Page 1058 - Politics
Facebook, WhatsApp become fake news factories in India
Barely a week away from when the world's largest democracy goes to polls, the fake news factories on Facebook and its owned WhatsApp have become active like never before as the social media giant scramble for solutions which are few and far between.
Pence warns Turkey over buying Russian missile system
US Vice President Mike Pence warned Turkey against going ahead with its planned purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile system, hours after the Turkish Foreign Minister said the acquisition was "a done deal".
Brexit: British MPs back delay bill by one vote
British MPs have voted by a majority of one to force Prime Minister Theresa May to ask for an extension to the Brexit process, in a bid to avoid any no-deal scenario.
US warns Turkey against striking Syria
US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo on Wednesday warned Turkey of "devastating results" if Ankara initiated any unilateral military action in Syria."Secretary Pompeo expressed support for ongoing negotiations regarding northeast Syria while warning of the potentially devastating consequences of unilateral Turkish military action in the region," Sputnik quoted US State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino as saying.Pompeo met his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu, in Washington, on Wednesday, where the two leaders dubbed their meeting to be "constructive"."We held a constructive discussion with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the issues in our bilateral relations & issues in our joint agenda," Cavusoglu tweeted.Congress needs to play a more constructive role in the Turkey-US relations and that Turkey will not accept unilateral impositions," he added.The two nations are at odds over Washington's recent attempts to bar Ankara from the F-35 Joint ...
House Democrats seek six years of Trump tax returns from IRS
House Democrats on Wednesday formally requested the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hand over six years of President Donald Trump's personal and business tax returns by next week.According to The New York Times, Representative Richard E. Neal issued a two-page letter in which he told IRS commissioner, Charles P. Rettig, "Under the Internal Revenue Manual, individual income tax returns of a President are subject to mandatory examination, but this practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws.""It is necessary for the Committee to determine the scope of any such examination and whether it includes a review of underlying business activities required to be reported on the individual income tax return," Neal said."Pursuant to my authority under Internal Revenue Code section 6103(f), for each of the tax years 2013 through 2018, I request the following return and return information," he added.Neal gave the Revenue department until April 10 to comply with the ...
LS polls: Rs 39 lakh unaccounted cash seized in Andhra Pradesh
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Renigunta Rural Police on Wednesday seized Rs 39 lakh unaccounted cash from a vehicle in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.The police said it seized the money and handed over it to Srikalahasti flying squad officers.Further investigation is underway.Lok Sabha election on all 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh will be held on April 11. The result will be announced on May 23.
Hanoi summit ended abruptly as N.Korea wasn't 'ready for deal', says Trump
United States President Donald Trump said that the last meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended abruptly without reaching an agreement as Pyongyang was not "ready for a deal."Yonhap news agency quoted the US President while addressing the National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday, saying, "We had a walk. He wasn't ready for a deal. That's OK. Because we get along great.""He wasn't ready. I told him, 'You're not ready for a deal.' That's the first time anybody has ever told him that and left. Never happened to him before," Trump continued while adding, "Nobody's ever left, but I said, 'You're not ready for a deal, but we'll make a deal.' We have a good relationship."Trump said that the Hanoi summit ended without any deal due to disagreements over the scope of North Korea's denuclearisation and sanctions relief from the U.S.During their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, both Trump and Kim had agreed to "work towards" complete denuclearisation of the Korean .
Top Democrat demands six years of Trump's tax returns
A top Democrat formally requested Wednesday that the US tax agency provide Congress with President Donald Trump's tax returns, setting up a likely legal battle with the White House. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee which writes tax law, wrote the Internal Revenue Service seeking six years of Trump's returns, saying he was using his oversight authority to learn the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces tax laws on a sitting president. "Under the Internal Revenue Manual, individual income tax returns of a president are subject to mandatory examination, but this practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws," Neal wrote. He told IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to deliver the president's individual income tax returns, as well as those from eight entities connected to Trump, by April 10. The president signalled he would not want his returns provided to Congress. "We are under audit despite what people say," Trump told reporters, repeating
British government, opposition in Brexit crisis talks
The British government and the main opposition were to hold further crisis talks on Thursday after MPs voted in favour of a Brexit delay that would avoid Britain crashing out of the EU on April 12. With options running out, May switched course and invited Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for talks on Wednesday in a bid to forge a compromise that avoids a chaotic "no-deal" departure from the European Union in eight days' time. Negotiating teams for both sides were to meet again on Thursday for a full day of urgent discussions. May's divorce deal with the other 27 EU nations has been rejected three times by parliament and patience is wearing thin in Brussels as the deadline to end Britain's 46-year membership nears with no agreement in sight. The premier said Tuesday she would seek another "short" Brexit extension at an EU leaders' summit in Brussels on April 10. In a rushed parliamentary bid to avoid Britain leaving the EU without a divorce deal next Friday, MPs voted by the narrowest of ...
Not seeking new arms race with Russia: NATO chief
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the military alliance does not want a "new arms race" with Russia while urging Moscow to keep compliance with a landmark arms control treaty.
