'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' enters Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar (PTI): Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi on Saturday entered Arunachal Pradesh from Assam.
The Congress leader was received by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Nabam Tuki at the Gumto check gate in Papum Pare district, where the flag handover ceremony was held.
The flag handover ceremony was held between Tuki and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah in the presence of senior party leaders from both the states.
Speaking on the occasion, Gandhi thanked the people for the warm welcome.
Adorned with traditional Nyishi headgear, Gandhi proceeded to Doimukh along with hundreds of party workers, where he would address a public rally. From Doimukh, Gandhi would reach Naharlagun by bus and interact with street vendors, party sources said.
The Congress leader would then move towards Nyokum Lapang from where he would embark on a foot march to the Malo Tarin government higher secondary school ground to address a public rally.
Gandhi would also address a press conference at Itanagar on Saturday.
Gandhi will leave the state capital on Sunday morning through Hollongi.
The 6,713-km-long march, led by the Congress MP, commenced from Manipur on January 14 and will culminate on March 20 in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been made for the Arunachal Pradesh leg of the yatra.
Papum Pare SP Taru Gusar said adequate security arrangements have been made for the proposed yatra in the district through which Gandhi will enter the state Capital.
"Route lining from Gumto check gate to SDO ground at Doimukh, has been made and the areas where Gandhi would stop and address the public, have been sanitised", the SP said.
Forces have been deployed and briefed thoroughly, he added.
In Itanagar, adequate security personnel have been deployed in two places - Mallo Tarin government higher secondary school ground where Gandhi will address a public meeting, and at Chimpu, where the Congress leader will halt at night, Capital SP Rohit Rajbir Singh told PTI.
Security has also been beefed up along the NH-415 from Nyokum Lapang area to Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, where Gandhi will hold a foot march, the SP added.
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.
Saudi crown prince welcomes Trump to kingdom as US leader begins four-day Middle East tour
Riyadh (AP): President Donald Trump opened his four-day Mideast trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on US efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear programme, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.
Bin Salman warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One and kicked off his Middle East tour. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport for a coffee ceremony.
The crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner and Trump is slated to take part later Tuesday in a US-Saudi investment conference.
The US president on Wednesday will join a gathering of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before leaving Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production.
Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.
But Saudi Arabia's economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It's questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.
“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn't necessarily imperil economic diversification programmes, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop because it has pledged to make big investments in the US, but Trump ended up travelling to Italy last month for Pope Francis' funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.
The three countries on the president's itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all places where the Trump Organisation, run by Trump's two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.
Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia's war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.
He's expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia's fighter jets.
But Trump arrives in the Mideast at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach.
Ahead of the trip, Trump announced that the US was halting a nearly two-month US airstrike campaign against Yemen's Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade rout
_vb_45.jpeg)