Indian family offloaded from British Airways flight 'over crying 3-yr-old'

The Israeli military has conducted fresh attacks on Lebanon in violation of a ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah resistance movement and ramped up its deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted Thursday on X, the Lebanese army said Israeli occupation forces several times violated the truce deal just after it went into effect, and the following day.

"These breaches included aerial violations and attacks on Lebanese territory using various weapons," it added.

The Israeli military confirmed its Thursday aerial assault on southern Lebanon, adding that its forces had also opened fire towards the people who were driving to their homes in the area.

Earlier, Lebanese media reported that at least two people were wounded after Israeli tank fire hit five towns and some agricultural fields in the country's south.

"The Israeli enemy is attacking those returning to the border villages," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said. "There are violations today by Israel, even in this form."

Israel was forced to accept a ceasefire with Hezbollah after suffering heavy losses following more than 14 months of fighting and failing to achieve its goals in its aggression on Lebanon.

The truce agreement, brokered by the United States and France, came into effect before dawn on Wednesday. It will last for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

At least 3,961 people were killed and 16,520 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after Israel unleashed its war against the besieged territory in October 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories. 

In a statement that followed the ceasefire, Hezbollah vowed to continue resisting Israel and monitoring the occupation army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon “with [our] hands on the trigger” in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Hezbollah further empathized that its fighters “remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy."

It also reaffirmed its commitment to the Palestinian cause, noting that it will continue the path of resistance with even greater determination.

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 42

Across the Gaza Strip, at least 42 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Thursday. 

Reports said Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Gaza's central areas and tanks pushed deeper into the Palestinian territory’s north and south.

Since October 2023, the Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 44,330 Palestinians and injured 104,933 others in its brutal Gaza onslaught.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said at least 70 percent of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza were women and children.

Philippe Lazzarini said the ongoing Israeli offensive in the northern edge of Gaza has uprooted 130,000 people over the past seven weeks.

Mangaluru: District-in-Charge Minister and Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dinesh Gundu Rao, announced that a day-care chemotherapy centre will soon be established at District Wenlock Hospital. Speaking to mediapersons after reviewing the activities at Wenlock and Government Lady Goschen Hospital, he shared the government’s plans to enhance healthcare services in the region.

Key Initiatives Announced

•    Day-Care Chemotherapy Centre:

• Ten beds will be reserved for cancer patients.
• The government will collaborate with Yenepoya Hospital to provide chemotherapy treatments.
• All required facilities for the centre are already in place, awaiting inauguration by the Chief Minister.

•    Wenlock Hospital Facelift:

• Critical Care Block: To be built at a cost of ₹24 crore.
• Integrated Public Health (IPH) Lab: Planned with a budget of ₹1 crore.
• New OPD Block: As per a 2017 agreement, KMC Hospital will take up construction. Discussions with KMC management are underway.

•    Additional Requirements:

• A new mortuary and post-mortem building.
• Paramedical college building.
• Modern kitchen.
• Bridge connecting two buildings within the hospital.

•    Total facelift cost: ₹6 crore to ₹10 crore, utilizing funds from the Department of Health and Family Welfare and CSR contributions.

•    Timeline:
By December or January, priority works will be finalized. The superintendents of Wenlock and Lady Goschen Hospitals are scheduled to visit Bengaluru next week to discuss these projects.

•    MRI Fee Allegations:
The minister assured that allegations of patients being charged for MRI scans at Wenlock Hospital will be resolved at the earliest.
These measures aim to improve healthcare accessibility and infrastructure, positioning Wenlock Hospital as a state-of-the-art facility in the region.

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta recently met with Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnav to discuss urgent concerns regarding the region's railway infrastructure development. Key issues raised during the meeting included the long-pending Mangaluru-Bengaluru connectivity, the Shiradi Ghat stretch, and other vital railway concerns impacting the region.

In addition to discussing these issues, Captain Chowta submitted a letter requesting the Union Minister's intervention and support. The letter emphasized the need to merge Konkan Railway with Indian Railways and called for the doubling of railway tracks between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, which would significantly improve rail connectivity between the state capital and Mangaluru.

Further, Captain Chowta raised concerns about enhancing passenger facilities along the region's rail routes, particularly the need for better services between Subrahmanya and Mangaluru.

To bring more attention to these pressing issues, Captain Chowta took to social media, urging the state government’s support. In a tweet on his official X handle, he requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to expedite the resolution of these concerns. “In this direction, I request our Karnataka government led by CM Shri @siddaramaiah to kindly provide the necessary state support for the swift redressal of various concerns pertaining to both Konkan Railways as well as HMRDC to ease movement of both people and cargo in this important stretch between Mangalore and Bangalore,” he posted.

The meeting with the Union Minister was attended by Bengaluru Rural MP Dr. CN Manjunath, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, and Uttara Karnataka MP Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, all of whom supported the discussion on enhancing railway infrastructure in the region.