Agreement Close On Two-Day Extension To Israel-Hamas Truce, Says Egypt

A senior Egyptian official said on Monday that Egypt and Qatar were close to securing a deal to extend a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza by two days, continuing a pause in seven weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said the extension would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages from among those seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. In exchange 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be freed, he said.

The truce is due to end on Monday night.

With the release of 11 Israeli hostages expected on Monday, negotiations remain ongoing for the release of 33 Palestinians, Rashwan added.

Earlier, Hamas was reported to be seeking a four-day extension while Israel wanted day-by-day extensions.

An Israeli official reiterated Israel's position that it would agree to an extra day of truce for the release of each group of 10 hostages. In exchange, three times the number of Palestinian prisoners would be released each time. The limit would be five days, the official added.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said an extension was within reach and this could allow the international community to work on a political solution to the conflict.

The truce agreed last week was the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back into Gaza.

In response to that attack, Israel has bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza health authorities say, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Wide areas of the Hamas-ruled enclave have been flattened by Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments, and a humanitarian crisis has unfolded as supplies of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine run out.

On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 people, including a 4-year-old Israeli-American girl, bringing the total number the militant group has released since Friday to 58, including foreigners. Israel freed 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, taking the total number of Palestinians freed under the truce to 117.

Under the terms of the current deal, Hamas is due to release in total 50 Israeli women and children held hostage in Gaza. There is no limit in the deal on the number of foreigners it can release.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the total number of hostages still held in Gaza on Monday was 184, including 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual nationality.

Both Israel and Hamas raised concerns over Monday's lists and Qatari mediators were working with them to resolve the issues and avoid delays, an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it was reviewing the list of Palestinian prisoners it had received from Hamas for release on Monday and would provide further information when possible.

Netanyahu said at the weekend that once the truce ends, "we will return with full force to achieve our goals: the elimination of Hamas; ensuring that Gaza does not return to what it was; and of course the release of all our hostages."

Brief Respite

Palestinians in Gaza said on Monday they were praying for an extension of the truce. Some were visiting homes reduced to rubble by weeks of intensive Israeli bombardment, while others queued for flour and other essential aid being delivered by the United Nations' relief agency UNRWA.

UNRWA was awaiting Israeli clearance on Monday to send aid trucks and ambulances into northern Gaza.

"Too many people have lost their lives, too many people have lost their houses, so we welcome this ceasefire. We hope that this ceasefire is extended," Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs, told Reuters.

Palestinians gave the freed prisoners a jubilant reception in Ramallah, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Omar Abdullah Al Hajj, 17, released on Sunday, told Reuters he had been kept in the dark about what was happening in the outside world.

"We were 11 people crammed into a single room where usually there are six. There was never enough food and I was never told how long I was going to stay," he said.

"I can't believe I'm free now but my joy is incomplete because we still have our brothers who remain in prison," said Al Hajj.

Israel's Justice Ministry accused him of belonging to the Islamic Jihad militant group and posing a security threat which it did not specify.

Diplomacy

Speaking at a conference in Barcelona on the Gaza crisis, the EU's Borrell said the Palestinian Authority (PA) - which runs the occupied West Bank - should regain control of Gaza from Hamas as it offered a "better" alternative.

The EU, the United States, Britain, and others classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Borrell also urged Israel not to "recolonise Gaza", saying that the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza was the best guarantee of Israel's peace and security.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the same conference that the events in Gaza were within the realm of the legal definition of genocide, and called for an end to all killings and displacements of people in Gaza.

Israel says it is acting in self-defence against a foe bent on its destruction.

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‘दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी लीग…’ IPL में खेलने की बाट जोह रहा PAK का तूफानी बॉलर

पाकिस्तान के अनुभवी तेज गेंदबाज हसन अली ने आईपीएल को दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी लीग में से एक बताया है. उनका कहना है कि यदि इस लीग में उन्हें खेलने का मौका मिलेगा तो वह जरूर इसमें गेंदबाजी करेंगे. हसन अली की पत्नी शामिया आरजू इंडियन हैं.

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AAP Announces "Ambedkar Fellowship For Political Change" For Youngsters

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced the "Ambedkar Fellowship for Political Change" on Sunday to involve youngsters in the country's decision-making processes.

The selected fellows will be engaged in field campaigns, media and communications, and research and data analysis. The fellowship will be for 11 months and the location will be on a hybrid basis, according to an official statement.

