Page 1586 - Politics
Twin bombing kills 13 in Syria's Idlib: monitor
A double bomb attack killed 13 people, including 10 civilians, in Syria's jihadist-held city of Idlib on Monday, a war monitor said. The first blast was caused by a bomb planted under a car in the main city of the Idlib region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. After ambulances arrived at the site, a motorcycle bomb then detonated, the Britain-based monitoring group said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which the Observatory said also wounded at least 25. Idlib, the last major part of Syria still outside the control of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, is held by an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took administrative control of the whole of the region last month, after overpowering smaller Turkey-backed factions. The Islamic State group also has sleeper cells in the area. A local office of the "Salvation Government", an administrative body created by HTS, is located on the street targeted by ...
Taiwan condemns Pulwama terror attack
"Taiwan extends its deepest condolences as well as sympathies to the victims and bereaved families affected by the terror attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir," a statement issued by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (TECC) said.It added that Taiwan "condemns the heinous and despicable attack in strongest terms and wishes to reiterate Taiwan government's firm position against any forms of terroism and its determination to cooperate with the international community to crack down on terror activities."A CRPF convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit in Pulwama district on February 14, killing 40 personnel.The convoy, comprising 78 buses carrying 2500 personnel, was on its way from Jammu to Srinagar when the terrorist struck.
Kuwait says Pulwama terror attack contrary to values, divine laws
Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah have written a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, conveying "utmost sorrow and pain" over the February 14 incident."....I would like to confirm the strong condemnations of the State of Kuwait for such a heinous terrorist act that caused the loss of lives of citizens and which is contrary to all values, charters and divine laws, stressing the need to continue all international efforts to combat, eradicate and defeat terrorism," he wrote."We offer, Your Excellency, our sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the kin of the innocent victims, and we pray to God to shower his mercy on the victims and give their families patience, wishing a speedy recovery and good health for the injured," Al-Sabah said in the letter.A CRPF convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit in Pulwama district on February 14, killing 40 personnel.The
'Saudi's US $ 20 billion investment in Pakistan a mere bailout while investment in India a partnership'
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's announcement of US $ 20 billion investment in Pakistan is a mere bailout, sources said here on Monday.They further revealed that there is no comparison between Riyadh's investments in the two countries as "the investment in India is an investment in a robust economy growing at 7 per cent."Saudi Arabia has ranked India as its 8th largest strategic partner.MBS, as Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is also known, is scheduled to visit India from February 19, but he will not be flying directly from Islamabad to New Delhi.The Saudi Crown Prince will return to Riyadh and then will leave for India on his two-day long maiden state visit to India. The issues related to counter-terrorism and energy security are expected to be among to agenda for the bilateral talks.Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed eight agreements amounting up to US $ 20 billion investment in cash-starved Pakistan.Last month, Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide US $ 3 ...
Pakistani provocations and Indian response
The retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack will come at a time and place of India's choosing, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to assuage the feelings of the country seething with anger after the killing of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir.
Goa tablet-PC scam: Congress says Lokayukta sought CBI probe as he has no faith in state agencies
The Congress in Goa on Monday accused the BJP-led coalition government of trying to sabotage a CBI probe recommended by state Lokayukta in an alleged tablet-PC procurement scam, which took place in 2013.
Sidhu, Majithia trade barbs in Punjab Assembly; SAD, BJP MLAs marshalled out
Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Punjab Assembly on Monday with state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia engaging in a heated exchange after the latter sought dismissal of the cricketer-turned-politician for his "utterances" in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. Sidhu and Majithia used "objectionable" words against each other, which were lost in the verbal duel between the two legislators from Amritsar district. They also indulged in angry gestures and launched personal attacks against each other. As Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal started reading his Budget speech, SAD-BJP MLAs protested against Sidhu's remarks. They stormed into the Well of the House and raised slogans against the local bodies minister, who sat in the front row of the treasury benches, demanding his ouster. The SAD-BJP members also flashed Sidhu's photographs, including that of him hugging Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to the ...
Citizenship Bill : Cong appeals to the people of the NE to
Congress Monday appealed to the people of Mizoram and the north eastern region to vote against the BJP and its allies in the coming Lok Sabha polls as it is determined to legislate the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill. BJP national president Amit Shah told a rally at Lakhimpur in Assam on Sunday that if the the Narendra Modi-led BJP government returns to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections, it would ensure the passage of the Bill. It had been passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, it was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is now set to lapse on June 3, when the tenure of the present Lok Sabha ends. "As BJP is hell bent on the passage of the proposed amendment bill, the people of Mizoram as well as the north eastern states should unite against the BJP and its allies for the defeat of the proposed legislation," the statement said. The Congress said that the fact that Shah "dared" to express on the soil of the north east BJP's determination to pass the ...
