North Korea resumes flights to Chinese city
Seoul, Sep 15 : North Korea has resumed flights between Pyongyang and the Chinese city of Dalian amid signs of improving ties between the allies, the media reported on Saturday.
According to local tourism agencies, a passenger plane of Air Koryo, the North's flag carrier, landed in the airport in Dalian on Thursday and returned to Pyongyang with nearly 70 people on board, Yonhap News Agency reported.
This marked the first North Korean airplane that had flown between the two cities since November 2006. There will be such flights every Thursday and Sunday.
The resumption of the Pyongyang-Dalian flights may reflect improving bilateral ties between North Korea and China after chilled relations over the North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent Li Zhanshu, Beijing's third-ranked official, as his special envoy to Pyongyang on the occasion of the North's 70th founding anniversary.
Li was seated next to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a military parade staged last week, and the North also hosted an art performance and banquet exclusively for Li and his delegation in an apparent bid to emphasize friendly ties between the two countries.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
