UK honours sole Indian aviator who survived World War I
London, Nov 8: The UK government on Thursday announced plans for a series of statues to go up at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) here to honour the sacrifices made by over 3 million Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and labour corps who served in World War I, including from India.
The campaign, part of an initiative by the armed forces charity 'There But Not There', involves the installation of three six-foot figures of World War I soldiers in the FCO to represent the contribution of Commonwealth servicemen from Asia, Asia, the Caribbean, Australasia and Canada. Among them is Hardutt Singh Malik, the first Indian to fly with the British Royal Flying Corps.
"Nearly 2 million Indian servicemen served in the First World War Malik initially failed to qualify for the Corps but went on to be the sole Indian aviator to emerge alive from the war," the FCO said in a statement.
Over 9 million servicemen died in Great War, including nearly 1 million from the Commonwealth, as they helped secure the victory for the Allied Forces Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the US.
Among the three symbolic figures at the FCO is that of Ghanaian soldier Alhaji Grunshi, the first soldier in British service to fire a shot in war, and Francis Pegahmagabow, a Canadian expert marksman and scout who was awarded the Military Medal three times.
'There But Not There' - launched in February - is raising money for a range of military and mental health charities and aims to place a representative figure for as many names on local war memorials around the country to mark the centenary commemoration of the end of the 1914-1918 war.
"It is fitting that in the centenary year of the First World War we honour the immense contribution of our Commonwealth soldiers. Their bravery was key to securing the Allied victory," said UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
"These men fought thousands of miles from their homeland, for a country they had never been to, but for a purpose they believed in. This installation will honour their heroism, shine a light on their stories and remind us that in the darkest hour people of all backgrounds can come together for a common cause," he said.
Lord Dannatt, patron of 'There But Not There' and former Chief of the General Staff, added, "The First World War had such an impact on towns and villages across the United Kingdom that the contribution of servicemen and women from across the Commonwealth is too often overlooked. Their sacrifice was immeasurable, as was the effect that it had on their own communities".
"The Tommies (common term for soldiers in the First World War) in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stand in recognition of this service as we approach 100 years since the guns fell silent," he said.
The FCO's drive is among a series of commemorative events taking place in the lead up to Armistice Day this Sunday, marked on November 11 annually.
The chair of the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat MP, will be in New Delhi this weekend to take part in a series of events to commemorate the sacrifice made by the British Indian Army in World War I.
Tugendhat, a former soldier who served in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be presenting the colonels of 26 Indian regiments that fought in the war with leather-bound copies of their unit's war diaries together with electronic copies.
"The Armistice Centenary is an opportunity to remember and renew our friendships with the Commonwealth, especially with India, who courageously stood by Britain and its allies in both world wars," Tugendhat said.
He added "Many Indians volunteered in the expectation that one good deed would lead to another that Britain would end the colonial Raj. When those hopes were dashed, India's sacrifice in the war became an awkward and painful subject, which both countries preferred to ignore. Meanwhile, the generation who fought in the war grew old and died, taking their stories with them. And India's immense contribution went largely unrecognised".
On Sunday, Tugendhat will pay his respects at the Delhi War Cemetery, where over 1,020 British and Indian casualties of both World Wars are buried. There he will lay a wreath of poppies made from red Khadi, the cotton cloth made popular by Mahatma Gandhi, which the Royal British Legion has chosen this year to recognise India's contribution to World War I.
The Conservative Party MP had also convinced Prime Minister Theresa May to wear a Khadi poppy last week. The Poppy Appeal is an annual fundraising campaign for war veterans held in the lead up to Armistice Day on November 11, the date on which the war ended in 1918, and politicians and members of the public across the country wear a cloth-based poppy on their lapels as a sign of respect for the war dead.
A Khadi version of the poppy was launched by Indian-origin peer Lord Jitesh Gadhia and the Royal British Legion for the first time this year as an "evocative symbol" of undivided India's contribution to the war effort.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
