In response to Israel’s terrorist attack on Iran’s diplomatic premises in Damascus, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched extensive missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories.
This retaliatory attack has garnered widespread support, bolstering Iran’s image as a resolute nation committed to defending itself against aggression.
In a Monday message marking the National Army Day, Mousavi said great defensive measures of the country’s Army and Armed Forces have resulted in strong deterrent power.
Iran has conveyed its message of power to the world in a way that the world has realized that the Iranian Armed Forces will give a “stormy and unified” response to any aggression against the country’s national interests, borders, and security, he asserted.
The leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei noted that Iran’s firm response to an act of aggression by the usurping Israeli enemy against its diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital of Damascus brought joy to oppressed nations, especially the resilient people of Palestine and Gaza.
Mousavi emphasized that the retaliatory strikes, dubbed Operation True Promise, revealed only a part of the capacity and strong will of the Iranian Armed Forces and were carried out in cooperation among the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Division, the Army, and the Defense Ministry.
He said the Army has played a key role in strengthening the country’s defense power, independence, and lasting security by implementing various measures.
It has constructed strategic drone and underground tactical bases and made hundreds of modern defense achievements in the land, air, sea, and space sectors in addition to advancing in science and technology, he explained.
Now the enemies lack the courage to carry out any act of aggression against the Islamic establishment and the noble Iranian nation, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said.
He added that Iran has staged several joint military drills to enhance national security and dignity.
The Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus killed two generals of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, as well as five of their accompanying officers.
In response, on Saturday night, the IRGC targeted the Israeli-occupied territories with a barrage of drones and missiles. The extent of the damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories is yet to be specified.
Following the reprisal, Iran warned Israel against taking any retaliatory actions and also urged the US to try not to involve itself in the conflict and signaled that it viewed the matter as “concluded.”
SD/PressTV
It was a tough day to be a Royal Challengers Bengaluru fan on Monday. Facing SunRisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Faf du Plessis led side conceded 287 in 20 overs – the most in IPL’s history. Though Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, and Du Plessis played entertaining knocks, chasing 288 was always going to be a tough task. Ultimately, RCB fell short by 25 runs and slumped to their fifth straight loss in the IPL 2024. With every loss, RCB is going farther away from a playoff spot. The team is currently placed last among 10 teams.
RCB are one of the three teams apart from Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings which have been playing the IPL since 2008 but are yet to win the tournament.
On Monday, as RCB put up yet another hapless performance, Indian tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi penned a very heartfelt note on X.
“For the sake of the Sport, the IPL, the fans and even the players i think BCCI needs to enforce the Sale of RCB to a New owner who will care to build a sports franchise the way most of the other teams have done so. #tragic,” Mahesh Bhupathi posted on X.
For the sake of the Sport , the IPL, the fans and even the players i think BCCI needs to enforce the Sale of RCB to a New owner who will care to build a sports franchise the way most of the other teams have done so. #tragic
— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) April 15, 2024
Bhupathi’s comment comes days after former England cricket team captain Michael Vaughan commented on why RCB, as a team, has not been able to fire despite having some great stars in tis line-up.
“What I like about the fact the RCB have never won is it proves to me that team sport is not just about individuals. You can go and buy all the biggest individual names and put them into a team but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win and it’s been proven at the RCB,” he said on The Ranveer Show on YouTube.
“They’ve they’ve signed some incredible players – AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Faf – unbelievable players. But it tells you unless you get the whole team operating and every single play knowing the roles and identifying different roles for different people and it might be that you have to rejig your team slightly just to allow someone else to flourish in a different position I don’t see the RCB s doing that,” he added.
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Chelsea produced one of their strongest displays of the season to blow Everton away, with Palmer the star of the show.
Published Date – 16 April 2024, 10:17 AM
London: Four goals from Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson’s strike and a first goal in Blue from Alfie Gilchrist helped Chelsea record a dominant 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea produced one of their strongest displays of the season to blow Everton away, with Palmer the star of the show. The England international’s four-goal haul included a perfect, first-half hat-trick and took him to 20 in the league this season.
Palmer’s treble was struck before the game had reached the 30-minute mark. Jackson then added our fourth before the interval, he found the bottom corner after a sublime touch and finish.
Palmer got his fourth of the night from the penalty spot after the break, Noni Madueke fouled inside the box, and a fine late strike Gilchrist completed a perfect night.
“Good morning, Mr Trump.”
The innocuous greeting from a New York judge belied the grim expression on Donald Trump’s face as he sat flanked by his lawyers in the Manhattan Criminal Courts Monday.
While his legal team tussled with the prosecution over what evidence could be admitted, the first former US president to face a criminal trial appeared to listen intently and — barring a few words spoken in response to Judge Juan Merchan — silently.
