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UK PM Sunak and Australian PM Albanese join the debate around the controversial run out of Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test

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UK PM Sunak and Australian PM Albanese join the debate around the controversial run out of Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test

Australia’s wicket-keeper Alex Carey stumped out English batter Jonny Bairstow on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test, which Australia, in the end, won by 43 runs to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. This sparked uproar not only among cricket fans and cricket pundits worldwide, and it even prompted the prime ministers of the UK and Australia to join the debate surrounding the controversial run out.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in an official statement through a spokesperson, expressed his support for the England Captain Ben Stokes and accused Australia of breaking the spirit of cricket over the controversial dismissal of England’s Jonny Bairstow on Sunday.

“The prime minister agrees with (England captain) Ben Stokes who said he simply wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner that Australia did,” the spokesman said.

The UK PM’s remark did not go down well with Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who also chimed in by taking an indirect dig at the English fans and media for calling the Aussies “cheat”.

Anthony Albanese tweeted, “I’m proud of our men’s and women’s cricket teams, who have both won their opening two #Ashes matches against England. Same old Aussies – always winning! Australia is right behind Alyssa Healy and Pat Cummins and their teams and look forward to welcoming them home victorious.”

Notably, in the 52nd over of the in the second Ashes Test, Bairstow, who was on 10 runs, faced a bouncer from Cameron Green. The England batsman was stumped after he walked away from his position in the apparent belief that the ball was dead and that the over had ended. As Bairstow left the crease, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey saw it as a chance to dismiss the batter and he threw the ball at the stumps. The decision went to the third unpire who declared Bairstow out.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said it was a fair dismissal within the rules.

But his England counterpart Ben Stokes said although he agreed Bairstow was out, he would not have wanted to win a game “in that manner”.

The incident led to turmoil and chaos at the Lords with 32,000 Lords fans continuing to jeer Australia throughout the rest of the day. In and unprecedented scene, when the players walked through the Long Room, Australian opener Usman Khawaja was seen stopping and confronting a MCC member. He was pulled back by security guards. David Warner could also been seen making a comment to some of the members.

Then, as the happy Australians made their way back to their dressing room, MCC members lined the iconic steps of the Lords and booed Australia with chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat” and “same old Aussies, always cheating”.

Subsequently, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord’s, suspended three members over confrontations with Australia players and issued an apology. “The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the Pavilion is very special. After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members,” the MCC said in a statement.

“We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian Team and will deal with any Member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes. It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the third Ashes test will commence on July 6, and if Australia can secure a draw in any remaining match, they will retain the trophy.

ISI-backed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi responds to Quran burning in Sweden, says will attack churches and Christians in Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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ISI-backed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi responds to Quran burning in Sweden, says will attack churches and Christians in Pakistan

As retribution for the Quran burning event in Sweden last week, the Lahore-based ISI-backed Sunni terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) declared on Sunday, July 2 that it would attack Christians and churches in Pakistan.

The group declared that it will also start suicide bombings against Pakistani minorities. It further said that in order to exact revenge for the Quran event that took place in Sweden on Eid, it will join forces with other terror organisations in the area to attack the Christian population.

This development came after the incident in Sweden on June 28, the first day of the Muslim Eid al Adha holidays, when an ex-Muslim tore and burned a Quran outside Stockholm’s major mosque, infuriating Islamic countries

The anti-Quran demonstration was allowed to go ahead with authorisation from the Swedish police. Police, however, charged the perpetrator of the burning with agitation against an ethnic or national group.

LeJ spokesperson Naseer Raisani issued a statement in which he issued the threat that “no Church or a Christian will remain safe in Pakistan.”

The terror group is well-known for its ruthless campaign against Shia Muslims in Pakistan since the 1990s. In addition to attacking Shia procession routes and mosques with violence, it also killed famous Shia personalities in targeted attacks.

After the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda, the US launched its war on terror with Pakistan as an ally, and it got prominence once more. The LeJ began supporting terrorists against Pakistan to punish it for joining the war on terror. LeJ built its network with nearly all other terror organisations present in the region throughout the 20-year period of instability in the Af-Pak region.

Pakistan has seen a rise in intolerance against minorities in the country in recent years, and the major political parties have been silently supporting this trend. Cases of blasphemy stemming from unfounded accusations of Quran burning, insulting the Prophet, and disrespecting the faith have resulted in the lynching of both domestic and foreign religious minorities.

