Middle East

Israeli attacks kill over 200 Palestinians in Gaza in last 24 hours: Health ministry

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The Palestinian health ministry says the Israeli regime’s warplanes and artillery keep pounding the blockaded territory, killing more than 200 civilians over the past 24 hours. 

Israeli forces carried out 15 attacks and killed at least 207 Palestinians in the past 24 hours in Gaza, the ministry said while adding that 338 people were also wounded. 

Several were killed in a bombardment of a residential building in the city of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

The Israeli military also carried out a missile strike on Rafah in the south and shelled the Jabalia refugee camp in the north.

The regime has intensified its attacks in and around refugee camps, including Nuseirat, al-Maghazi and al-Bureij.

Residents said heavy fighting was also raging in central areas, citing shelling by Israeli tanks of parts of the Al-Bureij refugee camp.

Health officials in Gaza say Israeli forces have dropped more than a dozen bombs across Gaza in the past day.

Israel said on Tuesday its troops had killed dozens of Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip, while its aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in the south of the besieged territory.

About 22, 200 Palestinians have been killed since the US-Israeli genocide began in early October. At least 57,000 have been wounded.

Additionally, more than 320 Palestinians have also been killed across the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Education has confirmed that 4,156 students had been killed in Israel’s ongoing aggression on Gaza. At least 381 schools have also been bombed or damaged, the ministry added.

 According to UN figures, almost 85 percent of the Gaza population has been displaced.

Israeli bombardments have reduced much of the territory to rubble and engulfed its 2.3 million residents in a humanitarian disaster.

Field executions of Palestinians ‘the act of gangs’: Ministry

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry In a statement has condemned the Israeli field executions of Palestinians as “the act of gangs”.

“The behavior of the [Israeli] occupation soldiers reflects the nature of instructions and facilities by the Israeli political and military levels to shoot at Palestinians, commit massacres and mass murder by bombing and starvation in the Gaza Strip for the 88th consecutive day,” the ministry said.

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.

The ministry also condemned the “kidnapping” of an infant Palestinian girl by an Israeli soldier in Gaza.

“The kidnapping of the infant girl from the Gaza Strip is evidence that the occupation army is committing the most heinous crimes against civilians without oversight or accountability,” it said in a statement. “The Ministry calls on the occupation authorities to immediately hand over the infant to the Palestinian National Authority.”

Despite global demands for a ceasefire, the Israeli military says the onslaught is expected to continue throughout the year.

The Israeli military said earlier that it was withdrawing thousands of forces from the Gaza Strip, in the first significant troop pullback since the devastating war began nearly three months ago.

An Israeli general recently warned that the regime has failed to meet its “unrealistic” task of “destroying Hamas” and is sinking into the “mud of Gaza.”

In an opinion piece run by the Ma’ariv newspaper, Yitzhak Barik said on Monday that Israel is caught in a “vicious circle” and slammed the regime for ignoring the “facts on the ground” and “living in a simulated reality.”

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What Happens To "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius On His Release From Jail?

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What Happens To 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius On His Release From Jail?

Oscar Pistorius will have to continue therapy sessions on anger management as part of conditions.

Johannesburg:

Former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison on Friday after he was granted parole nearly 11 years after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Here is a look at what will happen to Pistorius after his release under South Africa’s so-called restorative justice programme.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PISTORIUS AFTER HIS RELEASE?

Pistorius – known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs – became eligible for parole in March 2023 after he had served half of his 13 years and five months sentence for murder.

He was granted parole on Nov. 24, to take effect on Jan. 5.

South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said in November that Pistorius will complete the remainder of his sentence in the country’s community corrections system.

He will be under the supervision of the DCS and will be subjected to parole conditions until his sentence expires in December 2029.

He will be assigned a monitoring official, who will have to be kept informed when Pistorius is seeking job opportunities or moving homes.

As part of the conditions, Pistorius will also have to attend programmes on gender-based violence and continue therapy sessions on anger management, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family said shortly after he was granted parole.

He is expected to live in Pretoria.

WHAT WAS CONSIDERED FOR HIS EARLY RELEASE?

Several factors are typically taken into account by a parole board, including the nature of the crime, the possibility of reoffending, conduct in prison, physical and mental wellbeing and potential threats a prisoner may face if released.

Prior to his parole, Pistorius also participated in the restorative justice programme – a system introduced after the end of apartheid to deal with apartheid-era crimes in a more participative and reconciliatory way.

