Page 1073 - Politics
Will ensure safe, peaceful voting: J&K Police chief
Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh has assured safe and secured environment to voters during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Congress never cared for Arunachal: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told a large rally of supporters gathered here that Congress, who ruled for the better part of the seven decades since Independence, never bothered about the Northeast and hence the state lacked connectivity and development.
Pak's former IB chief who helped Osama sworn in as minister
Despite objections from the Opposition, Pakistan's former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Ijaz Shah, who aided Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, was sworn in as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday by President Arif Alvi here.The move has put the Imran Khan-led government and the Opposition, especially the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), at odds as former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had alleged that Shah was among the people who had hatched a conspiracy to kill her, reports Dawn.Shah, a confidant of former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf, has also been accused of harbouring terror outfit Al-Qaeda's founder-leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Laden was most wanted by the United States for perpetrating the gruesome 9/11 attacks.In its report in 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald had quoted former ISI chief General Ziauddin Butt as saying that Shah had ordered to build the three-storied walled compound in Abbottabad where Laden was hunted down and terminated by the US Forces
No match for Sikkim's victorious regional parties since 1979
Sikkim is the only state to have elected regional parties to power in all the assembly polls since 1979, and political leaders attribute it to the "strong" sentiment of people, who are "wary" of national parties. The regional parties have been dominant in Sikkim ever since it merged with India in 1975 because of the "trust" reposed in them by the indigenous people, for protecting their aspirations and interests, they said. Sikkim National People's Party (SNPP) president Delay Barfungpa said, "We can't trust national parties to safeguard Article 371(F), which protects the special rights of the Sikkimese people." Echoing similar views, spokesperson of the ruling SDF K T Gyaltsen said, "Regional parties, particularly the SDF, have been ruling Sikkim for a long time, as they have aligned their ideology and governance with the best interests of the Sikkimese people." In the first assembly polls held in October 1979, the Sikkim Janata Parishad led by Nar Bahadur Bhandhari had .
Security restored at RSS office in Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday restored security cover at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS) office in Bhopal.The state government withdrew security from the RSS headquarters on Tuesday. Following which, the Kamal Nath government had come under a lot of criticism for allegedly taking away the security provided to the RSS office just two weeks ahead of the commencement of polling.Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had said that he has given orders to provide security to the RSS office in Bhopal again. "We may have ideological differences with the RSS; they may have been at loggerheads with us, but I am not in support of the decision to withdraw security from their office. I am therefore giving orders to provide security to the RSS office again," he said.Miffed over Madhya Pradesh Government's decision of withdrawing security from RSS headquarters, the Sangh Parivar had on Tuesday said that they were not informed in advance.Speaking to ANI, RSS leader Kanti Lal said: "This ..
AAP legislator dares Alka Lamba to join Congress
In a Twitter war, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj has dared fellow party MLA Alka Lamba to join the Congress.
Theresa May to seek extension to Brexit deal
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday said she will ask for an extension to the long-pending process of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, commonly called 'Brexit'.Addressing media outside Downing Street, following a meeting with the Cabinet ministers, CNN quoted May as saying, "I know there are some who are so fed up with delay and endless arguments that they would like to leave with no deal next week, I've always been clear that we could make a success of no deal in the long term.""But leaving with a deal is the best solution. So we will need a further extension of Article 50, one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal," May added."And we need to be clear what such an extension is for, to ensure we leave in a timely and orderly way. This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer. It is putting members of Parliament and everyone else under immense pressure and it is doing damage to our politics," she said.The Prime ...
Algerian President Bouteflika steps down
Ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday stepped down from his post before his mandate ends on April 28, state media reported on Monday.CNN confirmed the reports after citing a short statement published by the state-run Algeria Press Agency, which said, "President of the Republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika has officially notified president of the Constitutional Council of his decision to end his term as President of the Republic".Tuesday's announcement comes after an earlier press statement issued by the Bouteflika's office said that the president will take steps to ensure "state institutions continue to function during the transition period", adding, his "resignation would occur before April 28, 2019".The statement further noted that the 82-year old President would "take important measures to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the state institutions during the period of transition."Bouteflika's resignation announcement also comes one week after the country's army .
AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj, Alka Lamba spar on Twitter
Soon after the Congress party released its manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha election, two AAP MLAs - Alka Lamba and Saurabh Bharadwaj - got into a verbal spat on Twitter with Bharadwaj asking Lamba to return to Congress.It all began when Lamba questioned the possibility of an alliance between AAP and Congress after the latter released its manifesto without any mention of the issue of giving full statehood to Delhi.Lamba tweeted, "In its manifesto, Congress has talked about giving full statehood to Puducherry, but not said anything about Delhi. This makes it clear that for Congress giving full statehood to Delhi is not important. On the other hand, AAP is making this as its main issue. How will an alliance be formed?"Lamba's post didn't go well with Bharadwaj, who later tagged Lamba's tweet and wrote, "What do you want? Full statehood or..."In her reply, the MLA from Chandni Chowk said, "How does it make a difference what I want ... The time to ask this question is over... now the ...
Trump urges Congress to take action on border immigration
President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged the Congress to take action to stop the illegal immigrants from entering the United States from its southern border with Mexico.CNN quoted the President who was addressing the media at his Oval Office in the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: "Congress has to meet quickly and make a deal. I could do it in 45 minutes. We need to get rid of chain migration.""We need to get rid of catch and release and visa lottery. And we have to do something about asylum. And to be honest with you, we have to get rid of judges," the President continued while adding that he no longer wanted to detain immigrants trying to cross the Southern border illegally and "bring them to a court."Trump went on to add that the present immigration system is the "dumbest in the world", however, "The Democrats don't want to change it because they don't want to give Republicans a victory."The President said he had spoken to Democrats about a potential immigration .
Venezuela lawmakers strip opposition leader of his immunity
Lawmakers loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stripped Juan Guaido of immunity Tuesday, paving the way for the opposition leader's prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president. But whether Maduro's government will take action against the 35-year-old lawmaker remains unclear. Guaido has embarked on an international campaign to topple the president's socialist administration amid deepening social unrest in the country plagued by nearly a month of power outages. He declared himself Venezuela's interim president in January, and vowed to overthrow Maduro. So far, however, Maduro has avoided jailing the man that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and roughly 50 other nations recognize as Venezuela's legitimate leader. Tuesday night's vote was unanimous. Constituent Assembly president and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello accused the opposition of naively inviting a foreign invasion and of ...
Mike Pompeo to miss G7 foreign minister talks
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not attend a ministerial-level meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) later this week in France, the State Department has said.
China bars human rights lawyer from US State Dept. program
A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer says he was blocked from leaving the country to participate in a U.S. State Department-sponsored studies program. Chen Jiangang said he was pulled aside Monday at Beijing airport and told by a customs agent that he was forbidden to leave because he had represented another lawyer, Xie Yang, in an earlier case. He said he was told that the U.S. government's acceptance of him as a visiting scholar also made him suspect. As Xie's former lawyer, Chen had helped release his client's account of torture, for which he was himself detained. Xie was released in mid-2017 after allegedly confessing in court to collaborating with foreign organizations and media to smear and subvert Communist Party rule. Government critics frequently face such exit bans as punishment.
Trump team and China resume uphill effort to end trade rift
The Trump administration on Wednesday will resume negotiations with China toward ending a trade war that has deepened uncertainty for businesses and investors and dimmed the outlook for the global economy. The two sides are to meet for the ninth time, with analysts expressing optimism that the world's two biggest economies might be near some kind of agreement. Negotiators met in Beijing last week in talks that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described as "constructive." Now, Vice Premier Liu He, a close confidante of President Xi Jinping, is leading a Chinese team to Washington. "We have been encouraged by the tone of the negotiations," Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told reporters Tuesday. Brilliant estimated that the two sides are 90% of the way to an agreement but cautioned that "the last 10% is the hardest part, the trickiest part." At the heart of the dispute are the Trump administration's allegations that China steals technology
Canadian PM Trudeau expels 'whistleblower' MPs
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expelled two MPs from his party's caucus after they accused him of meddling in a criminal case involving an influential company.
