1,500 bodies of Hamas terrorists have been found in Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Force reportedly said, adding that no Hamas fighters have crossed into Israel since Monday night (9th October). The Israeli forces have reportedly gained effective control in the south and “restored full control” over the border with Gaza.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel has risen close to a 1,000 and 2,600 others have been injured. This comes hours after Israel ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Israeli jets have been pounding Gaza in a retaliatory attack even as Hamas threatened to kill hostages captured during the terror attack. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a video of airstrikes in Gaza and stated that “Israel will win.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 10, 2023
Israel has also warned countries sending aid to Hamas that it will bomb trucks carrying any supplies into Gaza.
HUGE – Israel warns countries sending aid to Hamas of "Operation All Out" Israel to bomb trucks carrying any supplies into Gaza??
Israeli warplanes attack Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only point in and out of blockade hit Gaza currently?? Massive… pic.twitter.com/DRvKIPdtoR
In the 62-second video, several buildings, which had been utilised by Hamas for launching rocket attacks against Israel, can be seen being reduced to rubble as a result of aerial bombing.
According to the Israel Defence Forces, the Israeli Air forces are conducting one of the largest air strikes ever against Hamas in Gaza to destroy their ability to terrorise the people of Israel. The IDF has maintained that Hamas launched this war but they will restore security to their country.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (10th October) had a telephone conversation with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirmed his support to Israel.
PM Narendra Modi tweets, "I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his phone call and providing an update on the ongoing situation. People of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour…" pic.twitter.com/IiML0rlaiy
Taking to his official handle on X, PM Modi shared details of his conversation with Netanyahu, posting, “I thank Prime Minister @netanyahu for his phone call and providing an update on the ongoing situation. The people of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour. India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
Dainik Pudhari, a vernacular daily based out of Maharashtra, debunked the canards raised over the credibility of the ‘wagh nakh’, a tiger claw-shaped weapon of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which he had famously used to kill Bijapur sultan Afzal Khan in 1659. The news publication says it has all the relevant pieces of evidence to prove that the tiger claw weapon being brought from a museum in London belongs to Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Dr Pratapsinh Jadhav, who is the editor of Pudhari Publications from the state of Maharashtra, revealed on Monday (9th October) that in the year 1971, he had received confirmations from the Victoria and Albert Museum regarding the heritage weapon. The museum, according to Dr Jadhav, had confirmed the originality of the weapon and had also sent two photographs- one of the swords used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the other one of the ‘wagh nakh’, the tiger-clawed weapon.
“They had sent two photographs. One of the sword and the tiger clawed weapons used by Maharaj. The two as per the letter and the photo were displayed in the Indian section of the museum in room number 7, frame number 709. I have been following this issue since 1971 and even after these clear poofs, some are raising doubts over the originality of the weapon. What other proof do these people want,” Dr Jadhav said.
लंडनच्या संग्रहालयातील 'वाघनखं ' ही छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांचीच आहेत.
Dr Jadhav said that, in the year 1971, he sent a letter to the museum inquiring about the weapon to which the museum confirmed that it had displayed the tiger-clawed weapon used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to kill Afzal Khan in 1659 in its Indian section. This was the second confirmation received from the museum. The first confirmation was received by V D Kodolikar who inquired about the weapon in the year 1931. Kodolikar’s letter and the museum’s reply to it were passed on to Dr Jadhav in the year 1971 by Kashiram Ratnasawant and Tatyasaheb Desai. The letter first letter confirmed the presence of the sword, but the second confirmation received by Dr Jadhav in 1971 confirmed that the tiger-clawed weapons were also displayed at the museum.
“I collected all the information and wrote an editorial in which I displayed all the letters and replies received by us. The then CM Vasantrao Naik was also approached and shown the proofs. I placed a request to the government to get the weapons of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj back to Maharashtra. Further, when A R Antuley became the CM of the state, he made efforts to get the heritage weapons back but that didn’t happen as he had to resign,” Dr Jadhav was quoted as saying.
There is no doubt that the weapons displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum are that of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and they should be brought back, pressed Dr. Jadhav.
NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT) question the authenticity of the weapons
Earlier, on October 1, NCP’s Sharad Pawar was seen trusting Indrajit Sawant, a Marathi historian who claimed that the tiger-claw weapon possessed by the museum is not the tiger-claw weapon that was used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to kill Afzal Khan.
“Till 1919, there was clarity about the tiger claws and weapons used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the time of Afzal Khan’s killing. Because this weapon was in the custody of Satara Chhatrapati. Records of that are also available. However, it is clear that the tiger claws currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum that the Maharashtra government is bringing back to India are not the tiger claws that Afzal Khan was killed with,” Sawant said.
