Page 1761 - Politics
Second Trump-Kim summit planned for Vietnam: Report
The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula will be held in the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang in late February, according to a media report. The White House last month announced the second meeting between the two leaders will be held in late February following discussions with Kim Yong Chol, North Korea's lead negotiator on nuclear talks. The first such meeting between the two leaders happened in June in Singapore. A senior Trump administration official and a source with knowledge of the meeting told CNN that the current plan is for the second summit between President Trump and the North Korean leader Un to be held in the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang. The plan is being finalised. Vietnam had been widely believed to be the location. The source said there are no discussions right now for Trump to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping around the summit, but the source says Xi is very ...
Russia regrets Washington's expected exit from arms treaty
Russia on Friday said it regretted Washington's expected exit from a key arms control treaty and expected to receive formal notice from the United States shortly. Russia and the US have over the past months held discussions to rescue the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) but say efforts have led nowhere. "We all regret that in the coming days this decision will most likely be implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "A decision to move to break the treaty was made in Washington a long time ago." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to make an announcement on the fate of the treaty at 1300 GMT Friday. Moscow expects to receive "some sort of notice" from Washington about its withdrawal on Saturday, Peskov said. The United States has warned that it will begin a six-month withdrawal process from the treaty on Saturday unless Russia destroys its 9M729 ground-based missile system, which it says breaches the agreement. Russia's top negotiator on ..
Iran celebrates 40 years since revolution with Khomeini return
Thousands of Iranians gathered at the mausoleum of the Islamic republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on Friday to launch celebrations for the 40th anniversary of its revolution. The ceremonies for the 1979 revolution started at 9:33 am (0603 GMT), the exact time that Khomeini returned to Iran and his plane touched down at Tehran airport, AFP correspondents said. As an army band played revolutionary anthems, the huge hall of the mausoleum was filled with people from all walks of life, amid schoolchildren dressed in the red, white and green of the Iranian flag. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the influential experts assembly which appoints the supreme leader of the Islamic republic, delivered a keynote speech rebuking factions seeking better ties with Washington. "Curses on the wrong school of thought that thinks we can't run the country unless America helps us," he said, shaking a raised left hand. "America's power is on the decline, we should not be afraid of ...
Trump, Pelosi remain far apart on the border wall
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declared that there'll be no "wall money" in any compromise border security deal as she and President Donald Trump signalled that congressional negotiators may never satisfy his demands for his cherished Southwest border proposal. Trump, who in recent weeks has expressed indifference to whether the term "wall" or something else is used, clung with renewed tenacity to the word that became his campaign mantra, declaring, "A wall is a wall." Yet in a series of tweets and statements, he issued conflicting messages about what he'd need to declare victory and suggested that merely repairing existing structures along the boundary could be a major component of a triumph. Amid signs that Trump's leverage in Congress is atrophying, he seemed to aim one tweet at his conservative followers. He wrote that Democrats "are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I've got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don't expect much help!" Pelosi, ..
Farmers' income scheme an insult: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Modi governments scheme to provide direct income support of Rs 6,000 each to poor and marginal farmers, was an "insult" to everything the farmers stand and work for.
Nepali students fly black flag balloons near PM office demanding reform in medical sector
A group of students in Nepal on Friday flew balloons carrying black flags near Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's office at Singhdurbar here to protest against the government's inaction over issues like reforms in medical sector and corruption. Nepal Students Union, the student wing of Opposition Nepali Congress, flew black flags and banners with slogans "save life of agitating doctor Govinda K C, take action against the culprits in the rape and murder of 13-year old girl Nirmala and end corruption." The black flags were flown to pressurise the government to fulfil their demands, said NSU central member Sushil Bhatta. Meanwhile, all hospitals except emergency services remained closed in the country after the Nepal Medical Association, the umbrella body of medical and dental doctors, called on strike to extend solidarity to Dr KC, who is on hunger strike for the last 23 days demanding sweeping reforms in medical sector. As the government failed to address the demands raised by senior ...
5 years of incompetence, arrogance destroyed lives of our farmers: Rahul Gandhi
Leading the Opposition's attack against the interim budget 2019-20, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday blamed Narendra Modi government for destroying the lives of the farmers by providing a direct minimum income for farmers stating that giving them Rs 17 a day is an insult."Dear NaMo, 5 years of your incompetence and arrogance has destroyed the lives of our farmers. Giving them Rs. 17 a day is an insult to everything they stand and work for" Congress President said in his tweet.Earlier, in his interim budget presentation, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced a new scheme "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)" to extend direct income support at the rate of Rs 6,000 per year to farmer families, with cultivable land up to two hectares.Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh called it an election-centric budget aimed at misleading people with false promises, which were not backed by numbers."They had promised Rs 15 lakhs in accounts of all but have ..
Start-of-month Vande Mataram ritual resumes at MP secretariat
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath Friday led his cabinet colleagues, senior officials and people in a rendition of Vande Mataram at the state secretariat, popularly called Mantralaya, here. Singing the national song at the secretariat on the first day of every month was a tradition started by the previous BJP regime under chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Its discontinuation on January 1 had led to a war of words between the opposition BJP and the ruling Congress. Chouhan had event taunted the state government saying he could lead them in rendering the song in case Congress leaders did not know the lyrics. Going the extra mile on Friday, the MP CM led a one kilometre road procession from Shourya Smarak war memorial to Mantralaya where people sung Vande Mataram in the secretariat's park. A police band struck up patriotic songs as well at the venue. Hitting out at the BJP, Nath said, "We have begun the singing of Vande Mataram in a new form. However, when we ...
