Page 1581 - Politics
Indian-Americans across US mourn Pulwama terror attack victims
Hundreds of Indian-Americans gathered in various US cities to mourn the killing of at least 40 Indian soldiers in one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed on February 14 in a suicide attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group. The attack has heightened bilateral tensions with both New Delhi and Islamabad calling back their envoys. Expressing their outrage, hundreds of Indian-Americans gathered at the 9/11 memorial on the outskirts of Chicago on Sunday and urged that all nations need to stand together with India and the US in their fight against those carrying out such "heinous crimes". In a joint resolution read out on the occasion, the participants held peaceful candle light protest in Naperville, Illinois and called upon Pakistan to "end immediately" support to all terrorist groups operating from its soil. "We mourn the loss of 40 Indian security personnel .
Pak seeks urgent UN intervention to de-escalate fresh tensions with India
Pakistan has sought the UN's urgent intervention to "defuse tensions" with India, the Foreign Office said Tuesday, following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed. On February 14, at least 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. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, seeking his help to reduce the tensions between the two countries, Pakistan Foreign Office said. "It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India," Qureshi wrote in the letter. India has rejected any third party intervention in the .
Telangana CM expands cabinet, inducts 10 ministers
Ending over two months of speculation, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday expanded his two-member Cabinet with induction of ten members. Six new faces -- S Niranjan Reddy, Koppula Eashwar, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, V Srinivas Goud, Vemula Prashanth Reddy and Ch Malla Reddy -- found berth in the Council of Ministers. A Indrakaran Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, G Jagadish Reddy and Etela Rajender, who were part of the Cabinet in Rao's previous term, returned as ministers. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan administered them the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan, in the presence of the chief minister, taking the Cabinet size to 12. The Chief Minister's nephew and senior TRS leader T Harish Rao, who earlier served as Irrigation Minister, did not figure in the list, as also the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supremo's son K T Rama Rao. None of the woman members could make it to the Council of Ministers. Rao's first Cabinet also did not have a ..
Bedi says happy as Pondy CM ends dharna
Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on Tuesday expressed happiness that Chief Minister V Narayanasamy ended his 'dharna' after discussing with her the issues he had raised, including increasing assistance under old age and widow pension schemes. The former IPS officer, who met Narayanasamy and his ministerial colleagues on Monday, said, "The meeting helped clarify and consolidate issues." "I am happy Puducherry government will return to work and so will the road to Raj Nivas will be open for visitors to come to her office," she said in a WhatsApp message to the media. Narayanasamy had been staging a dharna outside Raj Nivas for six days against what he said was Bedi's reluctance to approve his welfare schemes and administrative orders. He had written a letter, dated February 7, to Bedi mentioning his demands and the issues. The meeting to iron out the differences between the two sides last for four and a half hours on Monday. Outside the lt governor's residence after the meeting, ...
AIADMK-PMK sign electoral pact; PMK gets 7 LS seats
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK party and PMK on Tuesday sealed an electoral alliance for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, whereby the latter would contest in seven constituencies and for one Rajya Sabha seat, said AIADMK Coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
N Korean envoy en route to Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit: Yonhap
The North Korean special representative for the US arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, apparently en route to Vietnam to meet his Washington counterpart ahead of a second scheduled summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. Kim Hyok Chol arrived in the Chinese capital at around 10 am (0200 GMT) and was expected to board a plane bound for Hanoi later in the day. Kim's trip comes three days after Kim Jong Un's de-facto chief of staff, Kim Chang Son, landed in Hanoi to discuss protocol and security matters with the US team ahead of the summit on February 27-28. Kim Hyok Chol and his US counterpart Stephen Biegun were engaged in three days of talks in Pyongyang earlier this month, exploring each side's positions on denuclearisation ahead of the much-anticipated meeting. Biegun said they had been productive, but more dialogue was needed. "We have some hard work to do with the DPRK between now and then," Biegun said, adding that he was "confident that if
Sudan protesters remain resilient, but Bashir unbowed
Sudanese protester Osman Sulaiman has taken to the streets of Khartoum chanting "overthrow, overthrow" almost daily since demonstrations erupted against President Omar al-Bashir's iron-fisted rule in December. And he insists he has no intention of stopping now. "We have to fight our battle if we have to secure our future and the future of our country," Sulaiman, an engineering graduate who has been unemployed for years, told AFP. As the protest campaign against Bashir's regime enters its third month on Tuesday, demonstrators are pressing on with rallies despite a show of defiance from the veteran leader and a sweeping crackdown by the authorities. Officials say 31 people have died in protest-related violence so far, while Human Rights Watch says at least 51 have been killed including medics and children. Hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists have been jailed by agents of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). "The protesters' ...
Abandon support for Maduro, Trump warns Venezuelan military
A "new day" is coming in Latin America and the days of socialist dictatorships are over, US President Donald Trump has said as he issued a dire warning to the Venezuelan military to abandon their support for President Nicolas Maduro or "lose everything". Speaking at Florida International University in Miami, Trump said the US stood behind the people of Venezuela who are standing for freedom and democracy. The Venezuelan military could play a decisive role in ending the months-long political crisis, but has largely remained loyal to Maduro. Venezuela has also lurched into an economic crisis that has left the country suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. "We want to restore Venezuelan democracy, and we believe that the Venezuelan military and its leadership have a vital role to play in this process. If you choose this path, you have the opportunity to help forge a safe and prosperous future for all the people of Venezuela," Trump said. He said more than 50 ...
