Bhatkal: Anand Ashram Convent School kick-starts golden jubilee celebrations
BHATKAL: The golden jubilee celebrations of Anand Ashram Convent School, Bhatkal got off to a colorful start with an inaugural ceremony on January 7, 2023, held n its festively decorated campus in the coastal town.
The ceremony was marked by the presence of seven students of the first batch of the convent which was founded in 1973.
Rev Sr Juilana Pais, Deputy Secretary, UFES, Mangaluru Province, was the chief guest while Rev Sr Clara Menezes, Provincial Superior, Mangalore Province, presided over the ceremony. Rev Fr Premkumar D’Souza, Parish Priest, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Mundalli, Bhatkal, was present on the occasion.
Among the guests of honour were Rev Sr Barbara Franco and Rev Sr Bibiana Norona, headmistress and assistant headmistress, respectively, of the first-batch students.
First-batch students Aftab Husain Kola, Salman Ahmed Jubapu, Mrs Asma Farhana, Nadeem Shabandri, Sebastian Johni D’Souza, Mrs. Farzana Abdul Hadi Soudagar, and Mrs. Parveen Mohammed Yusuf Chitrigi were present.
Reminiscing about the golden school days, Aftab Kola said: "Through the galleries of my mind, I can still picture the scenes of those beautiful, memorable years. Being a member of the first outgoing batch of any school is always an honour. We were really fortunate.”
Rev Sr Lucy D'Souza, Correspondent; Rev Sr Anitha Pinto, Superior; Rev Sr Vinutha D'Souza, Principal of Anand Ashram Composite PU College; Rev Sr Irene Matthias, Principal of Joy land Play Home; and Nagaraj E H, Vice President of PTA, were also present on the occasion.
Rev Sr Saritha Thoras, the present Principal of Anand Ashram Convent English Medium Higher Primary school, welcomed the guests. Students enthralled the audience with their cultural programmes. The school has planned year-long events that will conclude with a grand valedictory function scheduled for November 25, 2023.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
