Connect with us
Friday,17-October-2025
Breaking News

International News

Freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander returns to Israel from Gaza

Published

on

Jerusalem, May 13: Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander arrived in Israel after being released from Gaza, where he was held in Hamas captivity for 19 months, Israel’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Alexander arrived at southern Israel’s Re’im military base adjacent to the Gaza Strip to reunite with his family, who landed only a few hours earlier from the United States, Xinhua news agency reported.

A photo taken earlier in Gaza showed Alexander, wearing a black T-shirt and a baseball cap, being accompanied by armed Hamas militants and a woman from the Red Cross during a handover process.

Alexander was released following direct talks between Washington and Hamas.

US President Donald Trump welcomed the release, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform: “Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage, is being released. Congratulations to his wonderful parents, family, and friends!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the country “embraces” Alexander. He stressed that the Israeli government “is committed to the return of all hostages and missing persons — both the living and the fallen,” vowing to “act tirelessly until they are all brought home.”

Israeli Health Ministry Spokeswoman Shira Solomon said Alexander was undergoing an initial medical assessment at the reception facility in Re’im base and would later be transferred to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

“Medical teams and staff at the hospital are well-prepared to provide all necessary medical, psychological, and rehabilitative care for Alexander, as well as support for his family and any other needs that may arise,” Solomon said in a statement.

In Hostages Square, a public plaza located in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and renamed following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, hundreds gathered to watch Alexander’s return on large screens. They held up photos of the freed hostage and signs reading: “Only an end to the war in Gaza would secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Hamas sources earlier confirmed that Alexander was handed over to a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross at a designated location in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city. He was then transferred to the buffer zone controlled by the Israeli army before heading to the Re’im military base.

Eyewitnesses in Khan Younis reported that Israeli military activities in the area were halted before and during the release, and the atmosphere remained relatively calm.

In a press statement, Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said Alexander was released as part of the efforts made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach Gaza.

Alexander is a US-born soldier serving in the Israeli army. He was abducted on October 7, 2023, in the Hamas-led raid on southern Israel that resulted in the kidnapping of 251 people and the killing of about 1,200 others.

His return marks an important step toward a new round of negotiations on a Gaza truce deal that will, after the return of Alexander, also secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive. The negotiations are expected to begin on Tuesday with mediation from Qatar, Egypt, and the US. Netanyahu’s office announced that an Israeli delegation will travel to Doha for talks, but stressed that the talks would take place “only under fire.”

Since October 2023, Israeli fire has killed 52,862 Palestinians and injured 119,648 others in Gaza, according to local health authorities on Monday.

General

Strict action will now be taken against criminals who flee the country. Their passports will be cancelled and they will not be able to travel abroad.

Published

on

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that fugitives involved in various crimes, including terrorist activities, gangsterism, cyber and economic crimes, who flee the country will not be spared under any circumstances. A more stringent approach will be adopted against them. During the process of issuing Red Corner Notices against such fugitives, their passports will be red flagged, meaning they will be cancelled, preventing them from legally moving from one country to another. He also called for at least one special jail in each state, meeting international standards, to be built to refute fugitives’ claims in foreign courts about the poor quality of facilities in Indian prisons. Home Minister Amit Shah made this statement on Thursday at a two-day conference organized by the CBI on “Extradition of Fugitives – Challenges and Strategies.”

He stated that after 2027, any accused in an FIR will be able to receive justice within three years, from the lower court to the Supreme Court. He also urged police officers from all states present to establish a focus group to coordinate narcotics, terrorism, gangsterism, economic, and cybercrime, which the IB and CBI should work to accelerate through the Multi-Agency Center (MAC). He emphasized that a strict approach should be adopted not only against corruption, crime, and terrorism, but also against gangsters and criminals operating in syndicates outside India. No matter how swift the tactics of crime and criminals, access to justice must be even faster. Referring to the three new criminal laws that will come into effect in July 2024, Shah said that for the first time since independence, a provision has been made to prosecute fugitives even in their absence. Thus, if a fugitive is convicted, his status under international law changes significantly.

The enactment of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act in 2018 empowered the government to seize the assets of fugitives. Within just four years, we have seized assets worth nearly two billion dollars, and between 2014 and 2023, assets worth approximately $12 billion have been seized. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has also been strengthened. Since the CBI is the designated agency in India for the extradition of fugitives who have fled abroad, each state should establish a special cell unit with the agency’s assistance to create a mechanism for bringing back fugitives who have fled their respective states. The CBI has established a Global Operations Center (GOC) to apprehend fugitives internationally, providing real-time coordination with police forces around the world.

