An image of a shirtless young protester in Gaza gripping a Palestinian flag with one hand and swinging a slingshot over his head with the other has drawn comparisons with the iconic French Revolution painting, Liberty Leading the People.

Captured on October 22 by Mustafa Hassouna of Turkey's Anadolu Agency, the photo shows 20-year-old Palestinian A'ed Abu Amro seeming to rise out of the thick of a protest against the Israeli blockade.

He appears in sharp contrast to fellow demonstrators and reporters in protective jackets behind him, all set against a background of black smoke from burning tyres. The image has been tweeted over 5,000 times.

Abu Amro lives in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City. He protests every Friday and Monday with friends.

"I was surprised this picture of me went viral," he told Al Jazeera. "I participate in protests on a weekly basis, sometimes more. I didn't even know there was a photographer near me."

Amro said that his friends sent him the image - taken in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza - the next day, having spotted it being shared on social media.

"I don't go to protests to get pictures of me taken, but this has encouraged me to continue demonstrating," he said.

"The flag I was carrying is the same one I always hold in all the other protests I've attended. My friends make fun of me, saying it is easier to throw rocks without holding a flag in the other hand, but I got used to it.

"If I get killed, I want to be wrapped in the same flag. We are demanding our right of return, and protesting for our dignity and the dignity of our future generation."

For nearly seven months, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have protested along the fence with Israel demanding their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago.

The protesters are also demanding an end to the crippling 11-year Israeli blockade of the enclave.

courtesy : aljazeera.com

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Mangaluru: A young woman from West Bengal was reportedly found in a severely ill condition by locals late Wednesday night near Ranipur, on the banks of Nethravathi river, leading to suspicions of gang rape.

The woman has been admitted to a private hospital in Derlakatte. The police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.

Reports suggest that three people including a rickshaw driver allegedly gang-raped the victim. The police have reportedly taken the rickshaw driver into custody based on the suspicion.

It has been alleged that a group of young individuals brought the young woman to a house near the banks of the Netravati river in Ranipur and committed the crime.

The young woman, native of West Bengal, who had come to Mangaluru with a friend in search of employment, and was living in Uppala, Kerala. She ventured out alone at midnight and reportedly sought help from an auto-rickshaw driver she met. It is learned that the driver, under the pretext of offering assistance, allowed her to board his vehicle, administered drugs to her, and then committed the crime along with his accomplices.

The young woman, who was severely injured, knocked on the door of a local resident's house late at night. She collapsed and fell unconscious after asking for water. The family promptly alerted the police.

Upon receiving the information, the police rushed to the spot and immediately admitted the young woman to the hospital. Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal later visited the scene.

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