Karnataka Exit Polls show it’s advantage Congress; hung verdict not ruled out

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has strongly denounced an Israeli attack on displaced people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the south of Gaza Strip as “a brutal act of genocide.”

“The occupying regime’s appalling massacre against displaced people in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis is a brutal act of genocide... This vicious targeting of unarmed civilians — women, children, and the elderly — in an area previously declared safe by the occupation army is proof of the ongoing Nazi policies that the Zionist entity is pursuing in its genocidal war against Palestinians,” the Gaza-based group said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

It added that such mass killings are being deliberately carried out in complete disregard of the international law, humanitarian law, and UN resolutions calling for an end to the aggression, noting the massacres are being perpetrated with the full support of the US administration, which is complicit in Israeli brutalities against Palestinians.

It also dismissed Israeli army’s allegations concerning the presence of resistance fighters in the targeted area as "downright lies meant to justify such ugly crimes."

"The resistance front has repeatedly confirmed the absence of ... its members among civilian communities or the use of residential areas for military purposes,” the statement pointed out.

Hamas also called upon the international community, the United Nations, and all political, humanitarian and judicial institutions to break their silence, assume their responsibility and work to stop the 11-month-long holocaust.

The resistance movement stated that world bodies need to take necessary steps in order to bring Israeli war criminals before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and hold them to account for their horrendous crimes.

According to Palestinian media outlets, at least 40 people were killed and 60 others injured in the Israeli attack on people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.

The strikes involved heavy missiles and left craters up to 9 meters (30 feet) deep in an area where people were living in at least 20 tents.

Ambulance and Civil Defense teams are facing considerable difficulty retrieving the bodies of the victims.

Initial assessments suggest the attack is “one of the most heinous massacres in the ongoing frenzied war”.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the area, with fires burning and Israeli reconnaissance planes flying overhead.

Israel launched its atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7 last year.

At least 41,020 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. Another 94,925 individuals have sustained injuries as well.

Nagpur: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday teased his cabinet colleague Ramdas Athawale over his ability to hold onto his cabinet spot across multiple governments. "It may not be guaranteed that our government will return for a fourth term, but what is definitely guaranteed is that Ramdas Athawale will become a minister," he remarked at an event in Maharashtra's Nagpur.

The playful jibe, with Mr Athawale present on stage, was followed by Mr Gadkari clarifying that he was "just joking."

Mr Athawale, leader of the Republican Party of India (RPI), has served as a minister three times and expressed confidence in continuing his streak if the BJP returns to power.

Mr Athawale on Sunday said his party RPI (A), an ally in the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, should get to contest on at least 10 to 12 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Mr Athawale said the RPI-A will contest the election on its party symbol and ask for three to four seats in Vidarbha, including north Nagpur, Umred (Nagpur), Umarkhed in Yavatmal and Washim.

Mr Athawale's party is part of the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's NCP.

The Union minister said, "The RPI-A has made a list of 18 probable seats, which it will be sharing with the Mahayuti partners in a few days and expects to get at least 10 to 12 seats in the seat-sharing pact." He said the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP should give four seats each from their quota for his party.

In Palghar earlier this week, Mr Athawale claimed that due to the inclusion of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the Mahayuti government, the RPI (A) did not get any ministerial berth in the state despite a promise.

He claimed that the party was promised cabinet positions, chairmanship of two corporations, and roles in district-level committees, but all this could not happen because of Pawar's inclusion.

The elections to 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra are likely to be held in November.

In the current assembly, the BJP is the single largest party with 103 MLAs, followed by Shiv Sena 40, NCP 41, Congress 40, Shiv Sena (UBT) 15, NCP (SP) 13 and others 29. Some seats are vacant. 

New Delhi: Downloading and watching child pornography is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Supreme Court ruled today in a landmark judgment on the stringent law to prevent child abuse.

The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala set aside the Madras High Court order that had ruled that merely downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under the POCSO Act. The Supreme Court noted that the high court had committed an "egregious error" in passing the judgment.

The Madras High Court's order had come in a case in which a 28-year-old man was charged with downloading child pornography on his phone. The court had quashed the criminal proceedings against the man and said children these days are grappling with the serious issue of watching pornography and society must be mature enough to educate them instead of punishing them.

The Supreme Court today restored the criminal proceedings against the man.

At the outset, Justice Pardiwala thanked the Chief Justice for the opportunity to pen this judgment. The order focused on Section 15 of the POCSO Act which lays down punishment for the storage of pornographic material involving children.

"Any person who stores any pornographic material involving a child and fails to report or destroy it is punishable with a fine of not less than five thousand rupees., and repeat offence will be punishable with fine of not less than ten thousand rupees. If the material is stored for further transmitting or propagating, then along with fine, it is punishable with upto three years of imprisonment. For storing child pornographic material for commercial purpose is punishable with three to five years of imprisonment, and in subsequent conviction, upto seven years of imprisonment," the Section says.

Justice Pardiwala said that in this case, mens rea is to be gathered from actus rea -- mens rea refers to the intent behind the crime and actus rea is the actual criminal act.

"We have said on the lingering impact of child pornography on the victimisation and abuse of children... We have suggested to the Parliament to bring an amendment to POCSO... so that child pornography can be referred to as child sexually abusive and exploitative material. We have suggested an ordinance can be brought in. We have asked all courts not to refer to child pornography in any order," the bench said.

The Chief Justice called it a "landmark judgment" and thanked Justice Pardiwala.