Page 1649 - Politics
Saudi Crown Prince to visit India next week
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, will embark on a maiden two-day visit to India beginning from February 19 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Saudi Crown Prince will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen.During the forthcoming visit, the Saudi Crown Prince will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, said a statement from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)."The visit follows the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Modi to Saudi Arabia in April 2016, during which the two countries agreed to further elevate existing strategic partnership," it added.India and Saudi Arabia have historically enjoyed close and friendly relations anchored in mutually beneficial partnership and extensive people to people contacts. In recent years, there has been ...
New visa agreement between India, Maldives to be effective from March
India and Maldives on Tuesday exchanged diplomatic notes for the implementation of the visa facilitation agreement with an aim to boost people-to-people ties between the two countries.The agreement was signed during Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih's visit to India on December 17 last year.The exchange of diplomatic notes follows the signature of the agreement by President Ram Nath Kovind after the Union Cabinet had given its approval, read a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).The new agreement will be effective from March 11 after all formalities including information being provided to all immigration offices, border points and customs authorities have been completed.The agreement provides a very liberal visa regime for Maldivian nationals to visit India for tourism, business, education and medical purposes. It also makes it easier for Indians to travel to the Maldives for business purposes, the statement said.Relations between New Delhi and Male came under strain
Twitter trolls sought to sow Canada divisions on pipelines, migrants
Canada's public broadcaster said Tuesday it found in a trove of Twitter messages evidence of possible foreign actors trying to sow divisions between Canadians on pipelines, migrants and other hot-button issues. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said it identified roughly 21,600 malicious tweets targeting Canadians, mostly sent in 2017, out of 9.6 million scanned. The troll accounts -- which have since been deleted by Twitter -- are suspected of originating in Russia, Iran and Venezuela. They retweeted messages from Canadian activists, politicians and media reports highlighting opposition to pipelines after Washington approved construction of a conduit from Alberta's oil sands to US Gulf Coast refineries -- in an apparent attempt to whip up tensions between pipeline proponents and opponents. They also stoked immigration fears, disseminating strong reactions to the Quebec City mosque shooting and US President Donald Trump's travel ban on Muslim countries, as a wave of asylum ..
Trump 'not happy' with bipartisan border security deal
US President Donald Trump has said that he is not happy with a bipartisan border security deal reached by lawmakers in a bid to avert a government shutdown as the February 15 deadline is approaching.
Venezuela opposition takes to streets over blocked aid
Thousands of opposition activists headed out into the streets of Venezuela on Tuesday to demand the military allow in desperately-needed aid, with President Nicolas Maduro's supporters due to rally against "imperialist intervention." Opposition leader Juan Guaido called the Youth Day demonstration to honor 40 people killed in anti-government rallies and press for the food and medicine to be brought into the economically-ravaged South American country. "We are going back to the streets to demand the entry of humanitarian aid that will save the lives of more than 300,000 Venezuelans," said Guaido, who stunned the world on January 23 when he declared himself acting president. Taking his authority from the constitution as National Assembly leader, Guaido says Maduro's presidency is "illegitimate" as it was founded on flawed elections. He is trying to force the socialist leader from power so he can set up a transitional government and hold new presidential elections. Maduro meanwhile ...
Simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly polls possible in J-K: Madhav
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav Tuesday said that there is a possibility of holding assembly elections with Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir. "We have to reach out to people through our workers ... and win the forthcoming Parliament polls. There is possibility of holding polls to J&K legislative assembly at that time (LS polls)," Madhav said while addressing a function here. Madhav and the party's national vice-president and J&K in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna kick started the BJP's 'Mera Parivar, Bhajpa Parivar' campaign in the state by hoisting party flags at different places across the state. Madhav said "We have to ensure victory of the BJP, so that it forms the government in Jammu and Kahsmir again...We have got 25 seats in previous (assembly) elections and in coming polls we should win more, particularly in Jammu region, where we have blessing of the people". He said the people of Jammu gave BJP two parliament seats. "We have expressed thankfulness to the ...
Trump says he's thrilled about 'a lot of wall'
President Donald Trump says that despite his unhappiness with a tentative agreement to prevent another partial government shutdown, he's "thrilled" about the direction of border wall construction. He says the bottom line is that "we're building a lot of wall." Trump says he's able to do that by "supplementing things and moving things around." He says the money is coming from "far less important areas." Trump said he needs to look further at the agreement to avert the shutdown, which would grant far less than the USD 5.7 billion he wants for a long wall along the US-Mexico border. Republicans and the White House are anxious to avoid another bruising shutdown.
'Modi's development mantra will help BJP sweep LS polls'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development mantra will help the BJP sweep the upcoming parliamentary polls, the saffron party's national vice-president and in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Avinash Rai Khanna said on Tuesday. "Modi's mantra of development will help the BJP sweep the upcoming parliamentary election as his four-and-a-half years of work has outclassed the hollow and dubious claims made by the Congress and its allies since Independence," he said. Khanna was addressing the workers from different political parties, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at the saffron party's state headquarters at Trikuta Nagar here. The workers hailed from RS Pura, Ramban and other areas. Khanna was accompanied by state BJP chief Ravinder Raina and other senior leaders. The new entrants pledged to work for strengthening the BJP at the grassroot level. Welcoming the new entrants into the party-fold, Khanna said, "Today, every nationalist person is joining the BJP, influenced by the ...
