Page 1915 - Politics
N Korea yet to take concrete steps to dismantle nukes: Pence
US awaits concrete steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons that threaten America and other countries in the region, Vice President Mike Pence has said. Pence's statement comes during his address to the global chief of mission conference on Wednesday and gains significance as the White House is preparing another summit between President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two leaders have recently exchanged letters. Kim and Trump held a historic meeting in Singapore on June 12 last year where they issued a vague goal for the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. Pence said that the US awaits North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons. "While the president has started a promising dialogue with Chairman Kim, we still await concrete steps by North Korea to dismantle the nuclear weapons that threaten our people and our allies in the region," Pence said. In his address, Pence also said that ..
Government shutdown puts US at significant hacking risk
The partial US government shutdown has put sensitive departments at a significant hacking risk, cyber security experts have warned.
Trump taps 3 Indian-American experts for key admin posts
US President Donald Trump has nominated three influential Indian-Americans including a woman nuclear expert to powerful administration positions. Rita Baranwal was nominated for the post of Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy), Aditya Bamzai for member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and Bimal Patel as the assistant secretary of Treasury. The nomination of Baranwal, Bamzai and Patel was sent to the Senate Wednesday. So far, Trump has nominated or appointed more than three dozen Indian-Americans in key positions. Nikki Haley, the first cabinet ranking Indian-American and Raj Shah, the first Indian-American deputy Press Secretary, have left the Trump administration. Baranwal holds the post of Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be heading the powerful Office of Nuclear Energy. She will also be responsible for the department's nuclear technology research and the development and ...
Pak troops violate ceasefire in J-K's Poonch sector
Pakistan troops again on Thursday violated ceasefire in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian security forces are retaliating Pakistan army's ceasefire, police said.India on Wednesday summoned Pakistan High Commission official and lodged a strong protest at the unprovoked ceasefire violations (CFV) in Naushera and Sunderbani sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.Two Army personnel were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion that took place near the LoC in Naushera and Sunderbani sectors on January 11. An Army officer and a soldier, who got grievously injured, succumbed to their injuries in a hospital while undergoing treatment."Our strong concerns were shared at continued unprovoked firing and ceasefire violations across the Line of Control and the International Boundary," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
UK PM May narrowly survives no-confidence vote after Brexit defeat; reaches out to rivals
British Prime Minister Theresa May reached out to opposition parties to "constructively" work together on a new Brexit plan as she narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament, a day after her divisive divorce deal with the EU was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs. The prime minister won Parliament's first no-confidence vote in a British government in 26 years by 325 votes to 306, a majority of 19, on Wednesday. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after emerging victorious, 62-year-old May said the government has won the confidence of Parliament. This now gives "us all the opportunity to focus on finding a way forward on Brexit", she said. May promised to return to Parliament on Monday with an alternative Brexit strategy devised through talks with the opposition. "Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and also address the other important issues they care about," the Conservative leader said. This is now the time to put "self-interest aside", .
N.Korean negotiator headed to Washington
Kim Yong-chol, North Korea's lead negotiator in nuclear talks with the US, is expected to arrive in Washington on Thursday, according to informed sources.
Kumaraswamy offering money, ministerial posts to BJP MLAs: BS Yeddyurappa
BJP state unit chief and former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has alleged that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was indulging in horse-trading by offering money and ministerial posts to his MLAs."We are not indulging in any poaching. It is Chief Minister Kumaraswamy who is indulging in horse-trading. He himself is offering money and ministerial posts to our MLAs," Yeddyurappa said here on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.BJP MLAs from Karnataka who have camped themselves in Gurugram since Monday evening said that they were here to make strategies for the coming Lok Sabha polls and had not run away fearing poaching by the ruling Congress-JDS alliance.The charges of horse-trading were triggered after three Karnataka Congress MLAs visited Mumbai earlier on Monday, reportedly along with some BJP MLAs. This was followed by the Congress' allegation that the BJP was trying to poach the ruling party's MLAs to destabilise the JDS-Congress alliance government in ...
