TEHRAN, Apr. 05 (MNA) – The Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami declared Friday that the IRGC will punish the Zionist Israeli regime for the terrorist attack on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital.
Several Israeli embassies evacuated over fears of Iran retaliation: Report
Hebrew-language Israeli media outlets have reported that the Israeli regime has withdrawn its ambassadors and evacuated embassies in multiple countries amid concerns of attacks that may take place as part of an Iranian retaliation for an Israeli terrorist strike against the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic mission in Syria.
The Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper reported on Thursday that the evacuated Israeli embassies include those in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Turkey.
Israeli journalist and military commentator Itay Blumental also shared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “As part of the assessments for an Iranian response, we published this evening: the alert level in Israeli embassies around the world has been raised to the maximum level.
“A number of missions in several countries were evacuated after a situation assessment by the Shin Bet [Israel’s so-called internal security service] and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some of the Israeli representatives abroad were moved to alternate locations and were also asked not to attend public events at this time.”
The Israeli news portal Ynet previously reported that Israeli authorities had given instructions to strengthen security measures at Israeli embassies around the world following the airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
“We ask you to continue to take preventive measures and pay more attention during routine operations,” a statement sent to Israeli diplomats, as quoted by the news portal, read.
On Monday, Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, located next to the embassy building in Damascus’s Mezzeh district.
The attack killed two senior Iranian military personnel who were on an advisory mission to Syria as well as five of their accompanying officers.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, and his deputy General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi were among the seven martyrs of the terrorist attack.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed that Iran will “punish” Israel and make the evil regime “regret” its crime of assassinating the country’s military advisors in Syria.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi has also said Israel had resorted to indiscriminate assassinations after back-to-back failures in the face of the resistance, warning that the regime’s latest crime against Iranian military advisers in Syria “will not go unanswered.”
4,6,6,4,4,4 – Pant Blazes Costliest Over Of IPL 2024, SRK Reacts. Watch
Rishabh Pant took Venkatesh Iyer to the cleaners, smashing 28 runs from six balls.© X (Twitter)
Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant scored his second successive half-century in IPL 2024, smashing 55 off 25 balls during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday. Pant slammed four 4s and five 6s during his knock but DC lost to KKR in a one-sided game in Visakhapatnam. However, Pant’s return to form is not only a huge boost for DC, but also the Indian team. The wicketkeeper-batter had been out of action for more than a year due to multiple injuries sustained in a car crash. With half-centuries in his last two innings, Pant seems to regaining his lost mojo after the horrific car crash. In the 12th over of DC’s 273-run chase, Pant took KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer to the cleaners, smashing 28 runs from six balls.
He hit four 4s and two 6s, with one of them being a no-look six. Venkatesh bowled a good delivery wide of leg stumps and Pant flicked it over deep fine leg region for a six.
KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was in awe of Pant’s effort as he gave him a standing ovation for the same.
No look Pant #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL #DCvKKR pic.twitter.com/OLhLl28aAn
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 3, 2024
Notably, this was the most expensive over of IPL 2024.
Coming back to the match, Sunil Narine smashed 85 to lead KKR to the second-best ever IPL total of 272-7 in a crushing 106-run victory over DC.
KKR remained unbeaten from three matches this season after they bowled out Delhi for 166 in 17.2 overs to top the 10-team table.
The venue was Delhi’s adopted home ground due to the upcoming general elections in India but Narine and Kolkata made it their own.
Narine, 35, smashed Delhi seamer Ishant Sharma for 26 runs in an over as he raised his fifty in 21 balls and put on 104 runs with teenage debutant Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who hit 54.
Delhi were never in the chase after they lost four wickets, including Marsh out for a duck off fellow Australian Mitchell Starc, inside five overs.
(With AFP Inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
EU, Norway condemn Israel attack on Iran consulate
The European Union condemns the attack on an Iranian diplomatic installation in Damascus on 1 April, as well as the reported casualties a statement appeared on the European Union External Action’s website said
In this highly tense regional situation, it is imperative to show utmost restraint. Further escalation in the region is in no one’s interest, the statemen added.
The principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases and in all circumstances in accordance with international law, it further read.
Norway has also condemned the Israeli regime’s attack on Iran’s Consulate in Damascus.
“Norway condemns the recent attack against the diplomatic premises of Iran in Damascus,” Oslo’s foreign ministry said on X.
“Diplomatic premises & diplomatic & consular staff enjoy a special status under international law & must be protected.
“We call on all parties to show restraint to avoid further escalation.”