Raising doubt over the credibility of the said weapon, Sawant added, “There are records and photographs of tiger claws in Satara till 1919. Then, the tiger claws in the Victoria and Albert Museum kept there before 1919 could not belong to Shivaji Maharaj.”
Sharad Pawar supported the claims put forth by Sawant and said that the latter is a renowned historian and said, “I personally don’t have any knowledge about the issue but Sawant is an expert in this. I am against any controversy in this case,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had also claimed that there was no use in bringing back Wagh Nakh from London. “What will you do by bringing the weapon which was used to protect the self-respect and integrity of Maharashtra? You have made the state a slave of Delhi.”
Apparently, he made these references alleging that the BJP has weakened the Sena by “splitting” it and was also targeting the state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“It is an insult to the Wagh Nakh, which is the pride and matter of self-respect for Maharashtra. Shiv Sena is the real Wagh Nakh of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which (the party) has fought all obstacles coming in the way of the state,” Raut boasted.
What is wagh nakh or tiger clawed weapon?
Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is all set to visit London to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Victoria and Albert Museum for the return of the heritage weapon. The ‘Wagh Nakh’ is on display in the same museum.’
The Tiger claw is a claw-like dagger that was employed throughout the Indian subcontinent during the Middle Ages. The weapon, which was designed to fit over the knuckles or be concealed under the palm, was made up of four or five curved blades attached to a glove or some kind of bar. It was a personal defence or sneak assault weapon that could readily slash through skin and flesh.
The most significant use of the wagh nakh in history comes from the incident when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj killed Afzal Khan after the latter deceptively launched an attack on Maharaj. Khan was a general in the Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur. He was a powerful warrior who stood over 7 feet tall, according to legend. He was tasked to bring Shivaji to heel after subjugating rebellious fiefs in the Sultanate’s southern territories.
The Adil Shahi Sultanate had sent Afzal Khan to crush the Maratha icon, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after he raised his voice against the Mughal oppression and began reclaiming forts across the Konkan and seizing enormous portions of Maratha land which was captured by the Adil Shahi in around 1650s.
Khan marched towards Konkan and sought to meet Shivaji. He suggested that the two communicate one-on-one to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and to resolve the issue. But Chhatrapati Shivaji noticed the scam. Therefore he went to the meeting prepared, donning chainmail under his robes and concealing a wagh nakh in his sleeve.
During the meeting, Khan attempted to stab Maharaj while pretending to embrace him. But the Maratha king was protected by his armor so he could retaliate, ripping Khan’s intestines out using wagh nakh. Khan was eventually beheaded by one of Maharaj’s troops, and his army eventually won the fight that followed.
The wagh nakh reaching London
The instrument was brought to Britain by East India Company official James Grant Duff (1789-1858), according to the Victoria and Albert Museum. From 1818 to 1822, Duff served as the Satara State’s Company Resident (political agent). He was also a novice historian, penning the classic ‘A History of the Mahrattas (1826)’, a three-volume book that is acknowledged even today.
When Duff returned to Scotland, he had a custom-built case made for his novelty weapon. The inscription on the case reads, “The ‘Wagnuck’ of Sivajee With Which He Killed the Moghul General. This Relic was given to Mr. James Grant-Duff of Eden When he was Resident at Satara By the Prime Minister of the Peshwa of the Marathas.”
After defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Marathas’ last Peshwa (Prime Minister), Baji Rao II, surrendered to the British in June 1818. He was exiled to Bithoor, a village near Kanpur. It’s likely that he gave this firearm to Grant Duff. The Victoria and Albert Museum website, however, states that this is an unsubstantiated assertion based on the inscription Duff had written on his box.
Culture Minister Mungantiwar stated that the state administration had decided to reintroduce the wagh nakh to the state to commemorate the 350th anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation.
“We have got a letter from the UK authorities saying they have agreed to give us back Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja’s Wagh Nakh. We might get it back for the anniversary of the day when Shivaji killed Afzal Khan, based on the Hindu calendar. Some other dates are also being considered and the modalities of transporting the Wagh Nakh back are also being worked out,” the Maharashtra minister said.
He added that besides signing the MoU, the possibility of the return of legacy objects like Shivaji’s Jagadamba sword will also be looked at.
Since Israel declared war following the Hamas terrorist attacks and ground invasion, the majority of the Arab world has rallied in support of Palestine. These countries have a long history of supporting the “Palestinian” cause. However, their support doesn’t stem from the perceived notion of religious fraternity and common brotherhood, colloquially referred to as the concept of Ummah instead it is driven by the hatred for dehumanised non-believers, pejoratively called ‘Kafirs’ (infidels) and shared theological believe of a common enemy.
Conspicuously, the responses of the Arab world vis-a-vis alleged atrocities on Muslims by non-believers as against that of Muslims on Muslims underscores the exploitative and preposterous concept called “convenience of victimhood” to serve the end goal of justifying the ‘annihilation’ of non-believers.