Trump to unveil missile defence review
US President Donald Trump will visit the Pentagon on Thursday to unveil his administration's long-awaited missile defence review, officials told CNN.
Congress Youth Wing to hoist National Flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk
The Congress party's youth wing is planning to hoist the National Flag at the Lal Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar area as part of its Yuva Kranti Yatra, highlighting the failure of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government across the country.The Yuva Kranti Yatra started on December 16 from Kanyakumari and is expected to reach New Delhi on January 30 where a big event has been planned. Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President Keshav Chandra Yadav and Vice President Srinivas BV are leading the Yatra which is scheduled to reach Srinagar on January 19.IYC spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey told ANI that the party is planning to hoist the National Flag at the Lal Chowk.Pandey said, "we are not going to have Biryani in Pakistan we are going to show to anti-India forces that youth stands with the spirit of India.""Our Yatra started from Kanyakumari and has almost travelled nine thousand kilometres from Tamila Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal. It ...
Tsipras wins confidence of the Greek Parliament with 151 votes
The Greek Parliament late on Wednesday renewed its support for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a leftist, after he asked for a vote of confidence when his coalition with the nationalists broke up on January 13 following a spat over the agreement reached with neighbouring Macedonia to rename that country.
US in criminal probe of China's Huawei: report
US authorities are in the "advanced" stages of a criminal probe that could result in an indictment of Chinese technology giant Huawei, a report said Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, said the Justice Department is looking into allegations of theft of trade secrets from Huawei's US business partners, including a T-Mobile robotic device used to test smartphones. The Justice Department declined to comment on the report and Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. The move would further escalate tensions between the US and China after the arrest last year in Canada of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is the daughter of the company founder. The case of Meng, under house arrest awaiting proceedings, has inflamed US-China and Canada-China relations. Two Canadians have been detained in China since Meng's arrest and a third has been sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges -- moves observers see as attempts by Beijing to pressure ...
Macedonia name row: Greek PM survives no-confidence vote
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday narrowly sailed through a no-confidence vote, paving the way for the Parliament to ratify an accord to officially change the name of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia.Tsipras won the vote 151 votes to 148 thereby averting snap elections that he had called.Terming the win as a 'vote in favour of stability', Tsipras was quoted by euronews as saying, "Today the Greek Parliament gave a vote of confidence in stability. We received a vote of confidence with our only concern to continue to address the needs and interests of the Greek people."On Sunday, the Greek Prime Minister called for the no-confidence vote after his right-wing coalition partner Panos Kammenos resigned in protest against the accord.For decades, Macedonia has been trying to gain membership of the North American Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU). However, Greece raised objections to the official usage of Macedonia's name, arguing that it implies ...
N Korea yet to take 'concrete steps' for denuclearisation: Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said that North Korea is yet to take "concrete steps" to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme in order to fulfill its commitment of achieving denuclearisation.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has repeatedly stated that his government is committed to fulfilling its promise and said the same even during his maiden meeting with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last June."While the president has started a promising dialogue with Chairman Kim, we still await concrete steps by North Korea to dismantle the nuclear weapons that threaten our people and our allies in the region," Pence was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying while briefing US chiefs of overseas diplomatic missions.The comments by Pence comes as Kim Yong Chol, North Korea's lead negotiator in nuclear talks with the US, is expected to visit Washington DC on Thursday evening.He will be spending Thursday night in Washington, following which he is slated to meet the US Secretary ..
British PM May wins confidence vote, calls on MPs to work together to deliver Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May has called on MPs to "put self-interest aside" and "work constructively together" towards Brexit after surviving a no confidence vote and averting a general election. The prime minister won by 325 votes to 306 - a majority of 19- on Wednesday, a day after her government suffered a historic parliamentary defeat over her Brexit divorce deal with the European Union. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after the voting, May said the government has won the confidence of Parliament.This now gives "us all the opportunity to focus on finding a way forward on Brexit", she said. "Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and also address the other important issues they care about," the Conservative leader said. This is now the time to put "self-interest aside", May said "Now MPs have made clear what they don't want, we must all work constructively together to set out what parliament does want." "That's why I am inviting MPs ...
