Rouhani says conflict with Iran would be 'mother of all wars'

Mangaluru, Oct 7: In a heartbreaking turn of events, the search for Mumtaz Ali, chairman of Misbah Group of Educational Institutions, ended with the discovery of his mortal remains in the Phalguni river near Kulur. The somber discovery came after an exhaustive search, leaving a community in shock and sorrow.

He is the younger brother of former MLA Mohuiddin Bawa and former MLC B M Farookh. 

The incident has taken a deeply distressing turn with the filing of an FIR against six individuals, including a woman, who are accused of pushing Ali to a tragic end. 

The accused allegedly blackmailed Ali, fabricating a story about his involvement in an illicit relationship with the woman. Reports suggest that they extorted Rs 50 lakh from Ali and were unrelenting, demanding an additional Rs 50 lakh from him, casting a shadow over his final days.

The complaint, lodged by Ali’s grieving brother, accuses these individuals of driving him to despair through relentless blackmail and false accusations, ultimately leading him to take the tragic step.

In the early hours of Sunday, Ali left his home at 3 am, heading towards Suratkal, perhaps seeking some solace. A minor accident occurred when his car collided with a private bus near MCF. Despite the mishap, he offered a heartfelt apology to the bus driver and conductor—a gesture that now echoes with the pain of his unspoken struggles. After the collision, Ali made a U-turn near Panambur circle, driving back towards Kulur bridge, where his journey came to a sorrowful end.

Ali’s last moments hold an even deeper sadness, as he left behind a voice message in Byari, naming an individual who had been tormenting him mentally. Sent to his daughter and a close friend, the message revealed the unbearable burden he was carrying, hinting at his final decision to end his suffering.

This tragic loss has left the community and his loved ones grappling with unanswered questions and a profound sense of grief. As the investigation unfolds, the memory of Mumtaz Ali lingers, a reminder of the silent battles that too often go unseen.

The Israeli regime’s warplanes have conducted extensive airstrikes against towns and villages across Lebanon, killing at least 492 people.

Lebanon’s health ministry announced the death toll on Monday, saying the victims included 35 children and 58 women.

The ministry said at least 1,645 others had also been wounded in the attacks that targeted the areas earlier in the day.

Lebanon’s health minister Firass Abiad said that the health ministry is working to ensure those injured in Israeli strikes are getting the health care they need.

The health minister said he had asked hospitals to stop taking regular, light cases to make space for the wounded from the south.

“We working on directives for the first-aid centres to be turned into places that can receive the wounded. The displaced people who have cancer, kidney failure and other chronic diseases, we have the plan to continue their treatment in different medical centers,” he said.

The country’s media outlets said the aircraft had bombed all the towns and villages lying on the southern border as well as their surroundings.

Israeli warplanes also reportedly targeted eastern Lebanese areas, including the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek.

Lebanese sources said the airstrikes had targeted a total of more than 40 areas in Lebanon during the attacks.

The Sheikh of the Druze community reached out to the Deputy Head of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council and expressed solidarity and reaffirmed support for the people of southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs, and the Bekaa during this critical period for the country.

The Commissioner of Marjayoun-Hassbaya in the Muslim Scouts, Sheikh Hussein Al-Nader, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his home in the town of Dibbine, Marjayoun district, South Lebanon.

Three people were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Deir El-Zahrani highway, in South Lebanon.

A family of four was killed in Hermel, Bekaa, due to the recent Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli media outlets, meanwhile, alleged that the attacks had hit locations lying as far as 125 kilometers (77 miles) inside the Lebanese territory.

Israeli military spokesman Danieh Hagari said the regime "will engage in [more] extensive and precise strikes” against Lebanon, adding that the attacks would "go on for the near future.”

The regime has markedly intensified its attacks against the country since October 7, when it launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has responded with numerous strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories as a means of both retaliating against the regime and displaying support for the war-hit Gazans.

On Sunday, the group staged its farthest-reaching strikes against the territories since October, firing scores of rockets against the Ramat David Airbase, 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of the city of Haifa, and the Rafael weapons manufacturing facility in the Zevulun area north of the city.

It described the strike against the facility as its “initial response” to the regime’s detonation of thousands of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkie radios that killed at least 39 people and wounded 3,000 others across Lebanon over Tuesday and Wednesday.

Also on Sunday, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the movement was in a "new phase" in its battle against the regime.

"Threats will not stop us... We are ready to face all military possibilities,” he noted.

Qassem made the remarks while attending the funeral of Ibrahim Aqil, one of the group’s senior commanders.

Aqil had been martyred alongside 37 others, including three children and seven women, during an Israeli attack on a residential building in a southern suburb of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Friday.

Jerusalem, Oct 28: Israel said on Sunday it was carrying out new air raids against civilians and Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after assassinating resistance group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Nasrallah was assassinated in an Israeli strike a day earlier on Beirut’s southern suburbs, dealing a massive blow to the group he had led for decades.

Lebanon has declared three days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah.

The development marks a sharp escalation in nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and risks plunging the whole region into a wider war.

Israel continued to pound Lebanon on Sunday, with the ruthless military confirming it attacked dozens of targets in the territory of Lebanon in the last few hours.

The military has attacked hundreds of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon since Saturday, it said, as it seeks to disable the group’s military operations and infrastructure.

Israel has raised the prospect of a ground operation against Hezbollah, prompting widespread international concern.