Amid Israel-Hamas War, Detroit Synagogue President Stabbed To Dead: Report

Amid the Israeli offensive against terror group Hamas in Gaza, the president of a Detroit synagogue board, Samantha Woll, was found dead on Saturday morning with multiple stab wounds outside her home, CNN reported, citing police officials.

The synagogue shared the news in a Facebook post, stating that Woll was the president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Downtown Detroit.

"We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President," the synagogue said, adding, "May her memory be a blessing."

Police officers were called on Saturday morning and informed about a person lying on the ground unresponsive, CNN reported citing the Detroit Police Department, adding as soon as they arrived at the scene, they found a "trail of blood" which led them to Woll's home.
Woll was declared dead on the scene, police said.

The police believe that the crime took place inside her home, CNN reported.

The police have not found the motive behind the killing yet, adding that the case had been assigned to its homicide unit for investigation, according to the report.

The FBI in Detroit stated it would assist the local police in the investigation of the crime, it added.

"The FBI is aware of the incident, and we will assist the Detroit Police Department as requested," CNN quoted the FBI as saying in a statement.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Woll's death "has left a huge hole in the Detroit community."

Mr Duggan said in a statement that a few weeks ago he and Woll were celebrating the newly renovated synagogue together. "It was a project she successfully led with great pride and enthusiasm," CNN quoted Duggan as saying.

"This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death," he added.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also expressed her grief and shared condolences in a post on Facebook, stating, "Sam was as kind a person as I've ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state, and country."

Woll had previously worked with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, according to a post on US Representative Elissa Slotkin's social media page, CNN reported.

The Congresswoman added that Woll "dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness".

"My heart aches that we have lost someone so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act. I'll miss her relentless desire to serve & her bright smile seemingly everywhere across the Detroit area," she added in the post.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Globster-Like 'Mermaid' Washes Ashore In Papua New Guinea, Puzzling Experts

Scientists are perplexed and eager to learn more about a strange "mermaid" that reportedly washed up on a beach in Papua New Guinea, reigniting human fascination with the ocean's depths. Photos of the ghostly white lump of flesh, shaped like a mermaid, were shared on a Facebook page called "New Irelanders Only."

The strange, pale, and decayed mass resembling a mermaid was found by people on Simberi Island in Papua New Guinea's Bismarck Sea on September 20. Experts aren't sure about its true nature, but they believe it's more likely a sea creature than a mystical being.

According to Live Science, it is known as a globster, an unidentified organic mass that washes ashore. The origin of these mystery lumps is hard to pin down because much of the corpse has rotted away, and most are missing body parts that have fallen off at sea. In this case, most of the creature's head and large chunks of its flesh are missing. There is no information on the size and weight of the corpse because it was not properly measured before locals buried it, NIO representatives told Live Science. And no one collected DNA samples, which makes a proper identification almost impossible.

Helene Marsh, an environmental scientist at James Cook University in Australia, told Live Science that it looks like a marine mammal. "After that, it is anyone's guess," she added.

Sascha Hooker, a marine mammal expert at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, narrowed it down further. "It looks like a very decomposed cetacean to me," she told Live Science. Cetaceans, or whales and dolphins, are known to turn this color when their skin falls off, she added.

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"Bill Clinton Offered $5 Billion To Stop Nuclear Tests": Nawaz Sharif

Hours after his homecoming, Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif highlighted the achievements of his tenure and recalled how he gave a "befitting reply" to India's atomic explosion by conducting nuclear tests in 1998 despite being offered USD 5 billion by then US president Bill Clinton not to do so.

Sharif, 73, returned home on a special flight from Dubai, ending a four-year self-imposed exile in the UK, to head his party and try to secure a record fourth term in the general elections expected to be held in January.

Wearing a light blue kurta pyjama, a maroon muffler and a black coat, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo flew in from Dubai to Islamabad on the 'Umeed-e-Pakistan' chartered plane at around 1:30 pm local time.

He reached Lahore, considered a stronghold of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, to address a massive rally, "I am meeting you today after several years, but my relationship of love with you is the same. There is no difference in this relationship," he told the cheering crowd. "The love I am seeing in your eyes, I am proud of it." Sharif recalled the huge pressure he faced from foreign governments in 1998 when Pakistan wanted to respond to India's nuclear test.

"There will be record present in the Foreign Office that Clinton offered me USD 5 billion [...] this happened in 1999...I could have been offered USD 1 billion too, but I was born from the land of Pakistan and it did not give me permission to accept what is against Pakistan's favour.

"Tell me, if someone else would have been in my place, you know who, could he have said this in front of the American president," he said, taking a dig at his main rival Imran Khan.

"We conducted the atomic test and gave India a befitting reply for conducting nuclear tests," he said in his nearly 60-minute speech at the PML-N rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan.

"So, do we get punished for this? Are verdicts announced against us for this reason?" he said.

Nawaz Sharif said he never betrayed his supporters nor did he shy from any kind of sacrifice. He recalled how fake cases were framed against him, his daughter and his party leaders. "But no one abandoned the PML-N flag." "Tell me, who are they who separated Nawaz Sharif from his nation? We are those who built Pakistan.

