Saudi Arabia announces $2 billion bailout for Yemen govt

Agencies
January 17, 2018

Riyadh, Jan 17: Saudi Arabiaannounced on Wednesday it would transfer $2 billion to Yemen's central bank, following desperate calls for a financial rescue from the beleaguered government it has supported militarily for nearly three years.

The bailout aims to curb the fall in value of the Yemeni riyal, which has plummeted as the war between the Saudi-backed government and Huthi Shiite rebels who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north has dragged on.

"To address the deteriorating economic situation faced by the Yemeni people as a result of the actions of the Iranian-backed Huthi militias, King Salman bin Abdulaziz has issued a directive to transfer a $2 billion deposit to the central bank of Yemen," the Saudi interior ministry said.

The riyal currently trades at 500 to the dollar, down from around 215 before the war, a serious depreciation for a country that relies heavily on imports of basic foodstuffs.

In 2016, the Yemeni government moved the central bank to second city Aden from the capital where the rebels operate their own rival central bank.

More than one million civil servants lost their jobs in the bank transfer, and both the Sanaa and Aden central banks have struggled to pay salaries.

Saudi Arabia, which itself faces a hefty budget deficit, has led a military coalition in support of the government since March 2015.

But as the intervention nears its fourth year, the government's authority is still largely confined to the south.

The conflict has left more than three-quarters of Yemenis in need of humanitarian aid and some 8.4 million at risk of famine, the UN humanitarian affairs office said on Tuesday

In a post on Facebook, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher shared a letter urging the government's backers to transfer cash to the central bank to "save Yemenis from famine".

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over "the economic challenges Yemen faces" in a telephone call on Tuesday, Yemen's government-run Saba news agency said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of oil, has posted large budget deficits in the past four fiscal years as a 2014 slide in crude prices has hit revenues.

Despite introducing new taxes and cutting spending, the kingdom does not expect to balance its books before 2023.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain.

These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week.

The BJP encashed electoral bonds totalling Rs 6,986.5 crore; maximum Rs 2,555 crore received in 2019-20, as per the EC data.

The Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,397 crore through electoral bonds, second largest recipient after BJP, as per the EC data.

On the other hand, the Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds.

DMK received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming.

BJD encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 944.5 crore, YSR Congress Rs 442.8 crore, TDP Rs 181.35 crore.

Political parties had filed data on electoral bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court's interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement.

"Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website," EC said.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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