"The AAP is the fastest-growing party in the history of India because it is a party of honest and educated people. No matter where you live in the country, if you have the zeal to change Indian politics and make India the number one country in the world, this fellowship programme is a golden opportunity for you," Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the party, said.

Fresh graduates or young professionals from diverse backgrounds, who have a keen interest in research, media, and communications and are less than 40 years of age, are eligible to apply for the fellowship.

On its official handle on X, the party said: "The AAP is launching one of its kind initiative 'Ambedkar Fellowship for Political Change'. With the launch of this fellowship programme, we are inviting political enthusiasts who have a burning passion for politics and wish to bring reform to the country." Over the 11-month period, the fellows will get hands-on experience working with senior leaders and professionals and will be part of the political process (ringside view of election campaigning). After a probationary period of three months, they will receive a stipend. They will be selected through a two-stage process -- application screening and interview.

The list of those selected will be released on December 25. The joining process for the first group of candidates will start on January 2, the statement said.

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Voting Figures Marginally Higher In Rajasthan, Data Shows

The voting percentage in Rajasthan, which votes out the incumbent government at every election, was marginally higher than the last time. In 2018, 74.24 per cent people had voted in the election, the corresponding figure was 74.62 per cent this time.

Counting in postal ballot, the figure in 2018 was 74.71 per cent and this year, 75.45 per cent, data showed a day after polling.

The conventional wisdom that higher turnout means that the incumbent will be voted out is redundant in Rajasthan, which has consistently voted out the ruling government since the 1990s.

Still, the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot, is hoping for a second term while the BJP waits in the wings.

Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted that the INDIA Alliance will be wiped out in the assembly elections being held in the three heartland states including Rajasthan.

"I have seen in the three states that "Indi alliance" (INDIA alliance) will be wiped out. The women, farmers there are going to uproot the Congress party," he said at an election rally at Telangana's Toopran.

Earlier today, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje offered prayers at the Gotameshwar Mahadev Temple in Pratapgarh and Tripura Sundari Temple in Banswara district.

The election results will show that the people of the state have embraced PM Modi's vision, said the veteran leader.

The BJP has not projected Ms Raje as the Chief Ministerial candidate in the state this time, and contested under the banner of PM Modi.

Polling in 199 out of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan was held on Saturday and results will be declared on December 3.

The election to the Karanpur seat in Sriganganagar district has been postponed due to the death of the Congress candidate.

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Woman Duped Of Over 12 Lakh On Promise Of Performing Rituals To Solve Problems: Cops

Three persons have been arrested in Maharashtra's Nagpur district for allegedly duping a woman of more than Rs 12 lakh by promising to perform rituals to resolve problems in her life, police said on Sunday.

Based on a complaint, the police have arrested Ishwar alias Indra Pappu Sharma (35), Sunil Pappu Sharma (38) and Chiranjilal Bhargava (19) under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013, an official said.

The complainant, a 38-year-old woman, alleged that the accused exploited her emotionally and financially under the guise of removing supernatural obstacles from her life.

Over the course of several transactions, the accused allegedly extorted Rs 6.53 lakh and gold jewellery, in three years, the official said, adding that a probe is underway.

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4,6,4,4,6..रिंकू सिंह ने गेंदबाजों ने भरा खौफ, 1 ही ओवर में की रनों की बौछार

IND vs AUS: पहले मैच में ऑस्ट्रेलिया के हाथ से जीत छीनने वाले रिंकू सिंह (Rinku Singh) ने मेहमानों के अंदर खौफ भर दिया है. दूसरे टी20 में भी अपने आक्रामक अंदाज से रिंकू सिंह ने महफिल लूट ली. उनकी पारी की बदौलत भारतीय टीम ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया के सामने विशाल लक्ष्य रख दिया है.

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Supertech Money Laundering Investigation Leads Probe Team To DLF Doorstep

The Enforcement Directorate has searched the premises of realty major DLF in Gurugram as part of a money laundering investigation against real estate firm Supertech and its promoters.

The central agency has recovered some documents during the action that was carried out over the past few days, sources told news agency PTI.

The action is linked to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation against Supertech, the sources said.

In a statement, DLF said a team of officials from the Enforcement Directorate visited their premises seeking information with respect to the investigation being conducted in the matter of Supertech.

"The officials sought details of transactions relevant to the said investigation. The company extended full cooperation by providing them all relevant documents in this regard. We would like to re-iterate that the said transactions were conducted in the ordinary course of business," DLF said.

"The company has always conducted its businesses in total compliance of the laws of the land and follows the highest standards of compliance and governance," DLF said.

The ED had arrested Supertech promoter RK or Ram Kishor Arora in this case in June.

