Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Special Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style
The INSV Kaundinya was inducted to the Indian Navy at at the Naval Base Karwar in Karnataka on May 21, 2025. (Indian Navy)
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Updated 22 May 2025
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Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style

Indian Navy inducts first vessel built in ancient shipbuilding style
  • Ship design is based on 5th-century artwork found in Ajanta Caves
  • The ship’s first transoceanic voyage is planned from Gujarat to Oman

New Delhi: The Indian Navy inducted on Wednesday its first vessel constructed using traditional shipbuilding techniques dating back to the 5th century.

The 21-meter wooden ship is a stitched ship, a type of boat that is carvel-built, with its planks stitched together using cords or ropes. The technique was popular in ancient India in constructing ocean-going vessels.

Named Kaundinya, the ship is a recreation of a vessel inspired by a painting from the Ajanta Caves — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra state, where ancient Buddhist rock-cut monuments feature exquisite murals dating from the 2nd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.

“The whole concept was to kind of connect to our ancient methodology of how the construction takes place and also, subsequently, connect to the historical maritime routes which Indian seafarers took during that particular time,” Cdr. Vivek Madhwal, spokesperson of the Indian Navy, told Arab News.

Funded by the Ministry of Culture, the project was launched in July 2023 and constructed by artisans from Kerala, who were led by master Indian shipwright Babu Sankaran. The vessel was completed in February this year.

The INSV Kaundinya’s induction into the Indian Navy took place in the presence of Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the Naval Base Karwar in Karnataka, on the country’s western coast along the Arabian Sea.

The ship will sail its first transoceanic voyage from Gujarat to Oman.

“That is one of the routes which was used by the ancient seafarers,” Madhwal said, adding that new routes will be considered in the future, after the first journey.

The Indian Navy collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras to conduct model testing of the vessel’s hydrodynamic behavior at sea. The navy has also tested the wooden mast system, which was constructed without the use of contemporary materials.

“Every aspect of the ship had to balance historical authenticity with seaworthiness, leading to design choices that were both innovative and true to the maritime traditions of ancient India,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“The combination of a stitched hull, square sails, wooden spars, and traditional steering mechanisms makes the vessel unlike any ship currently in naval service anywhere in the world.”


EU chief slams Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ strikes on Gaza civilian sites

EU chief slams Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ strikes on Gaza civilian sites
Updated 1 min 56 sec ago
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EU chief slams Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ strikes on Gaza civilian sites

EU chief slams Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ strikes on Gaza civilian sites
  • “Killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” von der Leyen said
  • “This escalation and disproportionate use of force against civilians cannot be justified“

BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen denounced as “abhorrent” Israel’s deadly wave of strikes on civilian facilities in Gaza including a school, during a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday.

Rescuers said Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in the Gaza Strip Monday, 33 in a school-turned-shelter, in a renewed offensive to destroy Hamas that has drawn international condemnation.

“The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” von der Leyen said, according to an EU readout of the call.

“The European Commission has always supported — and will continue to support — Israel’s right to security and self-defense,” she said.

“But this escalation and disproportionate use of force against civilians cannot be justified under humanitarian and international law,” von der Leyen warned.

The commission chief demanded that Israel “immediately restore aid delivery in line with humanitarian principles, with the participation of the UN and other international humanitarian partners.”

The European Union has struggled to have an impact on the conflict due to long-standing divisions within the bloc between countries who back Israel and those considered more pro-Palestinian.

Momentum to ramp up the pressure on Israel has been growing however since Israel restarted its Gaza offensive.

The EU last week launched a review of its association agreement with Israel over alleged human rights abuses in Gaza, after 17 of its 27 member states backed the move.


Pakistani superstars Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed honored in UAE amid ‘Love Guru’ promotions 

Pakistani superstars Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed honored in UAE amid ‘Love Guru’ promotions 
Updated 4 min 30 sec ago
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Pakistani superstars Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed honored in UAE amid ‘Love Guru’ promotions 

Pakistani superstars Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed honored in UAE amid ‘Love Guru’ promotions 
  • Pakistani Ambassador Tirmizi presents commemorative shields to artists
  • Khan and Saeed are starring in romantic comedy set to release on Eid 

KARACHI: Pakistani superstar actors Mahira Khan and Humayun Saeed, currently in the UAE to promote their upcoming romantic comedy ‘Love Guru,’ were honored at a special ceremony by Pakistani Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, the envoy’s office said on Tuesday.