It is based partly on how indigenous cultures handled crime long before Europeans colonised South Africa, with the aim of bringing affected parties in a crime together to find closure, rather than merely punishing perpetrators.

An integral part of the restorative justice programme is a victim-offender dialogue that brings parties affected by a crime together to try to achieve closure. Participation is voluntary.

Pistorius was moved to a prison closer to where the Steenkamp family stayed in late 2021, ahead of reconciliation talks aimed at a potential early release from prison.

He and the late Barry Steenkamp – Reeva’s father – participated in the victim-offender dialogue on June 22, 2022.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION TO HIS EARLY RELEASE?

The Steenkamp’s family lawyer said in November that they were not surprised by the parole decision, issued after Pistorius had completed a set portion of his sentence.

In the run-up to the parole hearing, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June released a statement saying she was not convinced Pistorius had been rehabilitated. However, she said she had no objections to his release.

After Pistorius was granted parole, June Steenkamp lauded the parole board’s efforts in involving the victims.

Pistorius’ lawyer and family did not comment.

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

Top News

Put Break-Up Of Caste Survey In Public Domain: Supreme Court Tells Bihar

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Put Break-Up Of Caste Survey In Public Domain: Supreme Court Tells Bihar

Nitish Kumar government released the findings of caste survey in October 2023

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Bihar government to put in the public domain the break-up of the caste survey data to enable those aggrieved to challenge the findings.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to grant any interim relief to the petitioners who have challenged the caste survey and the Patna High Court order upholding the Bihar government’s decision to conduct such an exercise.

“There is no question of interim relief as they (the government) have a high court order in their favour. Now that the data has been put in public domain, there are two-three aspects which remain. First is the legal issue-correctness of the high court judgement and legality of such an exercise,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, appearing for the petitioners, said since the survey data is out, the authorities have started implementing it in the interim and raised the reservation for SCs, STs, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to a total of 75 per cent from the existing 50 per cent.

The bench said this issue needs to be heard at length.

“As far as increasing the reservation is concerned, you have to challenge it before the high court,” the bench told Ramachandaran, who said it has already been contested before the high court.

Ramachandaran said the issue is important, and since the state government is acting upon the data, the matter be listed next week so that the petitioners can argue for interim relief.

“What interim relief? They (the Bihar government) have a high court judgement in their favour,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the Bihar government, said the data, including the break-up, has been put in the public domain and anyone can see it on the designated website.

Justice Khanna said, “What I am more worried about is the availability of break-up of data. To what extent the government can withhold the data. You see, the entire break-up of data should be in the public domain so that anyone can challenge the inference drawn from it. Unless it is in the public domain, they can’t challenge it.”

The BJP, the main opposition party in Bihar, has accused the Nitish Kumar government of irregularities in conducting the caste survey and called the data collected “fake”.

The bench then asked Divan to file a report on the caste survey and posted the matter for further hearing on February 5.

On October 6, 2023, the top court had questioned the Bihar government as to why it published its caste survey data. It had, however, refused to restrain the state government from making public further data, and said it may examine if the state has the power to conduct such an exercise.

It had issued a formal notice on a batch of pleas challenging the August 1, 2023 order of the Patna High Court that gave the go-ahead for the caste survey in Bihar.

It rejected the petitioners’ contention that the state government has already published some data preempting a stay. They had sought a complete stay on further publication of data.

On October 2, 2023, the Nitish Kumar government had released the findings of the caste survey, a move its detractors claimed was made keeping in mind the 2024 Parliamentary elections.

The data revealed that the OBCs and EBCs constituted a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s population.

According to the data released, the state’s total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13 per cent.

The survey also said the Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, were the largest caste in terms of population, accounting for 14.27 per cent of the total.

Dalits accounted for 19.65 per cent of the total population in the state, which is also home to nearly 22 lakh (1.68 per cent) people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

On August 7, 2023, the top court had refused to stay the high court’s order giving the go-ahead for the caste survey.

Besides a plea by NGO ‘Ek Soch Ek Paryas’, several other petitions have been filed, including one by Nalanda-resident Akhilesh Kumar, who has contended that the notification issued by the state government for the exercise is against the constitutional mandate.

Kumar’s petition says, according to the constitutional mandate, only the Union government is empowered to conduct a census.

