BCCI writes to ICC after Anti-India banners fly above during Indo- Lanka match
Leeds: In yet another incident that has political overtone, unnamed aircrafts flew over the Headingley stadium with anti-India banners during the World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka, here Saturday.
The unsavoury incident has prompted the BCCI to file a written complaint with the ICC, raising concerns about the security of their players.
Minutes after the match began, an aircraft carrying the banner ''Justice for Kashmir'' flew above the ground. After half an hour, a similar looking aircraft flew over the stadium with a different banner - ''India Stop Genocide, Free Kashmir''.
Midway into India''s run chase, a third aircraft was also seen with a banner - ''Help End Mob Lynching''.
"This is completely unacceptable. We have written to the ICC, raising our concern about what happened in Headingley today. If this kind of incident is repeated in the semi-finals, it will be really unfortunate. Safety and security of our players is paramount, a senior BCCI official, who is privy to the development told PTI.
This is second such incident inside 10 days as Afghanistan and Pakistan fans had clashed at the same venue on June 29 after ''Justice for Balochistan'' banner was displayed by an unnamed aircraft that landed at the Bradford airport.
A few fans were evicted for engaging in brawl inside the stadium premises.
The ICC has zero tolerance for political or racist slogans and expressed their disappointment at another security breach.
"We are incredibly disappointed this has happened again. We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup," the ICC said in a statement.
Yorkshire, in the north of England, is known for having a sizable Pakistan population with Bradford being their ghetto.
"Throughout the tournament we have worked with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of protest occurring. After the previous incident we were assured by West Yorkshire Police there would not be repeat of this issue, so we are very dissatisfied it has happened again," the ICC statement added.
It has also been learnt that the air space above Old Trafford in Manchester and Edgbaston in Birmingham will be turned into ''No-Fly Zone'' during the two semifinals on July 9 and July 11 respectively.
The ICC has been given assurance by the Manchester and Yorkshire police authorities in this respect.
ICC's outgoing Chief Executive Dave Richardson accepted during a recent interaction that even if they have foolproof security, it can never really be enough.
Saturday's incident is an indication that local authorities did not do enough as the airspace is their domain.
The incident however leaves ICC on the edge since a more dangerous security breach is feared.
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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.
