Israel orders 300,000 people in Tehran to evacuate while Trump issues ominous warning
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Tel Aviv (AP): Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the middle of Iran's capital as Israel's air campaign on Tehran appeared to broaden on the fourth day of an intensifying conflict.
An Iranian television anchor fled her studio during a live broadcast as bombs fell on the headquarters of the country's state-run TV station.
US President Donald Trump posted an ominous message on his social media site later Monday calling for the immediate evacuation of Tehran.
“IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote, adding that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media shortly after Trump's post that he was returning from the G7 summit in Canada a day early due to the intensifying conflict between.
Israel says strikes have set back nuclear programme
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes have set Iran's nuclear programme back a “very, very long time," and told reporters he is in daily touch with Trump.
“The regime is very weak,” he added.
Israel says its sweeping assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists, is necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. The strikes have killed at least 224 people since Friday.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful, and the US and others have assessed that Tehran has not had an organized effort to pursue a nuclear weapon since 2003. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs should it choose to do so.
Iran has retaliated by launching more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel and more than 500 injured.
The back-and-forth has raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.
Israel's military issues evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people
Earlier Monday, Israel's military issued an evacuation warning to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that houses the country's state TV and police headquarters, as well as three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The city, one of the region's largest, is home to around 9.5 million people.
Israel's military has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.
State-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after the station was hit, according to Iran's state-run news agency. While on the air, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera.
The broadcast quickly switched to prerecorded programmes. The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.
An anchor said on air that a few colleagues had been hurt, but their families should not be worried. The network said its live programmes were transferred to another studio.
Israel claims full aerial superiority' over Tehran
Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Monday that his country's forces had "achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran's skies.”
The military said it destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran's total, as well as two F-14 planes that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft and multiple launchers just before they launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.
Israeli military officials also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.
The Israeli strikes “amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat,” Defrin said.
One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, with its blast waves causing minor damage, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. He added that no American personnel were injured.
Explosions rock Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Haifa oil refinery
Powerful explosions rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city.
Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said Iranian missiles hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments.
Iranian missiles also hit an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa for the second night in a row. The early morning strike killed three workers, ignited a significant fire and damaged a building, Israel's fire and rescue services said. The workers were sheltering in the building's safe room when the impact caused a stairwell to collapse, trapping them inside.
Firefighters rushed to extinguish the fire and rescue them, but the three died before rescuers could reach them.
No sign of conflict letting up
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the US to step in and negotiate an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran.
In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is "genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”
“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran's top diplomat wrote. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”
The message to Washington was sent as the latest talks between the US and Iran were canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran.
On Sunday, Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same.
The conflict has also forced most countries in the Middle East to close their airspace. Dozens of airports have stopped all flights or severely reduced operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and others unable to flee the conflict or travel home.
Health authorities reported that 1,277 people were wounded in Iran. Iranians also reported fuel rationing.
Rights groups such as the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group Human Rights Activists have suggested that the Iranian government's death toll is a significant undercount. The group says it has documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians.
Ahead of Israel's initial attack, its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran. Since then, Iran has reportedly detained several people and hanged one on suspicion of espionage.
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Karnataka offers extensive incentives in its proposed IT policy
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has proposed a new Information Technology Policy for 2025–2030, offering extensive financial and non-financial incentives aimed at accelerating investments, strengthening innovation and expanding the state's tech footprint beyond Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Cabinet gave its nod to the policy 2025–2030 with an outlay of Rs 445.50 crore on Thursday after the Finance Department accorded its approval.
The policy introduces 16 incentives across five enabler categories, nine of which are entirely new, with a distinctive push to support companies setting up or expanding in emerging cities.
Alongside financial support, the government is also offering labour-law relaxations, round-the-clock operational permissions and industry-ready human capital programmes to make Karnataka a globally competitive 'AI-native' destination.
According to the policy, units located outside Bengaluru will gain access to a wide suite of benefits, including research and development and IP creation incentives, internship reimbursements, talent relocation support and recruitment assistance.
The benefits also include EPF reimbursement, faculty development support, rental assistance, certification subsidies, electricity tariff rebates, property tax reimbursement, telecom infrastructure support, and assistance for events and conferences.
Bengaluru Urban will receive a focused set of six research and development and talent-oriented incentives, while Indian Global Capability Centres (GCCs) operating in the state will be brought under the incentive net.
Incentive caps and eligibility thresholds have been raised, and the policy prioritises growth-focused investments for both new and expanding units.
Beyond incentives, the government focuses on infrastructure and innovation interventions.
A flagship proposal in the policy is the creation of Techniverse -- integrated, technology-enabled enclaves developed through a public-private partnership model inside future Global Innovation Districts.
These campuses will offer plug-and-play facilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning and cybersecurity labs, advanced testbeds, experience centres, and disaster-resistant command centres.
There will also be a Statewide Digital Hub Grid and a Global Test Bed Infrastructure Network, linking public and private research and development, and innovation facilities across Karnataka.
The government has proposed a Women Global Tech Missions Fellowship for 1,000 mid-career women technologists, an IT Talent Return Programme to absorb experienced professionals returning from abroad, and broad-based skill and faculty development reimbursements.
Shared corporate transport routes in Bengaluru and tier-two cities will be designed with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and other transport entities to support worker mobility.
The government said the policy is the outcome of an extensive research and consultation process involving TCS, Infosys, Wipro, IBM, HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HP, Google, Accenture and NASSCOM, along with sector experts and stakeholder groups.
It estimates an outlay of Rs 967.12 crore over five years, comprising Rs 754.62 crore for incentives and Rs 212.50 crore for interventions such as Techniverse campuses, digital grid development, global outreach missions and talent programmes.
