Iran insists on prisoner swap with U.S.
The Hindu
Washington denies deal with Tehran, accuses it for impasse in nuclear talks
Iran insisted on Sunday that a prisoner swap deal has been agreed with the U.S., the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, a day after Washington denied such an agreement had been reached. “’Outrageous’ = the U.S. denying simple fact that there IS an agreed deal on the matter of the detainees. Even on how to announce it,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet. “Humanitarian swap was agreed with U.S. & U.K. in Vienna-separate from JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) — on release of 10 prisoners on all sides. Iran is ready to proceed TODAY.” The U.S. on Saturday accused Tehran of an “outrageous” effort to deflect blame for the impasse in the nuclear talks and denied that any deal had been reached on a prisoner swap.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.