Page 1580 - Politics
Taiwan President to run for re-election in 2020
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday said that she will run for re-election as the island's leader in 2020, despite her flagging popularity and growing hostility from Beijing.
Course correction in Kashmir (Comment)
The horrendous killing of 40 troopers of the CRPF in a frontal attack on its convoy on February 14 at Pulwama - not too far away from Srinagar - by a locally-recruited suicide bomber of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) comes as a stark reminder of how the Pakistan army remains undeterred in its pursuit of a 'proxy war' against India - using Islamic extremists as its instrument.
Will act if Pakistanis involved in suicide bombing: Imran Khan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday pledged that his government will act against any Pakistani national found involved in the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir if India provided "actionable intelligence".
Last rites of jawan killed in Pulwama encounter held with full military honours in Hry
The last rites of Sepoy Hari Singh, who was killed in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, were performed at his native village here on Tuesday with full military honours. Singh's body, draped in the tricolour, was brought in a bedecked army vehicle to his native village Rajgarh as a large number of people paid their last respects to the jawan who laid down his life on Monday in an encounter in Pinglan area of Pulwama. Among those who paid their last respects to the slain soldier included senior officers from the Army and civil administration, Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh and Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma. Hari Singh was given a gun salute by the army, which sounded the last post. Villagers, many of whom were holding the tricolour, kept chanting patriotic and anti-Pakistan slogans. "We demand that our government should give a befitting reply to Pakistan, which has been aiding and abetting terrorism in our country. It is also clear who
Pakistan Army, ISI involved in Pulwama terror attack: Corps commander
The Pakistan Army and its espionage agency ISI were involved in the car bomb attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, a top Army official said on Tuesday, also sending out the message that anyone picking up the gun in Kashmir would be eliminated unless he surrenders. The Jaish-e-Mohammad leadership in Kashmir was eliminated within 100 hours of the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama, General Officer Commanding of Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt General K J S Dhillon added at a press conference along with IG Kashmir S P Pani and IG CRPF Zulfiqar Hasan. On Monday, three Jaish terrorists were killed in a 16-hour operation in Pinglan area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, 12 km from the spot of the February 14 terror attack on a CRPF convoy. An Army major and four security personnel also lost their lives. "The Jaish-e-Mohammad is the brainchild of Pakistan army and it is the Pakistan Army and ISI that controls Jaish-e-Mohammad. The involvement of the Pakistan Army is 100 per cent ...
Pak PM Imran seeks actionable intelligence over Pulwama attack, warns against retaliatory action
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday assured India that action would be taken against the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack if New Delhi shares "actionable intelligence", but warned against any retaliatory action on his country. In a video message to the nation, Khan responded to the Indian allegations on Pakistan's involvement in the attack in Kashmir on last Thursday. The suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group left 40 CRPF personnel dead. Stating that Pakistan wants "stability in the region", Khan said, "If India has evidence or actionable intelligence, they should give it to us and we will take action." He said that he has come across calls for attack on Pakistan through the Indian media and warned, "If India retaliates, we will not think and retaliate back." "It is easy to start a war but difficult to end it," Khan said. The premier said, "I want to ask India if they want to live in the past?" "Its not in our interests that somebody from ...
BJP-Sena's coming together was a foregone conclusion: Pawar
NCP president Sharad Pawar Tuesday said he is not surprised by the seat-sharing pact announced by sparring allies BJP and Shiv Sena. The electoral understanding between the saffron siblings was a forgone conclusion, the former Union minister told PTI. Overcoming their strained ties, the BJP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led party Monday announced to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections together. "There is nothing new in their announcement of fighting polls together," Pawar said. He said the BJP and the Sena, which have been alliance partners for over 25 years, were expected to contest jointly. "It is just that they had been vocal (against each other) only in the last few years, but they were expected to contest jointly," Pawar said, referring to frequent squabbles between the two ruling allies since the NDA came to power at the Centre and in Maharashtra in 2014. Sena is the oldest constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). As per
Myanmar picks panel to reform army-scripted constitution
Myanmar set up a committee to discuss reforming the country's military-drafted constitution on Tuesday, pitting Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government openly against the powerful armed forces for the first time over the incendiary issue. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide in 2015 elections, but was forced into an uneasy power-sharing agreement with the armed forces. Under a 2008 charter it drafted, the military controls all security ministries and is gifted a quarter of parliamentary seats. That hands the army an effective veto over any constitutional change. Suu Kyi's party has promised to reform the controversial document. With 2020 polls looming, parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to form a cross-party committee to debate reforms of the charter. The main purpose of the "all-inclusive" panel will be to "write a bill to change the 2008 constitution", deputy speaker and committee chair Tun Tun Hein, an NLD lawmaker, told parliament. The NLD will ..
Andhra Congress leader to join YSR Congress
A Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday announced her decision to join the YSR Congress party.
Kerala govt announces Rs 25 lakh to slain CRPF jawan's family
The Kerala government Tuesday announced a financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the family of V V Vasanth Kumar, the CRPF personnel from the state who was killed in the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. A state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, also took the decision to meet the educational expenses of 44-year-old jawan's two children- son Amandeep (5) and daughter Anamika (8). Vijayan later told reporters that steps would be taken to make permanent the temporary job of Vasanth's wife Sheena, who is now working as an assistant at the veterinary university. A new house would be constructed for the grieving family of the slain jawan, hailing from Wayanad district, he said. "The government is sharing the grief over the killing of 40 CRPF personnel who had lost life in the terror attack in Pulwama. One of our brothers, hailing from Wayanad, also was among them," the Chief Minister said. "We have decided to extend helping hand to his family. For ...
