Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel
Tel Aviv, Oct 22: Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the country's most populated areas but causing no apparent damage or injuries, a few hours before US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in the region on a mission to restart stalled Gaza ceasefire talks.
The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel's missile defense system. One landed in an open area.
The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as the U.S. pushed to resume cease-fire talks in Gaza following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group. Hamas says it will only release the captives in return for a lasting cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led group blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.
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Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir floats new party days after laying foundation for Babri-style mosque
Beldanga (WB), Dec 22 (PTI): West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir on Monday floated a new outfit, Janata Unnayan Party, days after he was suspended by the TMC for laying the foundation stone for a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad district.
Addressing a public meeting in Beladanga, Kabir named eight candidates that his new party will field in the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
Kabir, the MLA of Bharatpur, said he would contest the assembly polls from two seats, Rejinagar and Beldanga in Murshidabad.
"We can only tell you later how many seats we will be finally contesting," he told the gathering.
Kabir said his mission is to oust Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from power in the assembly polls, which will be due in less than six months.
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"Mamata Banerjee is no longer the same person I knew. She is beyond the reach of the common man," he alleged.
The BJP alleged Kabir was working to help the TMC return to power.
"Kabir will not be a factor in the next assembly polls. He will face the drubbing of the electorate along with his old friend TMC, with which he is still in touch in a clandestine manner. Both Kabir and his new party will be rejected by the people of Bengal," state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya claimed.
He claimed Kabir was attempting to split "BJP votes" in the assembly polls.
"In the wake of the situation in Bangladesh, people of Bengal will thwart Kabir's attempts and elect a strong nationalist force like the BJP, only which can defeat fundamentalists," he claimed.
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The TMC is yet to comment on Kabir's new party.
The TMC had suspended Kabir on December 4 after his announcement to build a Babri-style mosque triggered a massive row.
On December 6, the day the Babri Masjid was razed in Ayodhya in 1992, a defiant Kabir laid the foundation stone for the mosque at Rejinagar.
Kabir has had a tryst with most of the major political parties in the state over the last 10 years.
In 2015, he was "expelled" by the TMC for six years for criticising the CM and alleging that she was trying to make her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, the "king".
He contested the 2016 assembly elections as an Independent from the Rejinagar seat, but lost to Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury. He subsequently joined the Congress, which then had a huge presence in the district, but switched to the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP fielded him as its candidate in the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat, and managed to secure the third spot after the TMC and Congress nominees. He then returned to the TMC and, in 2021, became the MLA of Bharatpur.
