Page 1342 - Politics

Venezuela investigates Guaido over blackout

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for sabotage following a massive blackout, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said.

Address global concerns on cross-border terror: India, US to Pak

India and the United States on Tuesday called for Pakistan to address global concerns regarding terrorism, including that emanating from across the border. The concern was raised in an statement by the Indian Embassy here after Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and his American counterpart Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale held Foreign Office Consultations at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. "Both sides called on Pakistan to meaningfully address the concerns of the international community on terrorism, including cross-border terrorism," the statement said. Reaffirming their commitment to the Indo-US Strategic Partnership, the two diplomats reviewed progress made since the Ministerial 2+2 meeting last September and discussed ways to further expand cooperation. While cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region formed an important part of their deliberations, they also discussed counterterrorism cooperation and a range of global and regional issues .

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweets for first time

In her first twitter post, a month after she joined the social media platform, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday tweeted for the first time and invoked Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals of non-violence."In the simple dignity of Sabarmati, the truth lives on" she wrote in her very first tweet which was liked over 16,000 times and retweeted over 5,000 times.In a subsequent tweet posted after around five minutes, she shared a photograph of a room in Bapu's Sabarmati Ashram, with the chakra (spinning wheel). She accompanied the picture with a quote from the Mahatma - "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Mahatma Gandhi." Priyanka Gandhi who joined Twitter on February 11 currently has over two lakh followers on the microblogging site.The comments on twitter come hours after the first political rally on Tuesday of the newly appointed Congress general secretary in which Priyanka told ...

Pentagon begins developing missiles after exiting INF Treaty with Russia

The United States has begun work on new missiles following the decision to suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia.CNN quoted Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza as saying, "We will commence fabrication activities on components to support developmental testing of conventional, ground-launched missiles."Baldanza noted that prior to Trump administration's decision, developing of these missiles would have been "inconsistent with our obligations under the Treaty". She, however, asserted that the missile under work was non-nuclear."This research and development is designed to be reversible, should Russia return to full and verifiable compliance before we withdraw from the Treaty in August 2019," she added.US President Donald Trump suspended the historic INF Treaty, a 1987 arms-control agreement, stating that the US plans to pull out of the pact due to Russian violations.Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order suspending ...

Failure to designate Masood Azhar as global terrorist against regional stability, peace: US

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar meets the criteria to be designated as a global terrorist and not doing so is against regional stability and peace, the US said Tuesday on the eve of the UN Security Council making a crucial decision in this regard. The JeM, headed by the 50-year-old Azhar, carried out many terror strikes in India and was involved in the attack on Parliament, the Pathankot air force base, army camps in Jammu and Uri, and the latest suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama which claimed the lives of 40 personnel. In the aftermath of the February 14 attack in Pulwama, three permanent members of the UNSC - the United States, Britain and France - have moved a resolution to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. Several previous attempts by these three countries inside the UN Security Council were blocked by China, the all-weather ally of Pakistan. China, which is one of the five veto-powered members of the Security Council, so far has been asserting that there is not enough ...

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra makes Twitter debut

In her first twitter post, a month after she joined the social media platform, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday tweeted for the first time and invoked Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals of non-violence."In the simple dignity of Sabarmati, the truth lives on" she wrote in her very first tweet which was liked over 16,000 times and retweeted over 5,000 times.In a subsequent tweet posted after around five minutes, she shared a photograph of a room in Bapu's Sabarmati Ashram, with the chakra (spinning wheel). She accompanied the picture with a quote from the Mahatma - "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Mahatma Gandhi." Priyanka Gandhi who joined Twitter on February 11 currently has over two lakh followers on the microblogging site.The comments on twitter come hours after the first political rally on Tuesday of the newly appointed Congress general secretary in which Priyanka told ...

Former US vice president Biden to run for White House in 2020, says Democratic lawmaker

Former United States vice president Joe Biden will run for the White House in the upcoming presidential elections, a Democratic lawmaker has confirmed, The Hill revealed in an exclusive report.It is assumed that if Biden runs for the White House, the already crowded Democratic primary field will steer clear to make him the clear front-runner for his party's nomination against US President Donald Trump.The Hill quoted the House Democratic lawmaker as stating that the former vice president said, "I'm giving it a shot," during a phone call with lawmaker during the past week, interpreting it as a sure sign that Biden will run in 2020.According to the lawmaker, Biden also asked if he could get some campaign strategy ideas and invited him to sit down with him in person in the near future.In 2017, Biden had told a leading magazine that he has not made a decision on it yet, but is not against the idea of running for the presidency in 2020."I haven't decided to run. But I've decided I'm not ...

