Page 1748 - Politics
Yemen govt, rebels meet aboard UN ship
The head of the UN mission in Yemen launched talks between the government and Huthi rebels aboard a boat in the Red Sea on Sunday aimed at shoring up a ceasefire, a government official said. Retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert chaired the meeting aboard a UN vessel docked off the coast of the flashpoint city of Hodeida after the rebels refused to hold talks in government-held areas, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The official said the meeting would address the implementation of an agreement reached in Sweden in December that calls for a ceasefire in rebel-held Hodeida, a pullback of forces from the port city and the opening of humanitarian corridors. The Red Sea port is the entry point for the bulk of Yemen's imported goods and humanitarian aid, providing a lifeline to millions in the Arab world's poorest country. The UN said in a statement that the parties would resume discussions on the Sweden agreement on Sunday. It is the third meeting of a joint committee on .
Revert to the district for governance (Column: Spy's Eye)
One of the positive legacies that the British left behind for independent India was a sound administrative infrastructure at the district level that was empowered enough to handle the day to day demands and problems of the people there with its financial and judicial autonomy. Over the decades its form remains but the content has been totally eroded with the result that for anything and everything the citizens are having to run to the state capital - and even to Delhi - to get succour.
India must stop blaming Pakistan for its problems: Qureshi
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that India should stop blaming Islamabad for its problems as it has no intention of interfering in New Delhi's internal affairs.
PM Modi inaugurates first-ever university in Ladakh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday launched University of Ladakh, the first-ever varsity in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu region has four universities besides an IIT and an IIMC, while the Kashmir Valley has three universities and a National Institute of Technology (NIT). After the inauguration, Modi said Lakhah now has first cluster university comprising degree colleges of Leh, Kargil, Nubra, Zanskar, Drass and Khaltsi. The university will have administrative offices in Leh and Kargil, he said. On December 15, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had approved the establishment of first university in the Ladakh region.
BJP protest in WB over permission denial to UP CM's chopper
BJP workers on Sunday staged a protest outside the South Dinajpur district magistrate's house over the denial of permission for the chopper of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to land here. The UP chief minister along with state BJP president Dilip Ghosh is scheduled to address two "Ganatantra Bacaho Rallies" at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district and Raiganj in North Dinajpur district. The rallies were scheduled to held at 1 PM and 3 PM respectively. Yogi Aditynath's chopper was scheduled to land near the venue of the meeting at Balurghat. "We are yet to get permission to land the chopper. So our party workers are staging a protest rally outside the DM's residence demanding permission to land the chopper," Ghosh told PTI. According to state BJP sources, it has now been decided that the UP chief minister's chopper will land at Raiganj BSF camp. He will then proceed from there to Balurghat by road to address the rallies. "He will return to Raiganj to address
Venezuela's coup 'made in Washington': Cuba
Cuba has accused the United States of plotting a 'coup' in Venezuela against President Nicolas Maduro, calling for mobilisation to "stop the imperialist intervention in Latin America"."The # US gov., The true mastermind behind the coup d'etat vs. # Venezuela, is threatening to launch a military aggression against that sister nation. It is putting pressure on Europe to become its accomplice. Let's all mobilize to stop the imperialist intervention in #LatinAmerica," Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs tweeted on Saturday (local time) in Spanish.Cuba's support for Maduro comes amid a raging political turmoil in Venezuela, with parts of the nation seeing fresh protests on Saturday in support of both National Assembly President Juan Guaido, and embattled President Maduro.Guaido had, on January 23, proclaimed himself as the new President of Venezuela, dismissing Maduro's leadership amidst cheering protesters. The self-proclaimed President's bid was immediately ...
4 BJP men held for thrashing journalist in Chhattisgarh
Four BJP functionaries, including the Raipur district unit chief, were arrested for allegedly thrashing a local journalist at the party office here, police said on Sunday. BJP's Raipur district president Rajeev Agrawal and three local office-bearers -- Vijay Vyas, Utkarsh Trivedi and Deena Dongre -- were arrested late Saturday night based on the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by journalist Suman Pandey, a local police official told PTI. The four, who were booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention), were later released on a bail bond from the police station, he said. Peeved over the incident, local journalists sat on an indefinite protest in front of the Raipur Press Club in Motibagh area here on Sunday, demanding expulsion of the accused from the BJP. Pandey, who works with a local website, in his complaint alleged that he was thrashed on Saturday when ..
