‘Senior al-Qaeda leader killed in US drone strike in Syria’



International Desk
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A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed in a US drone strike in Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.

The strike comes two days after a base in southern Syria, used by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, was assaulted.

“A US airstrike today in northwest Syria killed senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar,” said Central Command spokesman Army Major John Rigsbee in a statement.

There were no known casualties from the strike, he said, adding it was conducted using an MQ-9 aircraft.

“The removal of this al-Qaeda senior leader will disrupt the terrorist organization's ability to further plot and carry out global attacks,” he said.

At the end of September the Pentagon killed Salim Abu-Ahmad, another senior Al-Qaeda commander in Syria, in an airstrike near Idlib in the country's northwest.

He had been responsible for "planning, funding, and approving trans-regional Al-Qaeda attacks," according to Centcom.

“Al-Qaeda continues to present a threat to America and our allies. Al-Qaeda uses Syria as a safe haven to rebuild, coordinate with external affiliates, and plan external operations,” Rigsbee said.

The ongoing war in Syria has created a complex battlefield involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.

The war has killed around half a million people since starting in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

   

Iran is cracking down on women who don't wear Hijab



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Iran is cracking down on women and girls who don't wear Hijab. The country has started a new campaign named 'Noor' from last April 13. Since then, the implementation of the Hijab law has started to become stricter.

Iran has strict laws on wearing the Hijab. Strict action is taken against those who break this law.

Some videos of women being assaulted have gone viral on social media. In them, it is seen that women who go out without Hijab are forcibly picked up in cars by the members of the 'Morality Police'.

A video shows a mother and daughter walking through Tehran's busiest square in the capital. At that time, they were surrounded by five female and two male members of the police. When they tried to evade arrest, they were violently beaten and taken into a car.

Dina Ghalibaf, a female student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, wrote on the micro-blogging site X that she was barred from boarding the metro. When she insisted, she was taken to a room. She claimed that she was beaten and sexually harassed there.

The student was arrested a day after making such a post and taken to Evin prison.

British newspaper The Guardian spoke to some of those arrested. One of them told the media that eight members of the police surrounded her last Saturday. At that time, she was called "prostitute", "naked American prostitute" and insulted her. Apart from this, the young woman claimed that men also touched her during the arrest.



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Boeing incurs huge losses after door open incident



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Boeing lost a huge amount of money due to the opening of the doors of the Boeing aircraft of Alaska Airlines in mid-air. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported a loss of US dollar 343 million in the first quarter of this year (January-March).

An unused door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 collapsed moments after takeoff from Portland, Oregon last January. Although the Alaska Airlines plane was able to land safely in this incident, questions about Boeing's safety have been raised around the world.

As a result, Boeing reduced the production of the aircraft according to their target. As a result, Boeing is forced to pay huge losses in the first quarter of this year.

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the United States Aviation Agency ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing Max 737 aircraft. In the wake of the incident, Boeing's chief immediately admitted the mistake and promised to fix the problem with 100% transparency. But even this did not save the end. Boeing's CEO was eventually forced to resign.

In order not to cut the heat of this incident, a former Boeing engineer recently talked about the manufacturing defects of the Dreamliner 787. He recommended grounding all Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. In this incident, the safety of Boeing was questioned again.

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Rahul Gandhi sick in heat



International Desk, Barta24.com,Dhaka
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Lok Sabha election campaign is going on in India amid intense heat wave. Political leaders are continuing to campaign despite the unbearable heat.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has fallen ill. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh disclosed the news of Rahul Gandhi's illness on Sunday (April 21).

Jairam Ramesh said that Rahul Gandhi has fallen ill. He cannot leave Delhi right now. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will address the Ranchi rally after attending the Satna meeting.

Rahul was scheduled to attend the opposition camp's mega shows in Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Ranchi in Jharkhand on Sunday.

Ahead of the mega show, Ranchi is decorated with posters of India Alliance leaders. The poster has pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren.

Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Kejriwal's wife Sunita and Hemant Soran's wife Kalpana were scheduled to address the meeting. 

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Erdoğan's meeting with Ismail Haniyah



International Desk, Barta24.com Dhaka:
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting with Ismail Haniyah, the leader of the Palestinian independence organization Hamas, who is visiting Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed the importance of Palestinian unity in the meeting.

On Saturday (April 20), the two leaders met in Istanbul for about two and a half hours, Turkish media reported.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was welcomed at Dolmabak Palace in Istanbul. Members of his delegation were also with him at that time. One of the most important leaders of Hamas was Khaled Mashal.

Turkish state media TRT reported that Erdogan and Haniyah discussed a ceasefire and relief in Gaza.

"It is very important that the Palestinians work together in this process," Erdogan said in a statement after the meeting, calling on Palestinians to unite in order to win against occupying Israel. The strongest action against Israel and the path to victory depend on unity and integrity.”

Erdoğan's meeting with Haniyah was not taken well by the occupying Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned the meeting in a post on the micro-blogging site X.

On October 7, the war between the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel began. More than 34,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in this war so far. Turkish President Erdogan has been condemning Israel's brutality since the beginning of the war. He said he and his country would side with Hamas in the war against Israel.

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