Halal row: CM directs SPs, DCs to be vigilant; 7 held for attack; Wakf Minister Jolle backs Hindutva outfits

Udupi: The police have booked a case against the office-bearers of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for holding 'Chalo Belagavi - Ambedkar Jatha’ without permission and thereby disrupting the movement of vehicles on national highway at Hejmadi.

The SDPI held a jatha on December 10 from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. According to the police, the group had unlawfully gathered near the National Highway toll gate in Hejmadi. Despite instructions from the PSI to disperse, they failed to act and disrupted the traffic on the national highway.

The police have booked case against SDPI state secretary Riyaz Kadumbu, leaders Haneef Muloor, Nooruddin Mallaru, Firoz Kanchinadka, Thoufeeq Uchila, Majeed Uchila, Ibrahim Kanchinadka and others under Sections 57, 189(2), 189(3), 281, 285 and 190 of the BNS.

About 75 to 100 people commenced a procession --without obtaining permission -- in cars and two-wheelers shouting slogans. They caused inconvenience to the vehicles moving on the national highway, police said. 

The jatha, which was launched in Udupi on December 10, is expected to cover Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Haveri, Koppal, Bagalkote, Hubballi, Dharwad and reach Belagavi on December 16.

US and British warplanes have carried out fresh airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sana'a and other regions, intensifying attacks as Yemeni Armed Forces continue their anti-Israeli operations in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the regime’s genocide.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported that US and British aircraft targeted the premises of the Yemeni Defense Ministry in the the Assafi'yah district of Sana’a early on Tuesday.

Local sources heard loud explosions echoing from the site of the strikes. 

The report, however, did not provide any details regarding potential casualties or damage.

For his part, the Yemeni information minister vehemently denounced the latest US and British airstrikes against Sana’a, stating that the act of aggression “falls within the framework of attempts to diminish the Yemeni nation’s will to support Palestinian people.”

Hashem Sharaf al-Din underscored that enemies are unable to undermine Yemen’s military capabilities, as its government and nation are standing firm in the face of their vicious and terrorist attacks.

This came hours after the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces announced in a statement that the country’s missile units had carried out a military operation against an Israeli military target in Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile

Brigadier General Yahya Saree noted that the missile strike was in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and successfully achieved its desired objectives.

The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their operations, and will strike all Israeli facilities within the occupied territories, Saree pointed out, adding that such strikes will not stop unless the ongoing aggression on Gaza ends and the siege is completely lifted.

Early on Monday, American and British warplanes conducted a joint airstrike on targets at the Midi district in Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah.

US and British military aircraft also targeted a number of locations in the At Tuhayta district of the strategic western province of Hudaydah. Details on potential human or material losses from the strikes were not quickly disclosed.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni armed forces have said they will not stop their attacks as long as Israel continues its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.

So far, Israel has killed at least 45,028 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 106,962 others in Gaza.

In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to bomb Yemen in support of Israel. Since then, attacks against Yemen have continued in a bid to halt the retaliatory attacks by Sana'a. 

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has called the Syrian conflict a "joint American and Zionist plot," while attributing a secondary role to a neighboring country in the crisis.

Speaking to a gathering in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized, "There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria was plotted in the command rooms of the United States and Israel. We have evidence for this."

The Leader also pointed to the involvement of a neighboring nation, widely understood to be Turkey, stating, "One of the neighboring countries of Syria also played a role, but the primary planners are the US and the Zionist regime."

Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed fears of a weakened resistance front following the takeover of parts of Syria by militants and Takfiri terrorists. He assured that resistance will emerge stronger despite the adversities. "This is what the resistance is, this is what the resistance front is. The more you push, the stronger it becomes; the more you commit crimes, the more motivated it becomes. The more you fight with them, the more widespread it will be, and I tell you, by the Divine Power, the domain of resistance will cover the entire region more than before."

The Leader rejected analysis suggesting that a weakened resistance front would lead to Iran’s decline. "That ignorant analyst, unaware of the meaning of resistance, imagines that when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak, and I say that by God's will and power and with the permission of God Almighty, Iran is strong and powerful and will only grow more powerful," Ayatollah Khamenei declared.

Highlighting the divisions among militant groups operating in Syria, the Leader noted, "Each group has its own agenda and all seek to stake out their own turf."