Pakistan criticised at UNHRC for its duplicity on Kashmir

Kashmiri political activists and intellectuals have strongly criticised Pakistan for its duplicity on Kashmir during the 40th Session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) here on Tuesday.Junaid Qureshi, a Kashmiri and director of the European Foundation of South Asian Studies (EFSAS) lambasted Pakistan for becoming a broker to China. He said, "Firstly, Pakistan invaded Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. Since then, it has been an Occupier - And now, it is a broker, as it is negotiating the sale of Gilgit Baltistan to Beijing".In collaboration with China, Pakistan's attempts to change the status of Gilgit Baltistan have increased exponentially, as the region is vital for the construction of the illegal China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).He added, "The Pakistani Supreme Court, in its verdict of 17 January 2019, rightly acknowledged that Gilgit Baltistan is a disputed territory and its status cannot be changed. However, the said disputed status of this integral part of Jammu and ..

LS Poll: Special observers for J-K meet EC chief

Special Observers Noor Mohammad, Vinod Zutshi and A.S.Gill appointed by the Election Commission for assessment of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, met with the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra on Tuesday.The election commission said, "The Commission will be regularly and on real-time basis monitoring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and will also be taking inputs from all necessary quarters and decision regarding holding Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken soon."DEC-in-charge of the State Sandeep Saxena briefed the observers about the preparedness of election in the state and gave other details as well. The Commission discussed with them about their roles and responsibilities. The three Central Observers would be visiting the state and to make a real-time assessment of the situation by meeting political parties, district and state authorities and other stakeholders.Election Commission ..

Brexit: UK Parliament rejects Theresa May's deal for second time

British Parliament on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time, tossing the UK into the unknown, 17 days before it is due to split from the European Union.Even after May secured further guarantees from Brussels over its most controversial elements the House of Commons voted by 391 to 242 to reject the deal, reported CNN.Following the rejection of the deal second time, the Members of Parliament have been promised another vote on Wednesday, wherein they can decide whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal. If that, too, is rejected, parliament could then vote on whether to request a Brexit extension.Britain is scheduled to end ties with its biggest trade partner, EU, after 46 years on March 29, However, this move can throw the nation into a state of economic chaos.Meanwhile, European Council President Donald Tusk said that the EU is "disappointed" by tonight's Brexit result. He further said that it has done "all that is possible to reach an ...

IT department of North East Region deputes additional 116 officers for LS polls

The Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, North East Region (NER) Kavita Jha on Tuesday deputed additional manpower of 116 officers and Inspectors of Income Tax Department to the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), for the duration of forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.Early on Tuesday morning, the investigation wing of NER issued deployment orders of 157 officials who will spread out over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura to monitor election expenditure and flow of black money across 112 districts.Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of seven states of North East have been officially intimated about the deployment. This deployment is under directions of Election Commission of India (ECI) to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in a bid to throttle flow of black money to influence elections since black money vitiates the purity of election process, according to ECI.The Investigation Directorate teams will monitor the movement of large ...

Foreign Secretary Gokahle meets US under Secretary of State Hale

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and the United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, David Hale on Tuesday held Foreign Office Consultations and reaffirmed their commitment to the Indo-US Strategic Partnership.The two officials held Foreign Office Consultations to review the progress made since the Ministerial 2+2 meeting and discussed ways to further expand cooperation.Furthermore, the two officials exchanged views on building convergences in the Indo-Pacific and agreed to work with each other and regional partners to promote inclusivity, stability, peace and prosperity in the region.Both sides also called on Pakistan to meaningfully address the concerns of the international community on terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.Foreign Secretary invited Under Secretary Hale to visit New Delhi for the next round of consultations.On Monday, Gokhale also met US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo.Pompeo reaffirmed US support to India in its fight against terrorism. ..

BJP will not win single seat in Jharkhand: JMM president Hemant Soren

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Hemant Soren on Tuesday said that the BJP will not win a single seat out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.The leader of the opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly said that while in some states, which had more seats, elections are being held in a single phase but in Jharkhand polling were scheduled to be conducted in four phases. Soren alleged that the lengthy schedule was planned to aid the BJP.Speaking to ANI, Soren said, "I think these Lok Sabha Election dates have been chosen so that BJP can come to power once again but the situation in Jharkhand is not so. I don't think BJP will win even a single seat in the state."Soren said the BJP had not spared any efforts in destroying the situation both in the state, led by Chief Minister Raghubar Das and at the Centre and said that BJP will not come to power again.The JMM president also said that the "maha gathbandhan" (grand alliance) of the Opposition for seat-sharing in Jharkhand for the ...