Mamata held sit-in at Metro channel, allow us too: BJP
In a fresh standoff with West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government, the BJP has written to the Kolkata police seeking permission to hold a demonstration at the same spot where the Chief Minister sat on a protest against the centre recently, defying a ban her own government had imposed on such agitations there.
Priyanka given charge of 41 seats, Scindia 39 in UP
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday put sister and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi in-charge of 41 Lok Sabha constituencies, including the family bastion of Amethi and Raebareli while General Secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia was entrusted with 39 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
As last Lok Sabha session ends, Speaker hosts lunch for party leaders
A day before the term of 16th Lok Sabha comes to an end, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan hosted leaders of various political parties for a lunch.
Rahul seems to be working as lobbyist for certain companies: BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said Congress President Rahul Gandhi "seemed to be working as a lobbyist" for companies like Airbus.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince on state visit to India next week
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be on a two-day state visit India next week when he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a range of issues including energy security, trade and investment and defence.
Afghan government fires election commission
The Afghan government has fired its election commission. The move Tuesday by President Ashraf Ghani's administration comes more than three months after chaotic parliamentary elections the results of which have still not been announced and ahead of July's controversial presidential vote. A terse four-sentence statement said both the Independent Election Commission and its complaints commission have been fired. It did not offer reasons but Ghani gave political parties and civil society representatives one week to nominate candidates to a new commission. Last October's Parliamentary polls, which were held three years late, were marred by widespread chaos. Polling stations opened hours late and some did not open at all. Workers trained in the use of a biometric identification system, aimed at curbing fraud, did not show up..
Russia moves to ban troops from using smartphones
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday backed a bill that would ban soldiers from using smartphones while on duty to post online or give information to media. The move comes after journalists have used photos and videos posted on social media by troops to gain information on Russia's military involvement in Syria and in Ukraine -- where Kiev and its Western allies say Moscow gives military backing to pro-Russian separatists. The Russian military has long sought to limit troops' use of social media to avoid information leaks. The Meduza independent news site wrote that with the bill "we will know less about hazing and the military in Ukraine." The defence committee of the State Duma lower house of parliament, which wrote the legislation, said it aimed to ensure "national security" in the "sphere of information" and to cover information that is not classed as a military secret. The bill bans troops from carrying "electronic devices" that can post video and photos online or reveal their ...
Vietnam foreign minister arrives in N Korea
Vietnam's foreign minister arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, Pyongyang's state media said, ahead of a second scheduled summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. With the high-stakes meeting now two weeks away, Pyongyang has yet to provide any official confirmation of the meeting in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. "A delegation of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry led by Pham Binh Minh, deputy prime minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, arrived here on Tuesday," the official KCNA news agency said, without expanding. Trump announced last week that Hanoi will be the host for a second summit with the North Korean leader on February 27-28, following their landmark first meeting in Singapore last year. That summit produced a vaguely-worded document in which Kim pledged to work towards denuclearisation -- with no hard timelines agreed. Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said on Monday he "will pay an official visit to DPRK from February 12 to 14" at the invitation of his ...
Trudeau cabinet minister resigns amid controversy
Canada's former justice minister has quit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet amid allegations Trudeau's office pressured her to avoid prosecuting a major Canadian engineering firm. Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould released a letter Tuesday announcing her resignation. She was demoted from the post of justice minister last month. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last week that Trudeau or his staff pressured her to arrange a deal with Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin that would let it avoid criminal prosecution on allegations of corruption involving government contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould has hired a former Supreme Court justice to advise her on what she can say publicly about the matter. Her resignation is a potential blow to Trudeau as he faces re-election this year. He has denied directing Wilson-Raybold to arrange such a deal.
Farmers stage protests demanding support pride for jowar
Farmers in large numbers at Nizamabad in Telangana staged protests Tuesday, demanding support price for red jowar and turmeric crops. They also raised slogans against the government and sought support price of Rs 3,500 per quintal to jowar and Rs 15,000 to turmeric. They alleged that they are not able to meet their expenses with the prices they were presently getting for their produce.
People will stand by BJP, says party general secy
Claiming that many parties are worried over the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even indulged in personal attacks on him, BJP General Secretary Ramlal Tuesday said people would stand by his party as they understand the work done by the NDA government. "You know that many parties fear Modi ji, worried by Modiji. They are also indulging in personal attack on Modiji. In a way, they are abusing... But we are fully confident that people would understand their abuse, people would understand Modijis work and will stand by us by, keeping faith in the work of Modij. The politics of abuse has never worked in the country. People have never accepted it" he said. The party activists would have to take a positive line and reach out to people, he said. All surveys conducted by the media channels have said BJP would come to power and that Modi would become Prime Minister again, he said. The BJP leader was speaking after hoisting BJP flag at the partys Telangana ...
Rafale deal; CPI demands white paper on various issues
The CPI on Tuesday demanded that a white paper be brought out on various issues on the Rafale deal, including matters raised by department heads. "Many new issues concerning the deal are frequently coming out," CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told reporters here. "Though allegations are there that the Prime Minister's Office intefered in a very naked fashion, that it unilaterally took decisions, many wrongs have taken place that Indian money has gone to foreign countries on a large scale... the government is refusing to answer in a proper way even today," he said. He alleged that "shouts" rather than arguments have increased on the part of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It is nothing but "insulting Parliament" to say in the House that it was a waste of time (to further discuss the issue), he claimed. "She has no right to make such a comment in Parliament," he said. On the Citizen (Amendment) Bill, the CPI leader demanded that it be withdrawn and the ...