The high court had said in its 101-page verdict, “We find the action of the state to be perfectly valid, initiated with due competence with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice.” 

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

World

Exports from Iran’s Isfahan top $1 billion in 9 months

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Rasoul Kouhestani Pajouh put the exact volume of products exported from Isfahan province between March 21 and December 22, 2023 at 1.750 million tons, showing no noticeable change compared to the same period last year.

Cast iron and steel products, valued at $474 million, were exported from the province in this period, showing a two percent hike compared to last year’s corresponding period, he said.

Some $209 million worth of petrochemical and oil products were exported from the province between March 21 and December 22, 2023, showing a 21 percent growth compared to the same period last year, he maintained, Mehr News Agency reported. 

In that period, some $278 million worth of products were exported from this province to neighboring Iraq, he stated. 

 There were also exports to Pakistan ($256 million), Afghanistan ($99 million), Turkey ($86 million) and the United Arab Emirates ($71 million) respectively, the director general added.

SD/TSN

Top News

Put Break-Up Of Caste Survey In Public Domain: Supreme Court Tells Bihar

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Put Break-Up Of Caste Survey In Public Domain: Supreme Court Tells Bihar

Nitish Kumar government released the findings of caste survey in October 2023

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Bihar government to put in the public domain the break-up of the caste survey data to enable those aggrieved to challenge the findings.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to grant any interim relief to the petitioners who have challenged the caste survey and the Patna High Court order upholding the Bihar government’s decision to conduct such an exercise.

“There is no question of interim relief as they (the government) have a high court order in their favour. Now that the data has been put in public domain, there are two-three aspects which remain. First is the legal issue-correctness of the high court judgement and legality of such an exercise,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandaran, appearing for the petitioners, said since the survey data is out, the authorities have started implementing it in the interim and raised the reservation for SCs, STs, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to a total of 75 per cent from the existing 50 per cent.

The bench said this issue needs to be heard at length.

“As far as increasing the reservation is concerned, you have to challenge it before the high court,” the bench told Ramachandaran, who said it has already been contested before the high court.

Ramachandaran said the issue is important, and since the state government is acting upon the data, the matter be listed next week so that the petitioners can argue for interim relief.

“What interim relief? They (the Bihar government) have a high court judgement in their favour,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the Bihar government, said the data, including the break-up, has been put in the public domain and anyone can see it on the designated website.

Justice Khanna said, “What I am more worried about is the availability of break-up of data. To what extent the government can withhold the data. You see, the entire break-up of data should be in the public domain so that anyone can challenge the inference drawn from it. Unless it is in the public domain, they can’t challenge it.”

The BJP, the main opposition party in Bihar, has accused the Nitish Kumar government of irregularities in conducting the caste survey and called the data collected “fake”.

The bench then asked Divan to file a report on the caste survey and posted the matter for further hearing on February 5.

On October 6, 2023, the top court had questioned the Bihar government as to why it published its caste survey data. It had, however, refused to restrain the state government from making public further data, and said it may examine if the state has the power to conduct such an exercise.

It had issued a formal notice on a batch of pleas challenging the August 1, 2023 order of the Patna High Court that gave the go-ahead for the caste survey in Bihar.

It rejected the petitioners’ contention that the state government has already published some data preempting a stay. They had sought a complete stay on further publication of data.

On October 2, 2023, the Nitish Kumar government had released the findings of the caste survey, a move its detractors claimed was made keeping in mind the 2024 Parliamentary elections.

The data revealed that the OBCs and EBCs constituted a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s population.

According to the data released, the state’s total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13 per cent.

The survey also said the Yadavs, the OBC group to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs, were the largest caste in terms of population, accounting for 14.27 per cent of the total.

Dalits accounted for 19.65 per cent of the total population in the state, which is also home to nearly 22 lakh (1.68 per cent) people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

On August 7, 2023, the top court had refused to stay the high court’s order giving the go-ahead for the caste survey.

Besides a plea by NGO ‘Ek Soch Ek Paryas’, several other petitions have been filed, including one by Nalanda-resident Akhilesh Kumar, who has contended that the notification issued by the state government for the exercise is against the constitutional mandate.

Kumar’s petition says, according to the constitutional mandate, only the Union government is empowered to conduct a census.

The high court had said in its 101-page verdict, “We find the action of the state to be perfectly valid, initiated with due competence with the legitimate aim of providing development with justice.” 