Here are some antecedents revealing how support for Palestine or Muslims being ‘persecuted’ around the world serves as just a tool to usher in Dar-ul-Islam and make the world ridden from infidelity.
Arab world’s support for Palestine is to fight the ‘Zionist’ country, not for Muslim citizens of Palestine
Israel-Palestine neighbours Syria, Egypt, and Jordan among others have fought wars citing the cause of Palestinians, however, they all share a dark history of persecuting Palestinians on their soil or mercilessly committing crimes against the population, which they allege Israel commits against Palestinian Muslims.
Evidently, on 17th September 1970, Jordan carried out a massacre of thousands of Palestinians which is notorious as ‘Black September’ for Palestinians. Fifty years ago,
King Hussein ordered the Jordanian Army to massacre militants in the refugee camps situated around Amman. Following the royal orders, the Jordanian army launched a brutal crackdown in a bid to retake control of territory occupied by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Jordan.
According to the 2015 census data, there are around 634,000 Palestinians in Jordan out of the total population of 9.5 million. However, Human Rights organisations claim that half of the Jordan population is Palestinian. The ruling Hashemite dynasty of Jordan fears the large population of Palestinians in the country has the power to destabilise the empire.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has a deep interest in supporting the Palestinian cause which increased, especially after India started strengthening its relationship with Israel in the 1990s. However, Pakistani leaders have avoided discussing this chapter in Palestinian history: the events of Black September in Jordan in 1970.
Notably, Pakistan played a major hand in exterminating Palestinian ‘terrorists’ hiding in refugee camps. Jordan had sought the assistance of Pakistan to train its newly equipped army. As a result, the critical training for the Jordanian army was provided by Pakistan.
Another neighbor, Syria which earlier used to mollycoddle Hamas, it acted against Palestinians when they exploited and aggravated civil war in Syria, the nation which was hosting them.
Apparently, Syria used to host Hamas leadership, but it had a fallout with Syrian authorities after the Palestinian refugees participated in the 2011 uprising that preceded the Syrian Civil War. However, normal Gazans or Palestinians didn’t share the same fate as their top brass for participating in the Syrian Civil War. While the Hamas leadership was just shunned from the country, ordinary Palestinians (despite hailing from the Muslim faith) were brutally hacked to death.
According to private data gathered by the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS), they documented the death of at least 4,013 Palestinians as a result of the war in Syria. The victims included 614 refugees who had died of torture inside Syrian regime prisons and detention centres and 205 who had died due to lack of medical care and the tight siege imposed by the Syrian regime army on the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, the AGPS had revealed.
Israeli politician Golda Meir once famously said, “We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”. The same does not just apply to Islamic countries, it also applies to Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya) which uses the civilian population of Gazans to materialize their hatred for Jews.
Notably, Hamas has been using civilian sites like hospitals, religious sites, or educational institutions to launch rocket or missile attacks and exploit civilians as cannon fodder. The Israeli Defence Forces demonstrated an example of a religious site that was hit by the Israeli Air Force as it was used by Hamas to launch a terror attack on Israel.
Israeli civilians are not Hamas’ only victim. Hamas intentionally positions itself deep among Gaza's population.
For example…this terrorist site that the Israel Air Force targeted, located next to a mosque and just a football field away from a school. pic.twitter.com/ROs3iMdnLz
Egyptian blockade on Palestinian refugees and Palestinian terrorism on Egyptian border forces
The Rafah Border Crossing, also known as the Rafah Crossing Point, serves as the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognised by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. However, Egypt has a long history of prohibiting Gazan refugees from entering its territory to avoid its negative security implications. Cairo which has suffered the brunt of Islamic State (IS) or Daesh, has feared infiltration of Hamas terrorists in the guise of Palestinians, particularly Gazan refugees.
(Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Image Source – BBC)
(Rafah border crossing closed for Gazan refugees)
Even today, soon after the Hamas terrorists imposed an unprovoked war on Israel, Egyptian security closed this sole border crossing for Gazans. The reports of it were confirmed by the Israeli officials who had earlier asked the Gazans to cross over to Egypt in the wake of its retaliatory strikes on Hamas terror sites. However, later they had to clarify that the Rafah crossing was open yesterday, but now it is closed.
BREAKING: Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza's southern border
The Rafah border crossing has remained predominantly closed since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Even when Egypt makes some concessions, it only allows those who require medical treatment or have foreign residency permits to cross the borders, a move targeted toward Hamas terrorists.
Do you know why #Egypt doesn't open the #Rafah border crossing with #Gaza to let 2.3 million Palestinians living there flee? This is because 8 out of every 10 Palestinian men living in #Gaza are terrorists or terrorism supporters! For years, Egypt has suffered from #ISIL/#Daesh,… pic.twitter.com/zD0C89d7pA
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) October 9, 2023
Strikingly, the Egyptian fear revolving around the entry of Hamas terrorists in the guise of Gazan refugees stems from the fact that Hamas has in the past targeted the Rafah border and Egyptian border personnel including blowing it up with explosives.
