Page 205 - Politics
Japan PM on Tehran mission to ease Iran-US tensions
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for a rare diplomatic mission, hoping to defuse tensions between the Islamic republic and Tokyo's ally Washington. State television broadcast footage of Abe being greeted at Tehran's Mehrabad airport by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in 41 years, Abe was expected to go straight into talks with President Hassan Rouhani and to meet Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday morning. His arrival was preceded by that of Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, who held closed-door talks with Zarif. Addressing a cabinet meeting ahead of the visit, Rouhani said Iran's leaders and people were united in their view that "the main culprit is America. Not a single individual doubts it." "The (US) pressure has reached its full strength," he told the cabinet. Tehran is locked in a bitter standoff with Washington after President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 ...
US letter on F-35s not in spirit of alliance: Turkey
Turkey on Wednesday slammed Washington for sending a letter which threatened to remove Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet programme, saying the language used was "not in the spirit of the alliance".
Philippines blasts 'cowardly Chinese boat' over sinking
The Philippines on Wednesday condemned the "cowardly action" of a suspected Chinese fishing vessel accused of abandoning a Filipino fishing crew after a collision in the disputed South China Sea. The boat on Sunday hit a Filipino craft anchored near Reed Bank -- claimed by both Manila and Beijing -- causing it to sink and leaving 22 crewmen "to the mercy of the elements", said defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana. Although Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has largely set aside the bitter dispute with Beijing over the resource-rich waterway, Manila does sometimes protest against Chinese action. "We condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly action of the suspected Chinese fishing vessel and its crew for abandoning the Filipino crew," Lorenzana said in a statement. "This is not the expected action from a responsible and friendly people." Lorenzana called for an investigation into the collision, and for "diplomatic steps" to prevent a repeat of the incident. However, Philippine ...
All Waqf properties to be geo tagged: Naqvi
The government has launched a programme for geo-tagging and digitisation of Waqf properties across the country to ensure their better utilisation for social welfare, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday. There are around 5.77 lakh registered Waqf properties across the country.
Boris launches leadership bid, says UK must leave EU on Oct. 31
Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Wednesday said that the UK must leave the European Union on October 31 as he launched his bid to replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May as leader of the Conservatives.
Kosovo celebrates 20 years of NATO-brought freedom
Kosovo on Wednesday celebrated the 20th anniversary of the deployment of NATO troops in an operation that helped stop a Serb military crackdown on ethnic Albanians that left more than 10,000 dead. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and ex-NATO commander Wesley Clark were joined by other world leaders at Skenderbeu Square downtown the capital, Pristina. Recalling the intervention, Albright described how Clinton woke her up in the night to tell her that jets had left for Kosovo, saying: "We are doing the right thing!" "We did it because our cause was fair," she said. "We will never forget about you. The future belongs to you." Long applause broke out in the square, and some held a big U.S. flag and shouted "U.S.A.!" Clinton called on Kosovars to "never forget the challenges" ahead. "A new form of courage and patience is needed to build the future," he said. Kosovo's 1998-99 war ended with a 78-day NATO air campaign. It declared independence ...
New Kazakh president inaugurated, will emulate predecessor
The new president of Kazakhstan has been inaugurated, promising to pursue the course of his predecessor, who had run the country since independence. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took the oath of office on Wednesday, three days after the election in which he recorded about 70 per cent of the vote. Tokayev was acting president following the surprise resignation in March of Nursultan Nazarbayev. "It has to be recognised that, in these elections, citizens voted for the continuation of the course of the Elbasy," said Tokayev, referring to the title accorded to Nazarbayev meaning "leader of the nation." With that title and his role as head of the national security council, Nazarbayev will remain a powerful figure in Kazakhstan. The transition comes amid rising dissent in Kazakhstan. More than 500 people were arrested in election-day protests.
Operation Bluestar: About 16K artefacts of Golden Temple not coming back
Thirty-five years have gone, still there is no whereabouts of over 16,000 artefacts relating to the Sikh religion and history after they were allegedly taken over by the Army following Operation Bluestar from the Golden Temple complex.
President Xi heads to Bishkek to attend SCO summit; Set to meet PM Modi
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday left for Kyrgyz capital Bishkek where he would attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on its sidelines, the first meeting between the two leaders after the BJP's massive victory in the general elections. The 19th summit of the SCO is due to be held on June 13-14 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The SCO is a China-led eight-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017. President Xi has left for Kyrgyzstan, where he would attend the SCO summit, official media here reported. The SCO summit will be the first major international event being attended by Prime Minister Modi after his re-election. He would meet President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. In a sign of the importance attached to the SCO, which focuses on the security and counter terrorism cooperation among the member countries, Modi invited Kyrgyz ...
K'taka govt forms SIT to probe alleged Ponzi scheme fraud
An 11-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by the Karnataka government to probe the alleged financial fraud perpetrated by an investment firm here, leaving thousands of investors in the lurch. The owner of the city-based IMA Jewellers, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, disappeared two days ago, after allegedly threatening to commit suicide. The police have formed teams to trace him. Most of the investors in Khan's firm are Muslims. Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy tweeted on Wednesday, saying the SIT would be headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police B R Ravikanthe Gowda. The other members of the team are Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) S Girish, Additional Commissioner of Police of the Central Crime Branch Balaraju and deputy commissioners of police K Ravishankar, Raja Imam Kasim and Abdul Khadar. The SIT will have five police inspectors too. The police have registered a case against IMA Jewellers and Khan. The investors camped at IMA Jewellers' office at Shivajinagar .
