Page 191 - Politics
Iran 'responsible' for Gulf of Oman attacks: Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind attacks on two tanks in the Gulf of Oman Thursday, and said it was taking the case to the UN Security Council. "It is the assessment of the United States that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks," Pompeo told reporters. "This is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise need to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication," Pompeo said.
Trump faces storm after says OK to use foreign intel on opponents
Donald Trump on Thursday reignited the political storm that has threatened to engulf his presidency by insisting he has the right to use dirt provided by foreign governments on political opponents without informing the FBI. In an interview aired late Wednesday by ABC News television, Trump was asked about taking help similar to the research offered by Russian operatives to his 2016 campaign about rival Hillary Clinton. "There's nothing wrong with listening," Trump said, adding that he'd only "maybe" contact the FBI if he "thought there was something wrong." When ABC interviewer George Stephanopoulos pointed out that FBI Director Christopher Wray recently said that any foreign meddling in US elections should be reported, Trump responded: "The FBI director is wrong." A torrent of criticism erupted Thursday, including from vital Republican ally Senator Lindsey Graham, who said the president had made "a mistake." "I believe that it should be practice for all public officials who are ...
Commission should be formed to assess PM Imran Khan's 'mental health', says former Pak premier
Pakistan opposition leader and former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan for his late night address to the nation, saying a commission should be set up to check his "mental health". Khan in his address to the nation on Tuesday midnight announced to form a high-powered panel to probe the massive debt piled up in the last 10 years during the regimes of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). "A high-powered commission should be formed to assess the mental health of the prime minister it has never happened in the country's history that any head of the state addressed the nation in the odd hours," the PML-N leader told a news conference here. Abbasi, who served as the prime minister of Pakistan from August 2017 to May 2018, said it was prerogative of the government to set up a commission to probe any issue and he is ready to face any investigation. Khan claimed that a massive Rs 24,000 billion debt has piled up
Strategic communication has improved, Modi tells Xi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that strategic communication had improved between India and China which has led to resolution of some long-pending issues including declaring JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. He also hoped that there will be a significant uptake in India's exports to China due to ease in regulatory processes.
Modi, Ghani discuss India's role towards inclusive peace process in Afghanistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the SCO Summit here and discussed the role being played by India towards an inclusive peace process in the conflict-hit nation. "Late night meeting between trusted friends. PM @narendramodi met with Afghan President @ashrafghani on sidelines of #SCOsummit in Bishkek," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted after the meeting. The two leaders "shared perspectives on situation in Afghanistan, including the role played by India towards an inclusive peace process", he said. Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the first multilateral engagement post his re-election. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017.
Five AIMIM corporators suspended for day over chaos at meet
Five corporators of the AIMIM were suspended for the day Thursday for creating ruckus after they sought tabling of a proposal in the general body meeting of the local civic body to congratulate newly-elected party MP from the city Imtiyaz Jaleel. Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele, who was presiding over the meeting, rejected their proposal. Instead, the general body meeting of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, tabled a proposal congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all other MPs elected in the just held Lok Sabha polls. After the ruling alliance-sponsored proposal was passed, the five AIMIM corporators created ruckus in the house and took away the mace kept at the Mayor's table. Following this, they were suspended for the day. Talking to the media outside the AMC building, Jaleel termed the suspension of his party's corporators as unfortunate. The Aurangabad MP said he will now work to bring to light "scams" perpetrated by ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Afghan President
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the SCO Summit here and discussed the role played by India towards an inclusive peace process in the conflict-hit nation. "Late night meeting between trusted friends. PM @narendramodi met with Afghan President @ashrafghani on sidelines of #SCOsummit in Bishkek," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted after the meeting. The two leaders "shared perspectives on situation in Afghanistan, including the role played by India towards an inclusive peace process", he said. Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the first multilateral engagement post his re-election. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017.
SCO Summit: PM Modi meets Afghanistan President Ghani
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here on Thursday.This is Modi's third meeting of the day with SCO leaders after he held engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier.Modi is on a two-day visit to Kyrgyzstan for attending the SCO Summit. This is his first visit to a multilateral forum after being re-elected for a second term.During his meeting with Xi, the Prime Minister told the Chinese President that Pakistan needs to create an atmosphere free from terror and take concrete action to end the scourge but does not see Islamabad doing it at this stage.To mark the establishment of 70 years of diplomatic relations, India and China will hold 35 programmes each, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.Modi and Jinping will have an informal summit in India later this year on the lines of the informal parleys in Wuhan last year.However, Gokhale ...