We made Pakistan an atomic power. We brought an end to load-shedding." He compared how roti costs way higher today than when he was in power. "Was I ousted for this reason? What is this decision? You are the public, you tell, do you agree with this decision?" The PML-N supremo lamented how the country was in a dire state today but at the same time vowed to redirect Pakistan to the path of growth.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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'Would Struggle To Make It To Karnataka Xl ': Ex-India Star Slams Shardul

Former Indian cricket team pacer Doda Ganesh launched a scathing attack on Shardul Thakur during the Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday. In the absence of Hardik Pandya due to injury, Shardul bowled 9 overs and ended up conceding 59 runs at an economy rate of 6.60. The all-rounder took the wicket of Towhid Hridoy but Ganesh was not impressed with what he provided for the side. The former India cricketer took to social media to say that on the basis on just bowling, Shardul would not even make the cut for Karnataka's playing XI in domestic cricket.

"With due respect to Shardul Thakur, on his bowling alone he would struggle to make it to Karnataka's playing Xl in any format, let alone India's," he posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

With due respect to Shardul Thakur, on his bowling alone he would struggle to make it to Karnataka's playing Xl in any format, let alone India's #CWC23

— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) October 19, 2023

Shardul did not play the first game of the Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia but he replaced Ravichandran Ashwin for the second game and has played every match ever since.

Virat Kohli's unbeaten century sealed India's fourth win from four World Cup matches as the hosts defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets on Thursday with the star batsman closing in on Sachin Tendulkar's record for ODI hundreds.

Kohli reached his century and ended the match in style with a six against spinner Nasum Ahmed when he needed three runs to complete his century and India two more runs to reach a target of 257.

They got there with more than eight overs to spare, finishing on 261-3.

Kohli's 48th one-day international century left him just one shy of equalling India great Tendulkar's all-time record of 49 hundreds at this level.

Kohli faced 97 balls, including six fours and four sixes, with this century his third score in excess of fifty in four innings following contributions of 85 and 55 not out in recent pool wins over Australia and Afghanistan.

But for Bangladesh, a third defeat in four matches left them with an uphill struggle to qualify for the semi-finals.

(With AFP inputs)

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"Rahul Gandhi Speaking Of Dynasty Is Joke Of The Millennium": KTR

With voting for the Telangana elections just over a month away, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi has made regional pride the centrepiece of its campaign amid attacks of corruption and dynastic politics from the BJP and the Congress. The party's working president, KT Rama Rao, who had said Andhra landlords were the villains during the last elections, has trained his guns on the ghulams (servants) of Gujarat and the Delhi durbar (courtiers) this time around.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Friday, Mr Rao also rubbished allegations from both the BJP and the Congress of his party siding with the other and said the BRS is nobody's B-team, but Telangana's A-team. 

"The entire statehood movement of Telangana was predicated on two things - self-respect and pride. The Prime Minister comes to Hyderabad and says one Gujarati (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) relieved you from the clutches of the Nizam and another Gujarati (PM Narendra Modi) will relieve you from KCR (Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's) dictatorial rule," Mr Rao, who is also the son of KCR, said.

"We also have to invoke pride and we also have to remind people that the ghulams of Gujarat here in Telangana - the BJP folks - have not done much in the past nine-and-a-half years and we have to speak about their track record as well. Same is the case with the Delhi durbar. Rahul baba comes here and starts saying things like family rule and dynasty, which probably has to be the joke of the millennium," he added. 

Mr Rao, who is a minister and holds the information technology portfolio, among others, said people from Gujarat and Delhi don't do their homework before coming to Telangana and he and his party have to remind them from time to time that the Telangana statehood agitation was a matter of great self-respect. "One of the most important tenets of that movement was pride, and you cannot come and insult us like that," he said. 

Asked about election-related seizures in Telangana touching Rs 243 crore in just ten days, Mr Rao blamed the Congress and said that money had been seized from one of its former corporators in Bengaluru. When it was pointed out that the seizure was in Karnataka, he said a lot of people have common businesses in Karnataka and Telangana. 

"A few builders have told me that the Karnataka government has started charging an extra election tax - Rs 500 per square foot - and they are telling the builders directly that the money is being used for supporting and funding the Congress party in Telangana elections. That is where the money is being caught, the root," he alleged.

To a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that KCR had bankrolled the Karnataka Congress campaign and the Congress is now returning the favour, Mr Rao said, "The PM is very good at scripting these brilliant narratives and brilliant stories. Unfortunately, none of them see the light of the day. He is the same man who promised bullet trains by 2022, five-trillion dollar economy by 2022 , farmer income doubling by 2022. I am not even going to refer to the Rs 15-lakh jumla."

"So the fact is that no matter what the PM or Rahul Gandhi would like to believe, we are neither the B-team of the Congress nor the BJP, we are the A-team of the people of Telangana and we will continue to remain steadfastly neutral and equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP. This bipolar situation that they want to create, that this country has to lean either on the BJP or Congress, is not something that we subscribe to. We certainly don't endorse their view or ideology," he asserted.

