Heavy rains lash coastal Karnataka, woman dies in landslide
Mangaluru (PTI): Heavy rains continued to lash the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka on Friday causing havoc and disrupting vehicular movement in different parts of the region as a woman died in a landslip.
The 47-year-old woman lost her life when part of a hill caved in on her house in heavy rains at Nandavara in Sajipamunnur village of Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada district early on Friday, police said.
The deceased was identified as Zareena, wife of Mohammed. Her daughter Safa (20) was earlier rescued from the debris by fire and rescue department personnel and the police.
The body of Zareena was retrieved from the rubble after a prolonged search in the huge mounds of soil that fell on the two. Safa has been admitted to a hospital, sources said.
Heavy rains that lashed the taluk had caused destruction in several areas.
Police officials and staff of the taluk administration rushed to the spot along with the tahsildar S B Koodalagi to oversee the rescue operations.
Sources in the district disaster management authority said 53 people affected by rains were evacuated to safer places. Two relief camps have been opened in Mulky taluk and one each in Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks.
Sources said the vehicular movement on the Puttur-Panaje Road in the district came to a halt after a low-lying bridge at Chelyadka was completely submerged on Thursday.
The Kumaradhara river in Kukke Subrahmanya was nearly full and the bathing ghat beside the temple is almost submerged.
Reports from various parts of the district said 29 houses have been damaged in the rains during the last two days. Electricity poles and lines were also destroyed at different locations, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological department has issued red alert for the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada on Friday and an orange alert for Saturday.
The district administrations of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have declared holidays for educational institutions on Friday.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
