Delhi Police tightens security in city, near borders ahead of year-end festivities
New Delhi (PTI): Nearly 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order as part of Delhi Police’s robust security arrangements for Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, an official said on Tuesday.
Police deployment has also been increased in the border areas of the national capital, as it shares borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and is close to Rajasthan. A large crowd is expected to arrive in the city for New Year’s celebrations from these states.
The official said nearly 20,000 police personnel, including traffic and paramilitary personnel, will be on the ground to check hooliganism and traffic violations.
Additional pickets, barricades and paramilitary deployment will be made at the borders to tackle nuisance by people from the adjoining states, the official added.
He said that police personnel have already been deployed in more than 10 locations for Christmas, and security checks will be intensified. Police will also be deployed in 15 more locations from where vehicles will enter Delhi.
ALSO READ: Madhya Pradesh: BJP leader assaults blind woman in Church
"The traffic police have already chalked out a plan to combat motorcycle stunts and drunk driving. Additional forces from different police stations will be deployed to help the traffic police," a senior police officer said.
The official informed that police personnel will be deployed according to shift duties. Station house officers (SHOs) have been ordered to be on the road with their teams to maintain law and order on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Teams will impound two or four-wheeler vehicles immediately if anyone is found indulging in stunt-like activities. Strict action will be ensured, the officer said.
"Our teams are checking bus stands, railway stations, hotels, dharamshalas, night shelters and other locations to verify if anyone is staying without providing proper documents. We have already launched our special drive to identify those who are staying illegally in the national capital," he added.
Delhi Traffic Police said their main focus will be on maintaining vehicular movement at Connaught Place, Hauz Khas, markets and near malls.
At Connaught Place, vehicles having valid stickers will be allowed to enter the Inner Circle area. These stickers will be distributed by Delhi Police, the officer added.
He further said that additional force will be deployed at the India Gate as large crowds gather there for the New Year celebrations.
Pickets will be placed at several areas across the city, especially near malls and party areas. A drive to check drunken driving will also be carried out, and those found violating the rules will be penalised, the official said.
Police personnel will also be deployed near hotels, he added.
Traffic checkpoints with breath analysers and designated checkpoints with barricades have also been put up to regulate vehicular movement, while Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) have been stationed at strategic locations.
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 launches new effort to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): US forces on Monday launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began.
Two American-flagged merchant ships have “successfully transited” through the critical waterway, the US military said. Separately, the US military denied Iran's claims that it struck an American Navy vessel southeast of the strait.
Iran handed over its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to mediators in Pakistan, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday. Trump subsequently said he's “not satisfied” with it, but did not elaborate on the proposal's apparent shortcomings. The shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran has lasted for three weeks.
Here's the latest:
European leaders see Trump's troop drawdown from Germany as new proof they must go it alone
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
European leaders on Monday said President Trump's snap decision to pull thousands of US troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.
The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but Trump told reporters Saturday that “we're going to cut way down. And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
He offered no reason for the move, which blindsided NATO, but his decision came amid an escalating dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump's anger over European allies' reluctance to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Wall Street hesitates and oil prices climb with uncertainty about the Strait of Hormuz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The US stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world's flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 9:35 am Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1 per cent.
The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2 per cent to USD 110.37 and briefly topped USD 114 during the morning. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to its war with the United States has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide. That in turn has sent the price of Brent soaring from roughly USD 70 per barrel before the war.
Iran stands firm on its grip of the strait
-------------------------------------------
The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.
Trump has promised to bring down gas prices as he faces midterm elections this year.
The US has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait. It has enacted a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling 49 commercial ships to turn back, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
US officials have expressed hope the blockade forces Iran back to the negotiation table.
US claims progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying two merchant ships have transited
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The US military said Monday that two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz and Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf were helping to restore shipping traffic. It separately denied Iran's claims to have struck an American Navy vessel.
The announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump announced a new initiative to help guide ships through the critical waterway for global energy. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the US and Israel started the war Feb 28, rattling the global economy.
The US-led Joint Maritime Information Center has advised ships to cross the strait in Oman's waters, saying it set up an “enhanced security area.” U.S. Central Command didn't say when the Navy ships arrived or when the merchant vessels departed.
It was unclear whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking the risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.
