Thousands run for freedom of movement in Palestine marathon
Bethlehem: Thousands of Palestinian and international runners on Friday took part in the sixth edition of the Palestine marathon in Bethlehem, aiming to shed light on the movement restrictions imposed in the Palestinian territories.
Starting near the Church of the Nativity, the annual race took the participants through the city's landmarks as well as the Aida refugee camp, as they ran along the Israeli separation wall in an event the Palestinian Olympic Committee began sponsoring last year.
"I come every year and I am here to break the barriers that Palestinians have. We do not have the freedom to do what we want," Muhsen al-Homouz, originally from Bethlehem, told Efe. "But I am also here to support the sport and encourage everyone to join in."
Photographers captured the festive atmosphere of the race, showing the diverse group of participants including individual runners, families with children, elderly people and people with disabilities.
Music played at the starting and finishing point while many of the participants carried Palestinian flags and banners of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.
Around 7,000 runners, according to the news agency Maan, started the race at 8.00 am and went through the different categories of the event: the 42-kilometre marathon, the half marathon, the 10-kilometre race and the five-kilometre family run.
The marathon's cause of claiming the right to freedom of movement was best visually represented by the image of the participants running along the concrete wall which separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
The wall, built by Israel in 2003, cuts through the Palestinian territory of the West Bank and was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice a year after its construction.
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Kannada actress Ranya Rao, jeweller linked to Rs 40 cr gold smuggling: DRI
Bengaluru, Apr 03 (PTI): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said jeweller Sahil Sakariya Jain played a key role in assisting Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya, also known as Ranya Rao, in disposing of 49.6 kg of smuggled gold worth ₹40.14 crore.
According to the DRI’s remand note, Jain not only helped facilitate the illegal transaction but also abetted Ranya in hawala money transfers linked to the smuggling operation.
Jain, a jeweller by profession, was arrested on March 26 for assisting Ranya in the gold smuggling case.
He has been remanded to judicial custody until April 7.
Jain not only helped Ranya in allegedly disposing of the gold but also appeared to have facilitated Hawala money transactions.
"It appears that he assisted and abetted Accused No. 1 in disposing of approximately 49.6 kg of gold worth ₹40,13,59,374. He has also admitted to aiding A1 in transferring Hawala money amounting to around ₹38,39,97,000 to Dubai and ₹1,73,61,787 to A1 in Bengaluru," the DRI stated.
The agency further noted that the unaccounted cash of ₹2.67 crore seized from Ranya’s residence on March 4, as per the ‘Mahazar’ , was likely Hawala money she received as profit from purchasing gold in Dubai and selling it in Bengaluru.
The DRI added that Jain admitted to receiving a commission of ₹55,000 for each transaction.
"The voluminous evidence extracted from two mobile phones and a laptop belonging to Sahil Sakariya Jain further establishes his role in the smuggling of large quantities of gold into India by A1 ," the DRI stated.
According to the agency, in January 2025, Jain helped Ranya dispose of 14.568 kg of gold worth ₹11.56 crore and facilitated the transfer of ₹11.01 crore in Hawala transactions to Dubai.
Additionally, he admitted to transferring ₹55 lakh in Bengaluru.
In February, Jain allegedly assisted Ranya in disposing of 13.433 kg of gold worth ₹11.81 crore.
During the same month, he helped transfer ₹11.25 crore in Hawala funds to Dubai and ₹55.81 lakh to Ranya in Bengaluru.
Ranya, the stepdaughter of a DGP-rank officer in Karnataka, was arrested on March 3, shortly after returning from Dubai at Kempegowda International Airport.
The DRI officials seized 14.7 kg of gold from her possession.