BJP, Asom Gana Parishad to ally for LS polls : Ram Madhav

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday said that the BJP and Asom Gana Parishad will jointly contest in Assam in the upcoming parliament elections with Bodoland People's Front forming the third cornerstone of the alliance.Candidates will contest for 14 constituencies in Assam in the Lok Sabha polls that will be held in the state in three phases beginning April 11 and ending April 23. "BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have decided to work together in the coming Parliament election in Assam to defeat Congress. Bodoland People's Front will be the third partner in the alliance" Madhav, who is also in charge of the Assam BJP.The AGP had snapped ties with the BJP in January after differences over the Citizenship (Ammendment) Bill 2016.The AGP along with Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and BJP had contested the 2016 Assam Assembly polls and formed the government unseating the Congress that had ruled the state for three consecutive terms since 2001.The Election Commission of India on ...

UK Parliament rejects May's Brexit deal again

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected again by MPs in the second meaningful vote in the UK Parliament since January, increasing uncertainty about how the country will leave the European Union.

US says Algerians have right to 'free and fair' elections

The United States said Tuesday it supports the right of the Algerian people to "free and fair elections," amid fears that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seeking to prolong his two-decade rule. In a surprise announcement Monday, the ailing 82-year-old Bouteflika said he would not stand for a fifth term -- but also cancelled next month's presidential election in the North African country. "We support the rights of the Algerian people to vote in free and fair elections," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said, after thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Algiers on Tuesday. Palladino did not directly address Bouteflika's decision, simply saying: "We're closely monitoring reports that Algeria's elections have been postponed." "We support efforts in Algeria to charter a new path forward based on dialogue that reflects the will of all Algerians and their aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous future," he said. "We respect the rights of the Algerians to assemble ..

Theresa May loses crunch vote in another massive Brexit defeat

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday suffered yet another massive Parliament defeat over Brexit when MPs overwhelmingly rejected her withdrawal agreement by 149 votes, leaving the March 29 deadline for the deal hanging in the balance. MPs voted in the House of Commons against the terms of Britain's so-called divorce from the European Union (EU) by 391 to 242. While this marked a smaller defeat than the 230-vote margin with which they rejected her deal back in January, it was a decisive rejection of government strategy even after May had claimed significant changes to the controversial Irish backstop clause had been achieved. The British PM made a statement to the Commons soon after the bruising result was announced to confirm that Parliament will vote on a new motion on Wednesday to decide if the UK should leave the EU within the March 29 deadline without any deal in place. In an unusual move, she revealed that all Conservative Party MPs will be given a free vote on the issue

Election Commission transfers Shillong poll officer

Ahead of the first phase Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday transferred two Meghalaya officials, including Returning Officer for Shillong parliamentary seat, Matsiewdor War Nongbri and replaced her with Abhishek Bhagotia, an official said.

Kejriwal cites AAP's survey to attack BJP over Pulwama

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday cited an internal survey of his party to claim that 56 per cent people feel the BJP will suffer electoral losses because of its "conduct" regarding the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent Indo-Pakistan tensions. Hitting back, the BJP said it was a "shame" that Kejriwal was "weighing the profit and loss" of the heroic action of the country's soldiers. Kejriwal at a press conference said the survey commissioned by the AAP portrayed the BJP's handling of the conflict between India and Pakistan in "negative" light among people. Later he took to Twitter, saying 56 per cent people in the survey feel the BJP will suffer electoral losses because of its "conduct". Replying to a Twitter user, Kejriwal said, "The question was - will BJP gain or lose becoz of Pulwama and subsequent Indo-Pak tensions?" In a stinging attack, BJP legislator Vijender Gupta said Pulwama terror attack and its revenge taken by the Air Force at Balakot are political ...

Maharashtra opposition leader's son joins BJP

Sujay Vikhe Patil, the son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, joined the BJP here Tuesday, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. His decision came after the Sharad Pawar-led NCP's refusal to leave aside the Ahmedanagar Lok Sabha seat. Sujay Vikhe Patil, a neurosurgeon by profession and son of the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party chief Raosaheb Danve at an event held in south Mumbai. Welcoming him into the BJP-fold, Fadnavis said his party's parliamentary committee will recommend his name for the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat. "When Sujay Vikhe Patil decided to join the BJP, he did not lay down any condition. We in the BJP believe in his capacity, and would recommend his name to the BJP's central parliamentary committee," he said. Dilip Gandhi is the BJP's sitting MP from Ahmednagar. Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan hit out at the BJP for inducting Sujay and dubbed it the ...