Mass funeral of unidentified prisoners returned by Israel held in Gaza, locals share ordeal
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Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza say that nothing has changed in their life since the ceasefire agreement, as Israeli army continued air and ground raids. They also said that humanitarian supply restrictions remained in place. Shelling has persisted in several places, causing struggle for survival and shortages of basic supplies, according to AL Jazeera.
A mass funeral was also held in Gaza for 54 unnamed detainees whose remains were returned by Israel under the current cease-fire deal, however officials said the bodies were too mangled to identify. Israel has returned 95 corpses without disclosing their identities or the circumstances of their deaths.
Health authorities in Gaza reported visible signs of torture on many of the bodies. “The Israeli army knows these bodies are connected to people, but instead of names they put numbers. This left something harsh in our hearts, a grief in our feelings. Honestly, it’s hard to bury a body when you don’t know whether it’s the right one or not,” said Rami Al Farra, a Gaza resident searching for his missing cousin, in a statement to Al Jazeera.
DNA testing to identify the deceased remains impossible, as Gaza’s health system is damaged.
Despite the ongoing violence, US envoy Steve Witkoff described the Gaza ceasefire as “exceeding expectations.” His remarks came even as hospitals in the territory received 13 more bodies within the past 24 hours following renewed Israeli strikes.
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All you need to know about India’s first Sunday Budget
New Delhi: This year’s Budget is drawing special attention because it is being presented on a Sunday. While Sunday is normally a holiday, Parliament will function as usual for the Budget presentation.
India's Union Budget is presented on February 1 each year, a practice that began in 2017. The idea behind this change was to give Parliament enough time to discuss, approve and put Budget proposals into action before the new financial year begins on April 1. Earlier, Budgets were usually presented at the end of February.
A similar situation arose in 1999, when February 28 fell on a Sunday. To avoid presenting the Budget on a holiday, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, presented it a day earlier on February 27, a Saturday.
Until 1999, Union Budgets were presented in the evening, around 5 pm. This practice came from British colonial times, when announcements were timed to suit working hours in London.
Yashwant Sinha changed this tradition by presenting the Budget at 11 am. Since then, 11 am has remained the standard time for Budget presentations in India.