Khan and Saeed have recently toured the US, UK and Canada for red carpet events, fan meet-and-greets and exclusive press interviews to promote Love Guru, which will hit cinemas during the Eid Al-Adha holiday next month. 

“During the ceremony, Ambassador Tirmizi presented commemorative shields to the artists, celebrating their dedication and achievements,” the Pakistan Embassy in the UAE said in a statement.

“In his remarks, the ambassador highlighted Pakistan’s rich cultural and artistic diversity, underscoring the vital role of the creative industry as a form of soft power in shaping global perception of Pakistan.”

Love Guru made history last week when its trailer was showcased at New York City’s Times Square, the first time a Pakistani film has ever been featured on the landmark’s giant digital screens. The trailer launch attracted a crowd of onlookers, fans, and members of the South Asian diaspora who gathered to watch the film’s stars unveil the preview in person.

In the upcoming film, Saeed plays the character of a flirt pretending to be a relationship expert who is striving to win over Khan, who is playing an architect. 


Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say

Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say
Updated 3 min 43 sec ago
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Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say

Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say

DAMASCUS: Israel and Syria are in direct contact and have in recent weeks held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the two longtime foes, five people familiar with the matter said.
The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades, as the US encourages the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to establish relations with Israel and Israel eases its bombardment of Syria.
They also build on back-channel talks via intermediaries since Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled Syrian strongman Bashar Assad in December, said two Syrian and two Western sources, as well as a regional intelligence source familiar with the matter.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject for two nations with no official ties and a history of enmity. The direct talks and their scope have not been previously reported.
On the Syrian side, the sources said contacts have been led by senior security official Ahmad Al-Dalati, who was appointed governor of the province of Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after the fall of Assad. Earlier this week, Dalati was also put in charge of security in the southern province of Sweida, home to Syria’s Druze minority.
Reuters could not determine who participated on Israel’s side, though two of the sources said they were security officials.
Three of the sources said there had been several rounds of in-person meetings in the border region, including in territory controlled by Israel.
Israel’s foreign ministry and Syrian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, Syrian interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa confirmed indirect talks with Israel that he said were aimed at calming tensions, a striking admission that followed a Reuters report that the UAE was mediating such talks.
Israel has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and took more territory in the aftermath of Assad’s ouster in December, citing lingering concerns over the extremist past of the country’s new rulers.
It has also waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that destroyed much of the country’s military infrastructure, while at the same time lobbying Washington to keep the country weak and decentralized.
But the bombing and the criticism have subsided in recent weeks.
On May 14, a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Sharaa in Riyadh upended decades of US Syria policy, and signalled to Israel’s right-wing government that it should work to reach understandings with Sharaa.
The regional intelligence source described Trump’s engagement with Sharaa as a pivotal part of a realignment in US policy that upset Israel’s post-Assad strategy of exploiting Syria’s fragmentation.

BROADER UNDERSTANDINGS?
The relative calm in May has also seen a reduction in tensions around Sweida, which saw days of bloody clashes between Druze armed factions, some of which enjoy Israeli backing, and Sunni Muslim fighters last month.
Amid the violence, Israel had launched a series of airstrikes, including one just outside the presidential palace overlooking Damascus, which it framed as a warning over threats against the Druze, an offshoot of Islam with adherents in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
While the direct talks are currently focused on joint security, such as preventing conflict and reducing Israeli incursions into Syrian border villages, two of the sources said they may help pave the way for broader political understandings.
“For now, they are about peace, as in the absence of war, rather than normalization,” said the person familiar with backchannel talks.
Trump indicated after meeting Sharaa that the Syrian leader was willing to eventually normalize ties with Israel, while adding that it would take some time.
Sharaa has not commented on the statement, saying instead that he supported a return to the terms of a 1974 ceasefire agreement that created a UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Syria’s new rulers have made repeated efforts to show they pose no threat to Israel, meeting representatives of the Jewish community in Damascus and abroad and detaining two senior members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
A letter sent by Syria’s foreign ministry to the US State Department last month, seen by Reuters, said “we will not allow Syria to become a source of threat to any party, including Israel.”
More recently, Syria’s leadership has shown goodwill by approving the handover of a trove of long-dead Israeli master spy Eli Cohen’s belongings.


