Don't try to play with me: Mamata alleges 'political sabotage' in helicopter ride cancellation
Bongaon (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the BJP of being involved in sabotage in the cancellation of her helicopter ride to Bongaon, warning the opposition party not to "play" with her as she could not be cornered.
Banerjee, who was scheduled to land in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas at 12:30 pm, said she was informed at 10 am that the hired helicopter "would not fly," forcing her to travel by road.
She eventually reached the place around 2 pm to address a massive rally, amid growing panic among people over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A top bureaucrat, however, said Banerjee's planned helicopter ride to Bongaon for a political rally on Tuesday was cancelled after officials discovered that the aircraft assigned for the trip was operating with an expired license.
Banerjee travelled to Bongaon in the North 24 Parganas district, around 104 km from Kolkata, by road instead.
"For the last seven or eight months, I did not travel by helicopter. Today I had planned to come here and then go to Thakurnagar. Everything was booked in advance. But at 10 in the morning, the message came that the helicopter won't go!" she said, alleging "political reasons" behind the cancellation.
Turning the inconvenience into a campaign pitch, Banerjee said the road journey allowed her to come into spontaneous contact with people.
"Before elections begin, they have started creating hurdles. But it didn't help them. In fact, it helped me. On the way, I met so many people. It became a great public outreach," Banerjee said.
Sharpening her attack, the Trinamool Congress supremo warned the BJP against attempts to intimidate her.
"Don't try to play with me. You won't be able to fight and defeat me politically," she said, noting that she mostly travelled by road and was "not dependent" on helicopters.
"I cannot be cornered," she declared.
Her remarks came as 35 deaths, some reportedly by suicide, have been linked to fear and anxiety triggered by the SIR verification process in Bengal's refugee belts.
Promising to "fight till the end", she accused the BJP and Election Commission of creating an atmosphere of fear through the SIR process and warned that Bengal would resist any attempt to "snatch away" citizens' rights.
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UAE denies Netanyahu secretly visited the country during Iran war
Jerusalem (AP): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalised relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday. The UAE denied any secret visit had occurred.
Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a gathering that “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates", according to the Israeli statement.
THE UAE's official WAM news agency posted an article denying the report about a Netanyahu visit.
According to WAM, the country's relations with Israel “are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements”.
The report also denied any Israeli military delegation was received in the UAE.
Israel's announcement came a day after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that Israel had sent Iron Dome air-defence weapons and personnel to operate them to the UAE.
The UAE has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached last month. It has been trying to signal to nervous investors that it remains open for business and safe.
Last week, WAM reported that Netanyahu was among the leaders who called the Emirati president to condemn Iranian attacks and express their solidarity with the Gulf federation.
It was rare public acknowledgment of direct talks between the countries that normalized relations in the 2020 Abraham Accords and have strengthened their ties during the Iran war.
Iran has criticised that agreement and has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.
Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after normalising relations.
Iran demands Kuwait release detainees
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Iran's foreign minister accused Kuwait of attempting to “sow discord” by detaining four Iranians that the Gulf Arab country accuses of being Revolutionary Guard operatives.
In a post Wednesday on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded the Iranians' immediate release and said Iran reserved the right to respond.
“This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran,” Araghchi wrote.
A day earlier, Kuwait said four men were detained and two escaped while trying to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf on May 1.
Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of a Chinese plan to build infrastructure across the world. It also came under Iranian attack during the war.
Iranian human rights lawyer released
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Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from prison more than a month after being detained, a rights group and her daughter said Wednesday.
Sotoudeh, who is known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, was detained by Iranian intelligence agents at her house in Tehran in April.
Her release comes as US President Donald Trump arrived in China for a long-anticipated visit that is expected to touch on the war in Iran.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which closely tracks developments in Iran, said that Sotoudeh was released on bail from Tehran's Evin Prison.
Her daughter, Mehraveh Khandan, posted on social media that Sotoudeh was released on temporary custody. Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency also reported Sotoudeh release.
Sotoudeh has been imprisoned multiple times. Her activist husband, Reza Khandan, has been imprisoned in the same prison as his wife.
Nobel Peace laureate needs long-term care
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Doctors who examined Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi more than a week after she collapsed at a prison in Iran said she needs months of treatment, according to her foundation.
Mohammadi, 53, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. She was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran where her specialists examined her.
The doctors said her vascular disease has worsened since she was last checked in 2024 and recommended eight months of treatment.
She was awarded the Nobel in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career. Her latest imprisonment began in December when she was arrested in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