The case, which could prove enormously consequential for both Trump and the country, is being heard in courtroom 1530 inside an imposing, scaffolding-clad Art Deco courthouse on New York City’s Centre Street.
Trump wore his signature red tie with a white shirt and dark blue suit and a US flag lapel pin as Merchan declared the trial open.
The 45th president fixed the magistrate with a defiant look, having accused him of being “corrupt” on his Truth Social platform after Merchan declined repeated calls from the defense to recuse himself.
“We want justice to be done, that’s all we want,” said the judge.
The case is scheduled to last up to two months and centers on payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels as Trump closed in on his 2016 election win.
Trump did not disrupt proceedings, which were largely technical, as he has done in other cases.
That includes his civil fraud trial, heard in a nearby courthouse, that resulted in a $355 million civil penalty that he is appealing.
Time may be against Trump, who is campaigning to dislodge President Joe Biden from the White House at November polls, as jury selection alone could take up to two weeks.
More than 100 prospective jurors will be present in court at any one time from a pool of 500.
Trump regularly conferred with the lawyers seated either side of him, shaking his head irritably when prosecutors made comments with which he disagreed.
“It’s true,” he muttered at one point in response to an audio tape of him boasting about how well he treats women.
However, he did not react when the now-infamous clip of him describing grabbing women by their genitals was played by prosecutors.
According to The New York Times reporter sitting close to Trump, he at times appeared to fall asleep, head drooping.
But before sitting down and crossing his hands at a brown wooden table where his lawyers spread out their files, the presumptive Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election set the tone for the trial.
This is an “assault on America” and “political persecution,” railed the 77-year-old billionaire who could face prison if convicted.
“It’s a country that’s failing, it’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man and is very much involved in this case,” Trump said. “This is really an attack on a political opponent, that is all it is, so I’m very honored to be here.”
Moments later, five photographers were ushered in to capture the unprecedented scene — a former president seated at the defendant’s table.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said now many governments are reaching out to India.
New Delhi:
Germany is observing with admiration the world’s biggest elections starting in India on April 19, and no matter who wins “more of India” will be seen on the international stage., the country’s Ambassador Philipp Ackermann has said.
Addressing a gathering at an event hosted by a leading private university here on Monday, he also said the Indian Presidency of the G20 “gave us a little taste of that”.
In his speech, he talked about the Iran-Israel conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war and many other ongoing or unresolved issues around the world.
“In the midst of this very, very difficult situation, I can’t remember the world being in such a difficult times than (it is) now. We see from Europe, from European Union’s perspective, clearly how much India is rising. We observe with admiration the world’s biggest election that is starting on Friday. This is quite an exercise, this is a festival of democracy,” Mr Ackermann said.
The envoy said “no matter what happens in these elections, no matter who will be winning this election, I think we will see more of India on the international stage”.
“The G20 Presidency gave us a little taste of that. India claims a seat at the big table, and we, Germans and Europeans, think rightfully so. Whether it’s the UNSC or elsewhere, India is, and has to become more visible and recognised,” he added.
India’s yearlong presidency of the influential bloc had begun on December 1, 2022, leading up to the G20 Summit last September where the New Delhi Declaration was announced.
“The New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Summit held on September 9-10 brought the deliberations under our G20 Presidency to a successful culmination. With G20 including all P5 countries, and accounting for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of world trade and two-thirds of world population, it was the highest profile international gathering in the history of independent India,” reads a synopsis on G20 Indian Presidency website.
The theme — ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, drawing upon its age-old belief of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — was endorsed by all. “With over 200 meetings in 60 Indian cities in all our 28 states and 8 UTs, across 40 different mechanisms including Sherpa and Finance Track Working Groups, as well as Engagement Groups, the size, scale and scope of India’s G20 Presidency was unprecedented,” it says.
The German ambassador said it is a role “India deserves”, like no other country. “But it is a role, one should not forget that comes with high hopes also. More than ever, India will be assessed by many. Not only the countries of the so-called ‘Global South’, but its international appearance and policies will be vetted,” Mr Ackermann said.
And now many governments are reaching out to India, including the German government, “as we expect India to play a bigger role in international politics”, he said.
“But, you should not forget, it is a difficult undertaking, the job is not easy, and hopes and expectations are different. Let’s say Russian expectations from India are different from US expectations of India. How will India manage to find its way in this new sort of role,” the envoy said.
The event was hosted by the OP Jindal Global University and the envoy delivered his address on ‘India-Europe Partnership in a Multipolar World’.
“It is in India’s interests to develop a strong and solid partnership with Europe, including with Germany. I think, we are very much on the way… Both India and Europe have a profound interest to maintain the international rules-based order,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The heartwarming gesture has come to the fore from Malpore village in Sopore, 55 kilometre from Srinagar, where the local mosque committee started collecting donations both in cash and in kind.
Published Date – 16 April 2024, 09:35 AM
Sopore: An egg donated to raise money for the construction of a mosque in this apple town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district has helped raise Rs 2.26 lakh in an auction, the committee managing the religious place has said.
The heartwarming gesture has come to the fore from Malpore village in Sopore, 55 kilometre from Srinagar, where the local mosque committee started collecting donations both in cash and in kind.
An elderly woman, who has requested anonymity, said she donated a freshly laid egg by her chicken. All donations made in kind were put up for auction and the egg turned out to be the most sought after.
A local resident said people bid on the egg for three days and after every round, the successful bidder paid the amount they bid and then returned the egg to the committee as a donation to raise more money.
On the final day of the auction, a young businessman named Danish Ahmad bought the egg for a whopping Rs 70,000. Ahmad, who hails from the neighbouring Warpora area, said, “We are very eager to complete the construction of this mosque at the earliest. As the mosque is planned to be big, the funds needed are also rather large.”
“I am not a rich man but it was just my passion and emotion towards the sacred space…,” he added.
According to Ahmad, after several rounds of auction, the cumulative funds raised by bidders for the egg was a staggering Rs 2,26,350.
Tensions have surged even higher with Iran’s first direct assault on Israel
Israel has vowed a response to Iran’s unprecedented attack against the country – prompting appeals for de-escalation by world leaders fearing wider conflict in the Middle East.
Israel is facing pressure from allies to show restraint and avoid an escalation of regional conflict as it considered how to respond to Iran’s barrage.
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said they were concerned about Israel possibly targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. “We are always concerned about this possibility,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Tensions have surged even higher with Iran’s first direct assault on Israel, in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus earlier this month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his war cabinet late last evening to discuss possible reactions as the country’s military chief of staff said the country would respond to the Iranian attack.
Following the Iranian attack, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday, where Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the region was “on the brink” of war and called for a defusing of tensions.
The US officials, who helped thwart the strike, have urged caution on Israel after Iran’s attack. US President Joe Biden has also told Netanyahu that Washington would not offer military support for any retaliation against Iran, a White House officials told local media.
India said that the escalating tensions in the region must be resolved through “dialogue & diplomacy”. “We call for immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday, nearly all of which, the Israeli army said, were intercepted.
Tehran said it considered the matter “concluded” unless Israel chose to commit “another mistake”. “However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said.
The Israel-Iran tensions have heightened concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war is spreading further in the region. Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
The victim Mohd Khaleel alias Gannu, was waylaid and attacked with sharp edged weapons at Bahadurpura.
Published Date – 16 April 2024, 09:44 AM
Hyderabad: A 25-year-old-man was stabbed to death by unknown assailants at Bahadurpura on Monday night.
The victim Mohd Khaleel alias Gannu, was waylaid and attacked with sharp edged weapons at Bahadurpura.
Khaleel sustained severe bleeding wounds and was rushed to a hospital by local people where doctors pronounced him dead.
DCP (south) P Sai Chaitanya said the man might have been stabbed due to personal rivalry and efforts are on to identify and arrest the assailants. A case is registered .
Bagheri Kani made the remarks while speaking at a live televised interview on Monday night.
“The Zionists made a strategic mistake in the Damascus crime,” he said, adding that the Zionists’ attack on the Iranian diplomatic annex in Damascus on April 1 provided legitimacy for a serious test of the military and defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
If the Zionists are rational, they should not repeat this strategic mistake, because if they repeat another mistake, they will receive a harder, faster, and more immediate blow, he added.
“They [Zionists] should know that they will not have a 12-day-long timespace,” the official noted, adding, “The response that they are going to receive [this time around] cannot be measured by [such time standards as] days or hours, but [will come in a matter of] seconds.”
When the Islamic Republic of Iran decided to give a lesson to the Zionists in order to protect its interests and national security, it had a plan for their next mischief as well, the senior Iranian diplomat continued.
He went on to say that the Zionists should know that if their mistake concerning the Iranian consulate warrants such a crushing retaliation, then their likely malign intentions against the Iranian soil would principally entail a much more vehement response.
In response to the Israeli terrorist attack on Iran’s consulate building in Syria on April 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked targets in occupied Palestine with dozens of drones and missiles early on Sunday.
The Israeli regime attacked Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1. The Israeli aggression led to the destruction of the entire building and the martyrdom and injury of the entire people inside it.
Seven of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military advisors were martyred following the Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.
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