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

Hyderabad

CM Revanth Reddy confirms realigned Airport Metro connectivity via Old City

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Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said the route would be taken up from MGBS via Old City and from LB Nagar, covering the five kilometre gap from Nagole to LB Nagar Metro stations instead of the Raidurg to Shamshabad Airport plan proposed by the past government

Updated On – 07:59 PM, Tue – 2 January 24


CM Revanth Reddy confirms realigned Airport Metro connectivity via Old City

File Photo

Hyderabad: Assuring that Hyderabad Metro Rail connectivity to the Airport would be made possible but with a change in alignment, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday said the route would be taken up from MGBS via Old City and from LB Nagar, covering the five kilometre gap from Nagole to LB Nagar Metro stations instead of the Raidurg to Shamshabad Airport plan proposed by the past government. Instructions were issued to Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) to expedite the traffic studies and to prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for the revised Airport Metro alignment via Old City and from LB Nagar.

The Chief Minister also wanted HMRL Managing Director NVS Reddy to examine the feasibility of laying ‘At Grade’ (road level) a part of the Metro from Laxmiguda – Jalpally – Mamidipally stretch in the new alignment. Already, a 40 feet wide central median without any obstructions was ready on the stretch, he said, adding that this would reduce the cost of construction.

MAUD Principal Secretary M Dana Kishore and Chief Minister’s Office Principal Secretary V Seshadri were directed to identify large extents of government land available along this stretch to undertake Transit Oriented Development. This would aid in contributing a part of funding for the Airport Metro project, besides encouraging development of the Old City. “The new alignment will cut short the distance and aid in saving in cost, apart from catering to several parts of the city,” Revanth Reddy said while reviewing the HMRL’s Metro Phase-II proposals at the Secretariat on Tuesday. After a detailed presentation by the HMRL MD, the Chief Minister instructed that Metro expansion proposals should cater to major parts of the city and serve maximum commuters.

Metro

Regarding the HMRL proposals to widen the road from Darulshifa Junction to Shalibanda Junction for the Old City Metro, the Chief Minister asked officials to study the feasibility of widening the road from Darulshifa Junction up to Falaknuma Junction to 100 feet in consultation with public representatives of Old City. “This will open up the Old City for rapid development on par with other parts of the city. However, during road widening and Metro Rail planning, none of the 103 religious, heritage and other sensitive structures identified in Old city should be impacted,” Revanth Reddy said, assuring that if required, he would personally inspect and involve public representatives from the Old City in this regard.

The Chief Minister also directed HMRL officials to prepare plans for extending the existing five Metro corridors to nearby destinations to facilitate growth of the city in all directions.

The HMRL MD and HMDA Commissioner were instructed to prepare these plans at the earliest and to draft a letter from him to union Minister of Urban Development and Housing Hardeep Singh Puri in the next few days. They were also directed to incorporate the Metro Rail in the River Musi front East-West corridor from Taramatipet to Narsingi via Nagole and MGBS (40 km). Senior officers present in the meeting were also instructed to prepare a comprehensive Master plan to cater to the fast growing needs of Hyderabad and growth hubs along the ORR. “Metro Rail connectivity from Airport area to Kandukur on Srisailam Highway should also be planned. A mega township can be created on the lands already acquired for the Pharma City,” Revanth Reddy said, stressing that the Metro Phase-III plans should cover expansion from JBS Metro station to Shameerpet and from Paradise Metro station to Kandlakoya or Medchal.

Proposed existing Metro route extensions

– Miyapur-Chandanagar-BHEL-Patancheruvu (14 km)

– MGBS-Falaknuma-Chandrayanagutta-Mailardevpalli-P7 Road-Airport (23 km)

– Nagole –LBNagar -Owaisi Hospital – Chandrayanagutta – Mailardevepalli- Aramgarh-New High Court site at Rajendranagar on NH (adjacent to Agricultural University main gate) (19 km)

– From Raidurg station to Financial District (Wipro lake Jn/American consulate) via Biodiversity Jn, IIIT Jn and ISB road (12 km)

– LB Nagar-Vansathalipuram-Hayatnagar (8 km)

India

Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dunki’ touches Rs 400 crore mark at global box office

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Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the comedy drama opened to mixed reviews upon its release on December 21

Published Date – 07:27 PM, Tue – 2 January 24


Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dunki’ touches Rs 400 crore mark at global box office


Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Dunki” has crossed Rs 400 crore mark in gross worldwide collection, the makers said on Tuesday.