US lawmakers urge sanctions on Xinjiang chief over Uighurs
A broad group of US lawmakers on Wednesday called for sanctions against China's top official in the Xinjiang region over alleged abuses -- including mass detentions -- against the Uighur minority. The letter signed by 24 senators -- almost one-quarter of the body -- and 19 House members across party lines also called on the United States to step up disclosure requirements about Chinese companies held to be complicit in rights violations. The lawmakers asked President Donald Trump's administration to target Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary in the northwestern Xinjiang region, who earlier held a similar position in Tibet and has become reputed for his handling of minorities. UN investigators say that some one million people have been rounded up in Xinjiang in a massive network of cramped detention camps, with China pressing Uighurs to renounce Islam through actions such as forcing them to eat pork, which is forbidden for Muslims. "We are disappointed with the administration's
Special category status to AP: Pawan Kalyan slams BJP, Congress for 'ditching' Andhra people
Addressing an election campaign rally here on Wednesday, Pawan Kalyan said both Congress and BJP have gone back on their promises.He recalled that he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally in Hyderabad during 2014 Lok Sabha election he told him that people of Andhra Pradesh would get 'laddu' after the polls in the form of special status."But he (Prime Minister) had given a stale laddu instead," Pawan Kalyan said."When Congress wanted to give special status for five years, the then BJP leaders asked for 10 years. Both the parties have ditched the people of Andhra Pradesh," he added.Pawan Kalyan also criticised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and said that the latter keeps changing his stand on decisions according to different situations.
Pompeo warns Turkey against striking Syria
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Wednesday of "devastating" results if Turkey strikes Syria as he met in Washington with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "Secretary Pompeo expressed support for ongoing negotiations regarding northeast Syria, while warning of the potentially devastating consequences of unilateral Turkish military action in the region," the State Department said in a statement after their talks.
Iran FM says Europe incapable of bypassing US sanctions
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Wednesday European powers were incapable of bypassing sanctions imposed on Tehran by the US after it withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Iran and six world powers agreed on a deal in 2015 that severely restricted Tehran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief and economic incentives. However President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the deal -- technically called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- last May, reimposing punishing sanctions on the Islamic republic. The other parties to the nuclear deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia along with the European Union -- however insist they remain committed to making the deal work. "The Europeans at first viewed the JCPOA (nuclear deal) as an achievement, but maybe they were not prepared to, and certainly they were not capable of standing up against U.S sanctions," Zarif said in an interview with Khamenei.ir, the official website of Iran's Supreme ...
No returning from S-400 deal with Russia: Turkey
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said his country will not step back from the deal to buy the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Sounds like a diktat of Martial Law: Mufti on Srinagar-Jammu highway closure
PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah have slammed the Jammu and Kashmir government and Centre for putting a "complete ban" on civilian traffic for two days of every week on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.Two days of every week will be dedicated exclusively for movement of security forces' convoys on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the state government announced on Wednesday, five days after a failed terror strike on a security force convoy planned on the lines of the ghastly Pulwama attack.There will be a "complete ban" on civilian traffic on most part of the 300-km long National Highway on Sundays and Wednesdays from 4 AM to 5 PM. These restrictions would remain in force till May 31, 2019, a press release issued by the state government said.Criticising the state government, Mufti on Wednesday tweeted, "Last I checked, we were a democracy. But this sounds like a diktat of Martial Law. After bringing Kashmir to the brink, the ...
BJP has no answer unemployment issue: Digvijaya Singh
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took a potshot at the NDA-government, which he said was resorting to talking on "nationalism, terrorism, and Hindu-Muslim" as it did not have any answers to the issue of unemployment in the country."BJP will talk about nationalism, terrorism, and Hindu-Muslim because they don't have an answer to the issue of unemployment. They don't have an answer to what they did for the poor, how they have destroyed the Indian economy and about their promise to deposit Rs 15 lakhs into accounts," Singh said addressing party workers here on Wednesday.Singh urged party workers to inform first-time voters about the work done by the Congress party.The Lok Sabha election will be held in Madhya Pradesh on April 29 and May 6, 12 and 19. The result will be announced on May 23.
Ex-president seeks forgiveness from Algerians facing new era
Algeria's Constitutional Council formalised President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's departure Wednesday from the office he held for two decades, as rattled international partners watched closely to see what's next for an energy-rich country that is a key player in fighting terrorism. Bouteflika himself asked the Algerians people for forgiveness the day after he stepped down following weeks of protests and the loss of the army's support. He urged citizens in a farewell letter "to stay united, and never divide yourselves." Bouteflika himself asked for forgiveness from his compatriots after stepping down in the wake of mass protests, and urged them in a farewell letter "to stay united, and never divide yourselves." Algerians faced a new and uncertain era, after the resignation of a man who had ruled Algeria for 20 years and had been a fixture in the Arab world's political landscape for decades. A discreet, 77-year-old Bouteflika ally the president of the upper house of the Algerian Parliament,
Pence tears into Germany, Turkey on NATO anniversary
Tensions soared Wednesday between the United States and two of its NATO partners, Germany and Turkey, as the alliance opened a 70th birthday celebration aimed at showing a united front against a resurgent Russia. Hours before foreign ministers from the 29-member Western alliance opened talks in Washington, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a stinging rebuke both to Germany over its level of defense spending and to Turkey for buying a major arms system from Russia. "Germany must do more. And we cannot ensure the defense of the West if our allies grow dependent on Russia," Pence told a think-tank forum on the NATO anniversary. "It is simply unacceptable for Europe's largest economy to continue to ignore the threat of Russian aggression and neglect its own self-defense and our common defense," he said. President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced annoyance that few allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are meeting a goal set by the alliance in 2014 for each member to devote .
BJP names candidates for 4 Odisha Assembly seats
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday declared candidates for four more Assembly seats in Odisha.