Global airfares, hotel rates likely to rise in 2019

The Israeli regime is recruiting African asylum seekers to kill Palestinians in the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in exchange for permanent residency status, according to a report.

The report, ran by the Israeli paper Haaretz on Sunday, revealed that the project is conducted in an organized manner, with the guidance of military establishment legal advisers.  

In Gaza, the death toll passes 41,200 with close to 100,000 more injured in almost a year since the Israeli regime forces launched their genocidal war. However, the continued violence is prompting some Jewish Israelis to leave the occupied Palestinian land.

To make up for the loss, Tel Aviv is offering the incentive of permanent residency status to asylum seekers who agree to join the Israeli regime forces ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Haaretz has learned that some people have expressed objections to the practice, arguing that it exploits people who have fled their countries due to war. However, according to those sources, these voices have been silenced.

“This is a very problematic matter,” one source was quoted as saying by Haaretz.

According to the report, there are currently some 30,000 African asylum seekers living in the occupied territories, most of them young men. Around 3,500 are Sudanese citizens with temporary status granted by the court because the regime has not processed and ruled on their applications.

Unnamed sources who spoke with Haaretz also revealed that while there were some inquiries about granting status to asylum seekers who assisted in the genocidal war in Gaza, none were actually given status.

Haaretz also learned that the Interior Ministry explored the possibility of drafting the children of asylum seekers, who were educated in schools in the occupied territories, into the Israeli military.

In the past, the regime allowed the children of foreign workers to serve in the military in exchange for granting status to their immediate family members.

African refugees, who came to the occupied territories seeking asylum, were previously kept in internment camps and deported without their own consent.

NRI professionals hailing from the coastal and Malnad regions of Karnataka, now based in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Australia, have been urging the Indian government and airlines to introduce a direct flight between Mangalore International Airport (MIA) and Singapore’s Changi Airport.

These professionals argue that Singapore’s strategic location as a hub connecting India with East Asia makes this flight essential. They highlight that this route would serve over 12 million people from the coastal and hill regions of southern India, fostering stronger ties with East Asian economies.

The group, consisting of individuals from Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Shivamogga, and Hassan, is spearheaded by Rajesh H Acharya, director of HQ Connections Pte Ltd, Singapore, and coordinator of the Singapore Tuluver community. Acharya emphasized the significance of the Indian government’s Act East policy, which aims to strengthen relationships between India and ASEAN, East Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

“This flight will open new doors for cultural, trade, tourism, and technological exchanges between these regions,” Acharya said.

The Mangalore Chapter of IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) has also proposed positioning the region as the 'Silicon Beach of India.' A direct flight would provide greater opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors from both Singapore and Mangaluru, boosting business exchanges.

Moreover, Singapore’s Changi Airport could see increased tourism from the Karnataka coast, while Coastal Karnataka would benefit from a surge in visitors from ASEAN countries, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, and the US West Coast.

While a similar attempt in 2017 did not succeed, Acharya and his team are hopeful that this time their appeal will be taken seriously, tapping into the immense growth potential of the eastern half of the globe.

Indore: Two Army officers were thrashed and one of their two women friends was allegedly gang-raped by armed miscreants when they were out on a picnic in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Additional SP Rupesh Dwivedi said on Wednesday night that six suspects had been identified, two of whom have been detained from the jungles.
Both Army officers were injured in the mob attack. One of them managed to dial his senior officers but by the time police arrived from Mhow, 30km away, the woman had already been gang-raped.

The two Armymen are undergoing the Young Officers course at Infantry School, Mhow, SP Rural Hitika Vasal said.

According to the complaint filed by one of the lieutenants, the four of them had driven to Ahilya Gate near Jam Gate on Mhow-Mandleshwar road on Tuesday night. Built in 1791 by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar, Jam Gate is a popular picnic spot for its stunning views of the valley below, and the temple near Ahilya Gate draws a lot of devotees.

Around 2.30am, one of the officers and his female friend were in the car when 6-7 men attacked them. The other pair was atop a nearby hillock then and rushed down on hearing the confrontation.

The complaint says that the attackers held the pair they had attacked in the car hostage at gunpoint. They asked the other officer to bring Rs 10 lakh in ransom. This gave the officer - who was accompanied by the other woman - a chance to inform his seniors at Mhow, who in turn alerted police.

A large police force was dispatched to the spot but the attackers had escaped into the forest by then. All four of them were brought to Mhow Civil Hospital around 6.30am where a medical examination confirmed one of the women had been gang-raped. As per the duty doctor, there were injuries on both officers' bodies. "The complainant has alleged that the woman who was with him was raped, and they were looted as well," SP Vasal said.

Badgonda police registered a case under BNS sections 70 (gang-rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), plus sections of Arms Act.

Forces from four police stations combed the jungles near Chhoti Jaam village and picked up two suspects.