International
Paralympic shooting: Manish Narwal and Singhraj claim gold, silver for India

It was double delight for India at the Asaka Shooting Range on Saturday as Manish Narwal and Singhraj won gold and silver respectively as they finished 1-2 in the P4 – Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 at the Tokyo Paralympic Games here.
Narwal shot a Paralympic record 218 in the final while Singhraj, who had won a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol SH1 earlier this week, finished second with a score of 216.7. Sergey Malyshev of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) took bronze with a score of 196.8.
The 19-year-old Narwal had qualified seventh while Singhraj was fourth going into the final but both the Indians shot brilliantly, holding their nerves to surge to the top of the list. Narwal is the world record holder in the final, set at Al Ain, UAE, in March this year.
Singhraj, 39, shot into the lead after the first elimination round but Malayshev soon came back to open up a two-point lead as Uzbekistan’s Server Ibragimov, who topped the qualifying, Iran’s Sareh Javanmardi and Serbia’s Zivko Papaz all got eliminated one after another.
Though Narwal made a slow start with two poor shots of 7.7, Singhraj was in the zone straight away with a score of 19.4 after two shots.
However, by the fifth-sixth shots were fired, the duo was in the reckoning for the podium. Singhraj and Narwal were both in the top three with scores of 46.1 and 45.4 respectively.
Narwal was a bit wayward in the next two shots and slipped to the sixth spot while Singhraj held on to the third position after seven shots were fired.
Narwal remained calm and composed and shot a couple of 10s to claw back into contention, moving to fifth position with 104.3 points. Singhraj was consistent enough to hold on to the third position.
In the second elimination round, Singhraj and Manish were lurking behind each other in fourth and fifth positions with Malyshev leading followed by two Chinese Lou Xiaolong, and Chao Yang in second and third.
However, the tables turned with the Chinese slipping to the fourth and fifth with scores of 7.5 and 8.7 respectively and Indians Narwal and Singhraj taking up third and fourth positions.
Yang got eliminated next and his countryman Xiaolong followed two shots later. This left the podium places to be decided amongst the two Indians and the Russian Malyshev.
Malyshev, who till then was sailing smoothly, buckled under pressure and shot 6.9 and 8.5, and Narwal shot a 10 and Singhraj 9.2 to jump to the top two positions, the Russian settling for bronze.
“I was very close to gold, but then I started to get nervous. And then – bronze. I was very close to the medal as well, but unfortunately, a little bit was missing,” said the seasoned Russian.
In the next two shots, Narwal managed 8.4 and 9.1 while Singhraj made 8.5 and 9.4 respectively but that was not enough for him to overtake Narwal and Singhraj had to be satisfied with the silver, his second medal at Tokyo 202.
Earlier, Singhraj shot superbly to surge into the final with a score of 536 and finish fourth while Narwal had a topsy-turvy round as he went up and down the table a few times before finishing seventh with a score of 533 as eight shooters made it to the final. Uzbekistan’s Server Ibragimov, China’s Lou Xiaolong, and Iran’s female shooter Sareh Javanmardi finished with an identical score of 539 but the took the top position as he had shot nine pellets into the inner-10 circle (9x) as compare to eight by the Chinese and five by the Iranian shooter.
Russian Paralympic Committee’s (RPC) Sergey Malyshev, who had shot a world record score of 555 in Lima, Peru in June this year, could manage only 532 on Saturday as he booked the eighth and last spot in the final. Serbia’s Zivko Papaz and China’s Yang Chao are the other two shooters in the final.
Narwal, who holds the World Record for the final, scored 79 in his fourth series of 10 shots and also had an 88 on his sixth turn. These two low scores pulled him down and he had to be satisfied with the seventh position. Narwal shot a 91 in the first round of 10 shots and followed that up with 93 and another 91 before disaster struck in the fourth series. He responded with a 91 before ending his qualification round with an 88.
Singhraj was more consistent as he shot 90 or more in four rounds. He started with 93, 90, and 91 in first three rounds followed by two 86s before winding off with a 90.
International
Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.
He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”
India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.
Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.
Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.
“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.
International
Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.
According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.
More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.
The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.
In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.
Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.
In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.
However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.
Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.
The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.
Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.
Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.
International
Houthis say 123 civilians in Yemen killed in one month of US airstrikes

Sanaa, April 15: A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement.
The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others.
The health authorities’ previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223.
The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023.
“A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province” in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing “the ongoing US aggression” has not crippled the group’s military capabilities.
The statement affirmed the group’s support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue “until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.”
The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
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