Biden administration officials say the decisions on sanctions and visa bans will send a clear message about how the United States wants to see the future U.S.-Saudi relationship The Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans on Friday targeting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself.U.S. President Joe Biden’s actions in the first weeks of his administration appear aimed at fulfilling campaign promises to realign Saudi ties after critics accused his predecessor, Donald Trump, of giving the Arab ally and major oil producer…
Author: Mike Harrison
U.S. intelligence concluded that Mohammed bin Salman “approved an operation in Istanbul to capture or kill the Saudi journalist”. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved of an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in 2018, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment released on Friday in a manner choreographed to limit damage to U.S.-Saudi ties.Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of the crown prince’s policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the crown prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.Riyadh has…
But majority did not download any e-book or video. The success of the government-run digital library initiative, launched in Karnataka last year in February — weeks before the nationwide lockdown was imposed — has come as a surprise even to the authorities. In one year, over 23.79 lakh people signed up for services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a closer look at the data reveals that a majority of subscribers to the free service did not download a single e-book or video. According to data provided by the Department of Public Libraries, around 10.9 lakh e-books and 5.49 lakh videos…
Tamil Nadu kept alive its slim hopes of qualification with a 67-run win in its fourth match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (Elite Group B) over Jharkhand on Friday.Fine contributions Electing to bat, Tamil Nadu made 266 for seven with half-centuries from opener B. Aparajith (57, 105b, 6×4), M. Shahrukh Khan (51, 47b, 3×4, 3×6) and J. Kousik (55, 40b, 7×4, 2×6).In reply, Jharkhand could manage only 199 for nine in 50 overs as left-arm spinner M. Siddharth took three wickets (3/33) while Aparajith and medium-pacer R. Silambarasan chipped in with two each.Earlier, TN was struggling at 131 for five…
The beneficiaries include healthcare and frontline workers, says Health Ministry. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers has crossed 1.37 crore on Friday. A total of 1,37,56,940 vaccine doses have been given through 2,89,320 sessions, as per the provisional report till 6 p.m., noted a Health Ministry release.“They include 66,37,049 [76.6%] health care workers who have taken the first dose and 22,04,083 [62.9%] health care workers who have taken the second dose, along with 49,15,808 [47.7%] frontline workers [first dose].”“A total of 2,84,297 vaccine doses were given till 6 p.m. today. Out of which,…
He promises to pursue more banking reforms. While the government was promoting private enterprises wherever possible, India still needed an effective presence of public sector banks and insurers and the government would continue with banking reforms to strengthen the financial system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. “Our top priority is to ensure that the depositor as well as the investor experiences trust and transparency. The old ways and old systems of banking and non-banking sectors are being changed,” Mr Modi said, pointing to the ‘severe harm’ done to the banking and financial sector ‘10-12 years ago in the…
Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation. Police and the military have begun joint operations to rescue the girls after the attack at the Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe town, according to a police spokesman in Zamfara State, Mohammed Shehu. One parent, Nasiru Abdullahi, said that his daughters, aged 10 and 13, are among the missing. “It is disappointing that even though the military have a strong presence near the school they were unable to protect…
Last week, Ankita Raina became India’s first WTA champion since Sania Mirza, when she won the doubles title at Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne partnering Russia’s Kamila Rakhimova. The 28-year-old spoke to The Hindu about her memorable time in Australia, during which she made her Grand Slam main draw debut and broke into the top-100 in doubles. Excerpts:How happy are you following your maiden win?It means a lot. Winning a tournament at this level for the first time gives you great confidence. I have many fun memories on court with my partner. I enjoyed it.You are the third woman after…
Foreign Secretary says Colombo wants to maintain friendly relations with all countries Seeking India’s “proactive” support at the UN Human Rights Council, where a resolution on Sri Lanka will be soon put to vote, the Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “India cannot abandon us”. “If the world is one family, as your Foreign Minister has said, then we are immediate family, isn’t it,” Admiral Jayanath Colombage (retired) said, citing External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s reference to ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ in his recent address to the Council. The Foreign Secretary, a former Navy Commander, spoke to The Hindu…
The Queen and her husband, 99-year-old Prince Philip, received their first of two doses last month. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has said that receiving her vaccine to protect against coronavirus (COVID-19) “didn’t hurt at all” and encouraged those hesitant about getting jabbed to think about how it would help others in preventing the spread of the deadly virus.In a rare reference to private health matters, the 94-year-old monarch backed the National Health Service (NHS) led vaccination programme in the U.K. during a video call earlier this week with health officials coordinating the rollout across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.The…