Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as the nation’s chief diplomat. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will take over the top position.

Trump took to Twitter to share the development, saying: "Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!

Gina Haspel -- Deputy Director at the Central Intelligence Agency -- will succeed Pompeo, becoming the first woman to run the spy agency, if confirmed.

"Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!" Trump tweeted.

 Tillerson found himself repeatedly at odds with Trump on a variety of key foreign policy issues. A senior administration official said the President made the decision to replace Tillerson in order to have a new team in place in advance of the upcoming summit and trade negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

 

 

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Kannur (Kerala), Apr 13 (PTI): Dharmadam, the Assembly constituency represented by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has become the first in the state to be declared free of extreme poverty.

The Chief Minister made the announcement on Sunday in a post on 'X'.

"Dharmadam becomes the first Assembly Constituency in Kerala to be declared extreme poverty-free!" he posted.

He added, "With less than 1% of our population in extreme poverty, we are now working towards declaring the entire state extreme poverty-free on November 1 — a milestone in our journey of inclusive development. #KeralaModel."

Vijayan had earlier stated that Kerala already has the lowest poverty rate in India, and the government was now working to eradicate extreme poverty completely.

The state aims to achieve this goal by November 1, 2025, as part of the fourth-year celebrations of the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government.