After AAP extended in-principle support to UCC, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says ‘same laws for everyone will divide people’

OpIndia Staff
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After AAP extended in-principle support to UCC, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says ‘same laws for everyone will divide people’

Days after the Aam Aadmi Party extended ‘in principle’ support to UCC, Punjab Chief Minister and Senior AAP leader Bhagwant Mann has taken a completely opposite stand. 

On the 4th of July, while interacting with the media personnel in Chandigarh, the Senior AAP leader took a contradictory line with his own party. Responding to the issue of UCC, the Punjab CM urged the Centre not to tamper with such sensitive issues. 

Mann advised the Union government to follow the Constitution which according to him says that UCC can be put in place when everyone is socially equal. 

He said, “Our country is like a bouquet, which has flowers of every colour. Every religion and faith and also their rituals should be respected. Why do they keep tampering with such sensitive issues? They should follow the Constitution that says if everyone is socially equal, then there can be a UCC”.

Stating that AAP is a secular party, Mann asserted that the same laws for everyone will divide the people so for that reason the party can’t support BJP’s “divisive agenda”.   

He added, “It is BJP’s agenda to divide during elections. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a secular party and it does not support any such agenda.”

However, it is pertinent to note that earlier AAP had publicly extended in-principle support to the UCC. On the 28th of June, Sandeep Pathak, AAP’s general secretary (organization) said that the party is extending its “in-principle support” to UCC. 


Pathak said, “In principle, we support Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as Article 44 also says that there should be UCC in the country.”

However, Pathak also urged the Union government to build consensus with all religions, political parties, and organizations.

Earlier, its open support to UCC had mounted troubles for the AAP government in Punjab. CM Mann drew criticism from the opposition parties within the state. 

The Congress criticised it and claimed that it is like “backing the BJP-led Union government’s agenda of polarisation ahead of the 2024 general elections”. Similarly, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was putting pressure on Mann to clear his stand on this issue. 

Centre’s ordinance on Delhi is an attack on the Constitution

Punjab CM Mann also criticised the Union government and PM Mod for passing the ordinance in Delhi. He urged the Congress party to support the AAP in stopping the ordinance from turning into an act.

He claimed that the ordinance brought in Delhi is an attack on the constitution of the country. 

He said, “The AAP is a national party. In 2024, we have to save the country. If they change the Constitution then what is the country? The ordinance is unconstitutional. If they are allowed to do this today then they can attack federalism in all other states. The Congress is the worst hit. It should oppose the ordinance and support the AAP.”

After Canada, Khalistani posters targeting Indian diplomats appear in Australia

OpIndia Staff
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After Canada, Khalistani posters targeting Indian diplomats appear in Australia

On 4th July (local time), Khalistani posters targeting Indian High Commissioner and Counsul-General appeared in Australia. Both Indian diplomats have been named as “killers” of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. A march on the Indian Embassy has been announced in the poster which is scheduled for 8th July in Melbourne. Retired senior correspondent Terry Milewski shared the poster on Twitter and wrote, “Khalistani posters targeting Indian diplomats spread to Australia after Canada”.

As per the Australia Today report, the Indian Consulate in Melbourne has had two briefings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Australian Federal Police officials about this matter. An unnamed Indian official was quoted by Australian Today saying, “Indian Authorities are taking this very seriously and are in touch with relevant Australian officials.”

Speaking to the Australian Today, a DFAT spokesperson said, “The Australian Government takes seriously its obligations under the Vienna Convention to ensure the security of foreign missions and their staff in Australia.” They added, “Australia does not tolerate hate speech, violence, or threats of violence. Any threat to accredited officials residing in Australia will be investigated.”

Similar posters threatening Indian diplomats surface in Canada

Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mélanie Joly, took cognisance of the Khalistanis threatening Indian diplomats in posters circulated in Canada and said that it is unacceptable. She said that the country takes its obligations under the Vienna Conventions regarding the safety of diplomats very seriously.

The posters that reportedly emerged across Canada warned that a Khalistan freedom rally, held in the name of slain Khalistani terrorist Harjit Singh Nijjar would be organized on 8th July. The poster read that the rally would be carried out from the Great Punjab Business Centre in Maltan to the Indian Embassy in Toronto. The threatening poster also carried pictures of India’s high commissioner to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and the consulate general in Toronto, Apoorva Srivastava, with the caption that read, “Faces of Shaheed Nijjar’s killers in Toronto.”

While the poster for a protest rally in Toronto on 8th July named Indian High Commissioner Saurav Kumar Sharma and Counsellor Apurva Srivastava, posters of a simultaneous rally in Vancouver named the High Commissioner and Counsel General of Vancouver Manish.

