Page 1272 - Politics
India, Maldives vow to combat terror, support each other
India and the Maldives have reiterated support for each other in a number of areas of mutual interests including combating terrorism, while Maldives vowed to remain "sensitive" towards Indias strategic interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Bush calls immigration 'blessing' and 'strength'
Former US president George W. Bush on Monday called immigration a "blessing and a strength," as lawmakers tussled with Donald Trump over border wall funding. The Republican, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight after leaving office in 2009, did not explicitly criticize Trump or the border wall policy. Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 51 new American citizens at the George W Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, the nation's 43th president called for reform of "outdated and ineffective" immigration laws. He also emphasized: "Borders are not arbitrary and they need to be respected." "Amid all the complications of policy, may we never forget that immigration is a blessing and a strength," Bush said in prepared remarks. "I hope those responsible in Washington can dial down the rhetoric, put politics aside and modernize our immigration laws soon." Bush's remarks came as Congress and the White House were gearing up for a court fight over Trump's declarations of an ...
WB LS polls: Left Front to wait till Tuesday for a pro-alliance word from Congress
With the Congress calling off seat-sharing talks with the Left Front for Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, the CPI(M)-led grouping Monday said it will till tomorrow for a pro-alliance statement from the Congress. "We hope wisdom would prevail and the Congress would realise how important it is to ensure maximum pooling of anti-TMC and anti-BJP votes in the state," Left Front chairman Biman Bose said. The Left Front will hold a meeting Tuesday to decide its next course of action, Bose told reporters here. However, in a late night development, sources said general secretary of CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury has spoken to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to resolve the situation. After weeks of parleys failed to resolve the impasse over distribution of seats, the West Bengal unit of the Congress on Sunday called off the talks, saying it did not want any alliance by compromising the party's dignity. The Left Front will wait and see whether the Congress announces candidates for Raiganj and Murshidabad
Top US court considers case on racial redistricting
The US Supreme Court on Monday took up a lower court's ruling that some Virginia districts were deliberately redrawn to diminish the impact of the African American vote -- an urgent issue as the eastern swing state prepares for legislative elections. The state, whose population is nearly 20-percent black, underwent redistricting in 2011 by the House of Delegates, the lower house of the state legislature. Residents mounted a legal challenge, arguing that the electoral map was drawn to concentrate African American voters in certain districts, in order to diminish their influence in other districts. The stakes are important in a country where most blacks vote for Democrats, while whites tend to favour Republicans. A lower court found in favour of the plaintiffs but the Supreme Court, the first time it took up the issue, found that the court's arguments were flawed and sent the case back. In its new ruling, the lower court found that voters' skin colour had played a preponderant role in ..
Cong CEC to discuss Bihar, Bengal LS candidates on Tuesday morning
The Central Election Committee (CEC) of Congress party will meet on Tuesday morning to hold discussion over Bihar and West Bengal Lok Sabha candidates.The meeting will start at 10 am in the morning.Earlier on Sunday, West Bengal Congress ruled out the possibilities of an alliance with the Left Front and announced that it would contest 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state on its own.Moreover, the Congress party has said that it will field 11 candidates in Bihar for the ensuing elections where 40 parliamentary seats are at stake.The grand alliance formed by the Opposition in Bihar includes Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), Congress, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Lok Jantrantrik Dal (LJD) and Vikas Sheel Insaan Party (VIP).Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) supremo Jitan Ram Manjhi has asked for five seats from the 'mahagathbandhan' out for his party.Bihar will go to polls in all the seven phases on April 11, 18, 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The results would ..
Will raise issue of non-declaration of assets and liabilities by AAP MLAs with Lokpal: Delhi BJP
The Delhi BJP Monday said it will raise the issue of non-declaration of assets and liabilities by AAP MLAs as demanded by the state Lokayukta with the soon-to-be constituted Lokpal. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said they will seek Lokpal's intervention in issues such as alleged involvement of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a Hawala case, water tanker scam, premium bus service scam, home delivery of ration scam, appointments in government and a host of other issues of corruption and irregularities. Kejriwal, who came to power on the plank of honesty, transparency and probity in public life spent major part of his time in covering the corrupt practices of his subordinates, Gupta added. The Aam Aadmi Party will file complaints of corruption against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Rafale fighter jet deal and Sahara-Birla papers case with the soon to be constituted Lokpal. Gupta said AAP leader Gopal Rai is "falsely" blaming the Centre for bringing up the ...
