TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (MNA) – Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali says developing cooperation with regional powers and international organizations including Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS is Iran’s priority.
India fall flat to Australia’s seam and extra bounce, crawl at 51/4
Save KL Rahul (26 off 74 balls), youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) were left searching for answers along with Virat Kohli (5), whose indifferent run of form continued
Published Date – 22 November 2024, 10:19 AM
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal leaves the field after losing his wicket to Australia’s Mitchell Starc during play in the first cricket test between India and Australia in Perth, Australia on Friday. — Photo:AP
Perth: Indian top-order failed to counter seam and extra bounce after their captain Jasprit Bumrah’s inexplicable decision to bat first as the visitors crawled to 51 for 4 at lunch on the first day of the opening Test against Australia here on Friday.
Save KL Rahul (26 off 74 balls), who displayed good technique and admirable temperament till he was at the crease, youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) were left searching for answers along with Virat Kohli (5), whose indifferent run of form continued.
Rahul’s contentious dismissal just before lunch put India in complete disarray. At the break, Rishabh Pant was batting on 10 with Dhruv Jurel (4 batting) for company.
Exactly a year back in South Africa, Jaiswal looked all at sea on the bouncy tracks of Centurion and Cape Town. On Friday, Mitchell Starc started with a few back of the length deliveries before he pitched one further up. The ball seamed away and also met Jaiswal’s willow at a height that would have been at least a foot above had it been played in the Indian sub-continent.
The result was a flash drive and the ball was snapped at gully by Marnus Labuschagne. Devdutt Padikkal, coming in place of injured Shubman Gill, never looked intent on coming on the front-foot and even left some over-pitched deliveries which he could have scored.
The result was the 23rd delivery, a fuller one from Josh Hazlewood which Padikkal played with hard hands to offer a regulation catch to Alex Carey. Virat Kohli (5) perhaps got the best delivery of the morning session when Hazlewood dug one short and the star Indian batter couldn’t remove his bat from the line of the ball. The edge resulted to a regulation slip catch.
The Australian pace troika of Starc (2/10), Hazlewood (2/10) and Pat Cummins (0/23) were disciplined during the first hour, keeping the batters quiet. Rahul followed the basics during this course — playing the one coming into his body while leaving all other deliveries from length. He did play a couple of push drives and the first boundary was a streaky one when he tried to sway from the line of a short delivery and the edge flew over slips.
But there were a couple of punchy cover drives with a few that went past his bat. However, Rahul got out with less than 10 minutes left for lunch. Starc, back for his second spell, got one to move a shade and the snicko showed deflection although the batter perhaps suggested that his bat hit the pad at the same time when the ball went past the edge.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor introduces festive edition of Rumion in Hyderabad-Telangana Today
The festive edition of the Rumion, available across all grades, comes with a dealer-fitted TGA package worth Rs. 20,608, ensuring that customers enjoy a premium experience.
Published Date – 22 October 2024, 08:48 PM
Hyderabad: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Tuesday introduced the festive edition of the Toyota Rumion, the limited-edition featuring exclusive Toyota Genuine Accessory (TGA) packages aimed at enhancing the Rumion’s aesthetics and comfort.
The festive edition of the Rumion, available across all grades, comes with a dealer-fitted TGA package worth Rs. 20,608, ensuring that customers enjoy a premium experience.
The Festival Limited Edition TGA package features Back Door Garnish, Mud Flaps, Rear Bumper Garnish, Deluxe Carpet Mat (RHD), Head Lamp Garnish, Number Plate Garnish, Door Visor – Chrome, Roof Edge Spoiler and Body Side Molding Garnish Finish.
Sabari Manohar, vice-president, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “We are thrilled to introduce the limited-edition Toyota Rumion, which not only enhances aesthetics and comfort but also ensures a superior driving experience.”
The Toyota Rumion has already garnered a strong following as a versatile and family-friendly MPV, which is available in six variants of S MT/AT, G MT, and V MT/AT and S MT CNG.
For bookings: www.toyotabharat.com/online-booking.
Rajasthan To Introduce Bill To "Stop Forceful Religious Conversion"
The bill was approved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. (File)
Jaipur:
The BJP government in Rajasthan is set to introduce a bill in the upcoming Assembly session to stop forceful religious conversions in the state, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said on Saturday.
The bill was approved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.
Jogaram Patel said the bill proposes that if someone wants to convert to another religion, the person will have to give an application to the district magistrate 60 days in advance.
