AAP defeats BJP in Gujarat, Congress clinches Kerala seat in high-stakes bypolls

Palestinian authorities in Gaza have released alarming figures on the starving civilians killed by Israeli live fire while waiting in line for humanitarian aid.

The Palestinian authorities condemned the regime forces’ ongoing attacks on Palestinians seeking aid across the territory.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said approximately 580 Palestinians have been killed and over 4200 others injured as a result of Israeli attacks on civilians seeking aid.

It held Israel and its allies, particularly the US, the UK, France, and Germany, legally and morally responsible for supporting the systematic extermination of civilians in Gaza.

The office also urged the international community to pressure Israel to open Gaza’s crossings, lift its blockade, and allow the immediate entry of humanitarian aid before it is too late.

The new revelation came after Israeli media reported that soldiers have deliberately shot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after being “ordered” to do so by their commanders.

UN agencies have also condemned the so-called US-Israeli food distribution system in Gaza, calling it a death trap.

Researchers have found that almost 100,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

The figure was published in a new study led by University of London economist Professor Michael Spagat and Palestinian political scientist Khalil Shikaki, who surveyed 2,000 households in the besieged Gaza, comprising almost 10,000 people.

The researchers concluded that, as of January 2025, some 75,200 people died a violent death in Gaza during the Israeli aggression, the vast majority caused by Israeli munitions, along with 8,540 killed via a non-violent death.

Since January, more than 10,000 people have also been reported killed by the Gaza Health Ministry, bringing the combined fatality count to nearly 100,000.

The new death toll shows that the Gaza Health Ministry understates the true scale of the crisis caused by the Israeli aggression, compounded by hunger, disease, and gunfire at food distribution centers

Hyderabad, July 30: At least six workers were feared killed and 20 others injured in a massive reactor blast at an industrial unit at Pashamailaram near Hyderabad on Monday.

The incident occurred at a chemical factory in the industrial area in Sangareddy district around 9 a.m.

The explosion triggered a huge fire, which engulfed the premises of Sigachi Chemicals. Firefighters rushed to the spot to douse the fire. Eleven fire engines were pressed into service to control the fire.

Police, fire services and other personnel launched rescue and relief operations. Ambulances were also seen at the spot to shift the injured to hospitals.

The injured were admitted to government and private hospitals. The condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical.

Six of the workers were feared killed on the spot while an injured worker reportedly succumbed at a hospital. Officials have not yet confirmed deaths.

According to eye-witnesses, such was the impact of the explosion that workers were tossed in the air and fell several meters away. The manufacturing unit in the factory collapsed under the impact of the blast, while fire spread to the adjoining building within the factory premises.

Several workers were working near the reactor when it exploded. Migrant workers from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and other states were employed in the industrial unit.

The explosion and fire sent panic among the employees in the chemical unit and the adjoining factories. They ran out of the premises.

The rescue workers were also using earthmovers to remove the debris of the demolished structure, as there are apprehensions that some workers may be trapped under it.

Sangareddy District Collector P. Pravinya and Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj also rushed to the spot and were supervising rescue and relief operations.

Personnel from various industrial units and staff of different departments also joined the rescue operation.

New Delhi, July 10: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save an Indian nurse, who is likely to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for murder charges.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for hearing on July 14 after advocate Subhash Chandran KR said diplomatic channels need to be explored at the earliest.

He submitted that payment of blood money to the family of the deceased permissible under Sharia law can be explored.

The family of the deceased may pardon the Kerala nurse if blood money is paid, he submitted.

The bench asked the counsel to serve the copy of the petition to the Attorney General and sought his assistance.

Nimisha Priya, 38, a nurse from Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. 

She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen.

The plea has been filed by an organisation "Save Nimisha Priya - International Action Council" which extends legal support to assist Nimishapriya.

The plea cited a media report that stated that the tentative date for execution of Nimishapriya has been fixed as July 16 by the Yemeni administration.