Dr Zakir Naik was not “officially” invited to FIFA World Cup: Qatar tells Modi govt

Israeli aircraft have carried out a new strike against earth-quake battered Syria, this time targeting the international airport in the northwestern city of Aleppo.

According to Syrian media, quoting a military source, the Israeli airstrike was carried out early Tuesday from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the coastal city of Latakia.

The military source added that the attack caused material damage to the runway of Aleppo International Airport, taking the airport out of service.

Syrian media had earlier said that the country’s air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles coming from the direction of the Mediterranean, shooting down a number of them.

The new Israeli strike comes as the international airport in Aleppo is one of the main portals of entry for foreign airplanes carrying humanitarian aid to the victims of the country’s recent devastating earthquake.

The Israeli act of aggression followed another strike earlier in February when the regime's aircraft hit the Syrian capital and areas around it, especially a number of residential buildings in Kafr Sousa neighborhood in central Damascus. Tal al-Masih near the city of Shahba, north of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria was another target of that attack.

Syria's Health Ministry said five people were killed in the strike, including one soldier, while fifteen others were wounded, some of them critically.

The regime frequently violates Syrian sovereignty by targeting military positions inside the country, especially those of Hezbollah resistance movement, which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime has been a main supporter of terrorist groups that have battled the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in early 2011.

Syria has repeatedly complained to the UN over Israeli assaults, urging the Security Council to take action against Tel Aviv’s crimes. The calls have, however, fallen on deaf ears.

Two persons have died of influenza caused by the H3N2 virus, Union Health Ministry sources said on Friday, March 10. One person has died in Haryana and the other, in Karnataka, according to top sources.

There are around 90 cases of the H3N2 virus in the country. Eight cases of the H1N1 virus have also been reported.

Cases of flu have been rising in the country. Most of the infections are caused by the H3N2 virus, also known as the "Hong Kong flu". Only H3N2 and H1N1 infections have been detected in India so far.

The symptoms include fever, chills, cough, breathlessness and wheezing.

Patients have also reported nausea, sore throat, body-ache and diarrhoea. Symptoms persist for about a week.

Shivamogga, Mar 20: Days after former minister and BJP leader K S Eshwarappa’s provocative remarks against Azaan, a man delivered the Azaan in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Shivamogga, the home district of Eshwarappa. 

A small group of Muslim men holding flags protested against the BJP MLA’s statements. They even tried to barge into the DC’s office.

A video of the protest Azaan went viral on social media.

Shivamogga police booked a case agianst the offender and warned him not to indulge in such activities in the future. However, he was sent home.

Superintendent of Police G K Mithun Kumar said, "The person was called and warned not to do it. One preventive case is booked against that person. We are verifying the antecedents of those who participated in the protest: Based on the antecedents appropriate action is being initiated," he added.

Eswarappa had stirred controversy during last week Vijay Sankalp Yatra in Mangaluru. “This (Azaan) will come to an end. Will Allah listen only if the prayers are done through loudspeakers…this makes me question if He is deaf.” 

His statements received backlash from the Muslim community. However, the former minister defended his statements saying India is a Hindu Rashtra.

“In the entire world, India is the only country for Hindus. We are protecting the Hindu dharma. But if they (Muslims) continue this practice (of giving Azaan) through loudspeakers then we have to admit he (Allah) is deaf. So I think this issue should be addressed at the earliest,” he told reporters.