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Pirates hijack oil tanker with 24 Indian crew

July 17, 2013

Pirates_hijack

Mumbai, Jul 17: An oil-chemical tanker with an all Indian crew of 24 has been hijacked off the coast of the West African nation Gabon, officials said on Tuesday.

MV Cotton, the Malta-flagged vessel, was taken over by suspected pirates 15 miles off the Gentil Port between 1 AM and 2 AM on Tuesday, a statement from V Ships, the crew manager for the vessel owned by a Turkish company said. The 2007-built ship was awaiting berthing in the Gulf of Guinea at the time of the hijack, they said. The vessel has a gross tonnage of 23,248 tonne and is 184-metre long.

Officials at the Directorate General of Shipping confirmed the incident but said they are awaiting further details.

Information on the cargo which the ship was carrying and the voyage details were not immediately available.

Company officials did not confirm if any demand for ransom has been made by the suspected sea brigands.

“Safety is the absolute priority of V-Ships and every effort is being made to secure the safe return of the crew,” the statement said.Company officials informed the Turkish government and the Navy as well as other agencies and embassies about the hijack, it said. The waters off the coast of the African nation are not known to be pirate-infested even though there have been some stray incidents.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 6 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that Congress is known for adopting a soft Hindutva agenda and that there was nothing new in the remarks of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi on Ayodhya temple construction.

"I am not surprised regarding, Priyanka Gandhi's remark on Ayodhya. From Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, Congress had followed a similar stance. I don't think Congress has any stand when it comes to secularism. 

If it was the case, then our country would not have reached such a level," the chief minister said when asked about the 'Bhumi Pujan' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

"There is nothing new on Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi's position on the issue. They are following the Congress' soft Hindutva agenda. There is no element of surprise," Vijayan said.

Further, Vijayan said that CPI(M) Politburo had made clear the party's viewpoint on the Ayodhya temple construction.

"When it comes to Ayodhya issue. I want to ask who had allowed worship there. It was Congress. Who had allowed to lay the idol there? It was Congress. 

Who gave permission to Karseva? It was Congress. Even when it came to demolition of Babri Masjid too who shut their eyes and gave a silent nod for it- wasn't it the Congress regime at the centre? And Muslim League (IUML) was part of it. These are all part of our history," said Kerala Chief Minister.

He said instead of involving in discussions on it, more time should be utilised towards containing the COVID-19 spread in the country and helping the poor who are suffering due to the pandemic.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Stranded for over 50 days due to the lockdown and suspension of passenger train services, many people in the national capital will finally be able to reach their destinations in different parts of the country after the railways resumed services on Tuesday.

Three special AC trains will leave the New Delhi railway station for Dibrugarh, Bengaluru and Bilaspur.

The train to Dibrugarh in Assam will leave at 4.45 p.m, while the one leaving for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Bengaluru in Karnataka will leave the New Delhi station at 5.30 p.m and 9.15 p.m respectively.

Entry to the station has been facilitated from the Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders. No entry for passengers holding such tickets will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side, the railways said.

Railway authorities have put barricades outside the station premises and only those with confirmed tickets are being allowed to enter.

All passengers are undergoing thermal screening before entering the station premises. For this purpose, they have also been asked to reach the station 90 minutes prior to the departure of the train.

A senior Railway Police Force officer said every passenger is being subjected to thermal screening. Hand sanitiser machines have also been placed at the entrance and the passengers are being advised to sanitise their hands before entering the station premises.

Syed Yasir, a private retail sector executive, said due to the resumption of services he will now be able to go to Nagpur to be with his family on Eid. 

Surendra, an engineer with a PSU, was on an assignment in Agra when the lockdown was announced. After the Railways decided to resume passenger train services, he came to Delhi in a private vehicle to board the train to Bengaluru.

"I was on an assignment in Agra where I was stuck. I have come from Agra in a private vehicle and now going to board the train to Bengaluru," Surendra, who identified himself with his first name, said.

Five more trains bound for Delhi will leave from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the railways said.

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Mumbai, Jul 14: Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Monday night.

Rao who is in Taloja proson was rushed to the hospital following complaint of dizziness.

Rao was arrested in November 2018 along with five others, for alleged links with Naxals and for inciting the violence.

On January 1, 2018, the violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen.

Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.

The police had filed 58 cases against 162 people.

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