Custodial interrogation of Deepak Talwar sought in foreign funding case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court seeking custodial interrogation of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar in connection with a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) case.
Pakistan is out of financial crisis: claims central bank governor
Pakistan has come out of the financial crisis with the help of friendly countries and the economy has been set on the right path, the governor of the cash-strapped country's central bank has claimed. Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa's remarks coincided with the announcement by Saudi Arabia that it would invest USD 20 billion in Pakistan under various projects. Bawja told an audience at a private university in Lahore on Monday that uncertainty in the economy had ended, while the government was on the right path and it was capable of meeting all economic challenges, Dawn reported. The governor spoke about the current account deficit, which had hit the economy badly during the current financial year. The current account deficit was the real cause of concern for the new government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan visited friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia and Turkey to seek investment and managed to get financial help to bridge the ...
Germany sees 'most difficult part' in EU-U.S. trade talks ahead
BERLIN (Reuters) - The most difficult part in trade negotiations between Europe and the United States is starting now and talks should focus on reducing tariffs on industrial goods to increase the chances of a deal, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.
Pulwama attack: 'Befitting reply' won't bring back lost lives, says Kumaraswamy
At a time when the Centre has vowed to give a 'befitting response' to those who orchestrated the Pulwama terror attack, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is of the view that a 'befitting reply' is not the solution.Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said giving a 'befitting reply' to the perpetrators will not bring back those who lost their lives in the dastardly attack, adding that the right thing to do would be to create a conducive atmosphere in the Valley."It is not a matter of attack or counter attack. The unabated terror activities in that region (Jammu and Kashmir) has only claimed the lives of innocent people. You cannot bring those lives back by giving a 'befitting reply'. A solution is to create a conducive atmosphere in the region and it is the Centre's responsibility (to do it). This is my opinion," he said.When asked whether Pakistan should be declared a terror state, Kumaraswamy said the government has to primarily take steps to ensure such an atmosphere ...
LS polls: PMK to support AIADMK-BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) will support the AIADMK- BJP front in Tamil Nadu in the forthcoming general elections, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam announced on Tuesday.The PMK will contest on six Lok Sabha seats and will be given one Rajya Sabha seat. The PMK, has a support base in northern Tamil Nadu, especially among the OBC Vanniyar community."Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) joined our alliance today. 7 seats allotted to PMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019," Panneerselvam said, while addressing the media here.The AIADMK had kept its talks with the PMK under wraps as the latter was believed to have been holding talks with the DMK as well.While elaborating on by-elections Panneerselvam said, "We will fight on 21 seats in by-elections and PMK will support us."In the 235-member Assembly, the AIADMK has 115 members followed by the DMK with 88, Congress eight, one of the IUML, one independent, the speaker and 20 vacant seats (18 disqualified and two dead). Besides, there .
JeM leadership eliminated in Valley in less than 100 hours after Pulwama terror attack,Lt Gen KS Dhillon
In a first joint briefing, the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir claimed on Tuesday that the leadership of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was "eliminated less than 100 hours" after the February 14 terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama.They warned that all those who pick up the gun will be neutralised unless they surrender.JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.At the briefing here by top officers of the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police, Corps Commander of the Army's 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Kanwaljeet Singh Dhillon, said, "The JeM leadership has been eliminated in the Valley in less than 100 hours since the attack."He said, "All those who pick up the gun will be eliminated unless they surrender. We were tracking the top JeM leadership since February 14 attack.""The convoy attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad which is being controlled from Pakistan with an active support of ISI and the Pakistan .
Germany's Altmaier: Most difficult part in EU-U.S. trade talks is now
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday the most difficult part in trade negotiations between Europe and the United States started now.
Pak civil, military leadership to meet to discuss tensions with India after Pulwama attack: Report
Pakistan's civil and military leadership is expected to meet this week to discuss the increasing tensions with India following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed, according to a media report on Tuesday. On February 14, 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Kashmir's Pulwama district in a suicide attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group. The attack has heightened bilateral tensions with both New Delhi and Islamabad calling back their envoys. The Express Tribune reported that the Pakistani envoy would brief the civil and military leadership about the current situation in India. The high-powered National Security Committee (NSC), the highest decision-making forum on national security and foreign policy, is likely to meet this week. The meeting would be presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by key federal ministers as well as the services chiefs, the report ...
US-China trade talks to resume in Washington
The talks between the US and China to end a damaging trade war will resume from Tuesday in Washington, the White House has announced. The talks follow a round of negotiations that ended last week in Beijing without a deal but which officials said had generated progress on contentious issues between the two trading partners. The talks are aimed at "achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China. The two sides will also discuss China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the United States," the White House said in a statement. The two countries are running against time to arrive at a trade deal before the March 1 deadline set by President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade spat since early 2018, raising import tariffs on each other's goods. Last year, Trump imposed tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on USD 250 billion of Chinese ...
Sena cautions govt against any kind of 'war for poll gain' rhetoric
A day after sealing a seat-sharing pact with the BJP, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday asked the NDA government not to behave in a way that would fuel allegations that it was trying to wage a war to influence poll results. Riots and terror attacks should not be used for "political gains", the Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Targeting students from Kashmir over such incidents could spell more trouble for the government, it warned. The remarks came a day after the BJP and the Shiv Sena announced a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections, overcoming their strained ties and earlier declarations of going solo. Without taking names, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said, "Sometime back there were political allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could wage a small-scale war to win elections... The rulers should not behave in a way that these allegations gather strength." Referring to the February 14 Pulwama bombing in ..