Iran has vowed that the attack will not go unanswered.
KI
Woman Finds Her Deepfake Pics On Porn Site – Her Best Friend Was Behind It
The woman said she felt her “whole world fall away”.
A woman in the UK has described the moment she found out who had been creating her deepfake pornographic photos. She spoke to the BBC and the outlet did not reveal her real identity. The woman said she was sent a link to a porn website from an anonymous email account. When she clicked on the link, she saw mocked-up images and a video of her appearing to have sex with various men. They had been fabricated using the modern artificial intelligence (AI) drive n technology.
“I was screaming and crying and violently scrolling through my phone to work out what I was reading and what I was looking at. I knew that this could genuinely ruin my life,” the woman told the BBC.
Deepfaking is a process, which involves projecting a person’s face onto someone else’s using computer editing software. It can often result in convincing, life-like clips that are then used to spread disinformation or malicious content.
The person who had posted the deepfake images on the website asked other users to make fake pornography of her. In exchange for the fakes, the user offered to share more photos of the woman and details about her.
Scrolling through the website, she felt her “whole world fall away”.
The incident happened in 2021 and the woman faced online harassment for years at the hands of strangers online. Her picture was used on several social media platform, including Reddit.
Along with her friend, the woman decided to compile a list of men who could have been responsible for spreading her deepfake pictures. And one particular picture caught her attention and she made a horrible realisation.
The photo had an image of King’s College, Cambridge. She clearly remembered it being taken and sharing it with only one person – her best friend Alex Woolf.
Woolf went on to get a double first in music from Cambridge University and won BBC Young Composer of the Year 2012, as well as appearing on Mastermind in 2021.
They had bonded over their love of music in their teens, and she said she had always known him as a person who was sympathetic to struggles faced by women online.
It was Woolf who had been offering to share more original pictures of the woman in exchange for them being turned into deepfakes.
“He knew the impact that it was having on my life so profoundly. And yet he still did it,” she said while speaking to the BBC.
In August 2021, Woolf was convicted of taking photos of 15 women from social media and uploading them to pornographic websites. He was given a 20-week prison sentence, and ordered to pay each of his victims 100 pounds as compensation.
Woolf told the BBC he is “utterly ashamed” of the behaviour which led to his conviction and he is “deeply sorry” for his actions.
“There are no excuses for what I did, nor can I adequately explain why I acted on these impulses so despicably at that time,” he said.
For Jodie, finding out what her friend had done was the “ultimate betrayal and humiliation”.
VIDEO: Palestinian Islamic Jihad SG in Tehran rally
Actor-turned-politician Sumalatha Ambareesh joins BJP
With BJP ceding Mandya seat to its alliance partner JD(S) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Sumalatha, after consulting her supporters and wellwishers in Mandya, on Wednesday announced her decision to opt out of the elections, and join the BJP.
Published Date – 5 April 2024, 01:55 PM
Bengaluru: Actor-turned-politician and independent MP from Mandya in Karnataka, Sumalatha Ambareesh, on Friday joined the BJP. Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly R Ashoka, national General Secretary in-charge of elections in Karnataka Radha Mohan Das Agarwal and former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda were among those who welcomed the 60-year-old into the party fold at its state headquarters here.
With BJP ceding Mandya seat to its alliance partner JD(S) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Sumalatha, after consulting her supporters and wellwishers in Mandya, on Wednesday announced her decision to opt out of the elections, and join the BJP.
The wife of popular film star M H Ambareesh, Sumalatha had earlier staked claim for BJP ticket for re-election from the Mandya seat that was represented by her late husband in the past. But the party convinced her and gave it to JD(S).
JD(S) state President and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is now the alliance’s joint candidate from Mandya. Kumaraswamy on Sunday met Sumalatha, and sought her cooperation in the polls.
As an independent candidate, Sumalatha had won the seat in 2019 by defeating the then Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy of JD(S), by a margin of 1,25,876 votes, with the BJP’s support.
It was a bitterly fought election back then. The JD(S) was in an alliance with the Congress at the time. Sumalatha entered politics in 2019 and plunged into the poll arena as an independent, after the Congress, of which her late husband was a part, denied her the ticket, as the party had ceded the Mandya seat to its then alliance partner JD(S).
Both parties were then running a coalition government under Kumaraswamy’s Chief Ministership. Late Ambareesh had served as MP, MLA and Minister in Karnataka and at the Centre in the Congress governments.
He was also part of Janata Dal in the past In the 2019 polls, Sumalatha rode on a sympathy wave following the death of her husband, who was an icon of sorts in Mandya district.