One such incident was reported on 23 January 2008, when Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah border crossing, destroying part of the 2003 wall.
Meanwhile, Israel had already sealed its border crossings with the Palestinian enclave, allowing in only humanitarian aid and basic supplies which have been cut post the 7th October Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli citizens.
Earlier, Hamas used to amass funds to the tune of $12 million per month from taxes on Egyptian goods imported or smuggled into Gaza through tunnels. Notably, Gaza shares a 12 km long border with Egypt on its south and Rafah is the sole border crossing. However, in 2013, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi assumed power. Since then, Cairo has ended Hamas’s operation as it asserts that Hamas is an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is again a dreaded and designated terrorist organisation.
Afterward, the Egyptian military closed down the majority of tunnels that were crossing into its territory. This action took place during their campaign against a faction affiliated with the self-declared Islamic State on their side of the border, within the Sinai Peninsula.
Islamic nations decline to harbor Muslim refugees from war between co-religionists
Recently, Jordan implemented a policy that can’t be further from the concept of “Common brotherhood” or the antithesis of catering to the Ummah brotherhood.
Evidently, Jordan which was perceived as a host accepting millions of Palestinian, Iraqi, and Syrian refugees on the lines of the Universal Muslim Brotherhood, had taken a hard turn. Experts have pointed out that the “Jordan Initiative” unveiled in May will radically change Jordan from one of the world’s most accommodating hosts to one of its biggest proponents for sending refugees home.
Regarding this, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, Adam Coogle said, “Jordan long has said that refugees are welcome. But now the official rhetoric has moved toward supporting their return. It’s a cause for significant concern.”
Similarly, Lebanon and Turkey have speeded up the deportation of hundreds of Syrians, their Muslim brethren, since April to speed up their exodus from their so-called “pro-Ummah” nation.
Likewise, Pakistan, the vociferous proponent of Ummah, has recently asked millions of Afghan refugees to leave the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Afghan refugees who had fled their nation when the Taliban took over Kabul and had been living in Pakistan have been reportedly given only four weeks time to return, forcing them to choose between the brutalities of two co-religionist nations, Pakistan or Afghanistan.
On the basis of Ummah, persecuted Muslim citizens/refugees of war-torn Yemen should have garnered the same support as they have been suffering from a brutal war, starvation, and cholera that have been ruining lives. However, this is not the case because co-religionists are involved in this war and there is no “convenience of victimhood” involved in the Yemeni conflict to furtherance the cause of Dar-ul-Islam or fighting/killing the infidel.
Yemen has been suffering from a brutal war for years, but no Muslim groups protest for their human rights, and no brotherhood shares their plight
There is a war in Yemen, there is a war in Syria, there is a war in Sudan, and there is a war in Lybia. Muslims are killing Muslims in all these wars, thousands of victims, did you see any protests in New York, London, Berlin, ..? Why? Because for many Muslims they do not really…
— Brother Rachid الأخ رشيد (@BrotherRasheed) October 9, 2023
The same goes for Syrian, Sudanese, and Libyan refugees, Muslims being persecuted by terrorism in Africa and elsewhere, attract no whispers of support as they don’t have the binding clue – common enemy.
Islamic nations like Pakistan, Iran, Turkiye, Palestine, Lebanon, etc have committed sins on their own native Muslim sects – Ahmediyas, Balochs, and Sindhis etc in Pakistan, Hamas killing dissenting Muslims and Fatah leadership, etc. Fighting for common brotherhood, persecuted Muslims and atrocities, and ethnic cleansing in Muslim countries by Muslim leadership have always been brushed under the carpet.
Instead, the outcry for atrocities is targeted at non-believers for causing hindrance to their dehumanising and Jihadi acts –reflected in the anti-Semitic, anti-Hindu, anti-Western (Christ-believing countries) calls, like “Gas the Jews”, asking Pakistanis to kill ‘Hindus’, death to Israel and “death to America” in the Iranian parliament.
Palestinian Islamic Scholar Nidhal Siam's Anti Hindu speech
The latest hatred towards the “common enemy” is clear from the fact that the Arab world has refrained from condemning the propensity of crime committed on innocent Israeli citizens.
