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Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Big challenges ahead for new DIG Vartika Katiyar
Ballari: Vartika Katiyar, a 2010-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) of Ballari zone. She previously served as the DIG of the State Home Guards and Civil Defence Corps. Following the retirement of BS Lokesh, the former Inspector General of Police of Ballari zone on April 30, Vartika assumed the position that remained unfilled since then. The Ballari zone encompasses Ballari, Vijayanagara, Koppal, and Raichur districts, featuring significant locations including the Unesco World Heritage Site Hampi, iron ore mines at Ballari and Sandur, Tungabhadra dam in Koppal, thermal power stations in Ballari and Raichur, and lengthy borders with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. As a result, there was a rise in interstate traffic, attracting tourists and workers from both India and abroad. Naturally, this led to an increase in crime cases, with the highest number reported in the Hampi Development Authority. The new DIG is also tasked with managing the multitude of unauthorised resorts and the range of illegal activities taking place there. In the first week of March this year, incidents such as the sexual assault of an Israeli tourist and a local resort owner in Sanapur, located in the Gangavathi taluk of Koppal district, the murder of a tourist from Odisha, and the assault on an American national were highlighted in both national and international media. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like I'm retiring! Last chance to enjoy 80% OFF all my jewellery! Wendy Clarke Shop Now Undo "Despite this, the law and order situation in the region has not seen significant improvement," accuses Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy. In this context, R Hithendra, the additional director general of police (Law & Order), sent a letter to Koppal SP Ram L Arasiddi on June 30, directing him to take immediate action to safeguard foreign tourists. Nevertheless, issues such as illegal mining, unauthorised resorts, gambling, and illegal sand smuggling persist without interruption. In the meantime, the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) scheduled an eviction operation for July 16 to remove illegally constructed resorts at various locations along the Tungabhadra River, including Sanapura in Gangavathi. This sparked curiosity among the local residents regarding how the new DIG will tackle this seemingly insurmountable challenge. Additionally, Vijayanagara district also underwent administrative changes with Jahnavi S, a 2019-batch IPS officer previously serving as DCP in Mysuru, being appointed as the new superintendent of police. She replaces Dr Srihari Babu BL, who served as SP for 2.8 years and was transferred to Bengaluru as CCB DCP.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
UN rapporteur calls for global action to stop ‘genocide' in Gaza
The United Nations' special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the 'genocide' in Gaza. Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia's capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel's military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians. 'Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel … and ensure its private sector does the same,' Albanese said. 'The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.' The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic 'blood libel.' Analysts say it's not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organisations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties. 'The United States has so far failed to influence Israel's behaviour … so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's behaviour or on the government of Israel,' said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota's Los Andes University. She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard. The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu. For decades, South Africa's ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel's policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to 'homelands' before ending in 1994. South Africa's current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid. The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict. Colombia's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Turkey, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks. The Colombian official described Israel's conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order. 'This is not just about Palestine' Jaramillo said in a press conference. 'It is about defending international law… and the right to self determination.'
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Syria announces ceasefire after latest outbreak of deadly sectarian violence
Syria's defence minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighbouring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a centre of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. A ceasefire announcement On Tuesday, Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's 'notables and dignitaries' and that government forces would 'respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups.' However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement — as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said on Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said on Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Among them were 21 people killed in 'field executions' by government forces, including 12 men in a rest house in the city of Sweida, it said. It did not say how many of the dead were civilians and also cited reports of members of the security forces looting and setting homes on fire. Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with 'taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position.' Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israel's involvement draws pushback Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to 'prevent the Syrian regime from harming' the Druze religious minority 'and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria.' In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for al-Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay." A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us," he said, adding that there were 'many casualties.' The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 'several innocent civilians' as well as soldiers, and called them 'a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference" in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, 'who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric.' Suspicion over Syria's new government Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier on Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians.' 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. Sectarian and revenge attacks The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Since Assad's fall, clashes have broken out several times between forces loyal to the new Syrian government and Druze fighters. The latest fighting has raised fears of more sectarian violence. In March, an ambush on government forces by Assad loyalists in another part of Syria triggered days of sectarian and revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them members of Assad's minority Alawite sect. A commission was formed to investigate the attacks but no findings have been made public. The videos and reports of soldiers' violations spurred outrage and protests by Druze communities in neighbouring Lebanon, northern Israel and in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, where the Israeli military said dozens of protesters had crossed the border into Syrian territory. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence 'worrisome on all sides' in a post on. 'We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces,' he said.
