Doctor held for sexually assaulting school girls while working for Sadhguru’s foundation

Israeli forces have attacked a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza as the vessel approached the coastal waters of the besieged Palestinian territory.

Thiago Avila, a Brazilian activist on board the Madleen ship, said in a social media post on Monday morning that they were surrounded by Israeli army ships.

He added that the regime’s forces have attacked Madleen, a humanitarian aid vessel that was attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

"Connection has been lost on the 'Madleen'. The Israeli army has boarded the vessel," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted on Telegram, adding that Israeli forces kidnapped the passengers.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 international campaigners aboard the Madleen. “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament of Palestinian descent, are also onboard the vessel.

Rima Hassan broadcast images of the sirens sounding on the ship.

Mahmud Abu-Odeh, a Germany-based press officer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, told AFP that "the activists seemed to be arrested."

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, five Israeli speedboats have reached the Madleen ship.

Francesca Albanese said the Madeleine crew has informed Israeli forces that they are carrying humanitarian aid and that they will leave safely.

“I heard the soldiers speaking while the captain was on the phone with me,” Albanese said.

“I lost connection with the captain as he was telling me that ‘another boat is approaching’.”

The new development came after Hamas warned the Israeli regime against taking any measure to stop the Madleen ship, holding the regime fully responsible for the lives of activists aboard it.

Earlier, the Israeli minister of military affairs, Israel Katz, threatened to block the aid ship from reaching Gaza, accusing Thunberg and fellow activists of being “Hamas propagandists.”

He had instructed the regime’s forces to take action "by land, sea, and air" to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza.

 Blatant act of piracy

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned Israel's seizure of the Freedom Flotilla ship and its crew.

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen’s as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

“This is a blatant act of international piracy and state terrorism,” he said.

“The Israeli occupation has no legal right to blockade the Gaza coast, much less to drop chemical weapons on humanitarian aid boats and abduct their passengers in international waters,” Awad added.

Awad called on the Israeli regime to immediately release the ship’s crew.

“We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza,” he said.

The Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, set sail from Sicily last week carrying urgent humanitarian supplies for Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, desalination kits, medical aid, and children’s prosthetics.

Israeli drones hit a vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Conscience, in international waters off the coast of Malta on May 2.

The group condemned the attack at the time, calling it a clear “violation of international law.”

UN agencies and major aid groups have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in. They say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early on Saturday, June 21. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that his country’s nuclear programme is peaceful and his country remains open to diplomacy, but Israel’s attacks must stop first.

In a new phase of Operation True Promise III in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Iranian armed forces fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at the occupied territories.

The eighteenth wave of the historic retaliatory operation started at around 3:10 am local time in Iran, with some videos circulating online showing the night sky over the occupied territories lit up by the Iranian long-range missiles.

Air raid sirens were activated as soon as the missiles arrived, forcing settlers to head back to underground bunkers, where they have been spending most of their time these days.

Israeli media reported massive explosions in the heart of Tel Aviv, indicating that the missiles yet again managed to evade three-tier air defense systems to hit their intended targets.

Shortly after 2:30 a.m. in Israel (2330 GMT on Friday), the Israeli military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran, triggering air raid sirens across parts of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as well as in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Interceptions were visible in the sky over Tel Aviv, with explosions echoing across the metropolitan area as Israel’s air defense systems responded.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the military had killed a veteran commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, in a strike in an apartment in Iran’s Qom.

The veteran commander, Saeed Izadi, led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, Katz said in a statement.

22 arrested for links to Israeli spy services 

Police in Iran’s Qom province said Saturday that 22 people “linked to Israeli spy services” had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported.

“22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime’s spy services, disturbing public opinion, and supporting the criminal regime,” the agency stated, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran’s Qom province.

Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site was targeted by Israel, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Saturday, adding that there was no leakage of hazardous materials.

At the same time, Israel launched a new wave of attacks against missile storage and launch infrastructure sites in Iran, the Israeli military said.

Sirens also sounded in southern Israel, said Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service. An Israeli military official said Iran had fired five ballistic missiles and that there were no immediate indications of any missile impacts.

There were no initial reports of casualties.

The emergency service released images showing a fire on the roof of a multi-storey residential building in central Israel. Local media reported that the fire was caused by debris from an intercepted missile.

Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel.

Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this.

Mangaluru, June 17: In a heartbreaking tragedy that has left the medical community and residents in shock, a 29-year-old physiotherapy doctor lost his life in a horrific car accident late Monday night on the Nanthoor–Pumpwell stretch. The victim, Dr Mohammad Amal, had only recently begun his professional journey, brimming with dreams and compassion for healing others.

The fatal accident occurred near Taretota around 11:45 pm on June 16, when Dr Amal was driving his Maruti Ciaz in rainy conditions. He reportedly lost control of the vehicle due to high speed on the slick road, causing the car to hit the central divider and somersault multiple times before landing in a mangled state on the road.

Dr Amal, a native of Alappuzha, Kerala, had recently completed his physiotherapy degree and had joined duty at a private medical college hospital in Deralakatte. He was accompanied at the time by a female friend, a fellow Keralite and a medical student at Kanachur Medical College. She sustained minor injuries and is currently under treatment.

Eyewitnesses reported that moments after the crash, vehicles behind came to a screeching halt. In the panic, a heavily loaded lorry approaching at speed lost control and overturned while attempting to brake, adding to the chaos and triggering a heavy traffic jam along the already treacherous Nanthoor–Pumpwell road.

Emergency responders arrived swiftly, but Dr Amal had already succumbed to his injuries before he could be taken to the hospital. Police sources confirmed that the crash’s intensity left little chance of survival.

Dr Amal’s untimely death has cast a pall of gloom over his colleagues and the local medical fraternity, many of whom remembered him as a kind and dedicated young man with a bright future.

Kadri traffic police have registered a case and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident. Meanwhile, calls for better safety measures and awareness around driving during monsoons are growing louder.

What should have been the start of a promising career ended in a cruel twist of fate — a grim reminder of how unforgiving the roads can be, especially during the rains.