Page 1441 - Politics
2 Cong MLAs, one TDP legislator to join TRS in Telangana
: In aboost to the ruling TRS in the March 12 Legislative Council elections in Telangana, two MLAs of the Congress and one TDP MLA announced their decision to join the TRS. TDP MLA from Sattupalle Sandra Venkata Veeraiah Sunday said he had decided to join the TRS in the interest of development of his constituency. "It would be an injustice to people who made me win (the election), if I cannot develop it. That is the only objective. I am not changing party with selfishness or for my personal reasons," Veeraiah said. Veeraiah met Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday and urged him to release irrigation water to save crops in his native Khammam district which was accepted. Two Congress MLAs -- Rega KanthaRao (Pinapaka) and Atram Sakku (Asifabad)-- said Saturday night they had decided to join TRS in the interest of development and welfare of STs. They said they would consult legal experts and quit assembly membership and seek fresh mandate if necessary. The strength .
Syria's Kurds set free nearly 300 IS-linked Syrians
Nearly 300 Syrians suspected of belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group have been freed because they have "no blood on their hands", Kurdish authorities who were holding them said. Their release was announced late Saturday by the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration of northern Syria, which said in a statement that 283 Syrians had been set free. Tribal chiefs and other local officials had lobbied for their release. The statement said they were men who "have no Syrian blood on their hands", suggesting that they did not take part in any fighting. "They had lost their way... violated the traditions of the Syrian society and the law, and some of them had been deceived... but they remain our Syrian children," it said. Releasing them is a gesture of "cooperation, fraternity and clemency," said the statement posted on the website of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The prisoners were released in several areas of northern Syria held by Kurds, including the ..
Six fishery officials suspended in Assam
Assam government has suspended six officials of the Fisheries Department with immediate effect for alleged negligence and malpractices in their duties. The action was taken against the officials in accordance with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's zero tolerance towards corruption, an official communique said Saturday. The Fisheries Department has taken the decision to suspend the officials under rule 6 (1) of the Assam Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rule 1964 on the charge of negligence of government duty and for their involvement in malpractices in distribution of inputs among beneficiaries of different government schemes, it said. The officials include five Fishery Demonstrators and one Assistant Fishery Officer from Sonitpur, Kamrup, Goalpara and Nagaon districts.
Photo of Iran opposition leader, wife shared despite ban
A new photo of an Iranian opposition leader and his activist wife who have been held under house arrest for eight years is spreading on social media in the country. The Twitter account of the reformist Etemad daily published the image early on Sunday of Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, without a story. The photo was not published in the paper's Sunday edition. Authorities have banned media from publishing their images after they were put under house arrest in 2011. Mousavi emerged as opposition leader during Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, already under fire by hard-liners for his unraveling nuclear deal, faces criticism from reformists over failing to free the two as he had pledged during his election campaigns in 2013 and 2017.
Armed forces quelling terror, oppn seeking proof of their bravery: PM
Hitting out at opposition parties for questioning the recent air strike in Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the armed forces were busy quelling terror, but the Congress and its allies are not convinced with their act of bravery. The statements made by the opposition parties after the preemptive air strike on terror camps have made only people of Pakistan happy, he claimed. India conducted air strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 26. "When the country needed to speak in one voice, 21 opposition parties gathered in Delhi to adopt a resolution condemning us. They are demanding proof from the armed forces for their act of bravery," the PM said at the BJP's Sankalp rally at Gandhi Maidan here. He alleged that the opposition parties were "conspiring" against him, he said. "While I want to eliminate terror, opposition parties are conspiring to finish me," Modi said. "At a time when our armed forces are .
Israel hits Hamas sites after balloons with 'explosive device'
Israeli aircraft have struck two Hamas observation points in the Gaza Strip, a security source said Sunday, after the army reported balloons carrying an "explosive device" were sent toward Israel. No injuries occurred from the strikes late Saturday east of Al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip and east of Rafah in the south of the blockaded enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas, according to a Hamas security source. The strikes occurred after a "cluster of balloons carrying an explosive device was launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory," the Israeli army said in a statement. "No injuries or damage were reported," it said. Late Wednesday, Israeli aircraft targeted several militant sites in Gaza after an "explosive balloon" launched from the Palestinian enclave damaged a house in Israel. Palestinians in Gaza have for months been sporadically launching balloons with incendiary and explosive devices at southern Israel in parallel with weekly protests and clashes taking ...
TDP MLA decides to join TRS
In a jolt to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Telangana, one of its two legislators on Sunday decided to switch loyalties to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
PM Modi, BJP using situation in J-K to cover up their failures: Mayawati
"The country is worried about the terror attacks happening in Jammu and Kashmir for the last few days. It is not hidden from the people how BJP and especially PM Modi are trying to hide their failures in the garb of what is happening there," she said while addressing party workers in Lucknow.Mayawati called the meeting to give guidelines to BSF workers on the party's alliance with SP.Earlier, she had criticised PM Modi for "ignoring" matters of national security and trying to serve political interests."At a time when India is facing hostility and the country needs firm leadership, PM Narendra Modi, instead of concentrating on the matters of national security, is trying to serve political interests by addressing BJP workers. It is ridiculous, besides betrayal of national sentiments," she had said.Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have decided to contest 37 and 38 Lok Sabha seats respectively in Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has gone to the .
Naidu to visit Paraguay, Costa Rica
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will be visiting Paraguay and Costa Rica between March 5-9, in the first high-level visit from India to the two countries.
Acknowledgement note for Bengal's health scheme beneficiaries
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be sending a letter of acknowledgement to all beneficiaries of a state-run health scheme, wishing them well, a top bureaucrat at the state secretariat said Sunday. The chief minister's office has sought the database of 'Swasthya Sathi' scheme from all government hospitals, as part of the public outreach programme, he said. "The families of the beneficiaries would be getting a letter signed by the chief minister as an acknowledgement for taking free treatment under the scheme," the official said. According to the bureaucrat, the director of health services would be sending Banerjee's letter to all government hospital superintendents, chief medical officers, sub-division and block-level health centres for its distribution among patients, who received free treatment between March 1, 2018 and February 28, 2019. The draft letter written by the CM said, "The state government was happy to include the beneficiary in the 'Free of ..
PML-N chief meets Nawaz Sharif; briefs him on Indo-Pak tensions
Pakistan's Opposition Leader and PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif met his elder brother, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in a jail here and briefed him on the latest geopolitical situation, especially the tensions with India, according to a media report. Sharif, 69, is serving a seven-year imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. "The purpose of the meeting on Saturday was to brief him (Nawaz) on the latest geopolitical situation, especially the tensions with India," the Express Tribune reported, quoting party sources. Court cases against the Sharif family were also discussed during the meeting. Shehbaz also inquired about Nawaz's health, the paper said. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM ..
Brother meets Nawaz Sharif in jail, apprises him of India-Pak tension
Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz chief Shehbaz Sharif has met his brother and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in the Kot Lakhpat Jail and apprised him of tension between India and Pakistan.According to The Express Tribune, he also discussed court cases against the family and inquired about the Sharif's health during his meeting with the former Prime Minister.Nawaz Sharif was shifted to Jinnah Hospital on February 15 after he complained of fever, stomachache and headache. However, he was later moved to the jail after Islamabad High Court last week rejected his petition seeking bail on medical grounds.Relations between India and Pakistan reached a new low following the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent strike by Indian Air Force (IAF) deep inside Pakistan. Soon after the IAF strike, Shehbaz Sharif urged India to refrain from plunging the region into war. On February 14, around 40 CRPF personnel were killed after a terrorist affiliated to Pakistan-sponsored ...
