Syrian air defences hit Israeli warplane, intercept missiles
Damascus, July 9 : The Syrian air defences have hit an Israeli warplane during an airstrike by Israel on Syria's T-4 Air base, the Syrian Army said.
The Syrian air defences on Sunday forced other Israeli warplanes to leave the Syrian airspace after one fighter jet was hit and many missiles were intercepted, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Syrian state TV.
The report by the Syrian state TV did not give details about the targeted Israeli warplane. It was not the first one targeted as in February an Israeli F-16 crashed in northern Israel after being hit by Syrian air defences.
Meanwhile, the TV said six missiles landed in the vicinity of the base during the airstrike on Sunday, adding that damages were caused with no reports on casualties yet.
The TV aired a cell phone video footage, showing the air defence missiles twinkling in the night chasing the Israeli targets.
Israel has carried out several attacks on this specific air base in the past, claiming it was targeting Iranian fighters and weapons. Israel said that it won't tolerate any Iranian influence in Syria.
The T-4 Air base was hit in April, and the attack was reportedly targeting Iranian fighters.
But Syrian government officials repeatedly said that the targeted areas are Syrian bases and the soldiers killed were Syrians.
This comes as the Syrian army is advancing in southern Syria in areas close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which sparked the ire of Israel. Israel fears a growing influence of the Iranian-backed fighters of Hezbollah in that area.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
