Khamenei laid to rest; A wider Gulf war likely; Oil prices to shoot up again
RED IS REVENGE! Mourners at Iran's Supreme Leader iAyatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on Friday holding up a large red banner reading, “We will kill Trump.”
Well before the funeral concluded, Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' and fresh US airstrikes battered Bushehr, Chabahar and Iranshahr airport. Iran retaliated with attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, effectively restarting the Gulf war. Hormuz will be out of bounds for oil tankers.
Huge crowds of followers on late Thursday night pulling out Ayatollah Khamenei’s coffin from a refrigerated truck where his body had been preserved in cold storage after he was killed in US strikes when the war began on February 28.
MASHHAD (Iran), Jul 10 (INS): Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
was laid to rest early Friday morning at the holy Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad
attended by a massive crowd of mourners following week-long funeral processions.
His son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei was not present. He has not been seen
in public since his father's death.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 37 years, was assassinated alongside several
family members in a devastating US-led airstrike on February 28 as the Gulf
war began.
Mourners chanted revenge slogans against Trump at the funeral even as the US
attacks on vital Iranian assets and counter-attacks at Gulf countries harbouring
US bases continued in violation of the ceasefire agreement. The 14-point memorandum
of understanding signed last month had only briefly paused the fighting.
Throughout the funeral procession, which moved from Tehran to the Iraqi Shia
holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before reaching Mashhad, waves of black-clad
mourners filled the streets. Crowds waved Iranian flags and carried portraits
of the late leader alongside red placards reading revolutionary slogans.
In Mashhad, the air filled with grief and rage as thousands of supporters displayed
large anti-Trump banners, openly chanting for direct revenge against the US
President for authorizing the assassination.
Funeral prayers at the shrine were led by Khamenei’s eldest son, Seyyed Mostafa
Khamenei. The absence of younger son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was swiftly appointed
as Iran's new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts soon after his father's
assassination, is attributed to intense security protocols by observers.
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Addressing the nation, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that the Islamic
Republic would never surrender its sovereign rights.
Vital Iranian military assets hit
Even before the religious rites concluded, the attacks intensified. Over the
last 24 hours, US forces launched precision airstrikes targeting vital Iranian
military assets, including command centres, ballistic missile infrastructure,
and suspected nuclear development sites. The Pentagon stated these operations
were designed to permanently degrade Tehran’s strategic capabilities and secure
the heavily contested Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retaliated swiftly. Iranian
forces launched salvos of suicide drones and ballistic missiles targeting US
military installations in neighbouring Gulf countries across the region. Cyber
attacks attributed to Iranian State actors also reportedly targeted critical
Western infrastructure.
Trump had said the ceasefire is over and fresh US airstrikes hit multiple sites
across Iran, including Bushehr, Chabahar and Iranshahr airport. Iran retaliated
with attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Iran's Tehran-Mashhad railway was
suspended after US strikes. Iran health ministry said 14 people were killed
in two days of US strikes. Meanwhile, Jordan shot down 8 Iranian missiles over
its territory.
The currently escalating conflict has heightened fears of a wider regional
war. Global oil prices are likely to surge again. As the the six-day funeral
ended, the region braces for an extended period of escalation of intense attacks.
(THE ROUTE: During massive state funerals for high-ranking Iranian
religious or political figures—such as the 2020 funeral for General Qasem Soleimani—it
is common practice for the procession to cross international borders. The body
is often flown to Iraq so that millions of Iraqi Shia mourners can pay their
respects at the sacred shrines of Imam Ali (in Najaf) and Imam Husayn (in Karbala)
before the final burial takes place back in Iran. In the present case, the procession
traveled from Tehran (Iran), across the border to Najaf and Karbala (Iraq),
and finally back to Mashhad (Iran) for the burial.)
MASHHAD: Mashhad is Iran's second-largest city and the capital of Razavi
Khorasan Province in the northeast near the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
As one of the holiest cities in the Islamic world, Mashhad is known for the
Imam Reza Shrine, drawing over 20 million pilgrims annually. The mausoleum is
dedicated to Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam in Shia Islam.
KARBALA: A major city in central Iraq, is the capital of the Karbala
Governorate. Its historical and spiritual significance stems from the Battle
of Karbala in 680 AD, where Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad,
was martyred. Today, his mausoleum—the Imam Husayn Shrine—draws millions of
pilgrims annually, particularly during the observance of Arba'een and Ashura.
NAJAF: It is also a major city in central Iraq, west of the Euphrates
River. It is the capital of the Najaf Governorate. One of the holiest cities
in Shia Islam, Najaf is primarily famous for being the burial site of Ali ibn
Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the
location of Wadi-us-Salaam, the world's largest Islamic cemetery.
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924)
(Today's headlines )
Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See:
New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)
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