Rallies in Kolkata over Delhi violence
Kolkata: Appealing to people to save the country from divisive forces, two separate rallies were taken out in Kolkata on Thursday by the Trinamool Congress's women's wing and the Congress-backed Chhatra Parishad over the communal violence in Delhi.
Thousands of women took part in the rally organised by the Trinamool Mahila Congress. It began at Hazra Crossing and culminated at the Gandhi statue in the Maidan area.
The rallyists, led by state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, shouted slogans targeting the "politics of polarisation and hatred professed by the Sangh Parivar". They also protested against alleged police inaction over the violence.
The Chhatra Parishad also took out a rally in Nonapukur area along the AJC Bose Road. Hundreds of students took part in it, condemning the violence in Delhi and also demanding revocation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The communal violence in Delhi has claimed at least 34 lives and left over 200 people injured.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