Pentagon expects Turkey to buy US missile system
US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday he was confident that Turkey would drop its plan to purchase the Russian S-400 missile defense system and buy the US Patriot system instead. A day after Washington put a freeze on its joint F-35 fighter jet program with Turkey in protest to the S-400 deal, Shanahan said he expects Ankara to opt for the Patriot missiles. That would then allow the F-35 program to continue, he confirmed. "I've had a number of conversations with Defense Minister (Hulusi) Akar and I really think we'll resolve this situation with our strategic partners," he said. "I am very confident in the Patriot proposal that we've delivered to Turkey, its availability, its pricing, and very importantly, the industrial participation that comes along with the Patriot system." Asked if that meant he expects Turkey will buy the Patriot system, Shanahan replied: "I expect we'll solve the problem so that they have the right defense equipment in terms of Patriots and ...
Trudeau ousts 2 ex-ministers from Canada ruling party
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ousted from his Liberal Party on Tuesday two former ministers whose accusations of political meddling in a prosecution jeopardized his re-election bid. The announcement came at the end of an emergency caucus meeting to consider expelling former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould after her release of a secret recording last week that reignited the simmering scandal. Former budget minister Jane Philpott, who had quit in protest over Trudeau's handling of the controversy, was also removed. "Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will no longer be members of the Liberal caucus," Trudeau said. "The trust that previously existed between these two individuals and our team has been broken," he said. "Whether it's taping conversations without consent or repeatedly expressing a lack of confidence in our government and in me personally as leader, it's become clear that (both) can no longer remain part of our Liberal team." Since February, Trudeau's ...
Will ensure Delhi becomes world's safest city when it attains full statehood: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he will ensure that the national capital will become the safest city in the world when it gets full statehood."There is such a structure in Delhi wherein we must take permission from the central government to implement any plans or actions... This is not the case for other states.... This is a serious injustice against the people of Delhi... When and if any mishap takes place in your family, you naturally go to the Delhi Police, but they don't listen. You then go to your elected representative, your MLA but he has no authority over the police. You go to your Chief Minister, he too is helpless," Kejriwal said while addressing a public gathering here."The Delhi Police comes under the Prime Minister, but can we expect him to concern himself with the problems of people of Delhi? When Delhi attains full statehood, we would reform the system such that nobody would dare trouble any girl at any time," he said.Later, he added, "When we came .
J-K: 7 people booked for not depositing weapons ahead of LS polls
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, an FIR has been registered against seven people here for not depositing their licensed weapons, ahead of the ensuing general elections, police said."As per the Election Commission guidelines, all weapons must be deposited during elections. District Magistrate, Doda had issued an order. Hence, FIR was lodged against them for keeping the weapons illegally and violating the order," said Shabir Ahmed Malik, SSP, Doda.The Lok Sabha elections will start on April 11 and will end on May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.In Jammu and Kashmir, the elections will be held on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 and on May 6.
Will never happen: BJP's Tejasvi Surya slams Omar over his pitch for separate President, PM for J-K
BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday slammed National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah for pitching for the revival of the posts of Prime Minister and President for Jammu and Kashmir. Surya said such a thing will never happen under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership."Omar Abdullah said he wants a separate Prime Minister for Jammu and Kashmir. I want to make it clear that it is not Nehru government. It is Narendra Modi's government. It will never happen," Surya said while addressing the public during BJP president Amit Shah road show here.On Monday, Abdullah had said that he would work for the restoration of the posts of "President" and "Prime Minister" for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.Addressing a public gathering in Kashmir's Bandipora, the NC leader said, "Rest of the princely states merged with the country without condition but we had said that we will have our own identity, our own Constitution. We had our own 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' (President) and 'Wazir-e-Azam' (Prime ...