EC committed to providing conducive environment in Bengal for polls
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Friday said the Commission was fully committed to providing a safe and conducive environment to conduct the coming general elections in West Bengal.
Do you think Telugus have no masculinity, Naidu asks Centre
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Centre and asked if it thinks Telugu people have no masculinity.
New AIIMS to come up in Haryana: Goyal
Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that the Centre has decided to set up a new AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Haryana, taking the count to 22 across the country.
Shah to meet booth-level functionaries on Saturday in Amroha
BJP president Amit Shah will be in Amroha on Saturday to participate in a meeting of booth presidents and other office bearers of western Uttar Pradesh, a party official said. On February 6, Shah will address BJP workers in Etah and on February 8, he will address party workers in Gorakhpur and Jaunpur,BJP state media in-charge Manish Dixit told PTI. "Party president Shah will be addressing a meeting of booth presidents and other office bearers at Rama Bai Ambedkar degree college, Gajraula, in Amroha on Saturday,"he said.
Brazilian embassy in Berlin vandalized with rocks, paint
Vandals have attacked the Brazilian embassy in Berlin, damaging some windows with stones and covering others with red paint. German police said at least four unidentified suspects were involved in the attack at about 1 am Friday on the downtown building. Tall windows in the front of the building were splattered with paint and 16 windows at the side were damaged with stones. It was not clear whether the attack was linked to the recent election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro but police are treating it as a possibly politically motivated crime.
Modi government only knows 'pakodanomics': Chidambaram
Pointing out that the Interim Budget announced on Friday is "silent" on jobs and education, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram ridiculed the Modi government saying all it understands is "pakodanomics".
Indian American to run for state Senate in 2020
Indian American Representative Niraj Antani will run for the Ohio state Senate in 2020.
Interim budget has no value: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday the interim budget for 2019-20 had absolutely no value as the term of the NDA government would end soon. "Who will implement this (interim budget)? Will the new government that will come into being implement this budget? Before election a vote on account is placed," Banerjee said. The Trinamool Congress chief said after the announcement of the poll by the Election Commission, the budget plans cannot be taken up. Therefore, the announcements made in the interim budget have no value, she said. "The BJP government does not have any moral right to place such (budget) announcement.... Why did they not announce a single agenda for farmers in the last four years?" she said referring to the budget proposals for farmers. The chief minister alleged that the country was passing through an economic emergency after demonetisation and the hurried roll-out of the goods and services tax.
Germany says missile treaty dead as Europe frets about arms race
Germany said Friday that Russia had "de facto invalidated" a landmark Cold War missile reduction treaty which the US is poised to abandon, with Europe anxious at the prospect of a new arms race. A US deadline for Russia to come back into compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty expires on Saturday but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly announce the pullout as early as Friday. Western capitals say a new Russian medium-range missile system breaches the terms of the 1987 treaty and puts European cities at risk. Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister who has shuttled between Moscow and Washington in recent weeks trying to save the INF treaty, said Russia was still in breach. "We must note that the INF treaty has been violated by the Russian side and that the appeals of the last 60 days for more transparency and more information have come to nothing," Maas said as he arrived for talks with fellow EU foreign ministers in Bucharest. "A treaty to which ..
Centre's cash dole for farmers an imitation of 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme: TRS
The ruling TRS Friday claimed the cash dole for farmers announced in the union budget was an "imitation" of the 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme in the state with slight modifications. At the same time, the party said politics had taken precedence over economics in the budget in general and claimed that it might not swing votes in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in Lok Sabha elections due by May. "As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery," K T Rama Rao, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) working president and son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, told PTI. He was referring to the the 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi', under which Rs 6,000 will be transferred into bank accounts of farmers holding up to two hectares. The Centre has picked up the Rythu Bandhu scheme in Telangana which is the brainchild of the chief minister, Rama Rao, also known as KTR, said. "They have slightly modified it and made it into a nice programme which will benefit ...
Budget is govt's second surgical strike: Paswan
BJP ally and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan Friday dubbed the budget as the government's "second surgical strike", saying the first used bullets against the country's external enemies while this will use ballots to decimate the ruling NDA's rivals in the general election. "This is not budget but surgical strike. The first used bullets to neutralise the country's external enemies. The second surgical strike will use ballots to decimate our rivals," the Lok Janshakti Party president told reporters, referring to the attack on terror launch pads across the border in Kashmir. He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come back to power with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning more than 400 seats in the coming Lok Sabha election. Hailing the prime minister, he said the budget has provided relief to farmers, income taxpayers and significantly enhanced expenditure for scheduled castes, tribes and the poor. "There cannot be a better budget than this. Our rivals will be
Bengal govt to safeguard democratic structure: Governor
West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi said that the state government was committed to safeguard the democratic and federal structure of the Constitution. In his address to the Assembly ahead of the state budget, Tripathi said on Friday that the nation now stood at the crossroads of history. Regardless of the ominous forces of divisiveness, intlorence and contempt, he said that the West Bengal government would strive to protect the triple pillars of democracy. He said the state goverment had been able "cope with the twin challenges of demonetisation and hasty enforcement of GST across the country thrust upon by the central government". The state government never for once faltered from the track of the development process that seeks to encompass every person from all walks of life, he sid. The governor also praised the government for keeping a steady vigil on communal harmony and the overall atmosphere remained peaceful. In his address, he said that there had been ...