Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles launched by Houthi rebels
Sana'a/Riyadh, Sep 5 : Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday said that they had launched four ballistic missiles towards a town located in southern Saudi Arabia, and Saudi media reported that those projectiles were successfully intercepted.
The Yemeni rebel-controlled news agency Saba reported that the insurgent group fired four ballistic missiles at the Aramco refinery and a petrochemical factory in the port city of Jizan, near Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen, using Badr-1 projectiles, Efe reported.
For its part, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel reported that the Saudi air defenses intercepted two missiles launched by the Houthi rebels, without giving further details on their target.
The Houthis often announce ballistic missile attacks on Saudi territory, including facilities of the oil giant Aramco as well as other official and public targets, and even have claimed attacks on Riyadh.
In Saudi towns bordering Yemen, the impact of these projectiles has caused material damage and fatalities in recent years.
A Saudi-led military coalition comprising Sunni Arab countries has intervened in Yemen since March 2015 to fight against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is currently living in exile in Saudi Arabia.
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.
Rahul Gandhi pledges to remove 50% reservation cap, calls for nationwide caste census
_vb_11.jpeg)
Ahmedabad: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday said that the Congress party is committed to removing the 50% ceiling on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in education and government jobs.
Speaking at a Congress session in Ahmedabad, Gandhi said the party would implement across India what the Telangana government has recently done. Telangana had recently passed a bill raising the reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) to 42%, taking the overall reservation above the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court in a landmark 1992 judgment.
“Telangana has taken a revolutionary step and shown the way to the country. I want to assure you that this 50 per cent wall will be broken. What happened in Telangana, we will do in Delhi and for the entire country,” Gandhi said.
He argued that the population composition in Telangana—where around 90% of residents belong to OBCs, extremely backward classes, Dalits, minorities, and Adivasis—is similar to the rest of the country. Given this, he said, the existing limit on reservations does not reflect social realities and should be dismantled.
Gandhi reiterated the Congress party’s demand for a nationwide caste census, stating that without accurate data on caste composition, it is not possible to ensure fair distribution of government benefits, educational opportunities, and jobs.
He also referred to the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in the Indra Sawhney (Mandal Commission) case, which capped reservations at 50%. The Congress has consistently argued that the cap restricts justice for marginalised groups and needs to be re-evaluated.
Earlier this week, during a 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' in Patna, Gandhi had said, “I told Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha, right in front of him: if you don't dismantle this artificial 50 per cent barrier on reservations, we will break it, destroy it, and throw it away.”
In Ahmedabad, Gandhi also accused the BJP of having an “anti-Dalit mindset,” referring to a recent incident in Rajasthan, where a former BJP MLA reportedly used Ganga water to "purify" a temple after a Congress leader from a Dalit background took part in a consecration ceremony.
