Page 130 - Politics
Iran writes to UN alleging the downed US drone was engaged in spying
Iran on Thursday wrote to the United Nations, alleging that the US military drone shot by the Islamic Republic over the Strait of Hormuz was in a "full stealth mode" and engaged in a spying operation."A US unmanned aircraft system, taken off from one of the bases of the US military forces in the South of the Persian Gulf, conducted an overflight through the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation", Iran's Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi, said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.Ravanchi added that the Iranian military gave repeated radio warnings to the US drone before downing it after it entered the country's airspace, Sputnik reported."When the [US] aircraft was returning towards the western parts of the region near the Strait of Hormuz, despite repeated radio warnings, it entered into the Iranian airspace where the air defence system of the Islamic ..
Yoga, one of PM Modi's biggest achievements of cultural diplomacy: Rajnath
On the 5th International Yoga Day on Friday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participated in an early morning yoga session at Rajpath here and said that yoga was one of the biggest achievements of cultural diplomacy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi."It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who helped get Yoga international recognition. This was one of the biggest achievements of his cultural diplomacy," Rajnath said here after attending the yoga session along with a large number of people.The Union Minister also took to Twitter to say: "I urge everyone to make Yoga an integral part of their lives."While Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked Yoga Day in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, Union Ministers, BJP leaders and top government functionaries are participating in similar events across the country.Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar performed Yoga in Rohtak.Newly-elected Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla took part in an event on the premises of the ...
North says Kim, China's Xi discussed Korean Peninsula issues
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held broad discussions over the political situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula and called for stronger bilateral ties in the face of "serious and complicated changes" in the region, the North's state media said Friday. The Korean Central News Agency said the leaders reached "shared understanding" on the issues they discussed but the report did not give any specifics on the stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament. "The supreme leaders .... broadly exchanged their opinions on the political situation of the Korean Peninsula and other serious international and regional issues," the KCNA said. They assessed that deepening their relationship was in line with the "mutual interest of the two countries in face of serious and complicated changes in the environment and would be favorable for the region's peace, stability and ...
Gou cedes Foxconn control as he eyes Taiwan presidency
Taiwan's richest man Terry Gou said Friday he would cede control of his company Foxconn to a committee, leaving the Apple-supplier tech behemoth in uncharted waters while he runs for president. Gou has been at the helm of Foxconn, the world's largest electronics assembler, for more than four decades but has set his sights on becoming Taiwan's next president. The island goes to the polls in January, with the contest set to be dominated by relations with China. Gou -- whose company is China's largest private employer -- is seeking to run as presidential candidate for the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) although he still has to win a party primary. As that contest intensifies, Gou announced plans to hand the reins at Foxconn to a nine-member committee of trusted lieutenants. "I have decided to fade out of Hon Hai and it's been decided that the company's operations will be handed over to the nine-member team in the operations committee," Gou said at the start of a shareholder meeting, ..
Johnson faces Hunt in battle to be British PM
Boris Johnson will face Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a run-off to become Britain's next leader after a final ballot of MPs on Thursday, with the winner tasked with guiding the country through Brexit. In the fifth round of voting, former foreign minister Johnson secured the support of 160 out of 313 Conservative lawmakers, while his successor and rival Hunt won 77. Johnson, a former London mayor, said he was "deeply honoured" to have such emphatic backing from his colleagues. "I look forward to getting out across the UK and to set out my plan to deliver Brexit, unite our country, and create a brighter future for all of us," he tweeted. Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who with Johnson had led the successful 2016 referendum campaign to leave the European Union, was narrowly eliminated after winning 75 votes. The contest to replace Theresa May as prime minister will now move to around 160,000 grassroots Conservative party members, with the winner installed in Downing Street before
Hundreds converge on Hong Kong parliament in fresh anti-govt demo
Hundreds of protesters poured into Hong Kong's main government complex early Friday to demand the resignation of its pro-Beijing leader over a controversial extradition proposal that has sparked the city'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 this month to oppose a bill that would have enabled extraditions to the Chinese mainland -- and the movement has transformed into a larger rebuke of the administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Opposition groups had called for the complete withdrawal of the legislation and for Lam to step down. People starting converging at the complex around 7:00 am (2300 GMT Thursday), many dressed in black -- the colour of choice at the rally on Sunday that organisers said drew millions, making it the largest in Hong Kong's history. Protesters, who have been largely leaderless during the anti-government rallies, were asked to "hold ...
Iran FM gives location drone shot down after 'violated Iranian airspace'
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday a US surveillance drone "violated Iranian airspace" before being shot down earlier in the day, providing coordinates to back his claim. The drone "was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (2559'43"N 5702'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak. We've retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down.