Will inaugurate projects, foundations of which I lay today: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed confidence that he will have the second term as Prime Minister after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.Prime Minister Modi was addressing a gathering at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir after inaugurating several developmental projects."I have today inaugurated those projects whose foundation was laid by me earlier. I assure you that only I will come for the inauguration of the projects whose foundations have been laid by me today," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Targeting the Congress regimes for the alleged delay in the progress of the region, the Prime Minister said that the "old culture" has changed under his government and underscored that he will be at the helm to continue the development."The country has left the old culture of 'dilly-dally' and 'diversion' and in the coming five years I will completely throw out this culture from the country," asserted Prime Minister.He added that the first instalment of the sum promised to farmers in the
WB: BJP condemns TMC govt for not permitting Yogi's rallies
The BJP on Sunday condemned the TMC government in West Bengal over not granting permission to hold Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's rallies in the state.The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was scheduled to address two rallies in the state today, one in North Dinajpur district's Raiganj and the other in South Dinajpur district's Balurghat. However, the Mamata Banerjee-led government state government declined permission for both without any prior notice. Speaking to ANI, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said, "We requested permission from the district officials for holding a rally and landing a helicopter, but they have not approved the same yet. Since yesterday they have been saying we will give the permission, today is the rally but they have not approved it yet. This unconstitutional behaviour is the Mamata government's doing." He further said that the officials say they are being pressured by the government for not sanctioning permission for the ...
Top US diplomat visits S. Korea ahead of Trump-Kim summit
A top US diplomat on Sunday travelled to South Korea to meet representatives from Pyongyang and prepare for the second summit between American President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Tulsi Gabbard officially launches 2020 presidential election campaign
Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu US Congresswoman, has officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign in Hawaii.
Electoral reforms pending due to lack of political will: Ex-CEC Quraishi
There is much to celebrate about Indian democracy but many electoral reforms are pending for long, due to lack of political will or plain lethargy, says former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi. He says it is also imperative to be mindful of some shortcomings in our system which leave a lot of scope for improvement in democratic mechanisms. Quraishi has edited a collection of essays written by those who have studied India's unique experiment in electoral democracy, as well as analysts, politicians, social workers, activists, businesspersons and public servants. Many electoral reforms are long pending due to lack of political will or plain lethargy, he says in the introduction of "The Great March of Democracy: Seven Decades of India's Elections". "Reforming campaign finance laws, decriminalisation of politics and bringing in a proper law for transparent constitutional appointments to posts, such as that of the CEC, are just some of the many issues regarding which the ECI has ...
DMK Prez Stalin pays tribute to CN Annadurai on his death anniversary
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin on Sunday paid homage to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and veteran DMK leader CN Annadurai on his 50th death anniversary at Marina Beach Memorial.Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, popularly called Anna, ushered in the first post-independence era non-Congress government in Tamil Nadu in 1967 when his party stormed to power.Five years later actor-politician M G Ramachandran founded the AIADMK, a tribute to Annadurai and called it the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Dropping weapons treaty would let US update its nuclear arsenal
The US scrapping of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia could launch a new arms race, but will also allow the United States to update its nuclear arsenal, a publicly stated goal for the past year. President Donald Trump announced Friday the US was suspending its obligations under the INF treaty as of Saturday and starting a process to withdraw in six months. NATO has said that US allies "fully support" its withdrawal from the pact, and agreed that Russia's 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems violates the treaty. A day later, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a tit-for-tat withdrawal from the pact to develop "new types of weapons," calling Washington's decision "unilateral and totally unprovoked." The United States has complained about the alleged Russian violations for years. But now it's also speaking openly about its chance to upgrade its arms stock. When the United States unveiled its new nuclear policy in February 2018, it warned that ..