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the comedy drama opened to mixed reviews upon its release on December 21.

Red Chillies Entertainment, one of the production houses behind “Dunki”, shared the the movie has grossed Rs 400.40 crore in globally.

“Our Banda and his ullu de patthe are reaching new heights at the Box Office with your endless love,” the production banner posted on Instagram.

“Dunki”, based on an illegal immigration technique ‘donkey flight’, also stars Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover.

The film is also presented by JIO Studios and Rajkumar Hirani Films.

Top News

Every Praja Palana application will be computerised: Minister Ponguleti

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Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy participated in Praja Palana programme at Mangalagudem of Khammam Rural mandal and Tirumalayapalem mandal headquarters in Palair Assembly constituency

Published Date – 07:41 PM, Tue – 2 January 24


Every Praja Palana application will be computerised: Minister Ponguleti

Minister P Srinivas Reddy speaking to applicants at Praja Palana programme in Khammam on Tuesday.

Khammam: Every application submitted by the public in the Praja Palana programme would be computerised, said Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.The State government would fulfill all the wishes of Telangana people. The government has been organising the Praja Palana programme without any problems for the people. The government welfare schemes would be taken to the doorsteps of the public and priority would be given to the poor, the minister said.

Srinivas Reddy participated in Praja Palana programme at Mangalagudem of Khammam Rural mandal and Tirumalayapalem mandal headquarters in Palair Assembly constituency on Tuesday. He also inspected the Maddulapalli market yard.

Addressing the gatherings, he said the Congress government was committed to implement all the six guarantees given to the people within 100 days. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the ministers were working hard to work with sincerity in that direction, he said. Speaking to the media after visiting Maddulapalli market yard and holding a review meeting on the market yard, Srinivas Reddy stated that the market construction was started by the previous government and investigation would be conducted into the irregularities that took place in the market construction.

He said steps would be taken to provide house sites to journalists in the State. The minister, who spotted an accident while returning from the Praja Palana programme, spoke to the injured persons and sent them to hospital in an ambulance with the help of police personnel.

Hyderabad

Watch: Three Hyderabadis die in freak accident on NH 16 in West Godavari

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Those who died in the accident were residents of Hyderabad and were returing home after celebrating the new year in Visakhapatnam

Published Date – 07:42 PM, Tue – 2 January 24


Watch: Three Hyderabadis die in freak accident on NH 16 in West Godavari


Hyderabad: Three persons including a child aged around 17 months died and seven others sustained grievous injuries when two cars collided in a freak accident on the National Highway 16 near Bandapuram village in Devarapally mandal of West Godavari district on Tuesday afternoon, reports reaching here said. Those who died in the accident were residents of Hyderabad and were returing home after celebrating the new year in Visakhapatnam, police said.

The victims were on their way from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad in a car and the second car, an Ertiga, was going in the opposite direction towards Rajahmundry from Vijayawada. Reports said one of the tyres of the Ertiga blew up and the car jumped over the road divider and rammed into the other car on its way to Hyderabad. Two persons Divya Priya (25) and Rama Devi (50) died on the spot and an infant aged around 17 months died while being treated at a local hospital in Deverapally. Seven persons in both the cars sustained serious injuries. In all there were seven persons in car and four in the other. Police investigation is on.

World

Iran powerful position lays ground for expanding coop.

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Speaking in the meeting with six newly appointed Iranian ambassadors on Tuesday, Ebrahim Raeisi considered the powerful position of Iran as laying suitable ground for expanding relations and cooperation with other countries and regional and international organizations, advising Iran representatives and ambassadors to take advantage of Iran’s status in the best possible way.

The Iranian president stressed the capacities and suitable fields available for developing cooperation with many countries of the world and the desire of those countries to improve the level of relations with Iran.

He asked the new ambassadors in line with the policy of the government to focus on developing interactions with Islamic countries and use all the potential to strengthen relations with the destination countries.

The president asked the ambassadors to intensify their efforts to examine the fields of cooperation for strengthening relations and sharing mutual achievements between Iran and the destination countries and follow up on the agreements’ implementation seriously. 

In the meeting, the ambassadors of Iran in South Africa, Oman, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, Thailand, Belgium and Brunei explained the potentials of the country and the plans and goals of their mission.

SD/5983454