounts or wallets from February 29. That deadline was extended to March 15.

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) in a statement said it reviewed Paytm Payments Bank after getting information from law-enforcement agencies over alleged illegal acts including online gambling.

The FIU-IND said some entities routed these funds through Paytm Payments Bank, which violated provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“… The money generated from these illegal operations, i.e. proceeds of crime were routed and channelled through bank accounts maintained by these entities with Paytm Payments Bank Ltd,” the FIU-IND said.

A Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson said the penalty pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. “Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),” the spokesperson said.

Following the RBI order last month, Paytm had shifted its nodal account to Axis Bank (by opening an escrow account) to continue seamless merchant settlements as before. It had then insisted that its QR codes, soundbox and card machines would continue to work beyond the RBI’s March 15 deadline.

The deadline extension, the RBI said, was to allow customers, including merchants, “a little more time” to make alternative arrangements.

The RBI said no further deposits or credit transactions or top-ups will be allowed in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc after March 15.

Customers can withdraw or use funds from their Paytm Payments Bank accounts and wallets until the time those funds are exhausted, but they cannot add any fresh funds after March 15, it added.

Paytm Payments Bank has nearly a fifth share of India’s toll collections through a product called FASTag. The RBI said these FASTags cannot be recharged or topped up after March 15.

Paytm is the third-largest app for UPI payments in the country, processing 1.6 billion monthly transactions, according to data available on the NPCI website. PhonePe and Google Pay are the two largest.

Hyderabad

Book cases against ganja users, SP tells officials

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Ganja hot spots across the district have to be identified and register cases against ganja smugglers as well as users, he said.

Published Date – 1 March 2024, 07:49 PM


Book cases against ganja users, SP tells officials

Representational Image.

Kothagudem: Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju told police officials to book cases against those consuming ganja, in addition to the ganja smugglers.

Addressing the police officers at the monthly crime review meeting here on Friday the SP advised to maintain strict vigilance and to take strict action against people involved in illegal transportation of ganja, PDS rice, matka and gambling.

Youths were ruining their precious future by getting addicted to ganja and other intoxicants. Ganja hot spots across the district have to be identified and register cases against ganja smugglers as well as users, he said.

CCTV cameras should be installed at important places within the jurisdiction of every police station in the district. Awareness programmes have to be organised to keep people alert from time to time so that they do not fall prey to cybercriminals.

Black spots where road accidents were occurring frequently have to be identified within the limits of each police station and efforts have to be made to prevent them in coordination with the concerned authorities, Rohith Raju suggested. He later presented certificates of appreciation to officers and staff who showed merit in performing their duties. EOM