‘Saudi Arabia open to quickly making investments in Iran’

Damascus, Mar 22: An Israeli airstrike early Wednesday targeted the international airport of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, causing material damage in the second attack on the facility this month, state media report.

State news agency SANA, quoting an unnamed military official, did not mention if the strike caused any deaths or injuries. It said warplanes fired the missiles toward Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once commercial centre, while flying over the Mediterranean.

The airport has been one of the main channels for the flow of aid into the country after the February 6 earthquake hit Turkiye and Syria, killing over 50,000 people, including more than 6,000 in Syria.

On March 7, an Israeli airstrike put the airport out of service for several days and flights were rerouted to two other airports in the war-torn country until the damage was fixed.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces.

Israel has targeted airports and seaports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Amidst the rise in concerns over the cardiac health of youth in the country, a wrestler in Pune died due to a heart attack in his talim (traditional wrestling and associated gyms) in Pune. He died after working out in Marunji's Mamasaheb Mohal Kusti Sankul on Wednesday, March 8, in the early hours. 

As per the report, the name of the wrestler is Swapnil Padale (31). He was taken to hospital after he collapsed in the gym. However, he was declared dead by the doctors. He was a renowned name in the wrestling circle in Pune and recently was awarded the 'Maharashtra Campion'.

Pune is becoming a rising hub for wrestlers in Maharashtra after Kolhapur. Wrestling enthusiasts from the state join several Talims in the city. The wrestling industry is morning the death of the young wrestler. 

This is not the first case of a heart attack in the recent past. Several videos of youth collapsing and dying due to heart attacks are doing rounds on social media. Last week former Miss Universe and actor Sushmita Sen shared her health status on Thursday in an Instagram post informing her fans about a heart attack she suffered a few days ago.

Since Covid, the cases of heart attack are increasing rapidly. Along with the elderly, there has also been an increase in cases of heart attack and sudden cardiac death among the youth, said doctors at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

Dr Tarun Kumar, Professor, Department of Cardiology, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi, said, "Many cases of sudden cardiac death have been seen, in which many cases of sudden fainting or heart attack while doing gym have come to the fore. Many such videos have also come to the fore, in which people suddenly fell and died while dancing or walking. Such cases are heart attack patients only, in which there are cases of sudden cardiac death. The cause of sudden cardiac death is heart attack only." 

The doctor also highlighted that earlier heart attack was mostly seen in people of 60 years of age, but now cases of heart attack are also coming in the youth of 20 to 30 years of age and the important reason behind this can be your bad lifestyle, unhealthy food, smoking and consumption of alcohol etc.

Mangaluru, Mar 15: In an embarrassment to Hindutva chauvinists of coastal belt of Karnataka, a BJP MLA from Dakshina Kannada has taken exception to his own party’s stand on Muslims and Christians. 

Umanath Kotian, who represents Moodabidri constituency in Karnataka legislative assembly, while campaigning for upcoming elections at Kinnigoli near Mangaluru last week, claimed that he doesn’t agree with BJP leaders’ stand on Muslims and Christians. 

“What BJP people say is that Muslims and Christians do not vote for us, so why should we do their work? I am a straight talker. Members of our party have some arrogance and ask why we should do their (minorities) work as they do not vote for us. I am working in contrast to these views,” he told a small gathering.

Kotian said that he had worked for the development of mosques too during his tenure as MLA. “In the last five years, were there any communal riots or provocative speeches made in my constituency?” he can be heard saying in a video that went viral in parts of coastal Karnataka.

The speech clip has sparked a debate among netizens. Meanwhile, a hardline Hindtuva activists have launched a ‘campaign’ against the Moodabidri MLA and urged the BJP not to field him again.