Regarding the online portal “Bharatpol,” established by the CBI for international police cooperation, the Home Minister stated that it has achieved significant results since its inception in January 2025. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the Foreign Secretary, CBI Director Praveen Sood, and IB Chiefs, along with police officers from various states, were present on the occasion. A SOP will be developed through discussions during this two-day conference, which will address the challenges of repatriating fugitives, tracking their real-time status, and identifying shortcomings in their failure to be repatriated.

Continue Reading

International News

SPM Modi hails efforts to impart ‘new momentum’ in bilateral ties during meeting with Canadian FM

Published

on

New Delhi, Oct 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday conveyed to Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand that her India visit would contribute to ongoing efforts to impart new momentum to the India–Canada bilateral partnership.

PM Modi hails ‘new momentum’ in bilateral ties during meeting with Canadian FM

Anand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, called on PM Modi on Monday morning before holding discussions with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.

Welcoming Anand, Prime Minister Modi recalled his visit to Canada in June this year for the G7 Summit during which he held an “extremely productive” meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“Prime Minister noted the significance of enhanced cooperation between the two countries in trade, energy, technology, agriculture and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister conveyed his warm wishes to Prime Minister Mark Carney and said that he looked forward to their upcoming engagements,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“I met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning in New Delhi. Building on the momentum of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with PM Modi this summer at the G7 Summit, Canada and India are elevating the relationship between our countries, while maintaining our law enforcement and security dialogue and expanding our economic relationship,” Anand posted on X after the meeting with PM Modi.

Earlier, EAM Jaishankar said that the ties between India and Canada have been steadily progressing in the past few months, and the two nations are working to restore the mechanisms necessary to advance the partnership.

Welcoming Anand on her first visit to India as Canada’s Foreign Minister, EAM Jaishankar said, “India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last few months. We are working to restore and reinvigorate the mechanisms necessary to advance our partnership.”

“As Prime Minister Modi noted during his meeting with Prime Minister Carney in Kananaskis, India’s approach is to move forward with a positive mindset. This morning, you met the Prime Minister. You have heard from him personally about our vision of cooperation and how best to realise it,” he added.

He also recalled the “productive” meeting between National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Canadian NSA Nathalie G. Drouin, calling it “an important first step towards enhancing our security cooperation.”

“Our foreign ministries at the level of the secretary of the deputy minister also met on September 19 to review the overall relationship. Our trade ministers spoke recently on October 11. So, when we look at Canada, we see a complementary economy, we see another open society, we see diversity and pluralism, and we believe that that is the basis for a close, sustainable and long-term cooperative framework,” EAM Jaishankar added.

He noted that India and Canada have prepared an ambitious roadmap to advance cooperation in various sectors, including science and technology, civil nuclear collaboration, AI, trade and agriculture.

“I’m glad that the two high commissioners have assumed their responsibilities in our respective capitals and are part of today’s meeting. This is our high commissioner with whom you have spoken,” the EAM added.

“Our responsibility as foreign ministers is to shepherd the process of rebuilding our cooperation and to ensure that it delivers on the expectations of our prime ministers and the interests of our people. It means not only taking initiatives in our particular jurisdiction, but also monitoring and integrating interactions across the entire breadth of the government. I look forward to doing so, working closely with you, Minister,” he added.

Continue Reading

International News

I am good at solving wars: Trump says he will resolve Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict

Published

on

Washington, Oct 13: US President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to mediate the border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, claiming that he can bring an end to the dispute, referring to the other wars that he has “resolved”.

He made these statements as he was heading to Egypt for a summit on the Gaza peace process, which will officially mark the end of the two-year-long conflict in the Middle East, claiming it to be the eighth war he has resolved.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “This will be my eighth war that I have solved, and I hear there is a war now going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

“I said, I’ll have to wait till I get back. I am doing another one. Because I am good at solving wars,” he said, adding that conflicts that lasted for decades were solved ‘relatively quickly’ during his tenure as the US President.

“Think about India, Pakistan. Think about some of the wars that were going on for years… We had one going for 31, one going for 32, one going for 37 years, with millions of people being killed in every country, and I got every one of those done, for the most part, within a day. It’s pretty good,” Trump said.

Speaking about the Nobel Peace Prize, which was accorded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Trump said, “I did not do this for the Nobel. I did this for saving lives.”

“The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, ‘I am accepting this in honour of you, because you really deserved it’. I’ve been helping her along the way,” he added.

Trump outlined several international disputes that he asserted were resolved during his leadership, including those between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Rwanda and the Congo.

Continue Reading

Trending