Page 129 - Politics
US looking at taking additional action against 'unfair' Indian trade practices: Lighthizer
The Trump administration has warned India that it would be compelled to take some "additional action" against the country over its "unfair" trade practices as the two nations have made "no headway" on these issues. The warning from US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also came days after President Donald Trump announced that the US would end its preferential trade treatment for India on June 5. India has been the single biggest beneficiary of the decades-old US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme, allowing the country to export USD 5.7 billion worth of duty-free goods in 2017, according to figures from US Congress. "We have spent a lot of time worrying about India. It is massive economy and it's going to only get bigger. It is a great opportunity for a lot of American farmers and businesses. Having said that, we have a series of problems with them, the things that we've raised with them over a period of months," Lighthizer said on Wednesday. His comments came ahead
Deve Gowda doesn't rule out midterm polls in Karnataka
Amid simmering differences between Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka, former prime minister and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda on Friday claimed that mid-term elections will "no doubt" be held in the state."There is no doubt that there will be mid-term polls. They (Congress) said they will support us for five years but look at their behaviour now. Our people are smart," Gowda told reporters here.He claimed that he did not want his son HD Kumaraswamy to become the Chief Minister of the state."People are carefully watching everything. I did not ask them for a coalition government. I did not ask for the chief ministerial post to my son Kumaraswamy. They (Congress) themselves called me and asked me to form the government. I will continue my work. I do not want to blame anyone," the JDS supremo said.The stunning claims made by Gowda come at a time when Congress-JDS coalition is going through a rough patch following its poor show in the general elections.Gowda, who served as the 11th Prime ...
ASEAN seeks conclusion of China-led trade deal this year: Thai PM
Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand's prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world's biggest commercial deal. Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under US President Donald Trump. The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all 10 economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who are meeting this weekend in the Thai capital. But it also sweeps in China's main regional rival India, as well Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, covering half the world's population and around 40 per cent of its trade. Squabbles with India over access to its giant consumer market -- as well as Australia and New Zealand over the lack of 'high quality' labour and environmental standards -- have undercut talks in recent months. Analysts say these ...
Supriya, Kanimozhi protest curtailment of time for asking
Oppostion MPs led by NCP's Supriya Sule and DMK's Kanimozhi Friday protested in the Lok Sabha over not being given enough time to ask supplementaries during the Question Hour. However, Speaker Om Birla said it was a decision of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC). Oppostion MPs protested as soon as the Speaker moved to the next question after Union minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani replied to a listed question related to cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. "Sir, this is an important question and you have not allowed a single supplementary. We want to ask supplementaries on the subject," said Sule, who was supported by Kanimozhi and some other women MPs from the opposition. However, the Speaker said that at a meeting of the BAC, leaders of political parties had suggested that maximum number of questions should be taken up during the Question Hour, which resulted in curtailment of time earmarked for ...
British minister under fire for manhandling protester
Greenpeace accused British minister Mark Field of assault after the Conservative politician was filmed physically removing a climate change protester from a dinner in the City of London. Field accosted the female activist as she walked towards finance minister Phillip Hammond, pushing her against a column at Mansion House before holding her by the neck and frogmarching her out of the room. Greenpeace activist Areeba Hamid said she was "shocked at the footage of an elected MP and government minister assaulting one of our peaceful protesters." Field told ITV that he "deeply" regretted his actions, saying that "in the confusion many guests understandably felt threatened and when one protester rushed past me towards the top table. "There was no security present and I was for a split-second genuinely worried she might have been armed." The junior Foreign Office minister has referred himself to the Cabinet Office for investigation. Labour MP Jess Phillips called the footage "so, so awful" ..
No H-1B visa caps for data localisation: US State Department
The US has no plans to impose caps on the H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, according to a state department official who said the Trump administration's review of worker visa programmes is "completely separate" from the ongoing discussions with India over the free flow of data. The State Department spokesperson's remarks came after reports emerged that the US had told India it was considering capping the H-1B visas at 10-15 per cent for countries that had a data localisation policy. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. "The Trump administration's Buy American Hire American Executive Order called for a broad review of US worker visa programmes, including the H-1B programme," the spokesperson said. "This review is not targeted at a specific country and is completely separate from our ongoing discussions with India ...
Trump pulls back military strikes on Iran after initial approval
United States President Donald Trump has abruptly pulled back the decision to carry out military strikes against Iran after previously approving it in retaliation to the downing of a US military drone in the Gulf of Oman.According to a report by The New York Times, the US President had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries. The decision was taken after an intense discussion at the White House among the President's top national security officials and congressional leaders.While the operation was in its initial stage -- with the ships already in position and planes in the air -- it was abruptly called off on Thursday night. It is unclear whether Trump changed his mind on the strikes or whether the administration altered course because of logistics or strategy.The retaliation plan was intended as a response to the shooting down of an "intruding American spy drone", RQ-4 Global Hawk by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on ..