On 7th October, Hamas terrorists launched a war involving rocket barrages and ground invasion into Israeli territories killing unsuspecting Israelis and other foreign nationals present in their sight. In the catastrophic invasion of Israel, more than 700 Israeli citizens have lost their lives, hundreds of children, girls, and the elderly have been taken hostage with Hamas terrorists giving open threats to behead them and air the beheadings, rape being used as weapons of war, bared and bruised bodies of women being paraded in streets. Conspicuously, these assaults were inflicted on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
Conclusion
There has been a shocking outpouring of support for Hamas around the world. Thousands of Muslims, regardless of their ethnicity and nationality, have gathered in the streets of Western nations, where they enjoy the privileges of democracy and freedom of expression, to declare open support for the brutal slaughter of women, children, and hundreds of unsuspecting civilians. Be it Australia or Canada, the UK or the USA, the Palestinian cause has seen overwhelming support. However, the same people have never stood for the millions of malnourished children in Yemen, they never cared for the little girls deprived of schooling in Afghanistan, or the Muslims victimized by terrorists in Africa.
The global Muslim population conspicuously lacks concerns for legitimate human rights abuses and atrocities when the perpetrators are their own people. It only unites when the enemy is the “other”, the Jew, the Hindu, or the Christian.
Simply put, they just want to see the end of non-believers, one excruciating death after another and Jews had always been the first in line followed by Hindus and Christians with rejected/outcasted Muslim sects like Ahmediyas in between. Iran’s fanatism to have nuclear power demonstrates that it just wants to destroy the Jewish state and to achieve that it is ready to spend dozens of Gazas and Palestinians and Lebanon etc. The first hallucination of the usage of nuclear arsenal will be on Israel, taking away the existence of their beloved Palestinian Muslim brethren, for whom such wars are claimed to be fought for and such brutality are being justified.
Meanwhile, in the non-Arab world, leaders from across the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden have expressed their solidarity and support for Israel at its difficult hour.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Common victimhood has become a tool, while common brotherhood is just a blatant lie, the only thing that unites the Muslim world, in general, is the hatred of the ‘common enemy’ – Israel, followed by Hindus and Christians with outcasted Muslim sects in between.
A Chinese national is among the four accused arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on the charges of money laundering. The accused have been identified as Guangwen Kyang aka Andrew Kuang, the Chinese National; Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International; Rajan Malik, and Nitin Garg, a Chartered Accountant.
The arrest comes amid the ongoing investigation into the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case into the Chinese mobile company Vivo. The central agency also seized more than Rs 10 lakh in cash. The accused will likely be produced before a court where the ED will seek their custody.
Enforcement Directorate has arrested four accused including a Chinese national linked with Chinese mobile company Vivo under PMLA Act. ED conducted raids on the premises of accused on 9th October and seized cash amounting to more than Rs 10 lakhs and arrested four accused who…
On 7th July 2022, the ED cracked a large-scale money laundering scam involving Chinese companies and multiple Indian firms. The agency had said that smartphone maker Vivo “illegally” sent Rs 62,476 crore to China in order to avoid paying taxes on that money in India.
The investigation agency discovered that four Chinese nationals, three of whom “left” India between the years 2018 and 2021, formed up to 23 business entities in India with the assistance of Chartered Accountant Nitin Garg.
One of the foreigners, who went under the name of Bin Lou, was a former Vivo director who according to ED, departed India in April 2018. Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie fled the country in 2021.
The ED had reportedly said in a statement, “These 23 companies are found to have transferred huge amounts of funds to Vivo India. Further, out of the total sale proceeds of Rs 1,25,185 crore, Vivo India remitted Rs 62,476 crore, or almost 50 percent of the turnover out of India, mainly to China. These remittances were made in order to disclose huge losses in Indian incorporated companies to avoid payment of taxes in India.”
On 5th July 2022, the ED conducted raids at as many as 44 locations across the country linked to the Chinese mobile company Vivo. The searches were conducted in a money-laundering investigation against the Chinese smartphone manufacturing company.
In May, the Indian units of ZTE Corp., a Chinese partially state-owned technology company, and Vivo Mobile Communications Co. had come under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday, 10th October, has taken possession of 15 different immovable properties owned by former Union Minister A Raja.
The ED informed regarding the seizure of the 15 properties indirectly owned by the former Union Cabinet Minister of Environment and Forest. Raja owns these properties via his Benami company M/s Kovai Shelters Promoters India Pvt Ltd, the ED informed. The ED has taken possession of Raja’s benami properties under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, in a disproportionate assets case.
ED has taken possession of 15 immovable properties owned by A. Raja, former Union Cabinet Minister of Environment and Forest in the name of his Benami Company M/s Kovai Shelters Promoters India Pvt Ltd, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 in the matter of disproportionate assets… pic.twitter.com/1F2pAnCQjo
In December last year, the ED had provisionally attached 45 acres of land in Coimbatore belonging to A Raja’s company under provisions of the PMLA. The land, worth around Rs 55 crores, was purchased from bribe money from a large Gurugram-based real estate company in exchange for environmental clearance when Raja was the minister for Environment and Forest under the UPA government in 2007, as per reports.
