Page 208 - Politics
Sheila Dikshit meets Delhi CM, raises power and water supply-related issues
Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit Wednesday met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the power and water woes being faced by the people in the city. A Delhi Congress delegation, led by the former Delhi chief minister, met Kejriwal at his Flagstaff Road residence here. "Dikshit raised the power and water crisis faced by people during the meeting with the chief minister and demanded withdrawal of fixed charge hike in electricity bills," Delhi Congress working president Haroon Yusuf said after the meeting. The chief minister assured that the fixed charges will be brought to the previous lower rates, he said. Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the complaints of the Congress leaders were replied to with facts during the meeting following which they did not have anything to say.
Hong Kong stocks sink as city is hit by protests
Hong Kong stocks tumbled Wednesday as the city was rocked by a massive protest against government plans for a controversial extradition law. The Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.73 percent, or 480.88 points, to 27,308.46. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.56 percent, or 16.34 points, to 2,909.38, and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, lost 0.64 percent, or 9.83 points, to 1,528.40.
Syria says air defence downs Israeli missiles
Syrian air defence shot down Israeli missiles targeting the south of the country Wednesday, state media said, as a monitor reported positions of the regime's Lebanese ally Hezbollah had been hit. The attack was launched in the early hours of the morning against the Tall al-Hara sector near the Golan Heights, according to official news agency SANA, which said there had been no casualties. It did not specify what had been targeted. SANA also accused Israel of conducting an "electronic war" and "jamming" Syrian radar. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strikes had targeted positions of the Hezbollah Shiite movement in two locations, but without causing any casualties. "All the positions hit had the Lebanese Hezbollah there," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. The missiles targeted Tall al-Hara, a hill in the southern province of Daraa where Hezbollah has radars and the regime has air defence batteries, said the Observatory, which relies ..
PM Modi meets governors of 3 states, Assam CM
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, Bihar Governor Lalji Tandon and Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday.Later, Assam Chief Minister, Sarbanand Sonowal also called on Modi.On May 18, the Prime Minister met governors of Karnataka, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang.
Congress leaders approached me to oust Kamal Nath govt, claims Kailash Vijayvargiya
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Wednesday claimed that senior Congress leaders have approached him to oust the chief minister Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh government."Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiaditya Scindia and Suresh Pachouri approached me and said that Kailash ji the government will fall if you wish. I said I do not want to topple the government. Then Scindia ji's people approached me and said that they want to bring down the government run by a liar like Kamal Nath. He is a fraudster, they said. We are with you. Then Suresh Pachouri's people approached me to topple the government...," he said while addressing Farmers agitation rally in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.He also criticized Kamal Nath for allegedly supporting corruption and making efforts to promote his son as a future politician of the country."Kamal Nath has caused harm to himself by promoting his son Nakul Nath and ignoring other leaders. All the OSDs of Kamal Nath have note counting machines. One of the .
Pompeo to discuss 'ambitious agenda' for Indo-US strategic ties with Modi, Jaishankar
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will discuss the Trump administration's "ambitious agenda" for the US-India strategic partnership when he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar this month in New Delhi, the state department said. Pompeo will travel to four countries -- India, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Korea -- in the Indo-Pacific region from June 24 to 30. The four-nation Indo-Pacific swing by Pompeo is to broaden and deepen America's partnerships with key countries to advance their shared goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday. "Prime Minister Modi's recent election victory provides an excellent opportunity for him to implement his vision for a strong and prosperous India that plays a leading role on the global stage," Ortagus said. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi are also scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28-29. In ...
Ex-Madhya Pradesh minister Shivnarayan Meena dies of heart attack
Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Shivnarayan Meena died in Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand after suffering a heart attack.The 68-year-old leader was on a pilgrimage tour to Kedarnath temple where he suffered the attack in the wee hours of Tuesday.He had served as a minister in the Congress regime in Madhya Pradesh when Digvijaya Singh was in power more than 15 years ago.