RBI Board to give interim surplus of Rs 28,000 crore to Govt for July-Dec 2018
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday decided to transfer an interim surplus of Rs 28,000 crore to the central government for half-year ended December 31, 2018.This is the second successive year that the central bank will transfer an interim surplus.The RBI's Central Board also reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and other specific areas of operations of the bank.RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das chaired the meeting which was attended by Deputy Governors N S Vishwanathan, Viral V Acharya, B P Kanungo and Mahesh Kumar Jain besides Directors of the Central Board Bharat Doshi, Sudhir Mankad, Manish Sabharwal, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Dilip S. Shanghvi, Satish Marathe, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Revathy Iyer and Sachin Chaturvedi.Government directors Subhash Chandra Garg who is Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs and Rajiv Kumar who is Secretary at the Department of Financial Services were also present.Earlier, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
BJYM to launch 'NaMo Yuva connect' to garner youth vote
With an eye on first-time voters, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is set to launch over a dozen programmes, including "NaMo Yuva connect" targeting one of the strongest support bases of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
LS seat-sharing talks with JDS soon:K'TAKA Cong chief
The Congress' Karnataka unit chief Dinesh Gundu Rao Monday said the party would soon hold discussions with its coalition partner JDS on the Lok Sabha seat-sharing issue. Rao said he would speak to JDS leaders, including the party supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda after the Congress election committee meeting and fix a date for seat-sharing talks. "The discussion with our partners JDS over Lok Sabha seat-sharing issue will be held soon," Rao told reporters after the KPCC Coordination Committee meeting here. The meeting decided to announce Lok Sabha seat-sharing talks with the JDS to avoid needless problems for candidates, Rao said. "The coordination committee meeting resolved to announce seat-sharing with JDS soon because Lok sabha election takes lot of time to prepare. If it is delayed, it will create problems for our candidates," he added. The party also decided to take the BJP head on and place before the people of the state saffron party's "corrupt rule
Shiv Sena to contest 23, BJP 25 seats in Lok Sabha, 50:50 in assembly polls
Ending weeks of speculation, the ruling NDA constituents - Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party - finally sealed their alliance for the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Many welfare measures initiated by state govt: DyCM
Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein Monday said the state government has initiated various welfare measures for the people and the Chief Minister Adarsh Gram Yozna (CMAGY) is one among such scheme. Under the CMAGY, an adarsh village is adopted and developed as a model village in each constituency. "Fund for the programme has been already released," Mein said while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a play ground at Motum in East Siang district. The play ground has been constructed under Special Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF), official sources said. The deputy chief minister also launched the Chief Minister Adarsh Gram Yozna at Motum. He urged the people to continue to keep up their developmental oriented mindset and to do away with the habits of proposing schemes of individualistic nature. Emphasizing on the need for road and air connectivity, one of the priority sector of the government, Mein informed that the district headquarters ...
Swaraj meets her Moroccon counterpart, discusses ways to enhance bilateral ties
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Moroccon counterpart Nasser Bourita Monday held talks during which they reviewed the current bilateral relations and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas including defence and security, counterterrorism and trade and investment. Swaraj arrived on her maiden visit to Morocco from Bulgaria on Sunday. "India attaches great importance to its multilateral partnership with Morocco. The bilateral trade between us shows that there is immense potential for business growth between the two countries. The result of this is that our bilateral trade has increased to USD 1.5 billion in October, 2018," she said. "India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for many decades. Therefore, today the agreement on the subject of counter terrorism with our friendly country Morocco holds great importance for us," she said in a statement. Swaraj and Bourita agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on counterterrorism to develop a comprehensive ...
After Pune varsity backs out, Bhopal to host History Congress
After Pune University allegedly backed out, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has decided to host the 79th Indian History Congress (IHC) here beginning February 26, an IHC official said Monday. The 79th session was earlier supposed to be held at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) from December 28. "However, it was cancelled by the local hosts apparently due to financial reasons," said professor Mahalakshmi Ramakrishnan, secretary, IHC. She was speaking at a joint press conference with Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Minister PC Sharma. "As an organisation, this cancellation was unprecedented in the history as the only time we had not held the Congress session was in times of national need like 'Quit India' movement in 1942 and the wars in 1962 and 1971," Ramakrishnan said. "In the moment of crisis, the Madhya Pradesh government has come forward to support the IHC. Bhopal's Barkatullah University will be hosting it at such a short notice," she ...
No info on deported people returning to Assam: govt
Assam government Monday informed the Assembly that it did not have any data whether any of the 29,800 "foreigners" deported to Bangladesh between 2016 and 2018 had returned to the state. From May 2016, when the BJP led government came to power in the state, and August 2018, a total of 29,800 people were declared foreigners living in Assam illegally and were deported, minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said. He was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who holds the Home portfolio, to starred questions of Ramendra Narayan Kalita of AGP and Nurul Huda of Congress. Asked if those who had been deported to Bangladesh came back to Assam, the minister said there is no data immediately available on this matter. Foreigners Tribunals have declared 1,03,764 people as foreigners living in Assam illegally between 1985 and August, 2018, he said. To another query about granting Indian citizenship for those "foreigners", Patowary said granting of citizenship is in the ...
Pakistan shooters granted visa for ISSF World Cup
Ending speculation over the participation of Pakistani shooters in the ISSF World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range starting on Wednesday, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Monday said that the Pakistani shooters have got visas.
Up to Sidhu to explain his stand on Pulwama: Amarinder
With his government and the Congress party left embarrassed by the discordant comments made by Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu defending Pakistan on the Pulwama terror attack, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said everyone has the right to voice their mind and it is up to Sidhu to explain his stand.
Shiv Sena, BJP confirm alliance for Lok Sabha, Assembly polls
Ending weeks of speculation, the ruling NDA constituents - Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - finally sealed an alliance for the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Goa govt hands control of sole sugar factory to Agri dept
The BJP-led Goa government Monday decided to hand over the control of a sugar factory managed by its Cooperative department to Agriculture ministry, buckling under the constant demands by farmers. Farmers providing sugarcane to the Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana have been alleging poor management at the unit--the sole such facility in the coastal state. The factory is located at Usgao village in North Goa. The decision to transfer the reins of the factory from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies was taken at the Cabinet meeting held Monday under Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai said the entire factory would be overhauled, as it has been operating on an old and second-hand machinery. "The factory would be upgraded under the Centre's Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY) in which 60 per cent of total funds will be provided by Union government while the state government will bear remaining cost," the minister said. Until now, the ..