AIADMK finalises alliance with PMK
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Tuesday sealed an electoral alliance with the PMK as leaders of both the parties began discussions at a five star hotel here.
India eliminated JeM leadership within 100 hrs of Pulwama attack: Army
The Indian Army on Tuesday said within 100 hours of the February 14 Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy that left 40 troopers dead, it eliminated the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leadership that planned and executed the deadly carnage.
Maduro slams Trump for giving orders to Venezuelan military
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Monday (local time) lashed out at United States President Donald Trump for giving orders to the military of a foreign country, local media reported."Who is the commander of the armed forces, Donald Trump from Miami?" Maduro was quoted as saying on a state televised network."Who is the constitutional commander-in-chief? They believe with their arrogance and their contempt for us. They believe they own the country and Donald Trump believes he has the power to give orders and that the National Bolivarian Armed Forces will carry out his orders. It is an offence to dignity and to shame," the President added.The remarks by the Maduro came shortly after Trump urged the military and people of Venezuela to support the government of self-declared President Juan Guaido and allow humanitarian aid to flow into the country.Meanwhile, President Maduro, who had barred the entry of any assistance from the United States, noted that 300 tonnes of aid from Russia ...
New round of US-China trade talks to kickstart on Tuesday
A new round of trade talks between the US and China will begin on Tuesday following those that were held in Beijing last week, the White House said.
Kashmir is an issue of proxy war: VK Singh
Days after the Pulwama terror attack, Union Minister and former Army Chief VK Singh has said that Kashmir is an issue of proxy war and the rise of terrorist activities in South Kashmir post-2012 needs an analysis."This very same South Kashmir was very peaceful between 2005 and 2012. What's the reason for the surge in incidents there after 2012? Have you analysed this? Why did this happen?" he said while addressing a press conference here on Monday.Singh, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, said, "The Kashmir issue is not simple. It's an issue of proxy war. It's an issue for which things should have been done earlier. Don't judge success or failure of a policy, based on one incident. There was an encounter, where an officer and three jawans died. This doesn't mean the situation is bad."Talking at length about Kashmir and the problems plaguing the region, the Minister said, "Some youth being paid to throw stones, some youth standing on the top of a vehicle and shouting ...
New round of U.S.-China trade talks to begin in Washington on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new round of talks between the United States and China to resolve their trade war will take place in Washington on Tuesday, with follow-up sessions at a higher level later in the week, the White House said on Monday.
US discussing exchanging liaison officers with N. Korea
The US and North Korea were seriously considering exchanging liaison officers, an incremental step towards normalising relations while the two sides negotiate to curtail Pyongyang's nuclear and missile forces, informed sources told CNN.
Border wall row: 16 states sue Trump for declaring emergency
Sixteen states, including California and New York, in a lawsuit on Monday (local time) sued United States President Donald Trump for declaring a national emergency to fulfill his long-pending demand of building a wall along the border with Mexico.New York Times reported that the lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, states that the US President cannot transfer funds for construction of any wall along the border as it is the Congress that controls the expenditures.The lawsuit, California et al. v. Trump et al., accuses Trump of "an unconstitutional and unlawful scheme", while adding that the states are trying "to protect their residents, natural resources, and economic interests from President Donald J. Trump's flagrant disregard of fundamental separation of powers principles engrained in the United States Constitution.""Contrary to the will of Congress, the president has used the pretext of a manufactured 'crisis' of unlawful immigration to declare a national ...
New round of U.S.-China trade talks begins Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new round of talks between the United States and China to resolve their trade war will take place in Washington on Tuesday, with follow-up sessions at a higher level later in the week, the White House said on Monday.
16 states file lawsuit to stop Trump's national emergency declaration
Sixteen states on Monday evening filed a lawsuit challenging US President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration.
Sixteen states sue Trump over border wall emergency
New York is joining California and 14 other states in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration. Attorney General Letitia James said in the lawsuit Monday that diverting funding from military construction and other programs to pay for a wall on the US-Mexico border threatens New York's public safety and security infrastructure. All the states involved in the lawsuit have Democratic attorneys general. Trump declared an emergency on Friday so he can shift billions of dollars to the border wall after Congress wouldn't approve the amount he wanted. Trump, a Republican, considers a wall a national security necessity. The lawsuit alleges he's manufacturing a crisis and that his declaration is an "unconstitutional and unlawful scheme." New York is home to Fort Drum and the US Military Academy.
Unified team under Afghan govt is required to achieve peace: Zalmay
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconcilliation, Zalmay Khalilzad on Monday said that "a unified negotiating team" under the umbrella of the Afghan government is required in order to achieve peace in war-torn Afghanistan.In an interview to Tolo news, Zalmay Khalilzad said, "There is a need of integration of a strong and unified negotiating team under Afghan government's umbrella for achieving a breakthrough in the strides for peace in Afghanistan."When asked whether the peace talks have hit a deadlock, Khalilzad said, "There are difficulties, but we have agreed with the Taliban to meet again on February 25 in Doha. We agreed in principle to talk in details and with more authenticity about two topics to find whether there is the possibility to make more progress on the issue of terrorism and the issue of forces."This has come a day after Afghanistan voiced its concern to United Nations Security Council on Pakistan's engagements with Taliban, saying it not only undermines ...