Uttarakhand CM to take part in fifth meeting of NITI Aayog Governing Council
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat will participate in the fifth meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Chief Minister in this regard held a meeting with Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh and other senior officers, an official statement said.According to the statement, the Chief Minister instructed that a detailed description to be prepared of problems faced by the region and their solution.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 15 (Saturday) chair the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhavan.Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, as ex-officio members; Vice Chairman, Members, CEO and senior officers of NITI Aayog; and few other ministers will be attending the event as special invitees to the Governing Council.
TDP MLA hits out at Andhra CM for critising opposition during his Assembly speech
TDP MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary on Thursday hit out at Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy for launching an attack on the leaders of Opposition during his speech in the Legislative Assembly.While delivering a congratulatory speech on the election of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker today, Jaganmohan Reddy criticised the previous N Chandrababu Naidu-led government.He pointed out that TDP had poached 23 YSRC MLAs during Naidu's regime.Speaking to ANI, TDP leader Chowdary said: "The chief minister started attacking the opposition party during his speech in the house today."Chowdary said, "Opposition leaders were not properly called on when Speaker was being escorted to the chair. The leader of the Opposition Chandrababu Naidu was not called as well. This shows the vindictive nature of the YRSCP government.""In the last assembly in 2014-19 the Opposition leaders were called," he added.Senior YSRC leader Ummareddy Venkateswarlu took the attack to Opposition by
Far-right group in EU parliament doubles in strength
The European Parliament's nationalist group will double in strength to 73 deputies in the new 751-seat assembly after last month's elections, MEPs said Thursday. The Identity and Democracy Party, formerly known as the Europe of Nations and Freedom Party, becomes the assembly's fifth biggest bloc, immediately after the Greens. "This group is from now on the first nationalist force in the European Parliament," Marine Le Pen, head of the French National Rally (RN), told a news conference in Brussels. The surge in seats comes after populists and eurosceptics made inroads at last month's European elections, but without the breakthrough feared by the political establishment. Thierry Marini, an RN member elected last month, tweeted that the newly named ID now numbers 73 deputies, up from 36 in the outgoing assembly, from nine countries. The bloc -- which also includes Italy's anti-immigrant League, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and Austria's FPOe -- will join the new parliament that takes up work .
US and African envoys push for Sudan solution
US and African Union diplomats stepped up efforts Thursday to find a peaceful solution to a standoff between Sudan's protesters and generals following a deadly crackdown on demonstrators. The diplomatic push comes after protesters demanding civilian rule called off a nationwide civil disobedience campaign and agreed to resume talks with the generals who ousted veteran leader Omar al-Bashir in April. Traffic jams returned to downtown Khartoum and some shops in the capital's famous gold market began to reopen Thursday as more residents and office employees ventured out. Fewer troops and members of the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who protesters and rights groups accuse of leading the June 3 crackdown on protestors, were on the streets in downtown Khartoum, according to an AFP correspondent who toured parts of the capital. But they were deployed in force in the northern district of Bahari, a bastion of protests against the ruling military council. Several parts of the city ..
Federal agency recommends White House aide Conway be fired
A federal watchdog agency on Thursday recommended that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway be fired for repeatedly violating a law that limits certain political activities of federal employees. The US Office of Special Counsel, which is unrelated to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, said Conway is a "repeat offender" of the Hatch Act by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media. Conway told reporters who encountered her in the White House press office, "I have no reaction." White House spokesman Steven Groves called the watchdog agency's decision "unprecedented" and "deeply flawed" and said it violated Conway's constitutional rights to free speech and due process. "Its decisions seem to be influenced by media pressure and liberal organisations and perhaps OSC should be mindful of its own mandate to act in a fair, impartial, non-political manner, and not misinterpret or weaponise ...
HM encouraging BJP cadres to create communal tension in WB: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday accused Home minister and BJP president Amit Shah of encouraging his party cadre to create communal tension in the state. She also alleged that the BJP and the CPI(M) were currently engaged in a "love affair" in West Bengal and were behind the ongoing junior doctors' agitation in the state and stalling the regular medical services in hospitals. "I condemn the agitation. The junior doctors' strike is a conspiracy by the CPI(M) and the BJP," said Banerjee, who also holds the health and family welfare portfolio. Banerjee made the allegation at the state-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, where she reached around 12.10 pm following disruption of medical services in several parts of the state over the past three days. "The BJP, with help from the CPI(M), is indulging in Hindu-Muslim politics. I am shocked to see their love affair," Banerjee said. BJP chief Amit Shah is encouraging his party cadre to create communal tension and ...
