Hartal: CPIM leader's son, journalist daughter-in-law attacked
Kozhikode, Nov 17: A CPI(M) leaders son and his journalist daughter-in law were attacked allegedly by protesters trying to enforce a shutdown near here Saturday, the police said.
Julius Nikithas and wife Saniyo Manomi, working with a leading Malayalam news channel, were attacked at Kuttiady as they were going to a hospital in a car to visit a patient, they said.
Nikithas, son of party district secretary P Mohanan, suffered head injuries, police said, adding that Manomi was also injured.
The couple have been admitted to the government medical college hospital here.
The CPI(M) alleged that they were attacked by activists belonging to the Sangh Parivar.
A case has been registered against ten people allegedly involved in the attack, police said.
Right-wing Hindu outfits observed a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kerala Saturday in protest against the "preventive detention" of Hindu Aikya Vedi state president P Sasikala who was on a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
State-owned and private buses and auto rickshaws were off the roads in most parts of the state due to the hartal.
At various places, hartal supporters forcibly downed shutters of shops, prevented vehicles from plying, causing hardship to long distance travellers reaching railway and bus stations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had extended support to the shutdown.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
