Oman Sultan Qaboos passes away
Muscat: Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, has died at the age of 79, the royal court said Saturday.
"With great sorrow and deep sadness... the royal court mourns His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away on Friday," the court said in a statement. Qaboos, who has ruled since 1970 when he deposed his father in a palace coup, had been ill for some time and had been believed to be suffering from colon cancer.
He left no apparent heir. He was unmarried and had no children or brothers. It is not clear who will succeed Qaboos, whose country has a distinct method of choosing the next ruler.
According to the Omani constitution, the royal family shall, within three days of the throne falling vacant, determine the successor. If the family does not agree on a name, the person chosen by Qaboos in a letter addressed to the royal family will be the successor.
The sultan should be a member of the royal family, as well as "Muslim, mature, rational and the legitimate son of Omani Muslim parents".
Local experts say that more than 80 men meet the criteria, but one name stands: Asad bin Tariq. Tariq, 65, had been appointed deputy prime minister for international relations and cooperation affairs in 2017.
The move was seen as a clear message of support to the sultan's cousin and "special representative" since 2002. Qaboos transformed the Arabian Peninsula nation from a backwater into a modern state while pursuing a moderate but active foreign policy.
Having played a role in Iran's nuclear deal with world powers while preserving its membership in the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman has emerged as the Gulf's discreet mediator.
It remains to be seen whether the next ruler will take the same moderate approach in a region often in turmoil.
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Modi is scared, knows election is slipping out of his hands: Rahul Gandhi
Solapur (Maha), Apr 24: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scared and knew that the ongoing general election was slipping out of his hands.
Gandhi was speaking at a campaign rally here in support of Congress' candidate from Solapur, Praniti Shinde, and its ally NCP (SP)'s Dhairyasheel Mohite Patil who is contesting from the neighbouring Madha Lok Sabha constituency.
"Justice needs to be done. Modi has made India the capital of injustice. He is scared as he knows that the election is slipping out of his hands. Due to the electoral bond theft, he knows he will be in trouble after the elections. This is the reason he is continuously speaking lies. But he can not get away this time," the Congress leader said.
People have realised that they have to protect democracy and the Constitution, and the prime minister was aware of this, he added.
Modi was a "leader of billionaires" and not of the poor, Gandhi further claimed.
The prime minister states that he belongs to the Other Backward Class, but when the Congress demanded a caste census, he started saying there is no caste in India, and there are only the rich and the poor, the Congress leader said.
"If that is so, why does he call himself an OBC," Gandhi asked.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election is not a routine election, he said, claiming that the BJP wanted to scrap the Constitution.
"Its objective is not just to win elections, but destroy the Constitution. The INDIA alliance will save our democracy and protect the Constitution," the Congress leader said.
BJP MPs have said in public that the Constitution will be changed if their party wins another term, and without the Constitution nothing will be left for the poor, farmers and labourers, Gandhi said.
The Modi government waived loans of Rs 16 lakh crore of a handful of billionaires, he alleged, adding that this amount could have funded farm loan waiver, or the MNREGA scheme for 24 years.
"Seventy crore population in the country has the same amount of wealth as that held by a handful of billionaires," Gandhi claimed.
Unemployment was at an all time high because one percent of the population owns 40 percent of the wealth in the country, the Congress leader said, adding that if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, it will create "crores of lakhpatis."
"The Mahalaxmi scheme (in the Congress manifesto) will provide one lakh rupees every year, which is Rs 8,500 every month, to the women from poor households. Similarly, degree and diploma holders will get the right to apprenticeship in PSUs and other institutions for a year. During that time, they will also get Rs 1 lakh in their bank accounts which amounts to Rs 8,500 per month," Gandhi added.
Demonetisation and the introduction of GST benefitted only a few billionaires, he claimed.
"Farmers wanted loan waiver and Minimum Support Price from Modi. But we will set up a separate commission for farmers which will recommend when they need a loan waiver, and accordingly, it will be done. Besides, when the INDIA alliance comes to power, farmers' loans will be waived in the first instance," he said.
MSP for crops will be legally guaranteed, the Congress leader said.
He also reiterated that apart from conducting a caste census, the INDIA alliance would carry out an economic survey to find out who holds how much wealth.
नरेंद्र मोदी हार के डर से कांप रहे हैं!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 24, 2024
इसीलिए वो लगातार एक के बाद एक, झूठ बोल रहे हैं।
वो जानते हैं कि हिंदुस्तान की जनता समझ गयी है कि नरेंद्र मोदी अरबपतियों के नेता हैं, गरीबों के नहीं,
वो जानते हैं कि हिंदुस्तान की जनता संविधान की रक्षा के लिए खड़ी हो गयी है।
वो जानते हैं… pic.twitter.com/PD5OWGAgLN
