Mangaluru: Cops arrest 8; pistols, live bullets, car with ‘Govt of India’ nameplate seized

Israeli military aircraft have heavily bombed the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip accompanied with ground advances shortly after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said it had agreed to a proposal on ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian journalist reported flares in the night sky, while locals said dozens of reconnaissance drones flew overhead.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa and Egyptian media said Israeli military vehicles advanced towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, as well as the Karem Shalom crossing with the Israeli-occupied territories.

A Palestinian security official and an Egyptian authority have told the Associated Press news agency that Israeli tanks have entered Rafah, reaching as close as 200 meters from Rafah’s border crossing with neighboring Egypt.

The Israeli military has said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in eastern Rafah.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has also said "Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas" in order to advance the release of captives and what it called "the other objectives of the war."

In the meantime, it described the proposal on ceasefire as "far from Israel's essential demands," but added that it would send negotiators for talks "to exhaust the potential for arriving at an agreement."

The military strikes on Rafah came ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal accepted by Hamas, which was put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. 

According to a copy of the proposal, there will be three phases to ending Israel’s onslaught against Gaza.

The first phase calls for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim corridor and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes. The second phase involves an announcement of a permanent cessation of military operations. In the last phase, there would be a complete end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

In return, Israel would be required to release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, withdraw its troops from certain regions of the Gaza Strip, and allow Palestinians to travel from the south of the coastal sliver to the north.

About 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, once designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate the city, after the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave as a large-scale assault on the city is planned.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be “intolerable” and called on Israel and Hamas “to go an extra mile” to reach a truce deal.

“This is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and a ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences, and because of its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres told reporters on Monday ahead of a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in New York.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has also warned that Israel is “jeopardizing the deal by bombing Rafah.”

Bagalkot, Apr 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of planning religion-based reservation in the country for the sake of vote bank politics but asserted that he will not let it happen.

He said this Congress proposal is to appease minorities as the SC/ST and OBC community is now with the BJP.

"In Karnataka, Congress has started a campaign to change the Constitution and to snatch away the rights of SC/ST and OBCs. Our Constitution does not accept religion-based reservation. But the Karnataka government has given part of OBC reservation to Muslims," Modi said.

Addressing a mega election rally in this district headquarters town, he said, "They (Congress) will not settle with this. They had earlier too in their manifesto said about coming out with a law to provide religion-based reservation. There is a similar signal in their manifesto this time."

"I want to make my Dalit, SC/ST and OBC brothers and sisters aware about Congress' intentions. These people on the basis of religion, to keep their vote bank safe, are planning to loot your right which was given by Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution," he added.

Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, BJP candidates and MPs from Bagalkot (Bagalkot) and Vijayapura (Bijapur) - P C Gaddigoudar and Ramesh Jigajinagi, respectively - were among those present at the rally.

Noting that most of SC, ST and OBC MPs in the Parliament are from BJP, Modi said, "So they feel that as SC, ST and OBC are with BJP. To gain the trust of minorities, they want to loot from SC, ST and OBC and give it to minorities. Will you let this happen?"

"I want to guarantee today to my Dalit, Adivasi and OBC brothers and sisters. I will not let such intentions of Congress be successful. To protect your rights, your reservation, Modi will go to any extent. I'm assuring you this," he added.

Mangaluru: The passenger vessel service between Lakshadweep and Mangaluru has recommenced operations with the arrival of Parali, a high-speed craft, at the Old Mangaluru Port on Thursday, May 2 

With 160 passengers on board, along with a pilot, a ship engineer, an assistant, and eight labourers, the arrival of the vessel brings hopes of reinstating this vital transportation link.

The passengers were welcomed by Congress brass. The vessels that used to arrive before the Covid-19 pandemic took 13 hours to reach Mangaluru from Lakshadweep. However, the introduction of the high-speed craft, Parali, has reduced the travel time to approximately seven hours, said Abubakar Ashraf Bengre.

Bengre is part of a team that has been instrumental in liaising with the authorities of both Lakshadweep and Karnataka to facilitate the revival of this service. He told reporters that the service would bring better economic activity to Mangaluru. 

Over recent months, discussions have been held with Hamdullah Sayeed, president, Lakshadweep Congress Committee, as well as Karnataka Speaker UT Khader and district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, to garner support for the reintroduction of the service.

The passengers who arrived mostly sought medical treatment, went shopping or met relatives here. They said that they traveled for Rs 450. Former MLA J R Lobo said that they will urge the government to ensure regular vessel services continue.

The passenger service was discontinued due to a lack of demand, it is learnt. In the year 2018-19, 4,955 passengers embarked and 7,422 disembarked from the Old Mangaluru Port. Subsequently, the figures declined to 3,779 (embarked) and 2,294 (disembarked) in 2019-20. The numbers further plummeted to 561 (embarked) and 19 (disembarked) in 2020-21, leading to the suspension of the service.

At present, the administration of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep has released a schedule for high-speed craft movement from April 29 to May 5.