Raninder is first Indian to be elected international shooting body's vice-president
New Delhi, Dec 1 : Raninder Singh has become the first Indian to be elected one of the four vice-presidents of the International Shooting Sport Federation.
The 51-year-old Raninder also heads the National Rifle Association of India.
The former trap shooter bagged 161 votes to occupy the coveted post, while Kevin Kilty of Ireland received 162 votes, USA's Robert Mitchell got 153 votes and Republic of China's Wang Yifu was re-elected with 146 votes in Munich.
Last year, Raninder was re-elected president of the NRAI for a four-year term with an overwhelming mandate in Mohali.
In 2014, Raninder got 22 out of 25 votes in the General Assembly meeting at Munich, becoming the first from the country to be elected as a member of the global body representing the sport of shooting.
On Friday, the NRAI president was awarded the ISSF diploma of honour gold medal at the general assembly.
He was presented with the diploma and medal by the outgoing longest serving president of the ISSF, Olegario Vazquez Rana, who was at the helm for 38 years.
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.
Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
