Saudi Arabia hints at plan to turn Qatar into island
Riyadh, Sep 1 : A Saudi official has hinted that the kingdom is moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that may turn neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.
"I am impatiently waiting for details on the implementation of the Salwa island project, a great, historic project that will change the geography of the region," Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, tweeted on Friday.
The plan, which would physically separate the Qatari peninsula from the Saudi mainland, is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states, The News International reported.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh´s archrival, Iran.
Doha denied the charges.
In April, the pro-government Sabq news website reported government plans to build a channel -- 60km long and 200m wide -- stretching across the kingdom's border with Qatar.
Part of the canal, which would cost up to $750 million, would be reserved for a planned nuclear waste facility, it said.
Both Saudi and Qatar authorities did not respond to requests for comment and there was no immediate reaction on the plan from Qatar, The News International reported.
After the dispute erupted last year, Qatar -- a small peninsula nation -- found its only land border closed, its state-owned airline barred from using its neighbours' airspace, and Qatari residents expelled from the boycotting nations.
Mediation efforts led by Kuwait and the US, which has its largest Middle East air base in Qatar, have so far failed to resolve the dispute.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress names candidates for 8 Haryana LS seats, fields Kumari Selja, Deepender Hooda
Chandigarh (PTI): The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana, fielding former Union minister Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, besides two sitting MLAs.
The party has also fielded former MP Jai Prakash and leaders Satpal Brahmachari and Mahendra Pratap, according to the list released late Thursday evening.
The Congress is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.
The Aam Aadmi Party, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, will contest the Kurukshetra seat.
Congress general secretary and former Union minister Selja will contest from the Sirsa (reserved) seat and sitting MLAs Varun Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from the Ambala (reserved) and the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
Deepender Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will enter the fray from Rohtak. He has represented the Rohtak parliamentary constituency three times in the past.
Jai Prakash has been fielded from Hisar, the Congress' Haryana youth wing president Divanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat and Mahendra Pratap from Faridabad.