The BRS, earlier known as the Telanagana Rashtra Samithi, has ruled in Telangana since the state was formed in 2014. The Assembly election will be held on November 30 and counting will be held on December 3. 

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Anand Mahindra Shares US Salesperson's Reaction To India-Made iPhone 15

After Apple and Samsung, Google also announced its plan to start manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India with the latest model to be rolled out next year. Reacting to this news, industrialist Anand Mahindra shared an interesting story about his made-in-India iPhone. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the business tycoon expressed pride and excitement in owning a smartphone manufactured in our country. He also talked about the reaction of a salesman in the United States when he informed that his iPhone 15 was made in India. 

It all started with a post on X by a page called Indian Tech and Infra. "Google to start manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India, beginning with the latest model which will be rolled out in 2024," the caption of the post read. Mr Mahindra re-shared this post along with his story. 

"I recently was in a Verizon store in the U.S to get a local sim and proudly informed the salesperson that my iPhone 15 was made in India. It was a particular pleasure to see his raised eyebrows!" he wrote, adding, "I also have a Google Pixel. I will switch to the India-made version when it's out. So I'll be able to tell them my Pixel is made in India too... But there probably won't be any raised eyebrows at that time because by then, India will have been globally acknowledged as a manufacturing powerhouse". 

I recently was in a Verizon store in the U.S to get a local sim and proudly informed the salesperson that my iPhone 15 was made in India. It was a particular pleasure to see his raised eyebrows! I also have a Google Pixel. I will switch to the India-made version when it's out. So… https://t.co/QouFIOSu1M

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) October 20, 2023

The post was shared by Mr Mahindra just a few hours ago and since then it has accumulated more than 1.3 million views and over 21,000 likes. Internet users were quick to react. While some found Mr Mahindra's emotions relatable, others were simply impressed by Google's recent announcement. 

"That's an impressive moment to share! It's exciting to witness the rise of India as a manufacturing powerhouse, and the choice to support locally-made products is commendable," wrote one user. "That's a great story Sir! It's interesting how the origin of your phone can spark conversations and highlight the growing reputation of India in the global manufacturing industry. It's indeed impressive to see India's rise in this regard! said another. 

Also Read | Two WhatsApp Accounts on One Phone: Meta's New Solution for Users

"That's great to hear about your India-made iPhone and your future plans with the Google Pixel! India's growing role in global manufacturing is indeed impressive," commented a third user. "love this story! It's so exciting to see India becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse, and I'm proud to know that Google is playing a role in that. I can't wait to switch to an India-made Pixel when it's out in 2024," added another. 

Meanwhile, Google on Thursday announced its plans to start manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India. This announcement makes Google the latest smartphone brand to start manufacturing its handsets in India. Rivals Samsung and Apple also assemble some of their smartphones in the country. 

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After Nitish Kumar's 'Praise', BJP Says Doors Closed For Him

The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state.

State BJP President Samrat Choudhary made the averment to this effect in reply to queries from journalists about the Janata Dal United leader's address to the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari.

Speaking in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Mr Kumar had freely spoken of the tussle he had with the then Congress government at the Centre for getting a university approved for Motihari, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Champaran Satyagraha.

Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name, Mr Kumar acknowledged that the project saw the light of the day only after a change of guard "in 2014" as the UPA government "initially refused and after much persuasion agreed in principle but did not move forward".

The occasion was also marked by Mr Kumar swearing by his "lifelong personal friendship" with Radha Mohan Singh, the local BJP MP who held the crucial agriculture portfolio in the first Modi cabinet.

When Mr Choudhary was asked about Mr Kumar's remarks at the convocation ceremony, the BJP leader uttered the Bihari proverb "doodh bhaat", often used to mock childish behaviour.

"Only yesterday we saw the CM trying to act chummy with the governor while sharing the stage on a solemn occasion," said Mr Choudhary, referring to the launch of "Fourth Agriculture Roadmap".

Mr Kumar had, while speaking at the function, turned towards Governor Rajendra Arlekar and said, "You may be the Centre's appointee but I have nothing against it".

Mr Choudhary, however, said, "Nitish Kumar should be grateful towards Narendra Modi not just for the central university but also for financial assistance to the tune of billions of rupees".

He also said "Mr Kumar should thank PM Modi" for his current tenure.

"The PM lived up to his promise of supporting the JDU leader for another term in office though the latter's party was drubbed in the assembly elections," Mr Choudhary said, adding that "as far as his talk of personal friendship with any BJP leader goes, we need to assert that our party is run on the basis of policy and not personal equations".

"Our Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear that our doors are closed forever for Nitish Kumar," Mr Choudhary said.

Notably, after dumping the BJP in August last year, Mr Kumar had survived in power as a result of an alliance he formed with the Mahagathbandhan, comprising arch-rival Lalu Prasad's RJD, Congress and three Left-wing parties.

Charging the BJP with trying to destabilise the JDU while in alliance, Mr Kumar had vowed to defeat the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by bringing together opposition parties across the country.

His efforts culminated in the formation of the INDIA coalition. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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