“The district magistrate will examine whether or not it is a forceful conversion,” he said, adding if it is found that the conversion is not forced or under any temptation, then the applicant will be allowed to go ahead with it.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, the state parliamentary affairs minister said, “The government has decided to bring a bill in the upcoming assembly session to stop forceful religious conversion in the state. The bill has provisions of punishment in different categories, from one year to 10 years, with penalties for forceful conversion of an individual or in groups.” Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa said nine policies, including a new MSME policy, one district one product policy, tourism unit policy, mines policy, M-Sand policy and investment promotion scheme, were approved in the Cabinet meeting.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Staff crunch hits conservation of tigers in Adilabad
Officials are facing problems in monitoring movement of both resident and migrant tigers due to shortage of staff, considering the vast area of the forests.
Published Date – 30 November 2024, 08:36 PM
Adilabad: An acute staff crunch is hitting tiger conservation efforts in erstwhile Adilabad district. Officials are facing problems in monitoring movement of both resident and migrant tigers due to shortage of staff, considering the vast area of the forests.
While the area of Kawal Tiger Reserve is 2,015 square kilometres, encompassing forests in Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad, the area of Kagaznagar tiger corridor is 9,745 hectares. The reserve is administered by a field-director level officer, while the four districts are managed by district forest officers (DFO).
Significantly, six out of the total eight forest divisions in the Kawal Tiger Reserve are lying vacant alone. Similarly, a few divisions in the four districts are helmed by DFOs and in-charge FDOs. Mancherial DFO Shiv Aasheesh Singh has been in-charge FDO of Jannaram since the transfer of S Madhav Rao in 2023. Kumram Bheem Asifabad DFO Neeraj Kumar is in-charge of Asifabad division for nearly two years.
Mancherial FDO Sarveshwar Rao is helming Chennur division. Nizamabad’s Armoor FDO is in-charge of Khanapur division for around a year. Likewise, over 40 percent of posts of forest beat officers and range officers remained vacant with the officers getting selected for posts of Group 4 and government teachers.
Due to the shortage of the staff, the officials of the department at division, range and section-levels are allegedly unable to take precautions and to prevent human loss by effectively trailing the tigers. Some DFOs are drawing flak for making unilateral decisions without considering field-level situations and challenges.
At the same time, punishments to staff for committing silly mistakes and harassment by higher officials is demotivating the staff at the field level. Poor expertise in conservation of tigers are also attributed to lapses in tracking movement of the tigers. Involving the staff in digitalization of data and uploading information on various applications is also affecting the conservation of wildlife.
When asked, Field Director to KTR S Shantaram concurred that staff crunch was slightly leaving an adverse impact on the conservation of the tigers. He stated appropriate measures were being taken to ensure smooth passage for transit tigers, safety of resident ones and human loss in the reserve and forests of composite Adilabad district.
Area of Kawal Tiger Reserve: 2,015 square km
Area of core of the reserve: 893 sq km
Area of the buffer zone spans: 1,120 sq km
Area of Kagaznagar corridor: 9,745 hectares
Possible paths of tigers: 12
Coal mines: 18
Forest fringe habitations: 400
Resident tigers (approximately): 10
Migrant tigers: 4
Victims of man-animal conflict from 2000 to 2024: 6
ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader Deif
In a statement, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber accused Netanyahu and Gallant of committing “crimes against humanity and war crimes” between at least October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024
Published Date – 22 November 2024, 10:43 AM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif
The Hague: The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.
In a statement, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber accused Netanyahu and Gallant of committing “crimes against humanity and war crimes” between at least October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024, the date when the prosecution submitted the arrest warrant applications, Xinhua news agency reported.
The ICC said that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “each bear criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators” for committing war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
The court’s statement outlined a series of alleged war crimes, including “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population,” and depriving the “civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity”.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’ military wing, accusing him of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the territories of Israel and Palestine from at least October 7, 2023.
Although Deif has reportedly been killed by Israeli forces, the ICC noted that it cannot conclusively confirm his death.
Prosecutor Karim Khan informed the court that available information from Israeli and Palestinian sources about his death remains inconclusive, leaving the arrest warrant active.
In May, Khan initially requested arrest warrants for five individuals: Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif, and senior Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. However, after confirmed reports of Haniyeh and Sinwar’s deaths, the court withdrew those applications.
Israel has said it killed Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this. The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information concerning his reported death.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.
The US, Israel’s main diplomatic supporter, is also not a member of the ICC. It said it “fundamentally rejects” the move.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, adding that the US is discussing next steps with its partners.
