Saudi prince to meet Putin in Russia
Reuters, Dubai
Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman will hold talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on issues of mutual interest, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.
The two kickstarted an output cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing nations when they met in Beijing last year.
Lankan floods death toll rises to 183
PTI, Colombo
Sri Lankan authorities today grappled with the paucity of safe drinking water in flood-hit regions. They appealed for public assistance in cleaning up wells contaminated during the country’s worst torrential rains in 14 years that has claimed 183 lives. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said the adverse weather condition had left 112 people injured and nearly 6,00,000 people have been displaced from their homes, with thousands suffering structural damage from flood inundation and landslides.
11 hostages freed from Taliban
AP, Warsaw
Poland’s defense minister says Polish and Afghan special forces have freed 11 people who had been taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Antoni Maciereiwicz said the hostages included two solders, four police officers and five civilians, all of them Afghan nationals who had been held captive for four months in a village held by the Taliban.
Romanian air traffic controllers stage strike
AP, Bucharest
Romanian air traffic controllers have gone on strike demanding better working conditions, leading to some cancellations and delays.
In the first two hours of Tuesday’s strike, six flights were canceled and seven were delayed at Bucharest’s Henri Coanda Airport. More than 300 flights were scheduled to fly to or from the airport Tuesday.
Reports said flights from Sibiu Airport in central Romania could also be affected.
The transportation ministry has asked a Bucharest court to declare the walkout illegal, and a ruling is expected later Tuesday.
