Next cabinet meet to discuss panel report on Bengaluru stampede: CM Siddaramaiah
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Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the probe report of the one-man commission constituted by the government to inquire into the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru that killed 11 people, will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting.
Not willing to share the findings of the report, he said the ministers have been given the gist of it to study before the next cabinet meet.
The commission headed by retired High Court judge John Michael Cunha submitted a two-volume report to Siddaramaiah on July 11, and it was placed before the cabinet during its meeting on Thursday.
"It has not been discussed in the cabinet yet, the Cunha committee report was yesterday submitted to the cabinet. Gist of the report has been given to all Ministers. They will study and it will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
Asked about the findings of the report, he said, "the media has reported certain things....I will speak about it after the next cabinet meeting."
The stampede occurred on June 4 outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. Eleven people died and many were injured in the incident.
Responding to a question on demand by several people, including retired Supreme Court Justice V Gopala Gowda for immediate constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the alleged mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala, over the past two decades, the CM said, the government will go ahead in the case in accordance with the law, based on police department's report.
"If SIT is necessary, it will be constituted. It will be based on the police department's report. The individual (eyewitness, a former sanitation worker who claimed that "hundreds of bodies" had been buried in the area), was absconding for 10 years, he has now made a statement before the police and has said whatever he has to. He has said that he is the one who has buried the dead bodies and that he will show the spot where they are buried. Let's see what the police say in a couple of days," he said.
Asserting that there was no pressure on the government in this case, the CM said, "even if the pressure is put, we will not heed to anything, we will do things in accordance with law."
Replying to a question on opposition BJP's criticism of his government's mega "Sadhana Samavesha" convention in Mysuru, planned on Saturday, Siddaramaiah said, development works worth Rs 2,658 crore will be inaugurated and foundation stones will be laid during the event. "Is it being done just like that". He questioned what the BJP has done for Mysuru.
Amid speculations that the event was Siddaramaiah's show of strength to strengthen his grip over CM seat, he clarified that it is no one's show of strength. It was aimed at showcasing the Congress government's work before the people, because BJP is spreading misinformation that the government was not doing anything and it doesn't have money because of implementation of guarantee schemes.
To a question on urban voters not supporting Congress during elections, Siddarmaihah said, it cannot be said outrightly. It is with support of all voters the party has come to power. He cited the examples of Mysuru and Bengaluru.
Downplaying a question on curiosity surrounding "September revolution" as claimed by some Congress leaders, amid speculation about CM change, he said, "ask those who said it. Even if those who have said are from my party, they have not told me about it. Ask them."
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Iran reimposes restrictions on Strait of Hormuz, accusing US of violating deal to reopen it
Cairo (AP): Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one of Iran's main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the US blockade remained in effect.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran's approval.
US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.
Truce in Lebanon could help US-Iran peace efforts
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The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating, and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Shortly before Trump's post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90 per cent of Hezbollah's missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
An end to Israel's war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week's ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that the deal did not cover Lebanon.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
