Page 159 - Politics
World must not 'yield to nuclear extortion' by Iran: US
The United States warned Monday the world must not give in to Iranian "extortion," after Tehran said it would surpass the uranium stockpile limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by Washington. "We should not yield to nuclear extortion," said US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, adding that the United States was "unfortunately not surprised" by Iran's announcement. "We continue to call on the Iranian regime to abide by their commitments to the international community," she said.
Europe anxious as Iran sets countdown to surpass uranium limit
Iran said Monday it will surpass from June 27 a uranium stockpile limit set under the nuclear deal with world powers that the US abandoned last year, worrying EU powers who urged Tehran against ultimatums. French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged Iran to be "patient and responsible" at a time of growing tension as Washington blames Tehran for attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. "Today the countdown to pass the 300 kilograms reserve of enriched uranium has started and in 10 days time... we will pass this limit," Iran's atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told a new conference broadcast live on state television. The move "will be reversed once other parties live up to their commitments," he added, speaking from the Arak nuclear plant southwest of Tehran. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to immediately hit Iran with "snapback sanctions" should it violate the deal by surpassing the uranium stockpile limit set in ...
Membership drive is a way to expand BJP's reach: Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Monday said the aim of the party's membership drive is to expand its reach and make it inclusive so that it reaches people from all walks of life. Addressing a meeting of party's state incharges for the membership drive in the party head office here, he said the BJP has won 2019 general elections but it is yet to reach its peak. The drive is a medium to make the party inclusive, which reaches the people from all walks of life, Shah was quoted in a BJP statement. He said that in the coming three years the party will adopt all possible measures to expand its base. The BJP which has 11 crore members has set the target of increasing its membership by at least 20 per cent.
Rift in BJP-IPFT alliance in Tripura
The rift in the ruling alliance in Tripura came to the fore Monday as the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) alleged that BJP workers were attacking its supporters after the Lok Sabha election, a charge denied by the saffron party. "BJP workers are continuously attacking our supporters. We are scared as we are being regularly harassed by our partner. It is unfortunate that we are being subjected to threats and assaults despite being an ally in the government. This should be stopped forthwith," IPFT spokesperson Mangal Debbarma said at a press conference here. He said IPFT will have to think of "alternative ways" if the attack continues. "In the party's 30 organisational divisions across the state, our party supporters were attacked in all these divisions and fake cases were lodged against our workers. Over 100 party workers were injured in a series of assaults since the Lok Sabha election results were announced on May 23," Debbarma said. The BJP forged an alliance with IPFT ..
Gujarat RS seats: Congress moves SC against separate bypolls
The Gujarat Congress on Monday moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's (EC) decision to conduct separate bypolls for two Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
Will try to strengthen BJP as its worker: Nadda
BJP's newly appointed working president JP Nadda Monday said he will work to strengthen the party as its worker and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah for reposing faith in him. In a series of tweets, Nadda said Modi's guidance has always been inspirational for him and under the prime minister's leadership the party has got huge support from people of the country. "I will try to strengthen the party as its worker...serving the party is like worship for me," Nadda said. Thanking Shah, Nadda said that under his leadership the party touched new heights which is exemplary and in the same way he will also serve the party.
BJP, casino lobby trying to oust Goa Congress president: Official
The BJP along with the casino lobby in Goa is trying to oust state Congress chief Girish Chodankar in order to destabilise the opposition, a Goa Congress spokesperson said on Monday.
EU leader Tusk queried about tax policies as Poland's PM
Lawmakers in Poland questioned EU Council president Donald Tusk on Monday for an investigation of tax evasion by private businesses that took place when he was the country's prime minister. A parliamentary panel that had subpoenaed Tusk quizzed him about his 2007-2014 government's failure to curb illegal business practices dealing with value-added taxes on goods and services. The current government estimates the unlawful practices cost the state budget billions of zlotys (hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars) in lost revenue. Tusk said the Law and Justice party, which now governs Poland, opposed many of the steps his government proposed to curb abuse of the VAT system, adding that the problem of tax evasion by private businesses has continued since he left office. He accused the panel of having a political bias that would lead lawmakers to preconceived conclusions about his allegedly poor performance as prime minister. Tusk said he appeared out of respect for the Polish ...
