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Shivamogga: Tension prevailed in the Bangarappa Layout area of Shivamogga's Raggigudda locality on Sunday after unidentified miscreants allegedly desecrated a Ganesha and Naga idols, police sources said.

They also said the Naga idol fell into the roadside drain.

According to the sources, the incident occurred in the Shantinagar ward of the district headquarters town of Shivamogga, where the idols had recently been installed on the main road of the Bangarappa Layout.

Residents of the area strongly condemned the act of vandalism and expressed anger over the alleged insult to the deities.

Senior police officers visited the spot and held discussions with the local community.

The officers told residents that a case has been registered and they promised strict action against the culprits.

Additional police forces have been deployed in the area, and tight security arrangements are in place to prevent any further disturbance.

The situation is currently under control, and police are continuing their investigation.

In a post on 'X', BJP state president Vijayendra alleged that after a brief pause in their acts of mischief in Shivamogga, anti-Hindu elements have once again resumed their wrongdoing.

Vijayendra, an MLA from Shikaripura in Shivamogga district, said, In Raggigudda, miscreants desecrated the idols of Ganesha and Sheshanaga. He also said the idol was thrown into a drain.

Attacking the Congress government in the state, he said, "The @INCKarnataka government, which looks at Hindu organisations with a jaundiced eye, has always stood as a backbone to anti-Hindu forces. Especially in Shivamogga district, the excesses of miscreants have reached extreme levels," he alleged.

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.

Tel Aviv, June 27: Israel's war minister (known as "defence" minister), Israel Katz, said on Thursday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was marked for assassination during the recent 12-day conflict, but evaded elimination by going underground. 

“If Khamenei had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz told Kan public television, adding that the Iranian leader “went very deep underground and broke off contacts with commanders,” making a strike “not realistic”, according media reports.

Speaking in a round of televised interviews, Katz reiterated that Israel actively searched for Khamenei throughout the war. “We searched a lot,” he told Channel 13, explaining that Israel’s goal was not regime change but to destabilise Iran’s leadership and apply pressure mid-conflict.

The war, which began on June 13 and concluded with a US-brokered ceasefire on June 25, saw Israel launch airstrikes that killed several top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Katz said Israel maintained aerial superiority and enforced what he described as a policy of “enforcement actions against Iran,” designed to prevent the country from rebuilding its nuclear and missile capabilities, as per the Times of Israel.

Asked if Israel had sought US approval to target Khamenei, Katz told Channel 13, “We don’t need permission for these things.” 

He also compared Khamenei to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed last year, advising the Iranian leader to remain in hiding, “I wouldn’t recommend that he stay tranquil,” Katz told Kan.

“He should learn from the late Nasrallah… I recommend that he do the same thing. ”US President Donald Trump had also threatened Khamenei’s life during the conflict. On June 17, Trump wrote on social media: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding… We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.” 

However, days later, Trump walked back the statement, saying regime change was not advisable. Despite his earlier stance, Trump ordered the launch of Operation Midnight Hammer, a series of precision strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the strikes were a “total obliteration” and successfully degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. 

“It was a total success… Not only does our own intelligence say that, but even the Iranian foreign minister and the United Nations agreed,” she said at a briefing Leavitt also confirmed that the Trump administration remains focused on diplomacy and peace, with US and Iranian officials set to hold talks next week. She said the US is in close communication with intermediaries like Qatar to explore pathways for Iran to adopt a “non-enrichment civil nuclear program.”

The ceasefire has shifted priorities. Katz said Israel will no longer pursue Khamenei's life post-ceasefire but warned that any future provocations would be met with force. “There’s a difference, before the ceasefire, after the ceasefire,” he said. He also acknowledged that while Israel destroyed Iran’s enrichment capabilities, it does not know the location of all enriched uranium. However, Katz claimed that the strikes have delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions “by long years” and vowed that “we won’t let that happen.”