Popular Kannada film stars like Darshan Thoogudeepa and Yash (Naveen Kumar Gowda), along with her son Abishek Ambareesh had extensively campaigned for her then.
Premier League: Palmer’s stoppage-time double secures Chelsea win against Man Utd
In a dramatic turn of events, Palmer scored a penalty in the 100th minute, followed by a deflected strike just a minute later, securing a stunning last-minute victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. This win lifted them to 10th place, trailing the Red Devils by just five points.
Published Date – 5 April 2024, 02:00 PM
London: Cole Palmer scored two stoppage-time goals as his hat-trick dented Manchester United‘s Premier League top-four hopes in a chaotic 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer converted a 100th-minute penalty before his deflected strike a minute later salvaged a stunning last-gasp win that lifted Mauricio Pochettino’s side to 10th and just five points behind the Red Devils.
On the other hand, the loss left sixth-placed United 11 points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth.
Alejandro Garnacho had earlier scored twice, along with a goal for Bruno Fernandes before the break, to help United fight back from two goals down to lead 3-2 on Thursday, Premier League reports.
Jose Dalot needlessly felled substitute Noni Madueke for a stoppage-time penalty, which Palmer coolly sent into the bottom-left corner again, before the Chelsea midfielder’s strike deflected off Scott McTominay only 81 seconds later to secure a remarkable victory.
Supreme Court Puts On Hold High Court's Decision To Scrap UP Madrasa Act
New Delhi:
In a big relief to about 17 lakh madrassa students in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court today paused an Allahabad High Court order scrapping the UP Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004. This allows about 16,000 madrassas in the state to continue functioning under the 2004 law.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that the high court decision was prima facie not correct and asked the Uttar Pradesh government. The court also issued notices to the Madrassa board and the central and UP governments, and posted the matter for further hearing in the second week of July.
The high court had last month declared the 2004 law “unconstitutional” for violating the principle of secularism and directed the government to accommodate the madrasa students in the formal education system.
The Supreme Court put it on hold on Friday, saying that the aims and objectives of the Madrassa Board are regulatory in nature and that the establishment of Madrassa Board itself will not affect secularism.
CJI Chandrachud said the issues that have been raised merit closer reflection.
The court said the judgment will impinge on future of 17 lakh students in 16,000 madrassas and pointed out subjects like math, science, and social studies are also taught in madrassas.
The central and state governments backed the high court judgment in the Supreme Court, with the centre saying suspected entanglement of religion and other relevant issues must be debated.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the madrassas, said religious education cannot mean religious instruction and that the high court order will leave 10,000 madrassa teachers and 17 lakh students in lurch.
However, the state government said it has made arrangements for the teachers and students.
Mr Singhvi argued it is wrong to say madrassa education doesn’t have quality, isn’t universal in nature and is not broad-based. Singling out the madrassas for ban is discriminatory and the Supreme Court had said so in the Aruna Roy vs Union of India, 2002 verdict, he pointed out.
RBI's Next Big Plan – Cash Deposit In Banks Via UPI. What It Means
RBI said it will soon facilitate cash deposit facility in banks through use of the popular UPI
Mumbai:
In a major decision, the Reserve Bank said today that it will soon facilitate cash deposit facility in banks through use of the popular UPI, an instant real-time payment system for inter-bank transactions through mobile phones.
The central bank also decided to permit linking of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) through third-party Unified Payments Interface (UPI) applications.
Announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy of the current financial year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that cash deposit machines (CDMs) deployed by banks enhance customer convenience while reducing cash-handling load on bank branches.
The facility of cash deposit is presently available only through use of debit cards.
“Given the popularity and acceptance of UPI, as also the benefits seen from the availability of UPI for card-less cash withdrawal at ATMs, it is now proposed to facilitate cash deposit facility through use of UPI,” Governor Das said.
Operational instructions will be issued shortly, the RBI said.
The RBI has also proposed to permit linking of PPIs through third-party UPI applications to provide more flexibility to users.
At present, UPI payments from bank accounts can be made by linking a bank account through the UPI app of the bank or using any third-party UPI application. However, the same facility is not available for PPIs.
PPIs can currently be used to make UPI transactions only by using the application provided by the PPI issuer.
“To provide more flexibility to PPI holders, it is now proposed to permit linking of PPIs through third-party UPI applications. This will enable the PPI holders to make UPI payments like bank account holders,” the RBI said.
Instructions in this regard too will be issued shortly.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