The said land was also registered in the name of the same Kovai Shelters Promoters India Pvt Ltd.
The said benami company was incorporated in the same year and was registered in the name of Raja’s family members, as per the ED. However, the sole purpose of the company was to park proceeds of crime by A Raja, the ED had added then.
The DMK MP and former Union minister was in news recently for his Hinduphobic statements. “Udhayanidhi only compared Sanatan Dharma to diseases like Malaria and dengue as he had a soft approach. “Sanatan Dharma should be compared to diseases with social stigma like HIV and leprosy,” A Raja had said.
On 9th October, San Francisco police shot and killed a man who crashed his car into the Chinese Consulate. The police did not reveal the identity of the assailant. Some of the furniture in the lobby was destroyed after the crash, but no one got injured in the incident.
Man crashes car into the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. Driver shot by police pic.twitter.com/pey7214pYH
Videos of the incident went viral on social media, where a blue Honda car was seen inside the consulate lobby. Several people were also seen running away from the building. In a statement issued by the Chinese Consulate, they condemned the incident and said it seriously threatened the safety of their staff and others in the building. They added they have the right to find out who was responsible for the attack.
The Chinese foreign ministry has accused an unknown person of breaking into the consulate, aiming to harm people inside the building. The consulate has been temporarily shut after the attack. The Chinese authorities have asked the United States government to handle the situation appropriately.
According to CNN, an eyewitness, Sergii Molchanov, said the car rammed into the building’s main door and hit the wall just 2 meters away from him. The driver exited the car and shouted “Where is CCP?”, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
The matter is under investigation, and the police have not released much information about the attack. According to a statement released by a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, when the officers arrived at the scene, they found the car inside the consulate lobby. They confronted the suspect, leading to the police opening fire at him. He was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
US State Department is assisting the police in the investigation. As per reports, it is unclear how many people were there at the consulate when the incident happened.
Notably, San Francisco will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in November. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the event.
Khalistanis who attacked the Indian consulate walked free
While the suspect who rammed into the Chinese consulate was shot dead by the police, the pro-Khalistani elements that attacked the Indian consulate in San Francisco walked free. In July 2023, Khalistanis carried out an arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco city. As per reports, the extremists set the building on fire between 1:30 AM and 2:30 AM. However, the damage was limited, and the staffers escaped unharmed. The San Francisco Fire Department quickly doused the fire.
In March 2023, Khalistan supporters also attacked the Indian consulate in San Francisco. This attack on the Indian consulate came shortly after an attack on the Indian High Commission in London by Khalistan supporters. The Khalistani attackers damaged the property at the consulate while waving their flags.
On 3rd October, just four days before Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack on Israel on 7th October killing several hundred, ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan” published its 9th issue. On page 30 was a chapter titled “Legacy of Betrayal”, in which the terrorist publication displayed its outpouring of deeply ingrained hatred for Jews and Christians.
Screenshot of the article published by ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan”
Calling the establishment of Israel bizarre, the article implied that the Jews and Christians colluded against Muslims in order to form the Jewish state. The article established a sinister historical narrative to incite against the land of Israel.
In the same sentence, the terrorist publication first decried the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and then said that the Ottoman Empire was devoid of Allah’s aid in defending themselves because they did not exactly conform to Shariah.
It stated, “The First World War was fought to destroy the Ottoman Empire which was the last the obstacle in the way of allowing Jewish settlements in the blessed land of Palestine, although we don’t say that the Ottoman rule fully conformed to Shari’ah, since on many occasions we see the Ottomans indulging in shirk and innovations, and that was the reason they were devoid of Allah’s nusrah in defending the religion in the end.”
Moreover, the Islamic State mouthpiece hurled a conspiracy theory that the Jews and Christians collaborated to achieve “Dajjali – One World Order” against the “spread of Islam”.
Screenshot of the article published by ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan” decrying the end of
It stated that the “neo-Zio-Crusaderist alliance never confined its objective within the limited geographical boundary of Israel, rather it has been devising a blueprint of the establishment of the so-called Greater Israel which would engulf the whole of the Middle East”.
The Palestine propaganda map was also published to peddle the narrative that Israel has been eating up land that supposedly was supposedly Palestinian land. The same map has been used by several terrorist-sympathising media groups like Al Jazeera and lobbyists like Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).
The ISIS mouthpiece directly targeted the Abraham Accords at a time when Israel and Saudi Arabia were displaying signs of optimism towards normalising their ties. The timing and context of the terrorist mouthpiece evidently aimed to derail these very developments. The mouthpiece also hit out at Arab nationalism.
Screenshot of the article published by ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan” criticising “Arab nationalism” for “collaborating with infidels” through Abraham Accords
Notably, Saudi Arabia’s critical stand came as a setback to the process of normalisation of ties with Israel following the latter’s retaliation to the 7th October terrorist attack. Safe to say, the terrorist attack on Israel was planned well in advance and the mouthpiece signals the clear involvement of ISIS and Hezbollah too.