Priyanka's boat journey politically symbolic, not tweets
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi's journey on the Ganga on a boat is marked by religious and political symbolism to counter the BJP's Hindutva thrust ahead of Lok Sabha elections but her tweets so far have been apolitical.
Goa CM swearing-in called off, says Deputy Speaker
In a new twist, Goa's Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo on Monday said that the swearing-in of the new Chief Minister, which was scheduled to be held at 11 pm at the Raj Bhavan, has been called off.
Cong appoints in-charges for 17 LS seats
The Congress in Telangana Monday appointed senior leaders as in-charges for the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader M Bhatti Vikramarka would be in-charge for Khammam Lok Sabha seat, while MLA D Sridhar Babu would be in-charge for Peddapalli, Congress sources said. Meanwhile, the disciplinary action committee of state Congress has expelled six leaders, including former MLA Arepalli Mohan, M Krishank (official spokesperson) and P Karthik Reddy (who contested as Chevella Lok Sabha candidate in 2014) for alleged anti-party activities. Mohan and Krishank have joined the ruling TRS.
UK court issues warrant against Nirav Modi (2nd lead)
A UK court has issued an arrest warrant against fugitive Indian diamantaire Nirav Modi, wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore PNB fraud case, confirmed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday.
Congress may field Jyotiraditya's wife in LS polls
The Congress leadership wants to field former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's wife Priyadarshini in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, party sources said.
Ola signs MoU with Telangana govt
Ride-hailing platform Ola Monday said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana to support the latters efforts in strengthening traffic infrastructure in the city. The partnership would see Ola 'share intelligent insights' that enable the Government to implement smart solutions to enhance 'mobility experience' in the city, a Ola release said. The first pilot project proposed to be implemented under the MoU is the dynamic mapping of riding quality of various major roads in Hyderabad through the network of vehicles operating on the Ola platform, it said. This data would be provided to respective state government departments, who monitor road conditions and maintain the overall quality of roads in the city. The intended outcome of this pilot project was to reduce accidents due to potholes, monitor the quality of road construction, and prioritize road repair budget. Under the partnership, "Ola will work with the government to build ...
Trump paints possible 2020 rival Biden as 'low IQ'
President Donald Trump on Monday gave possible 2020 presidential election rival Joe Biden a taste of what to expect if he does jump in the race, with a tweeted insult about his intelligence. Biden, who was vice president under Barack Obama and is seen as potentially the most heavyweight Democrat, remains on the sidelines. However on Saturday he appeared to confirm his candidacy before correcting himself in mid-sentence, as if having made a slip of the tongue. Trump, who delights in inventing mocking nicknames and poking fun at opponents, pounced. "Joe Biden got tongue tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly deliver a very simple line about his decision to run for President," Trump tweeted. "Get used to it, another low I.Q. individual!" Biden's surprise slip -- or, as some speculated, crafty hint -- came during a speech in his home state of Delaware. "I'm told I get criticized by the new left. I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the United...," he ...
UK speaker stymies May's bid for 3rd vote on Brexit deal
The speaker of Britain's House of Commons dealt a potentially fatal blow to Prime Minister Theresa May's ailing Brexit deal on Monday, saying the government couldn't keep asking lawmakers to vote on the same deal they have already rejected twice. The government intends to try a third time to get lawmakers to back the deal, ideally before May joins EU leaders Thursdays at a Brussels summit where she is set to ask the bloc to postpone Britain's departure. May has warned opponents that failure to approve the deal would mean a long, and possibly indefinite, delay to Brexit. Speaker John Bercow said Monday that centuries-old parliamentary rules prevent a motion being brought back repeatedly for votes in the same session of Parliament. He said the government could not "resubmit to the House the same proposition or substantially the same proposition." He said a new motion would have to be "fundamentally different. Not different in terms of wording, but different in terms of substance." May ..