Japan's Abe in Tehran mission to ease Iran-US tensions
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected in Tehran for a rare diplomatic mission, hoping to ease tensions between the Islamic republic and Tokyo's key ally Washington. The first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in 41 years, Abe is expected to arrive in Tehran at around 1120 GMT and go straight into talks with President Hassan Rouhani. Tehran is locked in a bitter standoff with Washington after President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May last year. Washington has since reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions that have forced Japan to halt its once substantial purchases of Iranian oil and launched a military buildup in the Gulf. "Amid concerns over growing tension in the Middle East and with the attention of the international community on the issue, Japan wishes to do its best towards peace and stability in the region," Abe told reporters in Tokyo before leaving for Tehran. "Based on traditional friendly ties between Japan and Iran, I would like .
Two Canadians kidnapped in Ghana freed: official
Two young Canadian women kidnapped at a golf club in Ghana last week were freed in an operation by security forces on Wednesday, a government official said. "National Security Operatives in the early hours of Wednesday 12 June, 2019 completed an operation which successfully rescued the two Canadian women recently abducted" in Kumasi, Ghana's second city, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said in a statement.
Govt plans to induct private sector specialists at crucial mid-level of bureaucratic hierarchy
The Centre has planned to induct private sector specialists at the posts of Deputy Secretary and Director, considered as crucial decision-making levels in the bureaucratic hierarchy, officials said Wednesday. Usually these posts are manned by government servants selected through various Group A services like the IAS and from the promotee officers of the Central Secretariat Service among others. C Chandramouli, the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), has asked officials concerned to prepare a formal proposal for the induction of domain experts at the level of DS and Director, the officials said. A total of 40 such officers are likely to be appointed initially, they said. Government think-tank Niti Aayog had in a report highlighted that it was essential that specialists be inducted into the system through lateral entry on fixed-term contract. Niti Aayog is also considering to appoint domain experts at different levels, from Deputy Secretary to Joint Secretary, .
YSRCP leader says meeting between Jagan Mohan Reddy and Narasimha Rao was a "courtesy meeting"
The meeting between BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy was nothing more than a courtesy, said YSR Congress Party leader Manoj Kothari on Wednesday."This is just a normal courtesy meeting between the two leaders. They met because GVL Narasimha is also a senior politician and he wanted to congratulate Reddy on becoming the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh," Kothari told ANI here.Narasimha Rao met Jagan Mohan Reddy at his official residence and held a closed-door meeting with him on Tuesday.He added there are no talks of YSRCP joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the centre and rubbished media reports which claim a coalition is about to take place."Whatever news is coming in the newspapers or electronic media are false, they haven't come from anywhere. We are not a part of the NDA government, Jagan Mohan Reddy has got a good number of seats in his own name in Andhra Pradesh," Kothari said.On being asked whether there ..
Venezuela says 17 arrested and charged over anti-Maduro 'coup'
Venezuelan authorities said that 17 people have been charged with attempting a "coup" since a failed April 30 uprising against President Nicolas Maduro. "There are 34 people being investigated, of whom 17 have been detained and charged" for having "attempted a coup d'etat," said Attorney General Tarek William Saab Tuesday. Fifteen opposition lawmakers have been stripped of their immunity by the regime-dominated Constituent Assembly for having supported the attempted uprising led by Juan Guaido, who heads the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Guaido's deputy Edgar Zambrano was one of those arrested and charged while the other 14 have either sought refuge in diplomatic missions, fled the country or gone into hiding. Surrounded by a group of around 30 military personnel, Guaido appeared in a video shared on social media on April 30 calling on the armed forces to rise up against Maduro. But following two days of deadly clashes between protesters and the security forces, the revolt .
Roadside bomb kills 6 civilians in southern Afghanistan
An Afghan official says six people were killed when a civilian vehicle struck a roadside bomb in southern Kandahar province. Provincial councilman Yousof Younosi says all the victims were from a single family two children, two women and two men. The attack took place on Tuesday in Dand district. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Younosi blamed the Taliban who are active in the province and regularly stage attacks against Afghan forces and government officials. Meanwhile, Jawad Hajri, spokesman for the governor in northeastern Takhar province, said security forces repelled Taliban attacks on checkpoints in Khoja Ghor district on Tuesday. He says three pro-government fighters were killed as well as 15 insurgents. The Taliban claimed their fighters had overrun the Khoja Ghor district headquarters.
