Trump fires State Secretary Tillerson
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as the nation’s chief diplomat. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will take over the top position.
Trump took to Twitter to share the development, saying: "Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!
Gina Haspel -- Deputy Director at the Central Intelligence Agency -- will succeed Pompeo, becoming the first woman to run the spy agency, if confirmed.
"Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!" Trump tweeted.
Tillerson found himself repeatedly at odds with Trump on a variety of key foreign policy issues. A senior administration official said the President made the decision to replace Tillerson in order to have a new team in place in advance of the upcoming summit and trade negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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234 held in anti-drug operation in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 15 (PTI): The Kerala police on Saturday said as part of its special drive to crack down on individuals suspected of drug trafficking, 234 people were arrested, and varying quantities of several deadly narcotics, including MDMA, were seized.
The State Police Media Centre (SPMC) stated that on March 14, as part of the drive, D-Hunt, authorities inspected 2,362 individuals suspected of drug trafficking and arrested 234 of them.
The operation was carried out across the state to identify and take strict legal action against those involved in the storage and distribution of banned drugs.
Police registered 222 cases related to the possession of various prohibited substances, according to a statement issued by the SPMC.
Additionally, authorities seized 0.0119 kg of MDMA, 6.171 kg of cannabis, and 167 cannabis 'beedis' from those arrested.
Operation D-Hunt is being jointly implemented by the Range-based NDPS Coordination Cell and District Police Chiefs under the leadership of State Anti-Narcotics Task Force Head and ADGP (Law and Order) Manoj Abraham, following the instructions of State Police Chief Dr Sheikh Darvesh Sahib, the statement said.
The SPMC also announced that a 24-hour Anti-Narcotics Control Room (9497927797) has been set up to receive information from the public regarding drug-related activities.
The details of individuals who contact this number will be kept confidential, it added.
Furthermore, the operation will continue in the coming days through sustained surveillance and the creation of a database of individuals regularly involved in drug-related activities and transactions.