It had then alleged that Mr Arora was the main controlling person of the group who decided to "divert" crores of funds of investors and homebuyers to various shell companies.

The money laundering case, filed under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from as many as 26 FIRs registered by the police departments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh against Supertech Limited and its group companies on allegations of cheating 670 homebuyers for an amount of Rs 164 crore.

The ED had said "huge amounts of money running into hundreds of crores were siphoned off through Supertech Group and they failed to adhere to their agreed obligations to provide the possession of flats to customers on time".

It claimed that Supertech Group "siphoned off Rs 440 crore received from customers and homebuyers for purchasing land in Gurugram in 2013-14 at highly inflated prices while their already promised projects in Noida were not completed".

A new project was launched on this newly acquired land and further advance was collected from hundreds of homebuyers and loans were taken from banks/NBFCs which also became NPA and were declared "fraud" by banks, it alleged.

Supertech Ltd, which was formed in 1988, has so far delivered around 80,000 apartments, mainly in the Delhi-NCR market. The company is currently developing around 25 projects across National Capital Region (NCR). It is yet to give possession to more than 20,000 customers.

The company has been in crisis since last year.

In August 2022, Supertech suffered a big setback when its nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- located on Noida Expressway were demolished as per a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of norms.

More than 3,700 kgs of explosives were used to demolish the two towers.

Mr Arora had then said that the company incurred a loss of about Rs 500 crore, including construction and interest costs, because of the demolition of its twin towers in Noida.

The company suffered another blow last year when the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in March had ordered to initiate the insolvency proceedings against Supertech Ltd over a petition filed by the Union Bank of India for non-payment of dues of around Rs 432 crore.

However, this was challenged by Mr Arora before the NCLAT.

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3 Kuki MLAs Removed From Chairmanship Of Manipur Assembly Committees

Three MLAs in Manipur from the Kuki-Zo community have been removed from the chairmanship of committees of the state assembly. An assembly bulletin said the Speaker has appointed Mayanglambam Rameshwor chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings, replacing the previous chairman.

Mayanglambam is the National People's Party (NPP) MLA from Kakching assembly constituency. The post was previously held by LM Khaute, who represents the Churachandpur seat.

A separate bulletin said Mao constituency's Naga People's Front (NPF) MLA Losii Dikho was appointed chairman of the Committee on Government Assurances. The post was earlier held by Saitu constituency's independent MLA Haokholet Kipgen.

Lamlai BJP MLA K Ibomcha was appointed chairman of the Assembly Library Committee in place of Vungzagin Valte, the BJP MLA from Thanlon constituency in Churachandpur district.

Valte was injured after being assaulted when ethnic violence started in Manipur between the Meiteis and Kuki tribes.

The bulletins concerning the appointments were issued on Wednesday.

The notifications did not cite any reason for the replacements, but as per Rule 198 (2) of the assembly, "if the chairman is for any reason is unable to act, the Speaker may appoint another chairman in his place".

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Iran Hangs 17-Year-Old Killing A Man In Brawl: Right Groups

Iran has executed a 17-year-old convicted of murder, two rights groups said on Saturday, expressing outrage that the Islamic Republic continues to hang people for crimes committed as minors.

Hamidreza Azari was executed on Friday in prison in the eastern town of Sabzevar in Razavi Khorasan province, the Norway-based Hengaw and Iran Human Rights (IHR) groups said in separate statements.

Persian-language satellite TV channel Iran International also reported the execution, saying Azari was the only child in his family and despite his age had already a few years ago started working as a scrap worker.

Citing documents they had seen, both Hengaw and IHR said he was 16 years old at the time of the crime and 17 when executed. He had reportedly been sentenced to death for killing a man in a brawl in May.

The rights groups said the execution marked another violation by Iran of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as any person under the age of 18.

"Iran is one of the few countries that sentences child convicts to death and executes more juveniles than all other countries," IHR said, adding that according to its data at least 68 minors have been executed in Iran since 2010.

IHR director Mahmood-Amiry Moghaddam added: "In Iran, if someone wants to get a driver's licence, they must be 18 years old, but 15 years old is enough to be executed."

IHR said Iran's latest penal code explicitly defined 15 as the age of criminal responsibility for boys.

The group said Iranian media had reported the execution of a person named as Hamidreza A. but falsely gave his age as 18 in a "deliberate attempt to evade accountability for violating international laws".

Iran on Thursday also executed a man in his early 20s who was the eighth person to be hanged in a case related to months of nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022.