Former Congress minister Shivnarayan Meena dies
Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Shivnarayan Meena died at Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand after suffering a heart attack, a family source said Wednesday. Meena, 68, was on a pilgrimage tour to Uttarakhand where he suffered the heart attack late Tuesday night and died, the source said. He served as a minister in the previous Congress-led state government headed by Digvijay Singh. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and senior Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed condolences over Meena's demise. His last rites will be performed at his native village Kitakhedi in Guna district on Thursday, the source said. Meena is survived by a son and a daughter.
Iran newspaper to Japan: 'How Can You Trust A War Criminal?'
With Japan's prime minister on the way to Tehran for a historic visit, a hard-line Iranian paper published a front page image Wednesday of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear blast a reference to America's bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II that underscores the challenge ahead for Shinzo Abe. Abe's trip is the highest-level effort yet to de-escalate tensions between the US and Iran as Tehran appears poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers, an accord that the Trump administration pulled out of last year. It's also the first visit of a sitting Japanese premier in the 40 years since the Islamic Revolution. But success may prove difficult for Abe, as the front page of the daily Farheekhtegan, or Educated, suggests. "How Can You Trust A War Criminal, Mr. Abe?" the newspaper asked in dual English and Farsi headlines. Hard-line news outlets in Iran immediately picked up the front page from the paper, published by students of Islamic Azad ...
Air India case: Praful Patel avoids ED again
Former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Wednesday again skipped questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an investigation into how Air India ceded profitable routes to private airlines.
US considers providing temporary asylum to Venezuelans
President Donald Trump here on Tuesday (local time) said that he was looking into the possibility of granting temporary asylum to thousands of Venezuelans who have fled to the United States amid political turmoil in their country.Al Jazeera quoted Trump as saying that the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela was a horrible thing that has "been brewing for a long time", and his administration was looking at granting Venezuelans temporary protected status "very seriously."However, Trump's remark entirely contradicts his own tough stance on the immigration crisis. Lately, Washington has moved to discontinue the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for many countries. The Trump administration, in addition, also implemented a "zero-tolerance" policy at the US southern border with Mexico.The TPS is granted to people from the countries ravaged by natural disasters or war and allows them to stay in the US until the situation improves back at home.Meanwhile, two congressional ...
17 arrested, charged in Venezuela attempted coup
Venezuelan authorities have said that 17 people have been arrested and charged in the coup attempt on April 30.
Protest against China extradition bill paralyses Hong Kong
Tens of thousands of protesters paralysed central Hong Kong on Wednesday, blocking major roads in a defiant show of strength against government plans to allow extraditions to China. Black-clad demonstrators, most of them young people and students, surrounded government offices, bringing traffic to a standstill as they called on authorities to scrap the Beijing-backed law. Rows of riot police were far outnumbered by protesters -- many who wore face masks, helmets or goggles -- just hours ahead of a scheduled debate in the city's legislature. By late morning, with crowds swelling, officials in the Legislative Council (Legco) said they would delay the second reading of the bill "to a later date". In scenes echoing the Occupy movement in 2014 that shut down swathes of the city for months, people flooded major roads and junctions in the heart of the city, dragging barricades onto highways and tying them together. Others plucked loose bricks from pavements. Some protesters in cars ...
Australian opposition calls for review of press freedom
Australia's opposition on Wednesday called for a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom after police raids on a media organization's Sydney headquarters and a journalist's Canberra home seeking to uncover the source of government leaks. The government, meanwhile, was defending the nation's potent array of security laws, which have come under criticism since the raids last week on Australian Broadcasting Corp. in Sydney and News Corp. Australia reporter Annika Smethurst's home. Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally called for the bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to investigate whether the balance between press freedom and national security is right in legislation passed since the conservative government was first elected in 2013. She wrote in The Australian newspaper that Australia was an outlier among its Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand in not having such oversight. There was .