Jerusalem on edge ahead of contentious Zionist flag march in Muslim areas

In her debut electoral contest, Vinesh Phogat, a celebrated wrestler-turned-politician, has secured a decisive victory for the Indian National Congress in the Julana assembly constituency of Haryana. Phogat garnered approximately 65,080 votes, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Captain Yogesh Kumar by a margin of over 6,000 votes. This win marks a significant turnaround for Congress, which had faced defeat in Julana for the last three assembly elections and had only won the seat four times since 1967.

Phogat's victory also saw her outpace the incumbent MLA, Amarjeet Dhanda, a Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader. The results of the Haryana Assembly elections were officially announced on Tuesday, October 8.

Phogat, who transitioned into politics after her wrestling career, had been disqualified from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match due to weight category issues. Many speculated that she had been “deliberately defeated” in the competition, while Phogat herself alleged that the Union government had failed to provide her with adequate support.

In the aftermath of her disqualification, Phogat filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), seeking to share the silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez, whom she had defeated in the semi-finals. Four pro bono lawyers in Paris submitted the protest appeal on her behalf. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also sought more time to appoint legal representation. However, despite days of deliberation, the CAS ultimately dismissed the appeal.

On September 6, shortly after her sporting career came to an end, Phogat, along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, formally joined the Congress party. Reflecting on her decision, she remarked that she had not retired from wrestling during the Jantar Mantar protests in order to inspire young girls and women. “The whole country thought I would retire during the protests because the BJP IT cell tried to paint us as troublemakers, as though we were finished and only playing politics,” Phogat stated.

Vinesh and Punia were at the forefront of protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP, who faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment. The protests, which took place at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last year, were met with significant police aggression.

During the protests, Phogat had publicly accused Singh of subjecting her to severe mental harassment, to the point where she struggled with suicidal thoughts. Despite these personal battles, she persisted, even as the Indian Olympic Association president and former athlete PT Usha accused the wrestlers of “tarnishing India’s image” during the protests.

In a candid reflection on her retirement, Phogat shared, “Many urged me not to retire, but I had to ask myself – for what purpose should I continue wrestling? There is politics everywhere. Now, I want to do politics that can bring real change, to fight for the future of our children and stand by them when it matters.”

The Israeli regime has conducted a series of deadly airstrikes on the Syrian capital of Damascus, with Syrian media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.

An Israeli aircraft launched several missiles from the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, targeting locations southwest of Damascus.

Syrian air defenses successfully intercepted many of these missiles, according to the Syrian state media.

According to the Syrian military, the Israeli aggression led to the martyrdom of three civilians, the injury of nine others, and significant damage to private property.

The Al Mayadeen news outlet reports that local journalist Safaa Ahmad was among those killed in the attack, which hit the Mezzeh neighborhood in the Syrian capital. Rescue crews are dealing with fires on the ground.

Syrian television said one of its anchors was killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus on Tuesday.

State television said in a statement that it "mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus."

The official SANA news agency earlier said "air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area," using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli aggression.

Subsequently, another wave of attacks was aimed at the suburbs of Damascus which was intercepted by air defenses.

Syria has consistently called on the UN Security Council to take action against these assaults, which it views as clear violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime rarely comments on its attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s phenomenal success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

Damascus has time and again called on the UN Security Council to put an end to the regime’s attacks that violate Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Israeli attacks on Syria come amid the regime’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, over the past year.

According to a report, American multinational technology conglomerate Meta is restricting the use of the upside-down red triangle emoji, which has become a broader symbol of Palestinian resistance.

Meta is restricting the emoji on its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, The Intercept reported on Thursday after reviewing internal content moderation materials.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the resistance movement Hamas has regularly released footage of its successful strikes on Israeli military positions with red triangles superimposed above targeted soldiers and armor, the report said.

The use of the red triangle emoji has expanded online since October last year, becoming a widely used icon for people expressing their sentiments in favor of Palestine and against Israel.

Social media users use the emoji in their posts, usernames, and profiles as a badge of solidarity and protest against Israel’s crime against Palestinians.  

The symbol has become so popular that the Israeli military has used it in its own propaganda.

In November, an Israeli military video that warned “Our triangle is stronger than yours, Abu Obeida,” addressing Hamas’s spokesperson, Al Jazeera reported.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has determined that the upside-down triangle emoji is a proxy for support for Hamas, according to internal policy guidelines obtained by The Intercept.

Meta is deleting the triangle that may be followed by further disciplinary action from the company depending on how severely it assesses its use.

According to the policy materials, the ban covers contexts in which Meta decides a “user is clearly posting about the conflict and it is reasonable to read the red triangle as a proxy for Hamas and it is being used to glorify, support or represent Hamas’s violence.”

Israel has killed at least 41,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. In Lebanon, the death toll has risen to more than 1,840 with 8,400 wounded.

The Israeli war machine ignited its genocidal campaign by targeting helpless Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip in October.

It was after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas conducted surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against the Palestinians.