Former Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain has been granted bail by a local court in a money laundering case. Mr Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over two years ago.

The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail in May 2023 on medical grounds. He returned to Delhi’s Tihar jail after the Supreme Court denied his request for regular bail in March this year.

“Considering the delay in trial and long incarceration of 18 months, and the fact that the trail will take a long time to start, let alone conclude, the accused is favourably suited for the relief,” special judge Vishal Gogne said, according to news agency PTI.

Mr Jain is the third AAP leader who has been granted bail in different cases in recent times.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail last month, while his former deputy Manish Sisodia was granted bail in August; both were accused of money laundering in framing a new liquor policy for the national capital.

The AAP leaders have been alleging that the Centre used the investigative agencies against them for political hit jobs ahead of electoral battles. The Centre has refuted the allegations at every turn.

The ED case against Mr Jain is based on a first information report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2017 over alleged money laundering using companies linked to him.

“Satyamev Jayate. Long live the Constitution… Satyendar Jain was kept in jail for such a long time by making false and baseless allegations. His house was raided four times. Nothing was found, yet he was kept in jail… Thanks to the judiciary for supporting truth and justice,” Mr Sisodia said in a post on X today.

“Welcome back Satyendar,” Mr Kejriwal said.

Hours after Israel confirmed the killing of Hamas chief and mastermind of October 7 attacks, Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the people of Gaza, saying the war can end as soon as tomorrow, if Hamas agrees to lay down its arms and return the hostages.

Sharing a video on X, Netanyahu said, “Yahya Sinwar is dead. He was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israeli defence forces. While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end. To the people of Gaza, I have a simple message – this war can end tomorrow. It can end if Hamas lays down its arms and returns our hostages.”

Yahya Sinwar is dead.

He was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end. pic.twitter.com/C6wAaLH1YW

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 17, 2024

The Israel Defence Forces revealed on Thursday that Sinwar, along with two other terrorists have been eliminated by Israel.

READ | Drone Footage Of Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar’s Last Moments Released By Israel

Netanyahu revealed that Hamas is currently holding 101 hostages in Gaza, comprising citizens from 23 different countries, including Israel.

“Hamas is holding 101 hostages in Gaza who are citizens of 23 countries, citizens of Israel, but citizens of many other countries. Israel is committed to doing everything in our power to bring all of them home. Israel will guarantee the safety of all those who return our hostages,” he said.

The Israeli PM issued a stern warning to those holding Israeli hostages, vowing that Israel will relentlessly pursue and bring them to justice.

“But to those who would harm our hostages, I have another message – Israel will hunt you down and bring you to justice. But to those who would harm our hostages, I have another message – Israel will hunt you down and bring you to justice. I also have a message of hope to the people of the region – the axis of terror that was built by Iran is collapsing before our eyes,” he said.

READ | Hezbollah To Escalate War With Israel After Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Killed

Netanyahu in his message also highlighted the elimination of key Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, and asserted that the reign of terror imposed by the Iranian regime on its own people and those in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen will “come to an end.”

“Nasrallah is gone, his deputy Mohsen is gone, Haniyeh is gone, Deif is gone, Sinwar is gone. The reign of terror that the Iranian regime has imposed on its own people and on the peoples of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, too will come to an end,” Netanyahu said.

He added, “All those who seek a future of prosperity and peace in the Middle East should unite to build a better future. Together, we can push back the forces of darkness and create a future of light and hope for all of us.”

Hamas launched a horrific terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. About 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1200 people, including citizens of more than 30 countries, and also took over 250 people as hostages.

In response, Israel launched a strong counter-offensive in the Gaza Strip, while vowing to “completely eliminate” Hamas.

However, the mounting civilian toll has raised global concerns over humanitarian situation in the Strip. United Nations and other big nations have repeatedly called for a ceasefire, return of hostages and increased assistance for the civilian population in Gaza.

READ | How Israeli Military Tracked And Killed Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar In Gaza

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

In a sign of differences between the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Congress just a month before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the regional party has said it will not hold seat-sharing discussions with state Congress President Nana Patole.

On Thursday, sources in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, comprising the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had said that a consensus had been reached on 260 of the state’s 288 Assembly constituencies. 

Speaking on Friday, however, senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and MP Sanjay Raut said the allies had agreed on only 200 seats and took a dig at Nana Patole without naming him, saying leaders in the Maharashtra Congress leaders are “not capable of taking decisions”.

Mr Raut said he had spoken to Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik and the party’s Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala and would also talk to Rahul Gandhi later in the day.

“The pending decision should be expedited. Very little time is left. Maharashtra Congress leaders are not capable of making decisions. They have to send the list to Delhi frequently and then discussions happen. The decision (on seat-sharing) will have to be taken at the earliest,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

Sources told NDTV that the differences between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress arose because the Uddhav Thackeray-led party wanted to contest more seats in the Vidarbha region, which Mr Patole was not willing to concede. 

Riding high on its performance in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it emerged as the single-largest party with 13 of 48 seats, the Congress is hoping to do well in Vidarbha, where it has had a good track record in previous elections as well. The region is also a stronghold of Mr Patole. 

While it is unclear what impact the decision of the Shiv Sena (UBT) will have on the larger Maha Vikas Aghadi, sources said the differences may hurt the coalition in its fight with the ruling Mahayuti alliance. 

The opposition alliance was seen to be in the driver’s seat after its performance in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it managed to win 30 constituencies in Maharashtra, but the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction)-NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction coalition has been energised after the Haryana results in which the BJP managed to pull off its best-ever performance despite battling anti-incumbency after two straight terms.

Voting in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20 and counting will take place on November 23.