Venezuelans rally for and against embattled Maduro on revolution anniversary
Buoyed by the defection of a top general, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido predicted Saturday the month of February would be "decisive" in determining the future of the nation as he and socialist leader Nicolas Maduro held competing mass rallies in the capital. National Assembly head Guaido, 35, had called Saturday's protest to ramp up the pressure on Maduro to step down, ten days after stunning the world by declaring himself "interim president" of the oil-rich but crisis-wracked country. He received a boost before it began when an air force general became the highest ranking officer to abandon Maduro and recognize Guaido as the country's true leader. US National Security Advisor John Bolton responded to that in a tweet calling on "all military members to follow General (Francisco) Yanez's lead." The United States recognised Guaido as Venezuela's interim president on January 23 while four major European nations -- Britain, France, Germany and Spain -- have said they will do ...
People will hold PM responsible if anything happens to me: Anna Hazare
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, who is on the fourth day of indefinite hunger strike, said people will hold Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible if anything were to happen to him.Speaking to ANI, 81-year-old Hazare said, "People will remember me as a person who tackled situations and not as somebody who added fuel to the fire. If something happened to me, people will hold Prime Minister responsible."Under the banner of 'Jan Andolan Satyagraha', the social activist launched his indefinite hunger strike on January 30 at his village Ralegan-Siddhi to demand the setting up of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states as the Narendra Modi government "had failed" to set up the anti-corruption bodies."Through Lokpal, even the Prime Minister can be investigated if people will give any evidence against him... Similarly, in Lokayukta a Chief Minister and all ministers and MLAs under him can be investigated if somebody gives any evidence against them. That's why they don't want ..
Pol parties have democratic right to conduct programmes: WB
West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi feels that every political party has the "constitutional and democratic right" to conduct their programmes, a remark that comes against the backdrop of the state government denying permission to the BJP to hold a 'rath yatra'. Commenting on political violence in West Bengal, Tripathi said violence should always be "deprecated and condemned" whether it is linked to political or criminal activities. "In a democracy, political programmes are bound to take place. This is a part of constitutional and democratic right, and all parties should therefore obey the command of the Constitution and follow it in true spirit," Tripathi told PTI in an interview. He was asked whether it is right for a state government to stop political parties from taking out rallies and yatras. Tripathi however refrained from naming any particular political party or government. The former BJP veteran's comments came at a time when the TMC government's denial of ...
Internet services snapped in Srinagar ahead of PM's visit
Internet services on mobile devices were snapped here on Sunday as a precautionary measure even as tight security arrangements have been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Internet services were snapped in the early hours of Sunday by authorities as part of efforts to ensure that the Prime Minister's visit passes off smoothly, officials said. They said security personnel have been deployed across the valley in large numbers for maintaining law and order. Separatists groups have called for a complete shutdown in the valley to protest against Modi's visit. Several separatist leaders including Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and former MLA Langate Sheikh Abdul Rasheed have been placed under house arrest since Saturday. Normal life in the valley remained affected due to the strike called by separatists. All shops and business establishments remained closed while public transport was off the roads. The officials said there were no ..
In Pakistan, raise your voice against state oppression and you disappear
Not only Balochs or Pashtuns. In Pakistan, three persons on an average are picked by security forces, locked up in secret jails, tortured and many left to die, primarily for raising their voice against state oppression.A significant number of them are from Sindh which has been emerging as a hotbed of dissent and protest by the people against the military and the state.The not-so-uncovered war of Islamabad Army and Intelligence against the citizens of their own country is in full bloom.In the latest estimate compiled by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, the number of 'missing' has spiked in the year 2018 and it is likely to grow more in 2019.The Commission has defined 'enforced disappearance or missing person as a person' picked up or taken into custody by any law enforcing or intelligence agency, working under the civilian or military control, in a manner which is contrary to the provisions of the law'.The commission, set up in 2011, has so far received reports of
PM to visit J-K, to launch several developmental projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit the Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday for the launch of several developmental projects including two AIIMS at Jammu and Srinagar division (AIIMS, Vijaypur and AIIMS, Awantipora).Security has been beefed up in the wake of the Prime Minister's day-long visit with top separatist leaders kept under house arrest.Prime Minister will arrive at Leh in the morning and then fly to Jammu where he will be addressing a public rally besides laying the foundation stone of several developmental projects.The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the construction of Northern Regional Centre Campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication at Jammu. He will also launch the University of Ladakh, which will be the first ever University in Ladakh region.