Pakistan condemns Israeli strike on Gaza school, assault on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque

Pakistan condemns Israeli strike on Gaza school, assault on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque
Updated 14 min 14 sec ago
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Pakistan condemns Israeli strike on Gaza school, assault on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque

Pakistan condemns Israeli strike on Gaza school, assault on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque
  • Rally in Jerusalem marking Israel’s capture of city’s east in 1967 war descended into chaos on Monday
  • At least 35 reported were killed when a school in Gaza was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Monday

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned in the “strongest possible terms” an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school building where dozens of Palestinians sheltering inside were killed as well as the recent episode of far-right Israeli Jews assaulting Palestinians outside the Al-Aqsa mosque. 

A large rally in Jerusalem marking Israel’s capture of the city’s east in the 1967 war descended into chaos on Monday as far-right Israeli Jews confronted and assaulted Palestinians, fellow Israelis and journalists.

The annual “Flag March” drew tens of thousands of people, chanting, dancing and waving Israeli flags after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a longtime flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian tensions. 

Violence broke out in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem shortly after midday when young marchers began harassing the few Palestinian shopkeepers who had yet to shutter their stores ahead of the rally. The marchers, mostly young Israelis who live in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, then began to target Israeli left-wing activists and journalists observing the rally. Reuters reported that the demonstrators shouted nationalistic slogans and called for violence against Palestinians, chanting: “Death to Arabs,” while a Palestinian woman and journalists were spat on by a group of young settlers, and nearby Israeli police did not intervene.

“Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the latest provocative actions by Israeli occupying power as well as illegal settlers that aim to undermine the religious, historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the foreign office said in a statement.

“Such actions are unacceptable and constitute a flagrant violation of international law and have the potential to further escalate an already volatile situation in the region. Pakistan calls for upholding the sanctity and historical status of the holy sites, and preventing Israel from any further provocations.”

Separately, at least 54 Palestinians have been killed, most of them in a school building sheltering displaced families, during Israeli air strikes on Gaza overnight on Monday. 

The Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City was housing hundreds of people from Beit Lahia, currently under intense Israeli military assault. At least 35 were reported to have been killed when the school was hit.

“The latest reprehensible attack against a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza is an example of continued Israeli impunity.” the foreign office said. 

“The harrowing images being witnessed by the world in the aftermath of the attack that resulted in dozens of deaths, many of them children, should be a wake-up call for the international community. These attacks must end forthwith, and Israel must be held accountable for its heinous crimes.”

Pakistan has for decades supported the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.


Sweden charges man over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria

Sweden charges man over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria
Updated 14 min 8 sec ago
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Sweden charges man over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria

Sweden charges man over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria
  • Daesh captured Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh in December 2014
  • The Swedish Prosecution Authority charged Krayem with gross war crimes and terrorism

STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors pressed charges on Tuesday against a man on suspicion of war crimes and terrorism over the murder of a Jordanian air force pilot who was burned to death in Syria a decade ago.

The Swede, named in court documents as Osama Krayem, 32, has previously been convicted of involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016.

The Daesh militant group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, captured Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh in December 2014 and later published a video of him being burned alive in a cage.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority charged Krayem with gross war crimes and terrorism, the indictment showed.

“Krayem, together with and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to IS, killed/deprived Muath Al-Kasasbeh of his life,” the authority said in the indictment.

It said Krayem had forced the pilot to the cage and that he also posed for a camera, knowing the footage would be dispersed as a manifestation of a plan and ideology advocated by Daesh.

Krayem’s Swedish lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Krayem has been temporarily transferred to Sweden from France to stand trial at the Stockholm district court.

Daesh controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, and was defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019.

Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad.