Page 1541 - Politics
Time for global community to 'unite and act' to completely eradicate terror networks: PM Modi
Making a veiled attack on Pakistan's continued support to cross-border terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the time has come for the global community to "unite and act" to completely eradicate terror networks and their financing supply channels. Asserting that India has suffered the pain of cross-border terrorism for over 40 years, Modi said the country's endeavour towards peaceful developments has only too often been derailed by this menace. Modi, who is in Seoul on a two-day visit to South Korea, expressed his gratitude for the host country's support to India after the attack by a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Addressing the media after his talks with President Moon Jae-in, Modi said that the time has come when the world, going beyond talks, should "unite and act" against terrorism. Later, speaking at an event after receiving the prestigious ...
Killings of Youth Cong activists 'heinous', guilty will face action: Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday termed as "heinous" the recent killings of two Youth Congress activists in Kasaragod and said stern action would be taken against the guilty. The Youth Congress workers, Kripesh (24) and Sarath Lal (21), were allegedly waylaid and hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Kasargod district late on Sunday night. They were returning home after attending a function in Periya. "The murder of two Youth Congress workers was heinous. There is no need protect those who commit such heinous crimes. That's why party (CPI-M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan openly denied the party's role in the incident," Vijayan said. The government would take strong action against those who have committed the crime, he said, addressing workers of Communist Party of India (Marxist) after laying the foundation stone of the party's new district committee office in Kasargod. Hitting out at the Congress, Vijayan said after the murder of the two activists, the party ...
Ireland preparing for no-deal Brexit 'emergency': minister
Ireland faces an "emergency situation" if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, the country's foreign minister warned Friday, as the government published a draft legislation aimed at softening the blow. The law is now expected to be approved by parliament but would not be enacted if Britain leaves with a deal. "The country potentially faces an emergency situation which we are preparing for now in as comprehensive a way as we can", Simon Coveney told reporters. "A disorderly Brexit will be a lose-lose-lose -- for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland. We cannot offset all of the damage that it will do but we are doing everything that we can," he said. The so-called "Brexit omnibus bill" contains 15 parts, intending to limit disruption in provision of healthcare, power distribution, travel, immigration and student financial support between Britain and Ireland. It also contains substantial alterations to taxation arrangements, should Britain become a "third country" by leaving the trading ..
Can't influence my dad-CM to include woman in Cabinet: Kavitha
As Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao came under attack for not inducting a woman member into the cabinet, his daughter and Telangana Rashtra Samiti Lok Sabha member K Kavitha said Friday she can't influence her father to do so. Senior BJP leader in Telangana G Kishan Reddy recently hit out at Rao for not inducting women members in his recently expanded Cabinet and sought registration of a case against him. The Chief Minister, who assumed charge on December 13 for the second time after TRS returned to power, has come under criticism for not giving representation to women in the Cabinet, which was expanded on Tuesday with induction of ten members. In his first term Cabinet also, none of the women members secured a berth. During an interaction at the Indian School of Business here, Kavitha said no political party, including the TRS, gave "equal space" to women in politics. This issue would get addressed only if it's mandated by Parliament or the Election Commission, she ..
Russia says US aid to Venezuela a 'pretext for military action'
Russia on Friday accused the United States of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "A dangerous provocation, instigated and led by Washington, is planned for February 23," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, pointing to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Guaido's plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide "a convenient pretext for conducting military action". Russia is a key supporter of Maduro's government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela. On Thursday, Guaido set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied food and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday. Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian ...
Government calls for increased investment by Asean companies in India
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have huge opportunities for cooperation, especially in the MSME sector, and Asean companies can increase their investments in India in areas like medical devices, fishing and ship-building, the government said on Friday.
EC team to visit J&K on March 4 and 5 to assess ground situation
An Election Commission team will visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 4 and 5 to assess the ground situation for holding the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls in the state, officials said.
Shah lambasts DMK-Congress combine, says its synonymous with
Tearing into the DMK-Congress combine, BJP president Amit Shah Friday reminded the country about the 2G spectrum and other scams during the previous UPA regime and sought to know how such an alliance can give good governance. He dared presidents of DMK M K Stalin and Congress Rahul Gandhi to give an account of the contribution for Tamil Nadu's development during the previous UPA regime and said they only have "accounts for corruption". Shah was addressing BJP workers here two days after the DMK and Congress finalised their seat-sharing exercise for the coming Lok Sabha elections under which the Rahul Gandhi-led party has been allocated 10 of the 40 seats including the lone Puducherry. Referring to the recent Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead in Jammu and Kashmir, he asserted that the the blood shed by the soldiers will not go in vain. He said the NDA government had a "zero tolerance towards terrorism." On the focus of development by the Narendra Modi
Apna Dal, SBSP accuse BJP of not taking care of allies; threaten to part ways
The BJP's key allies in Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) have expressed "displeasure" with the saffron party for allegedly not taking care of its alliance partners and said they were "open" to taking their own course of action in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. While the Apna Dal said it was "free to make its own decision", the SBSP went a step ahead asserting that its option to join the SP-BSP alliance in the state for the upcoming general elections was open. "Some differences cropped up between the Apna Dal and the BJP. We had given them time till February 20 to resolve the issues, but there is no answer from the BJP. It appears they are not interested in taking care of their allies," Apna Dal leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel on Friday told reporters in Bareilly. "Now, the Apna Dal is free to make its own decision. A party meeting has been called to chalk out our future course of action," she said. The party, a crucial ally of the ..
Stalin, Rajinikanth call on DMDK leader Vijayakant
DMK President M.K. Stalin and actor Rajinikanth on Friday called on DMDK founder A. Vijayakant to enquire about his health.
Opposition meet to discuss common agenda postponed to Feb 27
A meeting of opposition leaders to discuss a common minimum programme (CMP) has been postponed from February 26 to February 27, informed sources said on Friday.
Ninth Labour MP quits as UK cross-party rebellion grows
A ninth lawmaker quit Britain's main opposition Labour Party on Friday, blaming leader Jeremy Corbyn's handling of accusations of anti-Semitism within its ranks. Ian Austin's resignation adds to a mounting rebellion against Corbyn after the defections earlier this week of eight Labour MPs over the issues of anti-Semitism and Brexit. Austin said he was "appalled at the offence and distress Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party have caused to Jewish people" and that he had become "ashamed" of its conduct under the left-wing opposition leader. "It is terrible that a culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance is driving out good MPs and decent people who have committed their life to mainstream politics," he told the Express & Star, his constituency's local newspaper. "The hard left is now in charge of the party, they're going to get rid of lots of decent mainstream MPs and I just can't see how it can return to the mainstream party that won elections and changed the country for ..
J&K govt moves SC for transfer of 7 Pakistani terrorists out of Jammu jail
A plea by the Jammu and Kashmir government in the Supreme Court Friday sought transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from Jammu jail to Tihar in the national capital, alleging they were 'indoctrinating' local prisoners. The seven terrorists are: Waqas Manzoor alias Qazir, Mohd Abdullah alias Abu Tallah and Zaffar Iqbal of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT); Zubair Talha Zarror alias Talha (LeT) from Multan in Pakistan and arrested in 2013; Mohd Ali Hussain (LeT) arrested in 2014; Hafeez Ahmed Baloch of terrorist group Al-Badr arrested in 2006 and Zia Mustafa accused of killing of 24 Kashmiri pandits at Nadimarg area of Shopian district in South Kashmir in 2003. A bench of Justices L N Rao and M R Shah sought a response from Centre and the Delhi government on the plea and issue notice. The bench tagged the pleas along with the earlier petition filed by the state government for shifting of one Pakistani terrorist Zahid Farooq, who was affiliated to LeT, and said it will hear all the petitions ...
US, Russian envoys discuss Afghan peace in Turkey
The US peace envoy for Afghanistan has met his Russian counterpart in the Turkish capital for talks on efforts to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The Russian Embassy in Ankara announced on Twitter Friday that it was hosting a meeting between Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Afghanistan. Khalilzad has stepped up efforts to find a peace deal for Afghanistan and held several rounds of direct talks with the Taliban. He will hold another round on Monday. The two sides have focused their talks on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and measures to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a staging arena for terrorists to attack the United States. Russia has also emerged as an influential player by hosting Afghan talks.
Mulayam's flip-flops to benefit BJP and singe BSP-SP alliance?
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and founder of the Samajwadi Party (SP) Mulayam Singh Yadav continues to baffle his own party leaders and political observers alike by repeatedly making statements that can benefit the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and embarrass his son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
China: Forced aid entry into Venezuela can trigger conflict
China on Friday said that the forced entry of humanitarian aid into Venezuela could lead to conflict and warned that Beijing opposed military intervention in the country.
Cong will try to build Ram temple if elected to power : Rawat
Describing Congress as the only party which had taken serious steps in the past towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said Friday that the party will try its best to fulfill the demand if it comes to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. "My statement on Ayodhya is already in public domain. I have been saying that if elected to power at the Centre, the congress will try its best to build a Ram temple there. My stand on the issue should also be considered as the party's view," Rawat said at a press conference here. He said even senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had acknowledged the fact during an interaction with him that it was the Congress which had made serious efforts towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya twice while in power. Accusing the BJP of doing politics over the issue, he said the Centre should play the role of facilitator on the construction of a temple. Targeting the BJP over the Pulwama terror attack, ...
More civilians leave last IS-held pocket in eastern Syria
Small trucks carrying civilians left the Islamic State group's last pocket of territory in eastern Syria in an escorted convoy on Friday, hours after coalition airstrikes meant to pressure the militants targeted the area on the banks of the Euphrates River. At least 15 trucks were seen leaving the through a humanitarian corridor from the militants' last patch of territory in the remote village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. Men, women and children were among those on the trucks, escorted by gun-mounted pick-up trucks belonging to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Some 300 IS militants, along with hundreds of civilians believed to be mostly their families, have been under siege for more than a week in the tent camp in Baghouz. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces surrounding the patch of land have been unable to carry out a final assault on it because of the presence of the civilians. An SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, said there were coalition airstrikes and intermittent ..
Congress opposes additional powers to Assam Rifles in NE
The opposition Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Friday moved an adjournment motion in the Assam Assembly over the Centre's move to bestow additional powers on the Assam Rifles, and resorted to a walkout when the Speaker disallowed it on procedural grounds.
Pak Army says country doesn't wish for war, but warns India of 'surprise'
The Pakistan Army on Friday said the country does not wish for war, but warned India of "surprise" in case it takes any aggressive military measures, amidst heightened tensions between the two sides following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. Addressing a press conference, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor also said that India blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama attack "without due investigation" and New Delhi has not yet accepted the "reality of partition". "We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that," the Army spokesman said after the terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. "We are not preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats...we have right to respond to the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but planning to defend and retaliate which is