The protests were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

Campaigners say Iran is on a spree of executions unprecedented in recent years, seeking to intimidate the public in the wake of the protests.

According to IHR, at least 684 people have been executed this year in Iran, mainly on drugs-related and murder charges.

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रोहित शर्मा का चहेता हुआ रिंकू सिंह का फैन, कहा- मैच फिनिश करना सीखना है

तिलक वर्मा ने रिंकू सिंह से एक सीजन पहले आईपीएल में अपनी छाप छोड़ दी थी लेकिन हैदराबाद का यह युवा खिलाड़ी राष्ट्रीय टीम के अपने साथी से टी20 के करीबी मैचों को ‘फिनिश’ (मैच का सकारात्मक अंत) करने कि कला सीखना चाहता है.

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When They Feel They Are Stumbling...: Sachin Pilot Attacks BJP

Expressing confidence in Congress winning the assembly polls in Rajasthan, party leader Sachin Pilot on Friday said that people have made up their minds and the party will return to power in the polling to be held on Saturday.

"Leaders must speak on development issues in rallies, what is the planning for the future, what is the report card now. If the public issues are given priority, then a good narrative will be created in the elections. Congress' campaign was very positive. Though BJP tried to personalize it, to stir up emotional issues, I think their campaign did not catch the public eye," Mr Pilot told ANI.

"People have made up their mind and voting tomorrow will be in favour of Congress," he added.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark about alleged victimisation with him in the Congress, Mr Pilot said when BJP feels that they are losing, they start saying such things to divert from issues.

"Eight crore people live in Rajasthan. When the government is formed, there is the support of everyone - be it the farmers, youth, forward or the backward. Efforts should be made to bring everyone together. I think caste politics or religious politics is not a healthy sign for a democracy. We should set an example for the next generation... But whenever the BJP feels that they are stumbling and they are not going to get a majority and they will lose, they say things like this to create distractions. But people understand everything...I am satisfied that we will get good results on December 3," he said.

PM Modi, in his election rallies in the state earlier this week, alleged that Sachin Pilot was being victimised because his father Rajesh Pilot had challenged the Gandhi family once in the 1990s.

He also accused the Congress "royal family" of depriving "Gurjar son" Pilot of the chief minister's post.

Mr Pilot said "caste politics and religious politics" can be a threat to democracy.

He also called upon people to exercise their franchise on the voting day in large numbers.

"The most important thing is that the vote percentage should be good. Leader, policy, and leadership--one should vote considering these in mind," he said.

Voting will be held on November 25 in 199 of 200 assembly constituencies in the state. Over 5.2 crore people are eligible to vote in the polls.

The election to the Karanpur constituency has been adjourned due to the death of a Congress candidate.

In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, and BJP got 73.

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BJP Candidate Puts Poster To Welcome Eknath Shinde, Sanjay Raut Reacts

A poster put up by a BJP candidate in Rajasthan assembly elections to welcome Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde for the poll campaign has led to a slanging match between the two Shiv Sena factions, led by Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray.

On Friday, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut objected to Shinde being touted on the poster as Hinduhridaysamrat (emperor of Hindu hearts), a title used to describe Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

"What great deed has Shinde done to earn this title," Mr Raut said while speaking to reporters.

The poster was put up by workers of Balmukundacharya, a BJP candidate from Hawa Mahal assembly constituency to welcome Mr Shinde during the latter's recent poll campaign visit to Rajasthan.

"A new trend has started to term those who betrayed ideology for the greed of power," Mr Raut said, in an apparent reference to Mr Shinde and his group of 40 MLAs ditching Uddhav Thackeray last year to join the state government in Maharashtra.

The Shinde group termed Mr Raut's remarks as being the result of frustration. "Shinde is frustrated, that is why he is making such comments," Sena spokesperson Arun Sawant said.

"Why were leaders in the Thackeray group silent when Bal Thackeray was referred to without the title during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray," he said.

Responding to the controversy over Mr Shinde being labelled Hinduhridaysamrat, state BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, "One should understand that somebody else puts up such banners. Will Shinde himself put up his own banner? Workers are enthusiastic about leaders. It is natural for workers to have feelings for Mr Shinde, who they feel is going by the path followed by Bal Thackeray."

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Follow Orders If You Want To Do Business In India: Delhi High Court To Domain Name Registrars

The Delhi High Court on Friday cautioned domain name registrars (DNRs) against non-compliance of judicial orders and said if they want to do business in India, then they should follow its directions on taking action against those indulging in illegal activities online, or run the risk of being "blocked" by MEITY.

