Page 1883 - Politics
Cong-JD(S) coalition govt will fall due to internal bickering: BJP leader
Former Karnataka deputy chief minister and BJP leader K S Eshwarappa has said the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state would fall due to internal bickering and his party would form the government. The present political turbulence is because of the internal bickering in the Congress and their leaders have been needlessly levelling allegations against the BJP, he said. "There actually is no need for the BJP to indulge in Operation Kamala to topple the Congress-JD(S) coalition government," Eshwarappa told reporters after arriving at the Bengaluru airport late Saturday night. "All our 104 MLAs are together, unlike the Congress where four to five of their MLAs are going to desert, which could further precipitate confusion and culminate in the fall of the government...and the BJP will form the government," he added. Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka, who also arrived along with Eshwarappa from Gurgaon, said the present coalition government does not deserve to rule the state
Trump offers protection to undocumented immigrants in exchange of border wall funding
US President Donald Trump has launched a new plan to end a government shutdown, which has been ongoing for nearly a month, by offering protection from deportations for some undocumented immigrants in exchange for USD 5.7 billion for constructing a wall on the US-Mexico border. The Democrats, however, rejected the deal as a "non-starter" and called on Trump to open the government before negotiations on immigration could start. Trump, who made his offer during a televised speech from the White House, offered that he would give protection from deportation for young people brought to the country illegally as children -- also known as 'Dreamers' -- and also extend it to those with temporary protected status after fleeing countries affected by natural disasters or violence. The president also called for USD 800 million in "urgent humanitarian assistance" and USD 805 million for drug detection technology to help secure US ports of entry. Trump also proposed a slew of measures to increase ...
Explosion heard in Syrian capital Damascus: state TV
An explosion was heard Sunday in the south of the Syrian capital Damascus, with preliminary reports suggesting it was a "terrorist act", state television said. "Explosion heard around the southern highway in Damascus area, first reports suggest a terrorist act," the broadcaster said. The state outlet did not provide any more details on the incident. Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 spiralled into full conflict. With key military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists, and now control almost two-thirds of the country. The Syrian regime in May reclaimed a final scrap of territory held by the Islamic State group in southern Damascus, cementing its total control over the capital for the first time in six years.
Democrats reject Trump's offer for temporary migrant protection
Democrats rejected United States President Donald Trump's offer to provide temporary protection to migrants.Rejecting the proposal that includes millions of dollars for humanitarian aid and drug detection technology, Democrats called on Trump to reopen the government before negotiations on immigration could begin, reported CNN.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been negotiating the reopening of the government along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said that it was "a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people's lives."Calling the provisions for the migrants a 'non-starter', Pelosi said in a statement, "It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter. For one thing, this proposal does not include the permanent solution for the Dreamers and TPS recipients that our country needs and ..
Sitharaman inaugurates TN Defence Industrial Corridor
Taking a step forward to boost indigenous production, Defence Minister Niramala Sitharaman inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor on Sunday. "The response from the local industry to this defence corridor has been amazing. They even wanted to extend this corridor up to Palakkad but we had to tell them that it would currently consist of these five nodes (cities) only," Sitharaman said. The Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor also called the Tamil Nadu Defence Production Quad as the nodal cities form a quadrilateral includes Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli as nodes. The idea behind setting up defence industrial corridors is to ensure connectivity among various defence industrial units. Aforementioned five nodal cities have existing defence ecosystem in the form of OFBs (Ordnance Factory Boards), vendors working with Defence PSUs, and other allied industries. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech on February 2 last year, had ...
Social media as an instrument of combat (Column IANS Insight-Spy's Eye)
The Age of Information that set in with the success of IT revolution some three decades ago pushed the world economy and cross-border human interactions up in a transformational manner and established globalisation as a new reality.
Trump offers temporary protection for undocumented immigrants in exchange for wall
US President Donald Trump, who is facing a growing backlash over the partial government shutdown, has shifted course and offered Democrats a deal for the temporary protection of some 700,000 young undocumented immigrants in exchange for $5.7 billion funding for his proposed Mexico border wall.