As reported earlier, the Khalistanis blame India for the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was shot dead in Surrey, Canada, on 18th June. He was shot dead by two unidentified assailants within the Gurdwara premises. 46-year-old Nijjar hailed from the village Bhar Singhpura of Jalandhar.

His name was added to the list of designated terrorists recently by the Indian Government. In 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared a Rs 10 lakh reward on Nijjar after his name appeared in a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Jalandhar, Punjab.

Shah Rukh Khan meets with an accident, undergoes surgery in Los Angeles, USA

OpIndia Staff
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Shah Rukh Khan meets with an accident, undergoes surgery in Los Angeles, USA

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan underwent surgery in the US after suffering an accident while on set in Los Angeles. As per the reports by ET, the actor is resting at home upon return to India.

The Bollywood actor is said to have broken his nose while filming in Los Angeles for a project. He started bleeding, and was taken right away to the hospital. The doctors assured his staff that there was no reason for concern and that he would just require a simple operation to halt the bleeding. After the procedure, SRK was seen with a bandage on his nose.

Shah Rukh Khan had a successful start to the year professionally with his movie Pathaan making good money at the box office. The actor will next be seen with Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi in his upcoming film named Atlee’s ‘Jawan’. In addition, Shah Rukh Khan will star in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, also featuring Taapsee Pannu. 

His most recent project was the 2022 movie Darlings, which he co-produced with Alia Bhatt, who played the main role. In addition to being an actor and a producer, he is a co-owner of the IPL cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders. Earlier this year, he also served as a model for his son Aryan Khan’s high-end clothing line.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to launch Twitter competitor App named ‘Threads’: Here is what Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk say

OpIndia Staff
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Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to launch Twitter competitor App named ‘Threads’: Here is what Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk say

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is expected to launch a new app named ‘Threads’ on 6th July. It appears to be a competitor of Twitter. An early listing of the app has made its way to the App Store.

In the launch date teaser on Instagram, Meta mentioned the date of the launch as 6th July at 10 AM ET. The spinning ticket that is shown in the ticket also includes a teaser that takes to threads.net, which appears to be the web portal of the new social media app. On the website, it shows a countdown for the launch date.

As per the official description of the app on the App Store, it reads, “Say more with Threads — Instagram’s text-based conversation app.

Threads are where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favourite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”

The listing on both App Store and Google Play Store have similar screenshots showing how an Instagram handle can be used to login into Threads. You can find accounts you follow on Instagram on the new platform and publish posts in an interface similar to Twitter, Bluesky and Mastodon, which are text-focused social media apps.

Reportedly, the meeting last month where Meta executives shared that Instagram Threads would integrate with the decentralized social media protocol that is used by Mastodon is the same meeting that sparked the possibility of a ‘cage match’ between Meta’s chief Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s chief Elon Musk. In the meeting, it was said, “We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run.”

Twitter’s changing rules and restrictions for non-subscribers

Threads have been announced at a time when Twitter is facing issues. Recently, Musk blocked unregistered users from being able to see tweets. Later, rate limits were imposed on the users resulting in platform-wide criticism. Musk said in a tweet that rate limits were introduced to block companies, including AI developers, from scrapping data from the platform.

Twitter has also rolled out major changes in TweetDeck, a tool professionals use, including journalists. Furthermore, TweetDeck is scheduled to become a paid feature within a month.

In response to the announcement of the new app Threads, Musk replied to a handful of tweets that pointed out how much data Meta’s new app is going to collect about users. In response to one of the tweets, he said, “Thank goodness they are so sanely run,” in a sarcastic tone.

Furthermore, Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey has also come in support of his brainchild. Jack expressed shock at the amount of data Meta was going to collect. Replying to him, Musk wrote, “Yeah”.

It’s interesting to note that Meta has a history of borrowing ideas from other applications and making them its own. In the past, several such ideas have worked well for the company. For example, Reels that are available on Instagram and Facebook are seen as a copy of TikTok’s short video format ‘vines’. Stories look strikingly similar to Snapchat features. In both cases, Meta has gained popularity and approval from the users.

While Twitter, under the new leadership, is exploring what would work best for the future, there are speculations that Meta’s new application might become more popular than the former.

Gym trainer Kauser Ali pretends to be single, traps married woman then rapes her: Are gyms becoming the new playground for Love Jihad?