Shops reopen as Sudan generals, protesters agree to talk
Shops began to reopen in Sudan's capital on Wednesday after demonstrators called off a nationwide civil disobedience campaign and agreed to new talks, though many residents remained indoors following last week's deadly crackdown. The breakthrough in the standoff between the military rulers who toppled veteran leader Omar al-Bashir and protesters demanding civilian rule followed mediation led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The United Nations Security Council called on the generals and protest leaders to resolve the crisis triggered by the June 3 crackdown on a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum that killed dozens. Global diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff were expected to get a boost from a visit by a top US official who was due to meet with the two sides. The slow return to normality came after an Ethiopian envoy of Abiy announced that the protest leaders and the ruling military council had agreed to resume talks and that a three-day civil ...
PM not to fly over Pakistan while travelling to Bishkek for SCO meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not fly over Pakistan on his way to Bishkek on Thursday to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the External Affairs Ministry said. It said Modi's aircraft will fly over Oman, Iran and several Central Asian countries to reach the Kyrgyz capital. "The government of India had explored two options for the route to be taken by the VVIP aircraft to Bishkek. A decision has now been taken that the VVIP aircraft will fly via Oman, Iran and Central Asian countries on the way to Bishkek," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Wednesday. He was responding to media queries regarding the route to be taken by the prime minister while travelling to Bishkek. On Monday, a Pakistani official told PTI that Islamabad has accorded an "in principle" approval to India's request. India's decision on the prime minister's travel route to Bishkek appears surprising as it had only requested Pakistan to let Modi's aircraft fly over its airspace when he ...
J&K Governor reiterates readiness for peace talks
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said here on Wednesday the government was ready for talks with anybody who would shun the gun and work for peace.
India snubs Pakistan: PM's plane to bypass its airspace
In a clear snub to Islamabad, New Delhi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis special plane will bypass pakistan's airspace en route to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan where he is going on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
Rahul is, will be Congress chief: Surjewala
Members of the erstwhile core group committee of the Congress met here on Wednesday and discussed the party's preparations for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was headed by senior Congress leader A.K. Antony.
CLP merger row: HC issues notice to T'gana Speaker, 12 MLAs
The Telangana High Court Wednesday issued notices to the state Assembly Speaker and 12 Congress defectors on a petition challenging the merger of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) with the TRS. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Shameem Akther issued notices to the Speaker, Assembly Secretary and 12 Congress MLAs and asked them to file their counters within four weeks CLP leader M Bhatti Vikramarka and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N Uttam Kumar Reddy moved the High Court Monday with a plea to suspend the 'bulletin' on the merger issued by the Telangana State legislature secretary at the behest of the Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy. In a jolt to the Congress in Telangana, the Speaker recognised 12 of its 18 MLAs on June six as members of the TRS legislature party, hours after they moved him seeking merger of their group with the ruling party. The Speaker acceded the request of the defected MLAs ...
BJP reconstitutes Parliamentary Party Executive Committee
The Bhartiya Janata Party has reconstituted its Parliamentary Party Executive Committee with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as its members.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been appointed as the Deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha. Thawar Chand Gehlot has been appointed as the Leader of the Party in Rajya Sabha with Piyush Goyal as his deputy, according to a statement released by the party.The Committee was constituted on Tuesday, the party said.Prahlad Joshi has been appointed the government's Chief Whip while Arjun Ram Meghwal and V Murleedharan will be the Deputy Chief Whip of the government in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.Dr Sanjay Jaiswal has been appointed party's Chief Whip in Lok Sabha and Narayan Lal Panchariya has been appointed the party's Chief Whip in Upper House of Parliament.Gopal Shetty will be the new Treasurer.The other leaders who have been appointed as the whips in Lok Sabha are - Pratima Bhaumik, ...
LJP says it will try to persuade JD(U) to join Modi govt
The Lok Janshakti Party on Wednesday said it will try to persuade the JD(U) to join the Narendra Modi government on expansion of the Union cabinet, which is likely within six months. LJP state unit president Pashupati Kumar Paras also said that his party was looking forward to contest the assembly polls in Bihar next year as part of the NDA under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United). The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar comprises JD(U), BJP and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan's LJP. There has been intense speculation over BJP-JD(U) ties ever since the JD(U) did not join the new NDA government at the centre after it was offered a single Cabinet berth. "It will be our endeavour to take the JD(U) on board when the Union cabinet expands in about six months. We are also looking forward to repeating the success of the Lok Sabha polls, wherein the NDA won 39 out of 40 seats in the state, in the assembly polls next year," Paras told a ...
Panel to probe social media attack against Cong leaders in Kerala
The Kerala unit of the Congress on Wednesday said it had set up a committee to probe the social media attack against its senior leaders, including A K Antony, following the party's massive drubbing in the Lok Sabha election. Former Union minister and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor will head the panel and file a report, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullapally Ramachandran told reporters here. The Congress won only 52 seats nationally in the recently-concluded parliamentary polls and its leaders A K Antony and party general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal were criticised in the social media in Kerala for the drubbing. A comprehensive probe into the social media attack against the leaders will be carried out by Tharoor, Ramachandran said. If needed, an independent agency's help would also be sought to prepare a fact-finding report, he added. "The attackers, by indulging in character assassination of senior leaders, crossed all limits of ...
WB guv convenes all-party meet in wake of post-poll violence
West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has convened a meeting of major political parties on Thursday in view of the ongoing post-poll violence in the state, sources in the Raj Bhavan said. Tripathi has sent a letter to all prominent political parties in Bengal, urging them to attend the all-party meet at 4 pm at Raj Bhavan, they said. Welcoming the move, West Bengal BJP unit president Dilip Ghosh said the state government should have taken the initiative. "We welcome the decision. We have received Tripathi's letter. We would be attending tomorrow's meeting," he told PTI. The Trinamool Congress leadership, however, said it was yet to receive any letter. "Once we receive the letter, we would take a call on it," said a senior TMC leader.