Cyclone Yaas to intensify into "very severe" storm



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Cyclone Yaas is likely to intensify into severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and will bring winds of speed of up to 180 kms per hour when it makes landfall on West Bengal and Odisha coasts on Wednesday, the weather department said today. Yaas - which is expected to be about as intense as Cyclone Tauktae which slammed into the west coast last week - will intensify into very severe cyclonic storm when it hits the land in the next 48 hours, it said.

The cyclonic storm is currently about 600 km of Port Blair, the IMD said in a update this morning.

The governments of Bengal and Odisha are on high alert for the very severe cyclonic storm that will bring winds with a speed ranging 155-165 kmph and gusting to 185 kmph. Cyclone Yaas is very likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar islands around noon of 26th May as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm.

In both the states, the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF, the military and the Coast Guard have been pressed into service.

Of 85 NDRF teams, 32 have been deployed in Bengal and 28 in Odisha. Some teams are also out in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

NDRF chief SN Pradhan has asked authorities in the two states to adopt an over-preparing approach for the impending natural disaster and carry out evacuation even in the least vulnerable places.

"What we have learnt so far from our experiences over the years is that if the disaster prediction is X, then you must prepare for 2X because a natural phenomenon can turn worse in a matter of hours. So, if the forecast is for a very severe cyclone of 150 kmph, you should gear up for an extremely severe cyclone," Mr Pradhan said.

"My advice to all the district magistrates would be to go for extra evacuation even in places identified as mildly vulnerable. Please remember, timely evacuation is a life saver. I believe the culture of over preparing has to come to India now," the NDRF Director General said.

Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a meeting today with the chief ministers of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to review the preparations, officials said.

This the second review meeting to be held in view of the cyclone in two days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of the state and central agencies on Sunday, asked officials to work in close coordination with the states to ensure safe evacuation of people from the high-risk areas and stressed the need to ensure that the time duration of outages of the power supply and communication network is minimum and these links are restored swiftly

He also asked the officials to ensure that no disruption is caused to the treatment of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and vaccination against the viral disease., a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

Yaas is expected to be about as intense as Cyclone Tauktae which slammed into the west coast last week but tamer than Cyclone Amphan which hit Bengal exactly one year ago and for about three devastating minutes sustained wind speeds of 240 kmph. At least 80 people lost their lives.

   

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari passes away



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of a heart attack.

The 63-year-old politician died on Thursday (March 28) around 8:30 pm while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Earlier, the jail authorities took him to the district's Rani Durgavati Medical College Hospital after he fainted in the jail last Tuesday. Later a team of nine doctors provided immediate medical attention to him. But, despite their best efforts, he died after 14 hours in the ICU.

Indian media NDTV reported that this 5-time MP from Uttar Pradesh has been in jail since 2005.

A large contingent of police was deployed outside the hospital soon after Ansari was taken to the hospital and prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been issued across Uttar Pradesh following his death, news agency PTI reported.

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said additional policemen have been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts as well as Central Reserve Police Force.

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The ICJ ordered Israel to take steps to stop the famine in Gaza



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take necessary and effective measures to stop the spread of famine in the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip.

On Thursday (March 28), the International Court of Justice unanimously gave the order to Israel. But Hamas leaders say a ceasefire is necessary to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

South Africa asked the court for new measures as part of a case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza. Later the court gave this order.

The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take necessary and effective measures to ensure basic food supplies for the Palestinian population and to stop the spread of famine, Reuters reported. The order came as Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters battled around Gaza's Al Shifa hospital.

The people of Gaza are going to face worse conditions, the court judges said. The court observed that the people of Gaza are not only at risk of famine but that famine has already begun, the judges said in the order.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the verdict was not enough. Israel must be ordered to cease military attacks to end the suffering.

He added, "We welcome any new demands to end the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, but we hope that the court will order a ceasefire as a solution to the misery our people in Gaza are living through."

There was no immediate comment from Israel's Foreign Ministry on the International Court of Justice ruling.

The UN Security Council voted on Tuesday to demand an immediate ceasefire and the immediate unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from voting, but did not veto.

 

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76 more killed in Gaza, death toll rises to nearly 32,500



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Even after the UN Security Council passed a cease-fire resolution, the Israeli barbaric attacks on the Palestinian-besieged Gaza have not stopped. Another 76 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours by Israeli attacks. The death toll has increased to about 32,500 people. The number of injured has reached about 75000 people.

Al-Jazeera reported this information in a live update on Thursday (March 28).

Quoting the Ministry of Health of Gaza, the report said that since last October, the number of dead in Palestine has reached 32490 in the Israeli barbaric attack in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, an emergency ceasefire resolution was passed in the besieged Gaza Strip. The resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Monday (March 25) calls for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.

In this proposal, 14 countries of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposal. Israel's close ally, the United States, abstained from voting.

Welcoming the proposal, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, after a long wait, the Security Council has passed a resolution regarding the cease-fire in Gaza. This proposal must be implemented. Failure of any party to implement the ceasefire and its terms would constitute an unforgivable offence. 

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Israel wants to wipe out Palestinians: UN



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Gazans are going through one of the worst times in living memory. The lives of Palestinians are in danger due to the long-term killings and severe food shortages. The world is criticizing the surprise attack on the destitute Gazans. However, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to stop the attack. In this situation, the international organization, which could not find any solution after repeated efforts, said that Israel is going to wipe out the Palestinians.

On Monday (March 25), the special envoy for human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanez, released her detailed report. She said that since the start of the attack, Israel has targeted Gazans. The Israeli forces assumed that these Gazans could be attacked, killed, or even destroyed. Israel's genocidal action has become clear through this. They are trying to erase Palestinians from Palestine.

The news agency AFP reported this information.

According to the report, Albanez attacked Israel in harsh language at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. She said Israel destroyed Gaza. She also said, 'What is happening in Gaza shows the intention of genocide. We cannot turn away from it. We have to face it, we have to stop this genocide and action must be taken against those who took this step.''

Francesca Albanez is working as Special Envoy for Palestinian Human Rights. She told the United Nations Human Rights Council last Monday that the organization's member states should end arms embargoes against Israel and arms supplies to Israel.

Support for the UN expert panel, which has been working on allegations of genocide against Israel since the start of Israel's assault on Gaza, has been growing in Palestine. Various countries are now showing interest in investigating the allegations of genocide.

Ambassadors of different countries are supporting this report of Albanez. Ambassadors from Muslim and Arab countries, as well as Latin American countries, are among those supporting Albanez's report to hold Israel accountable.

Pakistan has supported this Albanez report on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has also called for an arms embargo on Israel. When Albanez presented the report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan's representative said, "We appreciate your courage in documenting the genocide in Gaza."

Accusations of genocide against Israel are intensifying as it continues to operate in Gaza's Rafah area in defiance of international calls. The Ministry of Health of Palestine said on Wednesday that 76 people were killed in the attack in the last 24 hours. With this, 32490 people have been killed in Israel's attacks since October 7.

The representative of Egypt, on behalf of the Arab countries, said they were deeply concerned about Israel's structural and systematic attack on the Gaza Strip, making it uninhabitable. Qatar represented the Gulf countries in the meeting. They want international action to stop the war that Israel is waging in Palestine. 

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