Chinese Pres Xi Jinping to visit North Korea this week
Chinese President Xi Jinping will embark on a two-day visit to North Korea on Thursday in a surprise move shortly before his scheduled meeting with United States President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, later this month.Xi is making the trip "at the invitation" of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Xinhua reported Monday. The North Korean state media also confirmed the visit.The meeting comes at a time when nuclear negotiations are stalled between Washington and Pyongyang and an ongoing trade war between China and the US.China and North Korea have had a fraught relationship for decades, but an unexpected visit by Kim to China in March 2018 signalled the beginning of a new era of Beijing-Pyongyang relations. The North Korean leader has visited China four times in the past year, CNN reported.This week's state visit will make Xi the first Chinese leader to visit North Korea since his predecessor, Hu Jintao visited the country in 2005.China's state ...
J P Nadda appointed BJP's working president, Shah to remain party chief
Former Union minister J P Nadda was appointed BJP's working president during the party's parliamentary board meeting on Monday. The decision of BJP's highest decision-making body was announced by former party president and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after the meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chaired by BJP chief Amit Shah. Shah will remain party's national president. "BJP parliamentary board met today and it has selected J P Nadda as the working president. He will remain the working president till the BJP's membership drive and organisational elections are over," Singh tweeted. Congratulating Nadda, Modi tweeted that he "is a diligent 'karyakarta' (worker) of the party, who has risen through the ranks due to his hardwork and organisational skills. Humble and affable, he is widely respected across the BJP family". Wishing him on being unanimously elected as party's working president, Shah said he had full faith that under Nadda's leadership the BJP ...
Set up President's third retreat in Shillong: Meghalaya CM
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said he had suggested to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to add Shillong as the President of India's "third retreat location".
39 workers return after being stranded in Saudi Arabia for a
: As many as 39 workers from Telangana,who had been stranded for around a year in Saudi Arabia, havereturned here Monday, thanks to the efforts of the Centre and the Telangana government. According to an official release, these daily wage labourers went to the Gulf nation last year to work in a construction company. Most of them belonged to Karimnagar, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts. The company, which hired these labourers, had allegedly not been paying salaries to them for the past six months and they were made to live in "terrible" condition, without proper food. The labourers wrote to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K T Rama Rao, over Twitter, seeking his intervention in helping them return to India, it said. Rama Rao requested the Indian Embassy at Riyadh to help them, the release said. He had also requested Telangana Chief Secretary SK Joshi to come up with a proper solution to address the problems of the labourers. The Indian Embassy ...
West Bengal doctors call off strike after talks with Mamata Banerjee
Doctors in West Bengal called off their week-long strike on Monday night after meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who assured them of steps to scale up security at government hospitals in the state. The breakthrough came on a day health services especially Outpatient Departments (OPDs) were crippled across the country as doctors held protests and boycotted work to show solidarity with their colleagues in West Bengal who were on strike since Tuesday protesting assault on their two colleagues by kin of a patient who died in NRS Hospital and Medical College. At an hour-long televised meeting with representatives of doctors, Banerjee announced a number of steps, including asking police to appoint nodal officers for security of doctors at all government hospitals in the state, following which the doctors agreed to end the stir. The formal announcement was made after a general body meeting of the joint forum of doctors at the NRS Hospital, the epicentre of the agitation. A spokesperson .