BJP pre-programmed EVMs during Lok Sabha polls: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday night claimed that majority of EVMs were pre-programmed by the BJP during the recent Lok Sabha polls, and urged all opposition parties to form a fact-finding team to unearth the truth. "We have already discussed this with the Congress. If required, we shall move court challenging this electoral malpractice," Banerjee said. She wondered how BJP leaders could predict the near- exact figures of the poll results before they were announced. "How the BJP leaders came to know beforehand that it will win in over 300 seats in the country and 23 in Bengal? The final tally was close to what they had predicted. The EVMs were all pre-programmed by the BJP," she claimed during an interview to a Bengali news channel. The chief minister alleged that the programming was done keeping in mind the possible transfer of votes among parties. Banerjee also appealed to supporters of the Left parties to refrain from joining the BJP, and ...
Mamata-led govt machinery is completely 'defunct': Congress MP to WB Governor
In the wake of ongoing unrest in West Bengal, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary on Thursday wrote a letter to Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi stating that the Mamata Banerjee-led government machinery is completely "defunct" and "total anarchy" prevailed in the state.Concerned over law and order situation in the state, Chowdhary said "Law and order situation in the state has collapsed, Government is immune! Blood bath is very common and medical fraternity is concerned for their lives viz a viz common citizens.""I would like to draw your attention that there is total anarchy prevails in the state of West Bengal as on date! Government machinery is completely defunct and Police are engaged to save their skin and job that depends on the whims and wills of one and only, the Chief Minister of the state," he added.Attacking Banerjee, the Congress MP from Baharampur said, "Attacks on political opponents have been common in this great state, the goons under political patronage have been ...
Andhra CM meets Governor ESL Narasimhan in Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Thursday paid a courtesy visit to Governor ESL Narasimhan, who was in Vijayawada.Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Narasimhan came to Vijayawada on Thursday evening.He will address the joint session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly and council on Friday.The first session of the state assembly began on Wednesday, wherein the newly-elected MLAs took oath.The new government was formed on May 30 under Jagan after YSRCP secured a landslide majority in the assembly and parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh.Reddy had steered YSRCP to a four-fifths majority in the 175-member Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state.YSRCP finished the tally by winning 151 seats, wresting power from TDP whose strength was drastically reduced from 102 in the 2014 Assembly elections to a mere 23. It polled 49.9 per cent votes, while TDP got a 39.2 per cent vote share.One Assembly seat went to Jana Sena ...
GSP withdrawal: Commerce Secretary Ross seeks 'transparency', 'mindset of moving forward' from India
Washington DC [USA], Jun 13 (ANI): The United States is open to dialogue and India needs a mindset of moving towards an open economy, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in his address at a major India-centric summit organised by US-India Business Council here on Thursday morning.Ross' remarks come close on the heels of the decision made by US President Donald Trump to end preferential trade treatment for India from June 5 over the trade barriers."Unfortunately, India could not provide assurance on our concerns and hence, Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits were withdrawn", Ross said at his keynote address.Stressing on how India's tariffs are significantly higher than the US, Ross said, "I also explained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the US Trade Representative will hold off on the GSP decision till the elections."Ross also said the two democracies will continue to engage in talks to iron out issues that have strained trade relations between the two ...
SCO Summit: No pleasantries exchanged between Narendra Modi, Imran Khan
There was no meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan during the informal dinner hosted by Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov for the SCO leaders here, sources said on Thursday.According to sources, Khan and Modi did not even exchange pleasantries during the dinner hosted on the sidelines of the two-day summit.While Khan is attending the SCO summit for the first time after assuming office last year, this is Modi's first visit to a multilateral forum after being re-elected for a second term.India had already clarified that there would be no bilateral meeting between the two leaders. This comes despite the Pakistan Prime Minister writing a letter to Modi, saying Islamabad wants dialogue with New Delhi to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries.Moreover, Modi's chartered plane did not take the Pakistani air space for flying to Bishkek and instead flew via the circuitous route through Oman and Iran.Modi on Thursday told ..
AAP leader lashes out Hardeep Puri over 'delaying' scheme providing free metro travel to women
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj Wednesday lashed out at Union Minister for Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri over "delaying" a scheme proposed by the Delhi government to provide free rides to women passengers. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had on Wednesday sent a report on the scheme to the AAP government, seeking at least eight months' time to make necessary preparations, including seeking approval from the fare-fixation committee, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Wednesday. "Now, Delaying this scheme In era of 'ease of doing business', Govt boasts about 'Digital India', a software update should not take even 2 weeks If DMRC cannot do it,let me know, I am a qualified software developer, I will do for free," Bharadwaj tweeted. The DMRC had said that will later put into effect the long-term plan, which will involve changing the system software, tokens and cards.