US varsities visit India to foster research collaborations
A delegation of US universities visited India for the first US-India Knowledge Exchange (USIKE), interacting with institutional and government representatives to foster collaborative research and innovation in various fields between the two countries. The USIKE sought to highlight and encourage governments of both countries to make changes to policies that could ease the ability of institutions of higher education to collaborate, according to a statement. The initiative, launched last year by US-based organisation Sannam S4 and non-profit organisation US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, aims to identify key areas of collaborative research (private and public sector) and unlock significant funding pools. "There is huge untapped collaborative potential between the US and Indian institutions, as well as with industry players in India, to support the acceleration of home-grown research and local development of intellectual property," said Adrian Mutton, Founder and CEO of Sannam S4, a ..
Pashtuns' fight for justice gathers steam in Pakistan
Islamabad [Pakistan], Jan 20 (ANI): They gathered on January 5, in Germany, in Cologne, and again on January 12 in Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to commemorate the first anniversary of Naqibullah Mehsud's death.It was to emphasize their determination to seek justice in a non-violent way for all the thousands and thousands of victims of the so-called anti-terrorist strategies carried out by the Pakistani government.And, as happened throughout this year marked by protests against Islamabad, the Pakistani press could not or did not want to report the story.The news, as happens more and more often in Pakistan, travels almost exclusively via the social media and tells the story of a country increasingly torn by discrimination and violence against most of its citizens.Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), reiterates once more the requests of his fellow citizens.The movement, born only a year ago, has grown and is growing bigger every day, taking to the streets,
Rahul Gandhi showing some signs of maturity: BJP MP Saroj Pandey
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has started showing "some signs of maturity", feels BJP MP Saroj Pandey, who had earlier described him as "mandh-buddhi (dim-wit)".Pandey, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Chhattisgarh, made the comment while responding to a question from a journalist here last evening."He (Rahul) has started showing some signs of maturity," she said when asked to comment on recent political moves of the Congress President."We have seen how the Congress party used the Vyapam scam in the past as a political strategy. However, this did not work out, as we all saw. It is clear that the BJP is not involved in any kind of corruption. So now the Opposition is trying to rake up the Rafale scam instead," the BJP leader said.In June last year, Pandey had alleged that Rahul was "mandh buddhi" after he claimed that the founder of Coca-Cola once sold 'shikanji' (lemonade)."The kind of things he (Rahul) says is surprising. He is definitely trying to learn but there is an age to learn. A
Mandatory attendance for J-K govt officials at R-Day events, defaulters liable for action
Jammu and Kashmir government has issued a diktat to state government employees to be present at Republic Day celebrations, adding that failure to attend the ceremony would count as negligence of duty and disobedience of government instructions."All the government officers and officials posted at Jammu and Srinagar are required to attend the celebrations, as part of their official duty. Failure to attend the function will be construed as a dereliction of duty and disobedience of Government instructions," read the order.Furthermore, the order, dated January 15, states, "It is the duty of every government servant to attend the Republic Day function which marks an important turning point in the history of the nation."The government also directed all top officials to ensure attendance of employees in their departments at the functions.The order said, "All Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Departments, Managing Director/Chief Executives of the Public Sector Undertakings are requested to
Trump offers 'compromise' to end government shutdown
US President Donald Trump has set out new plans on his Mexican wall project to try to end a partial government shutdown lasting more than four weeks.
Saudi-led coalition launches airstrikes in Yemen's capital
The Saudi-led coalition has launched a series of airstrikes against targets in Yemen's capital Sanaa, including a military base and drones facility. The airstrikes late Saturday were the first by the coalition in Sanaa since a deal reached last month between the government backed by the coalition and Shiite rebels fighting it since 2014. The deal provided for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of rival forces from the contested port city of Hodeida and an exchange of prisoners, but the implementation of both has run into difficulties. Earlier this month, an explosives-laden drone launched by the rebels targeted a military parade near the government-held city of Aden, killing at least six people, including the commander of military intelligence. There was no more information immediately available on casualties from Saturday's airstrikes.
Will work for all: Bangladesh PM
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said that her government would strive to work for the welfare of the people and that all development policies reach and benefit the masses.Addressing a mega rally celebrating ruling Awami League's massive win in the recently-held general elections at Suhrawardy Udyan here, Hasina was quoted by The Dhaka Tribune as saying, "Although Awami League won the election, I can assure that the Awami League government will work for all. People who voted for us or did not vote for us, I want to thank them all. We will ensure balanced development for all."Vowing to uphold the value of the huge mandate that the people gave to her party, Hasina heaped praises on the Bangladesh Election Commission for holding a transparent election.Taking a jibe at the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led Jatiya Oikya Front, Hasina asserted, "Our country voted against corruption, terrorism, militancy, and drugs, and to build the country following the spirit of the
Amid shutdown, Senate to vote on Trump's immigration plan next week
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday said that he will take up a legislation on Trump's immigration plan next week, in exchange for funding of the border wall that would end the nearly month-long partial government shutdown."I intend to move to this legislation this week. With bipartisan cooperation, the Senate can send a bill to the House quickly so that they can take action as well," McConnell was quoted by The Hill as saying.During the address at the White House, Trump proposed extending protections for roughly 700,000 'Dreamers', the children of illegal migrants brought into the US, under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme for three years.He floated a three-year extension of protections for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in exchange for $5.7 billion funding for the wall.In response, McConnell underlined that Trump's border-immigration plan is a "compromise" that included "priorities from both sides of the aisle," as per the ...