MPs express concern over absence of minister in LS
Opposition leaders, including TMC's Saugata Roy, Friday expressed concern in the Lok Sabha over absence of ministers when issues related to their ministries are being discussed in the House. However, Speaker Om Birla said he has the power to allow any other minister to reply in their place. Roy and a few other opposition MPs protested when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stood up to reply to a question related to setting up of more Siddha units in CGHS dispensaries during the Question Hour. "This is for the second time that a minister is not present and someone else is replying. This is not acceptable," Roy said. However, Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi said there was precedence of a minister not related to the ministry concerned giving reply in the House. "The minister is on leave and has gone to attend a Yoga Day event and the Speaker has given permission. Are you challenging the order of the Speaker," he asked. Roy then said he was not challenging the Speaker's
16 arrested, situation tense a day after clashes in West Bengal's Bhatpara
A day after clashes erupted between two groups in Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the situation remained tense with prohibitory orders in force and huge police deployment in the area, officials said Friday. As many as 16 people were arrested in connection with the clashes, a police officer said. Two people were killed and 11 others injured on Thursday after clashes broke out between two groups suspected to be affiliated to the TMC and the BJP. Expressing concern, Governor K N Tripathi said, "Not only in Bhatpara but in the entire state, there is a need to keep peace." Shops and markets remained shut in Bhatpara and Jagaddal areas, where internet services have been temporarily restricted. The authorities had imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in and around the area following the violence on Thursday. Though there was no report of any untoward in the area on Thursday night, many people claimed to have heard "sounds of bombing" near Kankinara market this morning. The .
Kejriwal meets PM Modi in Parliament; Ayushman Bharat, water harvesting on agenda
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and discussed water harvesting-related issues and the Ayushman Bharat scheme."I have congratulated him and wished him luck for the next five years. I told him that it is important for Centre and state government to work together for the development of Delhi. I have assured him that Delhi government will work with them and hopes that we will get support from Centre too," Kejriwal told media after his meeting with the Prime Minister.On agendas discussed in the meeting, Kejriwal tweeted, "Delhi government plans to store Yamuna river water during the rainy season. One season's water sufficient to meet one year's Delhi's water needs."He also invited Prime Minister Modi to visit Mohalla clinics and government schools in Delhi.In another tweet, Kejriwal wrote, "Ayushman Bharat was briefly discussed. Informed the Prime Minister that Delhi government's Delhi Health scheme is much bigger and wider in ..
China's Xi presses economic theme in speech at NKorea summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered encouragement for North Korea's focus on economic development in a speech in Pyongyang, turning to a topic Beijing has long pressed with its communist neighbour, amid wider concerns over the North's nuclear weapons program. In an address at a banquet Thursday night, Xi noted that the nation under leader Kim Jong Un had "initiated a new strategic line of economic development and improving people's livelihoods, raising socialist construction in the country to a new high tide," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. The North's long-moribund economy has shown some recent improvements, but it remains heavily dependent on aid mainly from China and food security is a constant concern. China has agreed to U.N. economic sanctions over the North's nuclear and missile programs but is wary of any measures that could push its economy toward collapse, potentially unleashing instability and chaos on its border. Xi's speech also touched on the ...
Iran says has 'indisputable' evidence US drone violated airspace
Iran said Friday that it had "indisputable" evidence that a US drone it shot down this week had violated its airspace. Deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Swiss ambassador, Markus Leitner, whose country represents US interests in Iran, of the evidence on Thursday night, the foreign ministry said in a statement. "Even some parts of the drone's wreckage have been retrieved from Iran"s territorial waters," Araghchi told the Swiss envoy." Araghchi urged US forces to "respect Iran's aerial and maritime borders and fully abide by international regulations," the ministry said. He "reiterated that Iran does not seek a war and conflict in the Persian Gulf, warning the American forces against any unconsidered measure in the region," it added. "The Islamic Republic of Iran would not hesitate for a moment to decisively defend its territory against any aggression," the statement quoted Araghchi as saying. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday that Iran would go to the United .
SC further restrains Puducherry govt from implementing cabinet decisions with financial implications
The Supreme Court Friday extended its earlier order till July 10, restraining the Puducherry government from implementing any cabinet decisions having financial implications. A vacation bench of justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant said that the issue requires to be heard at length and therefore it is listing the plea before a regular bench. Puducherry government told the apex court that it has taken three cabinet decisions, which include distribution of free rice to all ration card holders, renaming a department and auctioning of a sick factory. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Puducherry government, said out of the three decisions taken, free distribution of rice to all ration card holders can be allowed as the scheme has been running for the past ten years. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, said the scheme cannot be allowed as it will be a modification of the earlier order and has a huge financial implication. He said ...