OpIndia Staff
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Gym trainer Kauser Ali pretends to be single, traps married woman then rapes her: Are gyms becoming the new playground for Love Jihad?

A case of cheating and physical abuse of a young married woman by her gym trainer has come up in the Surat city of Gujarat. The incident came to the fore on June 27, when the victim Preeti (name changed) filed a complaint against her fitness trainer Kauser Ali Shabbir Ali Kubbawala with the Salabatpura police, accusing him of cheating, rape and unnatural sex. Based on the complaint, the Surat police arrested the accused and sent him to jail.

According to reports, the accused Kauser Ali operated a gym in Surat’s Begampura area. He also worked as a cable operator in the area. Preeti, meanwhile, lived with her husband and two children in the Salabatpura locality in Surat. Preeti started going to Kauser’s gym where he began giving her personal fitness training.

Pretending to be unmarried, Kauser Ali gradually trapped Preeti in his love trap. He convinced her to divorce her husband and get into a live-in relationship with him.

Preeti (name changed), who was madly in love with Kauser, fell into his trap and moved in with him in January 2022. Promising to marry her after Ramadan, Kauser Ali, frequently raped and committed unnatural sex with her.

After Ramadan passed and Preeti started exerting pressure on Kauser Ali to marry her, the latter started avoiding her.

A few days later, the victim saw another woman living in the same house as she was. She immediately understood that Kauser Ali was previously married and had been lying to her for all this while. Infuriated by the web of lies he had woven to lure her, the victim confronted Kauser Ali.

When caught, Kauser Ali and his wife started physically and mentally abusing Preeti. Fed up with the torture, she returned to her parent’s home, but her problems persisted. Kauser Ali and his wife continued to threaten to kill her if she went to the police or spoke about her ordeal to her family members.

The victim remained silent about her trauma until lately, but last week, she finally made the decision to speak up and went to the Sabalatpura police station to file a complaint against Kauser Ali and his wife. In her complaint, she accused Kauser Ali of cheating and rape and accused his wife of assault. Based on the complaint, the Surat police arrested Kauser Ali. Currently, further investigation is going on in the matter.

Such incidents, where Muslim gym instructors specifically target Hindu women visiting the gym for fitness training, are becoming increasingly common. In April this year, a gym trainer in the Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh was booked for allegedly raping a woman by keeping her son at knifepoint. The Muslim man had introduced himself as a Hindu and had a friendship with the Hindu woman, but after she learnt that he is Muslim, she ended communications with him. As revenge, he went to her house and raped her.

In February 2023, a gym owner in Bhopal named Momeen became friends with a Hindu girl using the Hindu name Anshu. After getting close to her, he managed to click some obscene photographs of her. He then threatened the victim with these pictures when his real identity was revealed.

Last year in December, a man named Intezaar Khan lured the victim, while pretending to be Sonu, on the pretext of marriage. The man also gave the woman a job as a manager in his gym. Following this, he raped her on the pretext of marriage. The accused are running an ASR gym in the Shahberi area in Greater Noida.

Similarly, in September last year, a fresh case of Grooming Jihad came to the fore in the Chinhat locality of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh where one Faizal Ahmad posed as Athrav Singh and married a Hindu girl under a false identity. The accused, Faizal, was arrested on the complaint of the woman and sent to jail. The accused was a gym trainer. 

De-Dollarization: Indian refineries use Chinese Yuan for some oil imports from Russia, say reports

OpIndia Staff
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De-Dollarization: Indian refineries use Chinese Yuan for some oil imports from Russia, say reports

On 3rd July (local time), Reuters reported that Indian refiners have started to pay for some oil imports from Russia in Chinese Yuan. Western sanctions on Russia after its military action on Ukraine have forced its customer countries like India to find an alternative to the dollar to settle payments. Notably, India has emerged as the largest buyer of Russian seaborne oil since the military action in Ukraine started.

The US dollar has long been used as a global oil currency. However, geopolitical reasons have forced India to shift to an alternative currency, especially at the time when Russia has been frozen out of dollar and euro trade by the financial networks. China has also been paying Russia in Yuan for energy imports. Earlier, Saudi Arabia was China’s top crude supplier, but Russia took over the spot in the first quarter of 2023.

Quoting an unnamed source from the Indian government, Reuters noted, “Some refiners are paying in other currencies like yuan if banks are not willing to settle trade in dollars.” In June this year, Indian Oil Corp, the country’s biggest Russian crude oil buyer, became the first state refiner to use Yuan as a payment mode, sources told Reuters. So far, at least three private refiners in India have started shifting Yuan, the report said.

