Former cricketer, Santal academic, Islamic scholar join TMC
Kolkata (PTI): Former Bengal cricketer Shib Shankar Paul, Santal academic Tanushree Hansda and Islamic scholar Md Mufti Abdul Matin joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday.
Paul, a former first-class cricketer and fast bowler who represented Bengal, runs the Shib Shankar Paul Cricket Academy in Kolkata, Tufanganj and Cooch Behar, nurturing grassroots talent.
At the joining ceremony, state Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "Shib Shankar Paul is a former cricketer who has made Bengal proud. He now trains young talents."
Bhattacharya highlighted the government's 'Khelashree' scheme, saying that financial assistance has been extended to over 38,000 clubs, 1,300 coaching camps and 34 state-level sports organisations.
Matin, popularly known as Matin Saheb, is associated with 86 madrasas spread across North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Murshidabad.
Hansda, an assistant professor and head of the Bengali department at Heramba Chandra College in Kolkata, has over 15 years of teaching experience.
She has been active in the All India Santali Writers' Association and conducts grassroots work in Bankura, Jhargram and Purulia districts.
"Her success on the soil of West Bengal is a matter of great pride," Bhattacharya said.
The minister said that for the Mamata Banerjee government, empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has remained a top priority.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29. Votes polled will be counted on May 4.
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Trump vows to ‘finish job’, thanks Middle East allies; urges countries to show courage, buy US oil
Says US will ‘hit Iran extremely hard’ over next 2-3 weeks, threatens power plants
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said the United States is close to achieving its objectives in Iran, while thanking key allies in the Middle East for their support.
“We are gonna finish the job. We are getting very close,” Trump said, expressing appreciation to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain. “They’ve been great and we will not let them fail in any way shape or form,” he added.
Trump claimed that US military operations against Iran have delivered major results over the past month. Referring to “Operation Epic Fury”, he said American forces had carried out “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield”.
He said Iran’s naval and air capabilities had been severely weakened and its ability to launch missiles and drones had been significantly reduced. “Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces – very few of them left,” he said.
The US president also repeated his criticism of the 2015 nuclear deal signed under former President Barack Obama, claiming it would have allowed Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Trump said the US military campaign aims to weaken Iran’s ability to support proxy groups and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. “Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran militarily,” he said, adding that key strategic objectives are “nearing completion”.
In a separate remark, Trump urged countries dependent on Gulf oil to take action and suggested they should rely more on American energy supplies. He called on them to show “delayed courage” and secure the Strait of Hormuz, which has been affected by the ongoing conflict.
“[They] should have done it before, should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the strait and just take it, protect it,” he said, adding that the United States has sufficient oil resources.
The remarks come as tensions remain high in the region, with continued military exchanges and growing concerns over global energy supplies.
“We will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Thanks to the progress, we’ve made, I can say we are on track to complete all of America’s objectives shortly, very shortly,” the US president said.
We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to take them back to the stone ages where they belong,” he added.
He further added that “regime change was never our goal” but that “regime change has occurred because of their original leader’s death”.
He’s also warned Iran of strikes on power plants if no deal is agreed.
“If during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets. If no deal is reached we are going to hit every one of their electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously,” he says.