Global powers Russia, China, and India have also not signed onto the ICC, the world’s permanent war crimes court, which is backed by all of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Britain, Brazil, Japan, and dozens of African and Latin American countries.
ICC prosecutor Khan had announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza. Israeli and Hamas leaders have dismissed allegations that they committed war crimes.
The court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its 124 member states for that, with only limited diplomatic means to force them if they do not want to.
Khan called on signatories of the court’s founding treaty “to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders”.
In a statement, he said, “We count on their cooperation in this situation, as with all other situations… We also welcome collaboration with non-state parties in working towards accountability and upholding international law.”
Netanyahu’s office said the ICC decision was “anti-Semitic” and he would “not yield to pressure, will not be deterred” until Israel’s war objectives are met.
The ICC has “lost all legitimacy” after issuing the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
“A dark moment for the International Criminal Court,” Saar said on X, adding that it had issued “absurd orders without authority”.
There was no immediate comment from Gallant.
In a statement, Hamas welcomed the warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu and urged the court to expand accountability to all Israeli leaders.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the decision was not political but made by a court and thus should be respected and implemented.
“The tragedy in Gaza has to stop,” he added.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said the ICC’s decision must be implemented, adding that Palestinians deserved justice after what he termed Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza.
The Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country acts on arrest warrants for people on its territory and will not engage in “non-essential” contacts.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said: “The court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the US Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body.”
Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials said.
It launched the campaign in response to the October 2023, Hamas-led attack which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, with more than 250 others taken hostage, Israel has said.
Iran urges expulsion of Israel from UN Women's Commission
Kazem Gharibabadi, who is Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, made the appeal in four identical letters addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the UN Economic and Social Council Bob Rae, Chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women Abdulaziz M. Alwasil, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
“The presence of the criminal Zionist regime, which as per international human rights authorities, independent UN experts and independent human rights activists has turned Gaza into a slaughterhouse for civilians, particularly women and children, in the UN Commission on the Status of Women, whose nature is to promote the rights of women and girls and to prevent violence and discrimination against them, is an end to the credibility of international institutions and expectations of their efficacy during crises and humanitarian threats,” Gharibabadi wrote.
He drew attention to the published statistics about the scale and dimensions of the Zionist regime’s vicious crimes against civilians, especially women and children, in Gaza and Lebanon, wondering how such a major violator of human rights could remain in an international body that monitors, supports, and promotes the rights of women and girls.
More than 44,000 people have been killed and over 104,000 others injured in Gaza, and as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in its report on November 8, nearly 70% of the fatalities are women and children, and about 80% of the victims died during attacks on residential buildings and similar structures, Gharibabadi pointed out.
“The child-killing Zionist regime kills a child in Gaza every 10 minutes. More than 17,000 Palestinian children have been so far martyred as a result of this brutal massacre, and more than 255,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have lost their fathers or mothers.
“Furthermore, hundreds of babies have lost their lives shortly after birth due to the indiscriminate bombardment of residential areas, hospitals, schools, internally displaced persons (IDPs) tent camps, and destruction of healthcare facilities,” the Iranian diplomat said.
MNA/Press TV
High ‘five’! Australia all out for 104 as Jasprit Bumrah runs riot
India secures 46-run lead on a pitch that continues to offer plenty of bounce and sideways movement, making batting difficult with the new ball
Published Date – 23 November 2024, 10:45 AM
India’s captain Jasprit Bumrah and teammate Virat Kohli as they leave the field at the end of the first innings on the second day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Saturday. — Photo:AP
Perth: India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as Australia was bowled out for 104 in its first innings on the second day of the opening match of the five-test series on Saturday.
India secured a 46-run lead on a pitch that continues to offer plenty of bounce and sideways movement, making batting difficult with the new ball.
In the first four sessions of the game 20 wickets have fallen, 17 of them on the opening day. Australia was bowled out at the stroke of lunch Saturday after top scorer and fast bowler Mitchell Starc (26) skied paceman Harshit Rana (3-48) after a stubborn 25-run stand that lifted Australia from 79-9.
Starc and Hazlewood (6 not out) frustrated India for 90 minutes before Rana struck. Australia lost two quick wickets in Alex Carey (21) and Nathan Lyon (5) and was embarrassingly facing the prospects of being bowled out for its lowest total against its subcontinent opposition.
It was Bumrah’s 11th five-wicket haul in his 41st test match when he forced Carey to edge an outswinger to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Starc was hit on the helmet when he ducked into a Rana delivery and required attention from the medical and support staff under the concussion rule.