It is unclear how much oil was brought using Yuan as a payment mode. Sources revealed that multiple cargoes were paid for using Chinese currency. Notably, Chinese banks have been promoting Yuan’s use specifically for the Russian oil trade. If India shifts to Yuan further, it will help in boosting China’s efforts to internationalize its currency.

Earlier, some non-dollar payments for Russian oil were made in United Arab Emirates’ dirham as well. Reuters quoted a source saying, “First preference is to pay in dollars, but refiners sometimes pay in other currencies such as dirham and Yuan when sellers ask them.”

India has been trying to convince Russia to accept oil payments in Indian rupees but has not succeeded. Business Insider report suggested Moscow has been unable to convert the large rupee stockpile that it has, which could be the reason for reluctance towards using the rupee as a payment mode for oil trade. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “As for rupees, this is a problem because there are billions of rupees accumulated in accounts at Indian banks, and we need to use this money. For this, rupees should be converted into other currencies. This is being discussed.”

Notably, India had asked banks and traders in March to avoid Yuan for Russian imports keeping the long-running political scuffle in mind. However, it is unclear what prompted the change in India’s position.

In May this year, Russian oil accounted for 40% of total India’s imports. Last year, it was 16.5%. The increase in Russian imports has directly impacted the purchases from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Western countries have pushed India to stop buying oil from Russia, but the Indian Government has emphasized taking care of the energy needs of the people of India.

Reports suggest that despite no violation of any norms in paying for Russian oil in dollars, as India does not recognize the sanctions against Russia, the Indian banks have shown reluctance in paying for imports in the US currency. Business Insider report suggested the Indian banks fear potential secondary sanctions if the dollar is used to pay for Russian oil.

Reuters sources said that in May this year, the State Bank of India refused to pay for imports by IOC in dollars. Later, in June, IOC used ICICI Bank to settle the payment in Yuan via the Bank of China. Another state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd is also exploring possibilities of using Yuan as a mode of payment for Russian oil as per reports.

Recently, Argentina made some of the repayment of the 2.7 billion USD loan to the IMF in Chinese Yuan.

Thousands flee Jenin as Israel’s crackdown on terrorism from West Bank enters the second day

OpIndia Staff
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Thousands flee Jenin as Israel’s crackdown on terrorism from West Bank enters the second day

On Tuesday, 4th of July, Israel’s major anti-terror operation in the West Bank entered the second day. The major offensive is being widely reported as one of the largest such military operations launched by Israel in nearly two decades. 

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has constantly maintained that they will continue the operation to flush out the armed groups targeting Israel from the West Bank city of Jenin for “as long as it takes”.  

The operation started on Monday, 3rd July. The Israeli military stated that the operation began shortly after 1 AM. The Israeli force added that it carried out drone attacks from the air on terrorist infrastructure in the Jenin area. 

As per media reports, the Israeli forces carried out nearly ten drone strikes on the militant hideouts in the Jenin refugee camp. The strikes were later followed by a ground operation which reportedly included military bulldozers as well. Military officials added that the operation focused on militant targets in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp. 

Reportedly, on the first day of operation, 3rd July, the drone strikes hit an apartment in the centre of Jenin’s refugee camp. As per the Israeli military, the apartment was being used as a “joint operational command centre” for the camp and the Jenin Brigades. ‘Jenin brigades’ are the unit made up of different Palestinian militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The military said Israeli forces also targeted a facility for weapons production and explosive device storage, and located and confiscated an improvised rocket launcher.

As per BBC, Israel stated that it had “dealt a heavy blow to terrorist organisations in Jenin”. Israeli military officials added that a “brigade-size” force was operating in Jenin. Media reports claim that around two thousand soldiers have been deployed in the Palestinian city of Jenin.

IDF rejects reports ordering evacuation in West Bank as “baseless”

After the drone strikes near the Jenin refugee camp, thousands of Palestinians fled the Jenin refugee camp which is currently the major site of the clash. 

Subsequently, there have been gun battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian terrorists. Although there are differing reports on the number of casualties, Palestinians have claimed that nearly ten people have died so far while more than 50 individuals have suffered injuries. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency services group stated that around 3,000 people had already been evacuated from the camp so far. Talking to AFP, Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Roub said, “There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far.” 

While the Palestinian media has claimed that IDF had asked the residents to leave the area, Israeli officials have firmly rejected reports of ordering an evacuation calling it “baseless.”