US steps up Cuba pressure, mulls property lawsuits
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned foreign businesses Wednesday to steer clear of formerly private properties seized by Cuba -- and said he was considering allowing lawsuits over such assets in US courts. Pompeo said he was reviewing whether to move forward on a section of a 1996 law that would allow Cuban exiles to sue both private companies and Cuba itself for profiting on properties nationalized after Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. US administrations have systematically used their authority to delay implementation of the measure every six months -- but Pompeo said he was issuing a suspension for only 45 days. Pompeo said in a statement that US President Donald Trump's administration would conduct a "careful review" over the period, which will begin on February 1. The administration will look at "efforts to expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba and include factors such as the Cuban regime's brutal oppression of human rights and fundamental freedoms and its ...
Germany's far-right party under lens
Some sections of far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party will be put under surveillance, said the country's domestic security agency.The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said that it would put the AfD youth wing, 'Junge Alternative' (JA), and the party's far-right politician Bjorn Hocke and his supporters under the lens, CNN reported.Defending the move, BfV President Thomas Haldenwang said that the JA party members showed ''clear evidence of an anti-immigration and particularly anti-Muslim attitude," that violates Germany's democratic principles.He added that Hocke and his supporters are known for propagating "political rhetoric" that is in contrast to Germany's constitution provisions of human dignity, equality and democracy.Haldenwang asserted that the AfD party believed in "excluding and denouncing foreigners, migrants, Muslims in particular, and persons having a different political opinion and depriving them of almost all of their rights."In 2017, Hocke ...
Upskirting to be illegal across UK
Upskirting, the practice of taking secret photographs under a woman's skirt, is all set to be a criminal offence in England and Wales where offenders will face up to two years in jail.The legislation was passed by the House of Lords, the upper house of the UK Parliament on Tuesday and is now awaiting royal assent, CNN reported.The anti-upskirting law came into being after a 26-year-old woman Gina Martin had started an online campaign, stating that she was a victim of upskirting at a music festival some 18 months ago.Martin, who hails from Liverpool, was attending the function in London's Hyde Park when a man inappropriately rubbed against her while his friend lurked nearby.After the House of Lords passed the new legislation, Martin took to her Twitter handle, saying that she was "over the moon.""After becoming a victim and recognising the gap in the law, I.. partnered with Ryan Whelan, of Gibson Dunn and began 18 months of exhaustive, emotional and life-changing work. I always thought
Amid shutdown, Pelosi asks Trump to defer State of the Union address
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asked US President Donald Trump to postpone his State of the Union address set to be held on January 29, amid the partial government shutdown that has entered its record 26th day.In a letter to Trump, Pelosi said that since the Secret Service is responsible for ensuring security and the agency has not been funded due to the shutdown, the address should be deferred to a later date.Furthermore, the Democrat Senator from California suggested that the US President could deliver his comments for the State of the Union in writing, The Hill reported."Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after the government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th," Pelosi said.Meanwhile, US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, said that her department ..
US partisan divide on govt shutdown over border wall more sharply: Poll
With the partial shutdown of the federal government entering its 26th day, Americans' view on whether to expand the US-Mexico border wall has been more sharply divided along partisan lines, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday.
Greek PM wins confidence vote after Macedonia name row
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday survived a confidence vote after a row over a landmark name deal with Macedonia sunk his four-year coalition. A total of 151 lawmakers supported Tsipras' government out of 299 present, including several independent MPs, the official count showed. "Parliament today gave a vote of confidence to stability (and) the effort to regain the country's international credibility," Tsipras told reporters after the vote. "To a government which has already changed Greece and will continue until the completion of its constitutionally-mandated term," he said. Despite the victory, the subsequent fate of Tsipras' government -- and whether he will complete his four-year term which ends in September -- is far from certain. The PM now faces an immediate challenge to also push through parliament the controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia, which has sparked protests in both countries. In a speech to parliament on Tuesday, the 44-year-old leftist .