Not offered ticket, Mandya MP Sumalatha to announce decision on election on April 3
Bengaluru, Mar 30: Mandya sitting MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Saturday said she would announce her decision on the upcoming election on April 3, given that she was not renominated and NDA constituents BJP and JD(S) decided to field H D Kumaraswamy from her constituency.
The multi-lingual film actress-turned-politician convened a meeting of her supporters at her Bengaluru residence to decide her future course of action, with the change in political scenario.
Addressing her supporters, she said, "I will make my decision public at Mandya on April 3 because it is my duty to keep the voters of Mandya informed about any of my decisions."
Sumalatha had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate with the BJP's backing, and defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and son of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
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However, the Janata Dal (Secular) is now BJP's ally, and Kumaraswamy will be contesting the election as the NDA candidate.
In order to pacify Sumalatha, BJP state President and Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra called on her on Friday but Sumalatha said she would consult her supporters on Saturday before taking a final call.
After the meeting with her supporters on Saturday, she told them that her political career had begun with their blessings. She also praised the fans of her husband and eminent Kannada film actor-turned politician late Ambareesh, who stood by her.
"I have people on the stage who have been supporting Ambareesh for the past 30 years. They shared their pain with me. They were those who gave me confidence to fight the election though I did not have any political experience," Sumalatha said.
"Though no big names were behind us except for a crowd of diehard fans of Ambareesh, the people of Mandya did not bother about it and wholeheartedly supported me," the independent MP said.
Sumalatha was expecting a BJP ticket and had met all the BJP central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President J P Nadda and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
However, the party decided to reserve the Mandya seat for its ally JD(S). Late on Friday, the JD(S) officially declared that Kumaraswamy will be their candidate.
BJP Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal who first announced that Mandya seat would be reserved for JD(S) said Sumalatha has a bright future in politics'.
According to BJP sources, the party is likely to offer the Mandya MP a Rajya Sabha ticket.
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Iran, US receive proposal for 45-day ceasefire and reopening of Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): Iran and the United States received a draft proposal late Sunday calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, two Mideast officials speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press.
The proposal comes from Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators, hoping the 45-day window would provide enough time for talks to reach a permanent ceasefire. Iran and the US have not responded to the proposal, which was sent to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, the officials said.
The head of intelligence for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed Monday in an attack targeting him, Iranian state media said.
Strikes on cities across Iran have killed more than 25 people from Sunday to Monday, while in Israel's Haifa, two people were found dead and two others were missing in rubble a day after an Iranian attack.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up his threat to hit Iran's critical infrastructure hard if the country's government doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline.
Trump punctuated his threat with profanity in a social media post, saying Tuesday will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”
The war began with joint US-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes from the United Nations and international law experts.
Here is the latest:
An Iranian drone strikes the UAE telecommunications building
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An Iranian drone attack damaged a telecommunications building in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
The attack targeted a building of the state-funded du telecom company.
No one was injured, WAM reported, quoting officials in Fujairah.
South Korea's spy agency sees no signs of North Korea supplying Iran
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South Korea's National Intelligence Service says there are no signs North Korea is providing Iran with weapons or other war-related supplies.
The spy agency's officials told lawmakers Monday that North Korea may be taking a cautious approach to preserve the possibility of dialogue with the Trump administration, according to two lawmakers who attended the closed-door briefing.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry has condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal, but the NIS said Pyongyang has not sent an official condolence message over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's late supreme leader.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in recent years, has embraced the idea of a “new Cold War” and attempted to expand cooperation with countries confronting the US, including an economic delegation sent to Iran in April 2024.
South Korea plans to send ships and special envoys to Saudi Arabia
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South Korea plans to send at least five ships to Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port in the coming weeks to establish new oil transport routes in the Red Sea.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Monday the ships will be deployed in phases beginning in mid-April, and the number of vessels could increase depending on contracts with Saudi partners.
Officials did not disclose the companies involved but said some domestic refiners may use non-Korean shipping firms.
South Korea also plans to send special envoys to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Algeria to step up diplomatic efforts to secure alternative fuel supplies, ruling party lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said.
The foreign ministry did not immediately reveal when the envoys would be sent.
Iran executes a man over the January protests
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Iran has executed another man convicted over charges stemming from the nationwide protests that swept Iran in January.
The judiciary's Mizan news agency identified the man hanged as Ali Fahim in a report on Monday.
It was unclear when he was executed.
Fahim had been convicted of allegedly storming a military base to seize weapons.
Amnesty International said Fahim and others convicted in the case “were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention, including beatings, floggings, prolonged solitary confinement, and death threats at gunpoint before being convicted in grossly unfair trials that relied on forced confessions extracted under torture and lasted only a few hours.”
The Human Rights Activist News Agency had said Fahim and others had entered a Tehran base of the all-volunteer Basij militia, an arm of the Revolutionary Guard, after it had been burned, then had been forced into confessions.
Iranian missiles hit central Israel
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Israeli rescue services reported Monday morning that several sites were hit by missiles launched from Iran toward multiple cities in the centre of Israel.
In Petah Tikva, paramedics provided medical treatment to an injured woman in serious condition with a chest injury from shrapnel and evacuated her to the Beilinson Hospital.
Firefighters in that city are handling cars on fire and continue searching to ensure there are no people trapped in the rubble.
In Tel Aviv, a man slightly injured by glass shrapnel was evacuated to the Ichilov Hospital.
Footage provided by the rescue service Magen David Adom shows damage to residential buildings due to the attack.
Meanwhile, Israel's military warned the public Monday morning of another missile barrage coming from Iran, the fourth such alert of the day.