Guatemala to hold vote recount over poll fraud allegations
Guatemala will hold a total vote recount after fraud allegations in the wake of last Sunday's presidential and legislative elections, the country's Supreme Electoral Court announced Thursday. Court president Julio Solorzoano told journalists in the Central American country that he had ordered a recount to "clarify disagreements." Speaking at a news conference, Solorzoano said the recount would begin on Monday. Center-left former First Lady Sandra Torres leads the presidential poll with 25.7 percent of the vote, ahead of conservative Alejandro Giammattei, with 14 percent. Both had been expected to contest the August 11 run-off round before Thursday's announcement. The leftist Movement for the Liberation of Peoples -- whose candidate Thelma Cabrera came fifth in the presidential race -- denounced "evident electoral fraud." Solorzoano said he had invited Cabrera and her party to the court to check her complaint. The tumultuous campaign to succeed outgoing President Jimmy Morales saw two .
Iran says downed US drone recovered in its territorial waters
Iran said Thursday it had recovered parts of a US spy drone in its territorial waters, after downing the aircraft in a missile strike slammed by President Donald Trump as a "big mistake." Under pressure to respond to the high-stakes incident in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where a series of tanker attacks have sent tensions soaring with Iran, Trump initially struck a combative tone. "Iran made a very big mistake!" he tweeted in response to news Iran had shot down the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft -- which the Pentagon says was above international waters at the time. "This country will not stand for it, that I can tell you," he said later at the White House. But as the overnight incident whipped up fears of open conflict between the United States and its declared foe Iran -- sending crude oil prices up more than six percent -- Trump moved swiftly 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 ...
EU leaders to hold June 30 crisis summit on bloc's top jobs
EU leaders will hold a crisis summit on June 30 to decide on names for the bloc's top jobs after lengthy talks in Brussels failed to produce an accord, EU Council president Donald Tusk said. "The European Council has had a full discussion of nominations," he said. "There was no majority on any candidate," he added of the multiple positions being discussed. "The European Council agreed that there has to be a package reflecting the diversity of the EU. We will meet again on June 30." The 28 heads of government had met for dinner after Brussels' main political factions refused to fall into line behind a single choice to head the European Commission.
US Senate votes to block arms sale to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan
The US Senate on Thursday voted to block the Trump administration from selling arms to three Middle Eastern countries, namely Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan, without congressional review.The vote reflects the US lawmakers' discontent with the Donald Trump-led government's decision to invoke an "emergency" provision of the Arms Export Control Act to complete the sales to the three countries to deter Iranian threats in the region, according to Xinhua.The emergency allows the Trump government to bypass congressional review to complete the USD 8.1 billion arms sale.The humanitarian crisis in Yemen and journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder were cited as the reasons behind the US Senate's latest decision. Several Republicans also backed the step."These partnerships are not a blank check for weapons and direct support for a campaign that is decidedly working against US interests in the region," Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said on Thursday.However, US media reports suggest that the White ..
Russia not striving for Soviet-like superpower status: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that the country does not want to be a superpower like the erstwhile Soviet Union as it does not seek to impose influence on other states."We are not looking for this status because this notion is loaded with certain elements connected to imposing the influence on other states and whole regions. We do not want to go back to the state that the Soviet Union was in when it was imposing the lifestyle, political system and the rest on its neighbours, including the Eastern European countries," the Russian President said during a televised question-and-answer session."This is counterproductive, this is too costly and does not have any historical prospects," he added.The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) spanned across Eurasia and consisted of 15 SSRs in its final years, according to Britannica. It collapsed in 1991, leading to the SSRs gaining self-governing independence.
Naidu did not give consent to 4 TDP MPs to join BJP: Galla Jayadev
Hours after four of its Rajya Sabha MPs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Parliamentary leader Galla Jayadev said, party chief N Chandrababu Naidu did not give his consent to the move, adding that the claims made by the MPs that their decision is in the interest of the party and its supremo, is 'wrong'."The 4 MPs are propagating that this is to help Chandrababu Naidu or for good of TDP which is absolutely wrong. I want to dismiss that completely. C Naidu has not asked or consented them to go. So the question of them doing it for his sake is absolutely false and malicious," Jayadev said while speaking to ANI.This comes after four TDP Rajya Sabha MPs - YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh, TG Venkatesh and GM Rao passed a resolution to merge Legislature Party of TDP with BJP and later joined BJP."We are assessing the situation behind the resolution of the four MPs to merge legislative party of the TDP with BJP. We are understanding if it's legally possible or not,"
US releases flight path image of drone downed by Iran
The United States released an image of the flight path undertaken by its military drone which was downed by Iran over the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.While Iran has claimed that the "intruding American spy drone" was shot as it was in their airspace, Washington has labelled it as "an unprovoked attack." They claim that the US drone was flying over international waters when it was attacked.Released by the US Department of Defence, the image supports the United States' claim that the drone was not in Iranian territory when it was shot down, according to Sputnik. In the image, the RQ-4 Global Hawk's flight path shows it was over international waters.Iran, on the other hand, has also released a video and images backing their claim. The two countries' respective proof is similar until the final moments before the unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down.While the US President initially called the incident a "very big mistake" on Iran's part in a tweet, he later took a more restrained stand while
UK: Race for PM's post down to Johnson, Hunt
Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his successor Jeremy Hunt on Thursday emerged as the last two politicians vying for the Prime Minister's post following incumbent PM Theresa May's resignation.313 Conservative MPs chose the two after the fifth and final voting, CNN reported.While Johnson emerged as the frontrunner with 160 votes, Hunt trailed behind with 77 votes. He surpassed Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who garnered 75 votes, by a close margin.May formally resigned as the Conservative Party's head on June 7, citing her failure to pass the Brexit Agreement in the British Parliament as the reason behind her decision. She continues as the country's Prime Minister until her successor is chosen.11 MPs set off their campaign for the party's top post after May's resignation, as the leader of the Tories will automatically undertake the role of the Prime Minister.1,60,000 grassroots Conservative Party members across the UK are slated to vote to choose the next ...
