People bid tearful farewell to CRPF jawan H Guru
Bengaluru, Feb 16: Sobbing parents and wife of braveheart H Guru, who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack, fainted during his funeral in Mandya district and emotional slogans rent the air as his mortal remains were consigned to flames with full State honours Saturday.
Thousands of people, including Union Minister Sadananda Gowda, turned up at his remote Gudigere village to pay their last respects to the martyr.
Earlier the tricolour-draped casket carrying his mortal remains was brought by a special plane at the HAL Airport where chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, union minister D V Sadananda Gowda, state home minister M B Patil, and others paid homage by laying wreaths on the coffin.
As the body was taken to his home village by a convoy of Army vehicles, thousands of people stood on both sides of the road all along from Bengaluru to his home village, a distance of about 100 km, holding the tricolour.
Emotional slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Vande Mataram', 'Veer Yodha Guru Amar Rahe' and 'Pakistan Murdabad' rent the air as the convoy passed through.
In many places, schools declared holiday for children to pay their last respects to the slain soldier.
At many places, people blocked roads to pay homage to the martyr.
Police had the tough time clearing the blockade.
Throughout the journey, people showered flowers on the vehicle.
Man people followed the convoy in their vehicles.
Some people waving the tricolour were at the front of the convoy.
Emotions ran high as the body reached the village.
While his relatives were inconsolable, his father, mother, wife Kalavathi fainted several times.
A gun salute was offered before the body was consigned to flames.
People wept openly when Kalavathi saluted the coffin containing her husband's mortal remains and said 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Veer Yodha Guru Amar Rahe.'
Kumaraswamy, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, Union Minister Sadananda Gowda and several other politicians and officers reached the village and attended the last rites.
The chief minister announced a Rs 25 lakh solatium to the bereaved family and a government job for Kalavathi.
In a goodwill gesture, actress Sumalatha, widow of actor-politician Ambarish announced donating half-an-acre of land in Gudigere to build a memorial for the martyr.
Kumaraswamy's actor son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is at Gudigere trying to console the bereaved family members.
Many business establishments in the prime business area of the city, Chikpet and surrounding places remained closed to condemn the attack and pay homage to the departed souls.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