US approves, then cancels, Iran strikes after drone shot down: report
Donald Trump approved but then scrapped strikes against Iranian targets on Thursday, The New York Times reported, after Iran shot down a US drone in what the president termed a "big mistake." The US was planning to hit "a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries" Thursday evening, the newspaper said, citing senior administration officials, but the plan was suddenly aborted in its early stages. White House and Pentagon officials declined to comment, the Times said, and it was unclear whether there were plans for such strikes to go forward in the future. Iran said earlier it had recovered parts of a US Global Hawk spy drone in its territorial waters after downing the aircraft in a missile strike, but the Pentagon says it was above international waters when it was hit. "Iran made a very big mistake!" Trump tweeted, before later appearing to dial back tensions. "I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth," Trump said. "I think that it ..
Thousands converge on Hong Kong parliament in fresh anti-govt demo
Thousands of black-clad protesters blocked a highway outside Hong Kong's parliament Friday, demanding the resignation of the city's pro-Beijing leader over a controversial extradition proposal that has sparked the territory's biggest political crisis in decades. The protest comes after the government refused to meet the demands of demonstrators who have marched in their millions to oppose a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. The movement has morphed into a larger rebuke of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's administration. Opposition groups, after putting on the biggest political rallies in Hong Kong's history, have called for the complete withdrawal of the legislation and for Lam to step down. After converging at Hong Kong's main government complex before rush hour, hundreds of protesters -- many wearing face masks and chanting anti-government slogans -- poured onto Harcourt Road outside the parliament building, blocking the major artery completely before allowing .
US-registered planes barred over Mideast areas amid tensions
The U.S. on Friday barred American-registered aircraft from flying over parts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman amid heightened tensions after Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. military drone. The announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration came over an Iranian surface-to-air missile on Thursday bringing down the U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk, an unmanned aircraft with a wingspan larger than a Boeing 737 jetliner and costing over USD 100 million. The FAA previously warned commercial aircraft of the possibility of Iranian anti-aircraft gunners mistaking them for military aircraft, something dismissed by Tehran some 30 years after the U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian passenger jet. The FAA said this would affect the area of the Tehran Flight Information Region. There are "heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region, which present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations and potential for miscalculation or ...
Erdogan in lose-lose situation after Istanbul vote: analysts
Voters in Istanbul will take part in a re-run of the mayoral election on Sunday after a vote in March was annulled over alleged irregularities. Local elections around Turkey on March 31 showed the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remained the most popular overall, but it suffered a shock defeat in Istanbul, as well as losing the capital Ankara. It was the first time in 25 years that neither Istanbul nor Ankara were under the control of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) or its predecessors. However, the main opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu's success was short-lived in Istanbul after Turkey's top election body accepted claims of fraud by the AKP and called a re-run for June 23. It did not annul the votes for the city council that were cast at the same time, and where the majority of seats went to Erdogan's party. Binali Yildirim, an Erdogan loyalist and former premier, lost by around 13,000 votes to Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) in March. After .
Big picture: Xi on show in Pyongyang
Xi Jinping has loomed large over China since becoming president, with a huge personality cult growing around his leadership, but in Pyongyang he looked bigger than usual when a giant portrait was unveiled at a propaganda event. The Chinese president, who is making the first trip by a Chinese head of state to North Korea in 14 years, was treated to a special performance of the spectacular "Mass Games" by his host Kim Jong Un. It is a show that could only be mounted by a country as single-minded as the North -- Guinness World Records lists a 2007 performance as the world's largest gymnastic display, with 100,090 participants. Months in the preparation, the Mass Games feature tens of thousands of people in synchronised displays enacting scenes from Korean history and modern life. Behind them, around 15,000 children turn the coloured pages of books in sequence to create an ever-changing backdrop of giant images rippling across one side of the cavernous May Day stadium -- an analogue ...
Trump summons security team, calls Iran attack 'big mistake'
President Donald Trump declared Thursday that "Iran made a very big mistake" by shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz and gathered top national security officials at the White House to discuss options. Asked earlier in the day about a U.S. response to the attack, the president said pointedly, "You'll soon find out." But he also suggested that shooting down the drone was a foolish error rather than an intentional escalation of the tensions that have led to rising fears of open military conflict. "I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth," Trump said at the White House. "I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it." On Capitol Hill, leaders urged caution to avoid escalation, and some lawmakers insisted the White House must consult with Congress before taking any actions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have advocated hardline policies against Iran, ...
Union ministers, vice president lead yoga day celebrations in Delhi
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and several Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Harsh Vardhan, led events in various parts of the national capital to mark the fifth International Day of Yoga on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country-wide celebrations in Ranchi where around 40,000 enthusiasts stretched an extra muscle in various yogic exercises at the Prabhat Tara ground. In Delhi, the celebrations played out at several venues -- from the sprawling Rajpath and the lawns of Red Fort to municipal parks, hospitals, gardens and offices with thousands of enthusiastic Delhiites performing asanas. Singh along with Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and senior BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi rolled out mats and took part in the celebrations by performing asanas at the majestic Rajpath. Traffic restrictions were imposed in parts of the city since early morning for the celebrations. Elaborate security arrangements were also put in place to ...