NEWS IN BRIEF

Date: 20 October 2014 - 20:53

News ID: ۶۴۵۸

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden released on Sunday a grainy photo of a mysterious vessel in Stockholm's archipelago, as the military hunted for a foreign submarine or divers in the country's biggest such mobilization since the Cold War.
The search in the Baltic Sea less than 30 miles (50 km) from Stockholm began on Friday and reawakened memories of the final years of the Cold War when Sweden repeatedly sought out suspected Soviet submarines along its coast with depth charges.
The military showed one picture of what appeared to be a craft surrounded by white ripples. The witness who took the photograph said the vessel then submerged -- one of three sightings that the military said were credible reports.
The Swedish armed forces have consistently labeled the hunt one of investigating "foreign underwater activity".

NEW DELHI (PRESS TV) – India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has scored a major victory in key assembly elections in the country’s two northern and western states, boosting the prime minister’s popularity.
According to official results released on Sunday, the BJP won the majority of the votes in Haryana State and took most of the assembly seats in the state of Maharashtra.
Both states had previously been ruled by the rival Congress Party, which was defeated in the national elections back in May.
The latest electoral victories are widely regarded as a confirmation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity five months after he rose to power as the country’s top executive. The victory in the recent state elections will likely facilitate Modi’s efforts to push through his promised economic reform plans.
The development comes as Modi’s administration, with an apparent concern over impacting the state elections, has put off unpopular policy making decisions on hiking the price of natural gas and ending a price cap on diesel fuel.
While media outlets across India have widely described the success of the ruling BJP in the two key states as a sign of Modi’s "unabated popularity,” they also warn that he must deliver on his campaign pledge of change.
Meanwhile, India’s prominent Business Standard also strikes a cautionary note, writing on Monday that negotiations on government formation in Maharashtra will be "closely watched, including by investors.”

TRIPOLI (PRESS TV) – At least 75 people have been killed in the northeastern Libyan city of Benghazi during five days of clashes between pro-government forces and militias.
In the latest wave of violence hitting the city, nine people lost their lives.
According to reports, a woman was killed and her daughter injured in a bomb attack that targeted the vacant house of former General Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an offensive since Wednesday to drive the militants out of Benghazi.
Medical sources also said the bodies of eight people, including two soldiers, had been received.
Meanwhile, air raids made by units of the air force loyal to Haftar pounded militants’ positions.
The Libyan army has endorsed Haftar, while Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi -- who was appointed in August by Fajr (Dawn) Libya militiamen that took control of the capital Tripoli -- has supported the Benghazi armed groups.
Libya’s government and elected parliament has taken refuge in the eastern town of al-Baida after militiamen from the Fajr Libya seized the capital and most government institutions.
The new Tripoli rulers have set up a rival parliament and government not recognized by the international community.
Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The ouster of Gaddafi gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.