#Statement | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is closely following the developments of the unprecedented situation between a number of Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation forces, which has resulted in a high level of violence on several fronts there. pic.twitter.com/KEFsNB5ZVb
It called for open resistance against “infidels” in the name of Imaan (faith). “Do not take the Jews and Christians for your allies,” a highlighted graphic text in the article reads showing an image of an Israeli soldier in flames.
The terrorist group quoted from the Quran to warn Muslims not to form any alliances with Jews and Christians and not to believe them. The quote from the Quran reads as follows, “O you who have believed! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies. They are the allies of each other. And among you he who takes them for allies shall be regarded as one of them.”
In its concluding words, the ISIS document reads, “So, it is well understood what the Zio-Crusadarist West is trying to pursue in the Arab countries by subjecting Muslims to the shirk of Abraham Accords. Actually, they pursue nothing but removing the remnants of Muslims’ zeal for protecting their religion.”
Screenshot of the article published by ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan” quoting from the Quran for fighting the “Jews and Christians”
Screenshot of the article published by ISIS mouthpiece “Voice of Khurasan” quoting from the Quran calling for the extermination of Jews
It quoted from the Quran as following: “…they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners,” adding that “…and this plan of Allah the Almighty will – surely – make the Jews and the Christians remorse thinking about their years of tireless efforts for extinguishing the light of truth (Islam) in the end, for our beloved Prophet has given us the glad tiding of our overpowering the Jews, in his saying: “You will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, ‘O `Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.'”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh, alleging corruption and misgovernance and said his party is committed to giving due share in power to weaker sections.
Addressing a rally here, Rahul Gandhi laid thrust on caste census and said it will be among the top priorities of the government if Congress is voted to power.
“In BJP’s laboratory, the dead are treated and their money is stolen. This doesn’t happen anywhere else in India but in Madhya Pradesh,” Gandhi said.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh: At a public rally in Shahdol, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "In BJP's laboratory, the dead are treated and their money is stolen. This doesn't happen anywhere else in India but in Madhya Pradesh…" pic.twitter.com/i0ooJgO6Po
“What rights should be given to Adivasis today, what part should be given to the OBC and ST categories, this is the question in front of the country and that is why we are talking about caste census, we will get it done,” he added.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh: At a public rally in Shahdol, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "…What rights should be given to Adivasis today…What part should be given to the OBC and ST categories…This is the question in front of the country and that is why we are talking about… pic.twitter.com/Wk6Z0FHlrG
Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in the state a day after the Election Commission announced poll dates in Madhya Pradesh and four other states He expressed confidence of Congress’ victory in the polls.
Polling will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17 and results will be declared on December 3.
Of the five states going to the polls, BJP is in power in only in Madhya Pradesh.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
A Jewish ‘peace activist’ Vivian Silver is feared to have been kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists in the October 7 attack in Israel. According to reports, the 74-year-old journalist’s relatives and friends last spoke with her on Saturday, the day Hamas terrorists struck Israel, at 11 a.m. local time while she was in Israel. Since early that morning, she had been texting about missiles and gunshots outside her home in Kibbutz Be’eri, close to the Gaza border.
Vivian Silver is a Canadian-Israeli ‘peace activist’ who has spent nearly 50 years working in support of the Palestinians. She even went so far as to drive cancer-stricken Gaza residents to Jerusalem for treatment after meeting them at the border crossing. Now she is one of those who are feared to have been either killed or kidnapped by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and taken to Gaza.
In her last messages to friends, Silver described the perilous scenario she was in as terrorists broke into her home. The last message from her included phrases like, “They’re coming in. I’m hiding behind the door of the closet,” leaving her friends deeply concerned.
A report by NBC News further stated that Silver’s friend Avital Brown hadsent her a WhatsApp message on Saturday (October 7) morning and in less than a minute, Silver responded from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri.
“It’s absolute chaos here. Terrorists have infiltrated Be’eri. There is shooting and screaming,” she reportedly texted in Hebrew at 7:54 a.m. Brown replied immediately but never heard back from her, which also raised suspicions that she was either killed or abducted by the Hamas terrorists who invaded her house on Kibbutz Be’eri in Isreal.
Several media outlets reported that while she was on a call with her son Yonatan Zeigen, the violence outside her window grew worse and they had to end the connection.
“She wrote me that she had armed people inside her house. And then communication stopped,” Yonatan, her son, is leading efforts to find any information about her whereabouts told the media.
“We haven’t heard from my mum since Saturday. We have turned to her Bedouin colleagues and contacts in the Negev, but no one knows if she was in fact kidnapped to Gaza,” he added.
"She wrote me that she had armed people inside her house. And then communication stopped."