Starc and Rana are teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders in the T20 Indian Premier League, and Rana quickly apologized to Starc. Five overs after Carey fell, Lyon lobbed a catch to K.L. Rahul at third slip to give Rana his second wicket on his test debut.
After winning the toss and batting on the first day, India was dismissed for 150 following some strong middle order batting that lifted the tourist from 73-6 following a 48-run stand between Pant (37) and top scorer Nitesh Kumar Reddy (41) in his test debut. Hazlewood led the bowling attack with 4-29 while Starc, Mitchell Marsh and skipper Pat Cummins claimed two wickets each. Australia and India are one-two in the World Test Championship standings.
Air India, Singapore Airlines expand codeshare, adds 51 new destinations-Telangana Today
Starting October 27, Air India and Singapore Airlines will codeshare on flights between Singapore and Bengaluru, as well as Chennai, boosting their total weekly codeshare services between the two countries from 14 to 56.
Updated On – 23 October 2024, 06:09 PM
New Delhi: Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Wednesday announced to expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network.
From October 27, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other’s flights between Singapore and Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14.
SIA will codeshare on Air India’s domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati, they said in a statement.
“We are excited to offer our guests greater connectivity to destinations across South East Asia, the Far East, and Australasia. We also look forward to welcoming Singapore Airlines customers on board our flights within India as well as westward to multiple points across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East via our hubs in India,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.
Air India customers will be able to access 29 destinations across SIA’s network. These are Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney (Australia), Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia), Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya (Indonesia), Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo-Haneda, and Tokyo-Narita (Japan), Busan and Seoul (South Korea), Kuala Lumpur and Penang (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Cebu and Manila (the Philippines), as well as Danang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
This includes existing codeshare arrangements to Kuala Lumpur. SIA customers will also be able to connect to Air India’s international services from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai to 12 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
These are Copenhagen (Denmark), Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany), Milan (Italy), Nairobi (Kenya), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), as well as Birmingham, London-Gatwick, and London-Heathrow (the United Kingdom).
“It demonstrates our commitment to meeting the high demand for air travel between India and Singapore and beyond, and contributing to the growth of both aviation markets. Adding Air India’s domestic network to our codeshare arrangements will also offer our customers enhanced connectivity and convenience in India, which is a key market for the SIA Group,” said Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer, Singapore Airlines.
Both airlines plan to progressively include other destinations in their network to the codeshare arrangements. This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond.
"Torture": Court Raps UP Police For Detaining Pregnant Woman For 6 Hours
The court ordered that the woman be immediately released. (Representational)
Lucknow:
The Allahabad High Court has come down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Police for “unlawfully detaining” a pregnant woman accompanied by her two-year-old child for over six hours to record her statement in a kidnapping case filed by her family, terming it “abuse of authority” and “torture”.
It directed the police to pay Rs 1 lakh to the eight-month pregnant woman and instructed the state government to issue guidelines for police to handle cases involving women more carefully.
The woman’s family had lodged a complaint with the Agra Police, claiming she was kidnapped in August 2021 while on her way to appear for an exam. An FIR was lodged but investigation into the case did not see much progress. During the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman’s husband, their counsels Raghvendra P Singh and Mohd Sheraj refuted the kidnapping charge, saying she got married and has been living with her husband in Lucknow.
The petitioner’s counsels told the Lucknow Bench of the high court that Sub-Inspector Anurag Kumar of the Agra Police had taken the eight-month pregnant woman accompanied by her two-year-old child in custody on November 29 in Lucknow to record her statement in the kidnapping case.
They claimed the investigating officer neither brought the case diary nor checked the woman’s age before detaining her at the Chinahat Police Station in Lucknow for over six hours.
In its ruling, the bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi expressed grave concern over the violation of the woman’s rights and noted that the “investigating officer failed to apply his mind to the allegations in the FIR”.
“The manner in which police duties were carried out was far from the process of law and amounts to abuse of authority,” the bench remarked.
The bench ordered that the woman be immediately released, taken back to her home in Lucknow and handed over to her husband in the presence of her legal counsel.
It also directed the Uttar Pradesh Police chief to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the officer involved and submit a report to the court within three months.
The high court bench underlined that the woman, being in an advanced stage of pregnancy and accompanied by her child, should never have been subjected to police custody.
It sought an affidavit from the state within 10 days, outlining the steps taken to comply with the ruling and emphasised that this case should serve as a reminder to police authorities to act with greater sensitivity in matters involving women.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 11.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
