Actor Vijay's party lacks policy, says TN BJP chief
Madurai (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran on Monday flayed actor-politician Vijay saying his party lacked a clear-cut policy.
Wondering if Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam really had any policy to approach the people in the upcoming Assembly election, Nagenthran dared the actor to announce the party’s policies.
"Does he have any policy? He has written the (word) policy only on paper. Let him explain his party’s policies clearly," the BJP leader told reporters here.
Earlier, AIADMK senior leader and former state minister Dindigul C Srinivasan asked Vijay to face the Assembly election without invoking the names of AIADMK leaders and former Chief Ministers: M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
"If he is dependent on his own strength and identity, then he should stop invoking the legacy of our leaders and refrain from displaying their photos, and then face the election," Srinivasan had told reporters.
At the press conference after inspecting the venue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting scheduled for March 1, Nagenthran said Vijay should define his party’s policies and principles and then talk about the BJP.
Blaming the Tamil Nadu government and TVK for the death of 41 people due to stampede in Karur last year, he said the TVK’s meeting in Salem last week claimed a life.
To a question on his controversial comment on Vijay and actress Trisha, the BJP leader said he never meant to hurt anyone.
Recently, while commenting that Vijay lacked political experience, Nagenthran had suggested that the actor should focus on his family and "come out of Trisha."
On a charge that the NDA in the state was yet to take a final shape and involved in alliance talks, Nagenthran asked, "Why did DMK MP Kanimozhi meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi? Was it for a compromise? With the Congress demanding a share in power, that party’s continuance in the DMK camp has become a question mark."
Unlike them, the BJP has announced that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami will head the NDA in Tamil Nadu and that he would be the chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly election, he said.
"It is the DMK alliance that is yet to take shape. The NDA is a strong force. The 2026 election will see Palaniswami becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," Nagenthran added.
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Latest: Trump calls for help to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): US President Donald Trump said he has demanded that about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries on Monday.
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest, gradually restarted operations after a drone struck a fuel tank and started a fire. Authorities said it was quickly contained, and no injuries were reported.
Tehran has accused the United States, without evidence, of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, as oil prices soared. Brent crude oil was trading near USD 105 per barrel on Monday.
Trump said the US is negotiating with countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows, but declined to name them.
Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with more than 850 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
Here is the latest:
Bahrain reports missile and drone attacks
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Bahrain's Defence Ministry says air defence systems have responded to attacks on Monday morning.
The ministry says four missiles and three drones were fired.
Israel sends troops into Lebanon for a limited operation
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The Israeli military says it sent additional ground troops into Lebanon for what it calls a “limited and targeted operation.”
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says the latest deployment is meant to defend Israeli border communities against attacks from the Hezbollah militant group.
Shoshani says Hezbollah has sent hundreds of fighters from its elite Radwan unit toward the border since the militant group entered the war two weeks ago.
He says Israel carried out artillery and airstrikes on multiple sites before sending in the troops.
Earlier in the war, Israel beefed up the presence of ground troops inside Lebanon in what it says is an attempt to prevent attacks on its northern border towns.
Israeli strikes on South Lebanon kill 3, including 2 paramedics
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Lebanon's state-run National News Agency says one person was killed by an Israeli airstrike early Monday on a home in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Sir.
The agency says another strike occurred after paramedics from the Islamic Health Society, Hezbollah's health arm, arrived at the scene.
The agency says the second strike killed two paramedics and wounded another person.
Israeli military says 70 per cent of Iranian launchers destroyed
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The Israeli military says it has destroyed an estimated 70 per cent of Iran's missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Monday that while Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced.
He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85 per cent of Iran's air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites.
Shoshani says the war will go on “for as long as needed” and says Israel still has thousands of targets it is prepared to strike.
China has no comment on Trump's Strait of Hormuz request
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A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump's request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Foreign Ministry's Lin Jian, at a daily briefing in Beijing, instead repeated China's calls for an end to the fighting, noting the impact on energy and goods trade.
Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times that the US would like an answer from China before his planned trip to Beijing in about two weeks, and that “we may delay.”
Lin said China and the US have maintained communication on Trump's visit.
“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–US relations,” he said.
Drone strike starts fire at UAE oil facility
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A fire broke out Monday following a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates' seven emirates, authorities said.
The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, causing an “advanced” fire.
No casualties were reported.
UAE says Palestinian killed in Abu Dhabi missile attack
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A Palestinian civilian was killed in a missile attack early Monday in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said a missile fell on a civilian vehicle in the Al Bahyah area.
The death raised the toll to seven people in the UAE since the beginning of the war on Feb. 18, authorities said.
EU weighs naval missions to reopen the Strait
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The European Union is weighing two types of naval missions to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief.
She made the announcement ahead of a gathering of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Rising prices for energy and fertilisers have brought the war in Iran to the top of their agenda, she said.
Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf or form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.