Pragya Thakur completes taking oath in three attempts in LS
It took three attempts for BJP's winning candidate Pragya Singh Thakur to complete her oath-taking ceremony as an MP in the Lok Sabha on Monday.In her first attempt, she tried to take oath under the name 'Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur Poorn Chetnand Avdheshanand Giri,' which became a point of contention among the opposition. Thakur was suffixing her name with that of her spiritual guru.She was stopped twice, first by the Pro-tem speaker of the Lok Sabha, Virendra Singh and the second time by the shouts of the opposition MPs who stopped her midway.Thakur took the oath in her third attempt after Singh stated that he would remove anything which was found out to be "unofficial".She also took the oath in Sanskrit like Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Pratap Chandra Sarangi and others.Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as many as 313 newly-elected MPs on Monday took oath as members of the 17th Lok Sabha where linguistic diversity of India was on full ...
Confident that under Amit Shah, JP Nadda leadership BJP will continue winning people's trust: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed confidence in the leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda."I am confident that under the leadership of Amit Shah and JP Nadda, and powered by the hard work of our Karyakartas, the BJP will continue winning people's trust and serving our society. We remain committed to building a strong, developed and inclusive India," Modi tweeted.The appreciation by the Prime Minister came after JP Nadda was appointed the BJP Working President of BJP, thereby replacing Amit Shah, who has now entered the cabinet.Nadda's appointment came at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board held in the evening Lok Sabha concluded its proceedings on an opening day.The announcement was made by senior leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Junior doctors call off strike in Bengal
The week-long junior doctors' strike across state-run hospitals in West Bengal was called off on Monday following a meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the representatives of the agitating medics.
Morsi: from Egypt election triumph to death as inmate
Mohamed Morsi, who died Monday aged 67, was Egypt's first democratically elected president but spent just one turbulent year in office after the 2011 uprising before the army toppled him. The Islamist's overthrow was followed by a brutal crackdown that killed hundreds of supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood movement and dealt a major blow to political Islam. Morsi was sentenced to death in May 2015 for his role in jailbreaks during the uprising that ousted his predecessor, longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. He successfully appealed and was awaiting the final ruling of a retrial when he died in a Cairo hospital after fainting during an "animated" session in court, judicial and security sources said. A veteran activist and engineering professor, Morsi was among the Brotherhood leaders detained during the 18-day anti-Mubarak revolt in 2011, escaping with thousands of inmates who broke out of prison. The son of a farmer, he was not the Brotherhood's first choice for president. Nicknamed ...
Rahul makes a shaky start in 17th Lok Sabha
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday had a shaky start in the 17th Lok Sabha as his absence in the first session of the new Lok Sabha was noticed and he also forgot to sign the Parliament register after taking his oath.
Opposition parties welcome junior doctors decision to call off
Opposition parties in West Bengal Monday welcomed the decision of junior doctors to call off their week-long stir and urged the state government to ensure proper working atmosphere and infrastructure for the doctors working in government hospitals. The ruling Trinamool Congress too welcomed the decision but urged the opposition parties not to politicize the matter. Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal formally called off their seven-day-long stir Monday night after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured them of steps to scale up security at government hospitals in the state. "We welcome the decision by the junior doctors to withdraw the strike. We are happy about it. It is a huge relief for poor people and patients. We would urge the state government to ensure proper working atmosphere and infrastructure for the doctors working in government hospitals," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty too welcomed the decision ..
No infiltration of terrorists in Kashmir in 5 months: Malik
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Monday claimed that infiltration of terrorists into the Valley has stopped in the last five months, while incidents of stone pelting have also gone down in the period. Kashmir has been under the President's rule since June 20, 2018. Stating that two to three terrorists are getting killed in the northern state every day, Malik said a message has been conveyed to the insurgents that they will not get anything by choosing the "wrong way". "Entry of new terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir stopped since the last five months. Stone-pelting incidents have also gone down. Two to three terrorists are being killed every day now," Mailk told reporters, speaking after the inauguration of J&K Bank branch here. "Terrorists now know that if they choose a wrong way, they will not get anything. They will have to hold talks. We have succeeded in making people understand that the path of terrorism is wrong and that no one can break India. You have