Exit of four leaders won't cause any loss: Chandrababu Naidu
TDP national president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said that exit of four leaders from his party will not cause any loss."There is no loss for the party even if four leaders leave," Naidu said adding that "party cadres and supporters are the strength of the TDP."Chandrababu Naidu, who is on Europe tour, released a press communique after Rajya Sabha members of the party joined the BJP.The communique read, "TDP fought with BJP for special category status only for the sake of state development. Keeping that in mind, BJP poaching TDP MLAs is condemnable. Those leaders leaving the party will regret in future. One or two leaders might leave the party flag for selfish motives, but the party has lakhs of workers. Those MPs saying that they will work for state interest by joining BJP which did grave injustice to the state is sheer opportunism. BJP started playing mind game hardly within four weeks of election results. We strongly condemn such ...
JD(S) appoints Sudhakar K as head of PCB
JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka on Thursday appointed Congress MLA Sudhakar K as the chairman of the state Pollution Control Board.Taking to Twitter, Sudhakar confirmed his appointment and thanked AICC chief Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah, chief minister Kumaraswamy, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and party colleagues. "I thank my leader AICC president Rahul Gandhi ji, My leader Siddaramaiah ji, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy ji, AICC Gen Sec KC Venugopal ji, DCM G Parameshwar ji, KPCC Pres Dinesh Gundu Rao ji & all my party colleagues who have vested their belief in me to chair the KSPCB," he wrote.Sudhakar, who had earlier refrained from becoming a part of the coalition cabinet, was recommended by Congress for the State Pollution Control Board for the post. However, the appointment did not get a nod from the chief minister.Interestingly, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy had ...
Siddaramaiah is 'not good' at politics: H Vishwanath
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): A day after the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) was dissolved barring the president and the working president, former Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) president H Vishwanath on Thursday hit out at former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying he is "not good" at politics and he would have suspended him if he was in Congress."Siddramiah is not good at politics. He would have suspended me if I were in Congress. Senior Congress MLA Roshan Baig was suspended because of him," H Vishwanath said.Baig was recently suspended for anti-parties activities. After his suspension, disgruntled Baig alleged that he was being targetted, stating that Siddaramaiah could be the reason behind his suspension from the party.Echoing similar sentiments, a senior Congress leader, who was a member of Congress Working Committee, said: "Siddramaiah has brought JDS fight into the Congress party. He is trying to destabilise the state government.""KPCC president Dinesh ...
US drone was 'in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down,' says Iranian FM
Outrightly dismissing US claims regarding the issue, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Thursday said that parts of the downed US drone were retrieved from Iran's territorial waters "where it was shot down."The already volatile US-Iran relationship has further aggravated after the downing of the US military drone by Iran on Thursday.While Iran has claimed that the "intruding American spy drone" was shot as it was in their airspace, Washington has labelled it as "an unprovoked attack." They claim that the US drone was flying over international waters when it was attacked."At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode and violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25deg59'43"N 57deg02'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak," Zarif tweeted."We've retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down," he said while completely rejecting the US' statement.US President Donald Trump showed restraint while talking about the ...
Trump advisor Bolton to hold 'regional security' talks in Israel
US National Security Advisor John Bolton will travel to Israel at the weekend for "regional security talks" with top Russian and Israeli officials, the White House said Thursday amid spiking tensions with Iran. Bolton will meet Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, followed by talks with his Israeli and Russian counterparts, Meir Ben-Shabbat and Nikolai Patrushev, NSC spokesman Garrett Marquis said. Bolton also will meet with the director general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission Zeev Snir. The NSC announcement came just hours after Iran shot down a US drone in what Washington called an unprovoked attack. Tehran said the drone, a high-flying Global Hawk, was brought down with a surface-to-air missile after it entered its airspace. The US military said the drone was in international airspace. "Iran made a very big mistake!" US President Donald Trump tweeted. It was the latest of a series of incidents in and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz that have sent ...