Centre should provide 'solid proof' of IAF air strike: Digvijaya Singh
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the central government should provide 'solid proof' of the IAF air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot."I am not raising questions on the operation, but this is the technical age and satellite pictures are possible. Like USA had given solid proof of the Osama bin Laden operation to the world, we should also do it for our air strike," Singh said addressing media here on Saturday.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday asked the central government to spell out "details" of the exact place where the air raids were carried out and the casualties inflicted as international media has claimed that there was no damage in the strikes."We, as the Opposition, want to know the details of the air strike. Where were the bombs dropped? How many people died? I was reading the New York Times and Washington Post and they said that there were no casualties. Some media houses said one died. We want to know the ...
Shares of JF-17 plane-maker's sister company in China surged after former Pak officer's tweet: Report
Shares of Chinese JF-17 fighter jet manufacturer's sister company surged after a former Pakistani officer's tweet claiming the planes were used by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to shoot down Indian military aircraft, according to a media report.Retired PAF Air Marshal Shahid Latif had early on Wednesday tweeted, "Proud to announce, I was project director for JF-17 Thunder programme jointly produced by Pakistan and China during the [2001-2008] tenure of general Pervez Musharraf.""Today, same jets targeted and shot down Indian jets which entered Pakistani airspace." he wrote.Less than two hours after this tweet, shares of Shenzhen-listed Sichuan Chengfei Integration Technology (CAC-SCIT), a sister company of JF-17 maker Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), rose 10 per cent in five minutes - hitting the maximum daily rise allowed on the Chinese stock market, reported the South China Morning Post.China has refused to confirm the claim made by Latif that JF-17 fighters were used by PAF to shoot .
We should live in Netherlands: British-Bangladeshi IS bride's husband
The husband of Shamima Begum, a British teenager of Bangladeshi descent who ran away in 2015 to become an Islamic State (IS) jihadi bride, has said that he wants her to return to the Netherlands with him.
Posters opposing Modi crop up in Amethi
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit on Sunday to Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, posters opposing him have cropped up in many parts of the Uttar Pradesh district.
Cong, NCP reach out to Ambedkar to join anti-BJP front
Opposition Congress and NCP in Maharashtra have reached out to Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar to join their anti-BJP coalition and asked him to send them a draft of how to bring the RSS under the constitutional framework. Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of architect of the Constitution late B R Ambedkar and head of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, has put conditions for joining the anti-BJP 'maha aghadi' (grand alliance) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. These include 12 Lok Sabha seats (out of the total 48 in Maharashtra) for his party and an action plan from the Congress on bringing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) under the constitutional framework. Senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and NCP state chief Jayant Patil on Friday wrote a joint letter to Prakash Ambedkar, urging him to join their alliance to fight against the BJP and the Modi government in a bid to "protect the Constitution and democracy". "In your public rallies, we hear you want a written statement ..
'Fake' Twitter account named after IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman
A fake account, named after Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, has been created on micro-blogging site Twitter, according to government sources.Varthaman returned home from Pakistan on Friday, two days after he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army when he bailed out from a MiG 21 fighter jet and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The Twitter handle "@Abhinandan_wc", which was formed last month itself, has over 2,000 followers. Several posts have been made from this account in English and Tamil.However, government sources confirmed that the account does not belong to Varthaman.In one of the photographs shared on the account, Abhinandan can be seen with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The two met on Saturday.Another post shows Abhinandan with his family.After a delay of over five hours, Varthaman stepped on the Indian soil through Wagah border, Amritsar in Punjab, on Friday night at 9.20 pm.The pilot was captured by Pakistan Army on Wednesday ...
Modi to share stage with Nitish Kumar in Patna rally
Thousands of people have gathered in Patna on Sunday to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar share the stage at the NDA's Sankalp rally.
AAP eyes Mamata, Naidu for LS poll campaign
Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), disgruntled BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha -- who has quit the saffron party -- are among the top leaders the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is looking at inviting to be the star campaigners in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal holding center-stage, a party leader said.