Congo court declares Felix Tshisekedi is elected president
Congo's Constitutional Court early Sunday declared the election of Felix Tshisekedi as president, rejecting challenges to the vote by runner-up Martin Fayulu, who had alleged fraud. Tshisekedi, son of the late, charismatic opposition leader Etienne, is now set to be inaugurated on Tuesday. The declaration came shortly after the African Union in an unprecedented move asked Congo to delay announcing the final election results, citing "serious doubts" about the vote. It planned to send a high-level delegation on Monday to find a way out of the crisis, fearing unrest spilling across borders of the vast Central African nation. The court turned away Fayulu's request for a recount in the Dec. 30 vote. He had accused Congo's electoral commission of announcing results dramatically different from ones posted at polling stations around the country. Leaked data attributed to the commission shows that Fayulu easily won. But the court said Fayulu did not put forward proof to back his claims. ...
DR Congo court declares Tshisekedi winner of disputed elections
DR Congo's top court on Sunday declared opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi the winner of the disputed presidential election, after throwing out a legal challenge by the runner-up. Announcing the final results of the long-awaited vote, the Constitutional Court said it "declares Felix Tshisekedi President of the Democratic Republic of Congo by simple majority".
Trump celebrates new citizens in Oval Office ceremony
On a day focused on his demand for a border wall, President Donald Trump used music and pageantry to welcome "the five newest members of our great American family" during a naturalization ceremony in the Oval Office. In a ceremony Saturday that began to the strains of a violin and ended with a booming national anthem, Trump celebrated the five new Americans from Iraq, Britain, South Korea, Jamaica and Bolivia. "Each of you worked hard for this moment. You followed the rules, upheld our laws," the president said, stressing that they had arrived in the country legally. A couple of hours later, Trump would unveil his offer to extend temporary protection to young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children if Democrats would agree to fund the southern border wall he promised as a candidate. Democrats quickly dismissed the plan as a "non-starter." Trump introduced each of the new US citizens, noting that some had come to the country with American spouses and some had children who .
Trump offers protection to immigrants in exchange of US-Mexico border wall funding
Seeking to end the federal government shutdown, President Donald Trump has offered extending protection for people illegally brought to the country as children in exchange for USD 5.7 billion for constructing a wall on the US-Mexico border. The deal was, however, dismissed by the Democrats as a "non-starter". The president also proposed a slew of measures to increase border security, including an increase in law enforcement, saying he was offering a "commonsense compromise both parties (Republicans and Democrats) should embrace." The divide between the Trump-led Republican Party and the Democratic Party led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the border wall led to the shutdown, which has rendered 800,000 federal government workers without work and crippled key departments.The shutdown-- the longest in US history-- entered its 29th day, as Trump Saturday made the announcements. The president has also proposed protection to other groups of immigrants facing deportation. "Both sides in ..
US airstrike in Somalia kills over 50 al-Shabaab terrorists
The US on Saturday said that more than 50 al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in an airstrike near Jilib, Middle Juba Region of Somalia.The al-Shabaab is a Somali-based terror group that is affiliated to al-Qaeda.The US Africa Command, that oversees the country's military operations on the continent, said that the airstrike was conducted "in response to an attack by a large group of al-Shabaab militants against Somali National Army Forces" on January 19, CNN reported.The military command stated that the airstrike killed 52 terrorists and no civilians died or injured in the airstrike.The number of airstrikes have risen ever since US President Donald Trump in March 2017 directed the military forces to conduct precision strikes targeting al-Shabaab in an effort to support the Somali government in its fight against terrorism. Before the decision was made, the US military conducted airstrikes only in self-defence of advisers on the ground, as per the report.The al-Shabaab claimed ...