A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan said DNRs cannot "become instrument of syndicating scams" and called upon them to "remain vigilant" in the face of misuse of known trademarks to register websites to carry out illegal and fraudulent activities.

"If you have to do business in India, we will lay guidelines and you have to comply. We will lay down a mechanism.. These (DNRs) people have to comply. We can't allow millions to be cheated. Some serious matter is going on here," said the bench, also comprising Justice Mini Pushkarna.

The court observed that there was a huge magnitude of business in the country for DNRs who cannot be allowed to become "scam units".

"We can't change the international system but if you operate in India,we will ask you to follow certain (norms).. We will tell MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) to block the DNR if you don't comply," it said.

The court's observations came while dealing with a case initiated by it on its own in relation to the issue of misuse of trademark of several entities through fraudulent websites and the role of DNRs in such situations.

The court said that filing of repeated cases by aggrieved parties, whose trademarks are illegally used by offenders for registering their websites, has to stop and the DNRs should look into preventing registration of such offending domains in the first instance.

The court made GoDaddy and the Ministry of Home Affairs parties to the proceedings and listed the matter for further hearing on January 9.

"You are a major player. You know when fraud is taking place," the court told GoDadday's counsel, adding that the entity should "think about" the concerns raised by it during the hearing in the "right perspective".

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2 Cousins Playing Hide-And-Seek Get Trapped In Freezer In Rajasthan, Die

Two girls died due to suffocation after they got trapped in an abandoned ice cream freezer while playing in their house in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon in the Khamnor area when the girls, who are cousins, were playing hide-and-seek in the house and hid in an unused freezer, SHO Bhawani Shankar said.

The duo -- Payal (10) and Ritika (11)-- got trapped when the freezer's door got closed from outside, Shankar said.

When their family members realised that the girls were missing for a long time, they started looking for the duo and found them dead inside the freezer, he added.

The bodies were handed over to the family members after post-mortem on Friday, the SHO said.

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Don't Push "Pandemic Panic Button": Scientists On China Pneumonia Outbreak

Leading scientists urged caution over fears of another pandemic on Thursday after the World Health Organization requested more information from China on a rise of respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children.

"We have to be careful," said Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who advised the WHO on COVID-19. "We really need more information, particularly diagnostic information."

Concerns were first sparked internationally by an alert published on Tuesday by the monitoring service ProMED, part of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. It called for more information about "undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Beijing, Liaoning)".

The standard wording of the alert echoed the first-ever notice about what would become COVID-19, sent on Dec. 30 2019: "Undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Hubei)."

Scientists said the similarity of the two alerts had stirred as yet unfounded worries the surge may be caused by another emerging pathogen that could spark a pandemic.

They said based on the information so far, it was more likely to be a rise in other common respiratory infections like flu, as was seen in many parts of the world after COVID lockdowns were lifted. It could also signal a resurgence of COVID itself.

The WHO always requests information from countries when undiagnosed or unknown diseases are reported, which happens fairly regularly. However, it does not always put out a press release about doing so, as it did on Wednesday.

Brian McCloskey, a public health expert who also advised WHO on the pandemic, said: "What we are seeing is WHO's International Health Regulations system in action", referring to the rules governing how countries work with WHO on potential outbreaks.

"I am not going to push the pandemic panic button on the basis of what we know so far, but I will be very keen to see the response to WHO from China and see the WHO's assessment following that," he said.

Both the WHO and China have faced questions over transparency during the early days of COVID. WHO has also since criticised China for withholding data about infections and deaths when it lifted its "zero-COVID" measures, as well as about the origins of the pandemic.

China has 24 hours to respond to the WHO under the regulations.

But some said it was unclear if the illnesses reported were actually undiagnosed. The story which sparked the ProMED alert came from FTV News in Taiwan on Tuesday. In China itself, there has been a lot of recent coverage of a rise in respiratory illnesses, including among children.

The authorities there have attributed it to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of viruses like influenza as well as mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that typically affects younger children.

"There is a plausible hypothesis that this could be what we have seen in other parts of the world when restrictions were lifted," said Koopmans, reflecting the views of all of the scientists Reuters contacted.

Virologist Tom Peacock from Imperial College London, who has closely tracked the emergence of new coronavirus variants, said there were good tools available to "pretty rapidly" pick up emerging influenza or coronaviruses, so it seemed unlikely that this had happened under the radar.

"(I) suspect it may end up being something more mundane or a combination of things - say COVID, flu, RSV - but hopefully we'll know more soon," he said.

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