Among the missing Israeli's is 74-year-old Vivian Silver. Her son, Yonatan Zeigen, joins us to talk about Saturday morning as the violence unfolded. pic.twitter.com/jEdauyLd5Y
Meanwhile, CCTV footage has emerged showing heavily armed Hamas terrorists arriving in Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel on Saturday. Several local media outlets reported, citing the ZAKA search and rescue group that about 1000 bodies have been removed from Kibbutz Be’eri, however, the casualties are suspected to be higher.
Vivian Silver’s family is concerned that she could be one among the hundreds of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Who is Vivian Silver, the Jewish ‘peace activist’ now feared kidnapped by Hamas terrorists
Originally from Winnipeg, Canada, Vivian Silver migrated to Israel in 1974. Silver moved to the kibbutz near the Gaza Strip with her late husband and two sons 33 years ago. The 74-year-old Jewish-Canadian ‘peace activist’ was abducted from her Kibbutz Be’eri home where she has spent decades in the peace movement workly closely with Gaza moderates.
Vivian Silver is associated with the group Women Wage Peace, which advocates for women’s active participation in Middle East diplomacy. She has also volunteered with an organisation that transports ill Palestinians from Gaza to Israeli hospitals.
The woman peace activist, who dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of Palestinians and was actively involved in humanitarian efforts to improve the lives of Palestinian women and children for several decades, has been either killed or abducted by Palestine’s Hamas terrorists.
Meanwhile, in response to the unprovoked terrorist attack by Hamas, Israel has escalated its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and imposed a blockade on the region, preventing the flow of essential supplies, including food and fuel.
This retaliation followed a violent incursion by Hamas terrorists who announced on October 9, Monday, that any death of Gaza civilians in Israeli air strikes would now result in the televised execution of hostages.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Military Wing of Hamas – Al-Qassam Brigades announced on Al Jazeera that they would execute hostages and broadcast it live for each bomb dropped on civilians in Gaza by Israel.
It is notable here that Gaza is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Hamas has been notorious for hiding its terrorist operations and weapons deep in civilian areas, often using schoolchildren and families as human shields.
In response to the brutal terrorist attack on Israel that killed over 900 civilians and wounded over 2,500 others, Israel has declared war on Hamas and has been pounding the Gaza Strip with bombs for 48 hours. The US and other NATO nations have declared support for Israel.
Hundreds of Israelis and foreign nationals are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas. Hamas has massacred civilians brutally after attacking a music festival, and family homes in Southern Israel. Social media posts have surfaced where Hamas terrorists are seen killing children, women, and the elderly. The exact number of hostages is unknown.
Amid the fierce onslaught by Israeli forces on Gaza following the Haas terror attacks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and reaffirmed his support to the people of the country.
Taking to his official handle on X, PM Modi shared details of his conversation with Netanyahu, posting, “I thank Prime Minister @netanyahu for his phone call and providing an update on the ongoing situation. The people of India stand firmly with Israel in this difficult hour. India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
On Saturday, expressing solidarity with Israel in the wake of the deadly rocket strikes by Hamas, Prime Minister Modi said his thoughts and prayers, and those of his fellow countrymen, were with the innocent victims and their families.
“Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” PM Modi posted on X.
Thanking PM Modi for his support, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon posted on X, “Thank you again PM @narendramodi-ji. Since we get SO MUCH support from our Indian brothers and sisters, I’m unfortunately unable to thank each and every one of you personally. Please accept this as my gratitude to all our friends.”
At least 900 Israelis have, so far, perished, in the Hamas attacks while over 2,616 were injured, according to latest reports.
In a war update shared by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on X, the IDF said that about 30 hostages have been held by Hamas in Gaza in the ongoing conflict.
It also stated that about 4,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza on Israel after which the Israeli defence forces struck 1290 Hamas targets in Gaza.
The Israeli Air Force continues to extensively attack many targets of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
An IDF Spokesperson has confirmed that 123 soldiers have been killed in the fighting, and 50 families have been informed that a relative was kidnapped by Hamas.
As part of its retaliation against Hamas, Israel has mobilised 3,00,000 troops in the last 48 hours. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari informed about the mobilisation and said the IDF “has never mobilized so many reservists so quickly — 300,000 reservists in 48 hours.
“This is the largest mobilisation since the 1973 Yom Kippur War when Israel called up 400,000 reservists, Times of Israel reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had finally regained control over the border with the Gaza Strip, 72 hours after Hamas terrorists blew through sections of the barrier and launched an invasion that saw over 1,000 Israelis slaughtered or kidnapped.
On Monday Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked several targets of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The aircraft attacked a building used by Hamas in investigations and an operational infrastructure located inside a mosque. In addition, an underground tunnel shaft of the terrorist organization and military infrastructures used by Hamas were also attacked.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