Defense officials told the Ynet news site that the IDF did not issue an evacuation order. They added that the residents of Jenin were fleeing on their own to escape the fighting.

Jenin: The centre of the conflict

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted that even though the forces are operating in a densely populated area, “they are doing it with minimal harm to civilians.” He said, “In recent months, Jenin has become a haven for terrorism — we are putting an end to it.” 

Israel forces believe that there are hundreds of armed Palestinians in the Jenin area. The Palestinian city has long been a stronghold of the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad group and Hamas. It is important to note that Hamas is the Islamic terrorist group that controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza. 

From Jenin alone, 50 shooting attacks have been carried out against the Israeli military in the past six months, as told by Israeli forces. Further, as per the Israeli authorities, around 19 people suspected of attacks on Israelis had found shelter in Jenin. 

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said the goal of the Israeli operation was “to break the safe-haven mindset” of the refugee camp.

The spark for the latest conflict in Jenin

Last month, four Israeli civilians were killed outside a West Bank Jewish settlement by two Hamas gunmen. Though reports claim that the Hamas attackers had no links with suspected terrorists from Jenin, there was intense pressure on the Israeli government to launch a crackdown against terror networks operating against Israel, resulting in the death of their soldiers.

As per the New York Times, the Monday strikes’ by Israel are the most intense airstrikes on the West Bank in nearly two decades. The last time Israel carried out such a major operation in the West Bank was during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in 2002. 

Reports also claim that this year is turning out to be the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in more than a decade. Around 140 terrorists have been killed over the past six months. 

Maharashtra Political Crisis: Chaos at Ajit Pawar’s new office as supporters not provided with keys to building ahead of inauguration

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra Political Crisis: Chaos at Ajit Pawar’s new office as supporters not provided with keys to building ahead of inauguration

After a week of heavy political drama, the Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde, the BJP, and the NCP under Ajit Pawar are holding their first cabinet meeting at Mantralaya in Mumbai. Meanwhile, new state Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is also said to have inaugurated his new office opposite the Mantralaya on Tuesday, July 4.

According to the reports, a little chaos is said to have erupted outside the new party office of the Ajit Pawar faction after the party members were not provided with the key to the building ahead of the inauguration. The party members then pushed the door forcibly for the event. The keys to the building were not provided by the PWD (State Public Works Department), as per the Ajit Pawar faction supporters.

The political drama in the state has become more intense two days after the vertical split took place in the NCP. Earlier, the expulsion of MPs Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel for “anti-party activities” was announced by NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Monday, July 3. This happened after Patel ‘installed’ Tatkare as the new state president and ‘removed’ Jayant Patil as the president of the Maharashtra NCP.

Further, Ajit Pawar and the other eight party MLAs had received a letter from Jayant Patil alerting them that they were being investigated for disqualification.

Jitendra Awhad replaced Ajit Pawar as the leader of the opposition in the assembly on Sunday after Pawar opened a rift among the NCP by joining the Maharashtra government.

As per the reports, the first cabinet meeting of the three-parties coalition between the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and NCP led by Ajit Pawar is underway at Mantralaya in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the Congress is also holding a meeting of its legislators, where the issue of staking a claim to the post of the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly is likely to come up for discussion.

Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat commented on the meeting and stated that the Leader of the Opposition will be from the party which has the maximum number of MLAs.

51 NCP MLAs wanted Sharad Pawar to join BJP: Praful Patel

The leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, Praful Patel, asserted on July 4 that after the MVA government in Maharashtra fell apart last year, 51 of the party’s 53 MLAs had suggested exploring the idea of working with the BJP.

In an interview with Marathi media outlet Zee 24 Taas, Patel, who has now joined Ajit Pawar’s side, argued that if the NCP can form a government with the Shiv Sena, why not with the BJP. He also said that the decision to be a part of the ruling government is not impulsive but it is well thought out. “Many of the NCP members wanted this to happen. A lot of discussions happened within the party,” Patel was quoted as saying.

“There were discussions on this issue, but no decision was arrived at. Now a shape has been given. The decision has been taken as a party, not by me or Ajit Pawar individually. Jayant Patil was among the 51 MLAs, who wanted Sharad Pawar to explore the possibility of joining the government. Only Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik were not present. The NCP ministers wrote a letter to Sharad Pawar saying the party shouldn’t stay out of power. There is no harm in exploring the possibility of joining the government,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

Further commenting on why the step to join the government was not taken, Patel said, “No decision was arrived at and the other side may have felt we were not required.”

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