Five Indian sailors who were among 25 crew in the Israel-linked cargo ship seized by Iran have been released and are on their way back to India, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has said.
“(Five) 5 of the Indian sailors on MSC Aries have been released and departed from Iran today evening. We appreciate the Iranian authorities for their close co-ordination with the Embassy and Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas,” the Embassy said on X.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had seized the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship MSC Aries carrying 25 crew, 17 of whom are Indian citizens, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13.
New Delhi had contacted Tehran to secure their release.
Ann Tessa Joseph, the only female crew on the seized ship, was released and returned to her home state of Kerala in southern India on April 18.
Iran has also freed a Filipino and an Estonian crew.
The remaining 11 Indian crew will be released once their contractual obligations are accomplished, media reports said.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had expressed concern over the crew’s conditions in a phone call to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in April.
Iran had allowed Indian diplomats to meet the crew.
The seizure of the ship came amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel over the killing of senior members of the paramilitary group in an air strike in Syria.
Tehran had launched 300 missiles and combat drones on the same day as it seized the ship in retaliation for Israel’s air strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1.
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SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
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Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