Priyanka: Aim of Congress, SP-BSP is to defeat BJP
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi said on Monday her partys aim was to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and also that of the SP-BSP combine, and added the Congress had no qualms about forging an alliance with "anyone".
Trump complains he is being blamed for New Zealand attack
President Donald Trump on Monday complained that he is being blamed by journalists for the massacre of 50 people in attacks on two mosques in New Zealand. "The Fake News Media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand," Trump told his more than 59 million followers on Twitter. "They will have to work very hard to prove that one," he tweeted. "So Ridiculous!" Trump appeared to be referring to criticism of his response to the attack, which was allegedly carried out by a 28-year-old white supremacist claiming to be resisting genocide against white people. In a lengthy written rant, the alleged killer had referred to Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity." Trump did on several occasions tweet and speak to condemn the "horrible" attack and offer any US assistance to New Zealand's authorities. However, he courted controversy Friday when he played down the wider implications of the gunman's ideology, saying that violent white nationalism is not a growing ..
Operational readiness of Indian Navy reviewed
Conduct of the mega naval exercise TROPEX 19, the operational readiness of the Indian Navy, a realistic audit of its deployment philosophy and fighting capability was undertaken at a review here Monday by its top officials. Lessons learnt from the exercise would provide the Navy accurate assessments to fine tune combat deployment, force structuring requirements, operational logistics as also material and training imperatives, a release said. The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, headed the review, in which Commanders-in-Chief of all the three naval Commands, along with a number of senior operational commanders and representatives from the Army, Air Force and Indian Coast Guard participated in the discussions held at the Naval Base, a Defence release said. Lanba congratulated the senior leadership and officers of the Navy on the high level of professionalism and commitment displayed during the exercise He urged them to maintain the high tempo of operations and ..
Japan assures assistance to India in fight against terrorism
Japan has assured all assistance to India in its fight against terrorism, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh said, noting that the two countries have also stressed on strengthening parliamentary exchanges, economic and strategic ties. The assurance was given by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Japan with whom a parliamentary delegation from India interacted. Harivansh, who led the delegation, said terrorism tops the list of existential threats that the world faces today and he thanked Government of Japan for expressing solidarity with India in its fight against global terror. The people of India and the international community look up to Japan's leadership in strongly articulating against terrorism in this year's G20 Summit, he said, adding the speaker of House of Representative, Japan condemned terrorism and assured assistance to India in the fight against it. The parliamentary delegation from India visited Japan and interacted with members of Japan-India Parliamentary
Assault on IS jihadist redoubt in Syria grinds on
A shroud of black smoke covered the Islamic State group's last redoubt in eastern Syria on Monday as US-backed forces battled holdout jihadists after a night of shelling and heavy air strikes. Even as it fought IS, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces also came under threat from Damascus, which has sworn to retake the third of the country the SDF controls. The SDF has been closing in on IS fighters holed up in a small sliver of territory in the eastern village of Baghouz since January. A cluster of rudimentary tents and vehicles is all that remains of the once-sprawling "caliphate" declared across large swaths of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014. Tens of thousands of men, women and children have poured out of the small farming village in recent weeks, slowing down an SDF offensive aimed at crushing the last vestige of the jihadist proto-state. Backed by air strikes by the US-led coalition, the SDF pummelled the IS pocket with shelling on Sunday night, pushing deeper into the ...
Seoul strives for ending stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang
South Korea is trying to end the stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang on denuclearisation after the Hanoi summit held between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month ended without an agreement.On Monday, Seoul's Presidential Blue House issued a statement saying that the time was now right for the two Koreas to hold further talks, reports South China Morning Post."We agree with the view that no deal is better than a bad deal. However, in reality, it is difficult to achieve complete denuclearisation at one stroke," the statement quoted a high ranking official as saying.According to the Blue House statement, South Korea wanted North to "agree with a broad road map aimed to achieve the overarching goal of denuclearization.""On the basis of that, we should make further efforts to turn a small deal into a deal that is good enough. In order to achieve meaningful progress, we need one or two early harvests for mutual trust-building to move on toward .