Page 215 - Politics
Telangana: Congress stages protest against Bhatti Vikramarka's arrest
Amidst ongoing political slugfest in Telangana, Congress leaders on Tuesday staged a 'rasta-roko' protest at BN Reddy Circle here against Bhatti Vikramarka's arrest and forced hospitalisation.The protest, organised by Telangana National Students' Union of India (NSUI), comes after the police on Monday arrested Vikramarka and shifted him to the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in view of his deteriorating health condition.The Congress Legislative party leader was on an infinite hunger strike since June 8, protesting against the crossover of the party's 12 legislators to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).On June 6, as many as 12 out of 18 MLAs of the Congress met Telangana Assembly Speaker to join Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao's party.
Saga of Opp-mukt assembly & friendly party seeking LoP post
Some see it as an opposition-mukt assembly in Telangana after two-thirds of Congress MLAs joined the ruling TRS ranks. A few others argue the opposition may be woefully short on numbers but they can be as effective as they might be in case they had a decent strength. The TRS had won 88 seats in the 119-member assembly in the December last elections which saw the Congress bagging 19, the AIMIM led by Hyderabad Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi seven, the TDP two and the BJP one. An independent MLA, another who won on All India Forward Bloc ticket and a TDP lawmaker crossed over to the TRS thereafter. And then began an exodus from the Congress early March culminating in its 12th MLA jumping the ship last week and the Speaker giving his nod for request of the dozen legislators to merge with the TRS legislature party. This boosted to 103 the TRS tally in the House with an effective strength of 118 after the state Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy resigned his seat following
Pakistan, Afghanistan hold talks to reset bilateral ties
Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman called on Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here on Tuesday in a bid to reset bilateral ties between the neighbouring countries.On his part, Qureshi reassured Zaman that Pakistan remained committed to durable peace and stability in Afghanistan which is a pre-requisite for development and prosperity of Afghanistan and the region, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan.Zaman is currently on a visit to Islamabad to participate in the first quarterly review session of the Afghanistan- Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) that held its first meeting on Monday.The APAPPS was established in May last year to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional bilateral engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan in diverse areas of cooperation.The mechanism works through five Working Groups namely Politico-Diplomatic, Military-to-Military Coordination, Intelligence ...
BJP assured respect for NDA allies in Kerala: P.C.George
Assured by BJP's top leadership of being treated with respect, Kerala Janapaksham (Secular), the newest ally of the NDA in the state, feels its joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was the right decision, said its chief P.C.George.
Pawar to meet NCP leaders to identify Assembly poll candidates
NCP chief Sharad Pawar will hold district-wise meetings with the party's local leaders starting June 13 to identify potential candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, sources said Tuesday. According to a party statement, state NCP president Jayant Patil, senior leaders of the party like Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar and others will also attend the meetings, which will be held on June 14, June 15, June 21 and June 23 too. The NCP has invited its sitting and former MLAs and MPs, state office-bearers, mayors and ex-mayors and others holding party positions. The NCP had won 41 seats in the 2014 Assembly polls, while it won five seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, including four from Maharashtra. "In the meetings, the NCP president will seek opinions and identify probable candidates for the Assembly polls," a party insider said. The leader said the party may get 144 seats as its share out of the 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra as part of the understanding .
Iran revokes New York Times correspondent's accreditation
Iran has revoked the press accreditation for The New York Times' correspondent based in Tehran without explanation, the newspaper reported Tuesday. While the newspaper said it remained hopeful Thomas Erdbrink soon would be allowed to work again, the revocation comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran stemming from President Donald Trump's withdrawal from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers a year ago. Iran pulled Erdbrink's government-required authorization to work as a journalist four months ago, the Times said. He's been unable to work since February and the Times said it decided to go public with his situation "after recent speculation and comments on social media." "Officials of Iran's Foreign Ministry have repeatedly assured The Times that Mr. Erdbrink's credential would soon be restored but have offered no explanation for the delays or for why it was revoked," the Times reported , quoting international editor Michael Slackman. "He added that there are some ...
Thai junta chief proclaimed second-time prime minister
Thailand's junta leader has been officially proclaimed prime minister after the king endorsed Parliament's vote to allow him to keep the position. Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha knelt to a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn during a ceremony at his government office Tuesday to accept a royal endorsement for him to continue his role as prime minister. Prayuth has served as prime minister since he led a military coup that toppled an elected government in 2014. The junta will cease power once a new Cabinet is inaugurated. Prayuth's government had enacted new election laws that gave him an advantage in a general election held in March. Prayuth did not contest the election but won a joint Parliament vote last week to become prime minister.
Pompeo to accompany Trump to Japan, S Korea for denuclearisation talks
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is scheduled to accompany President Donald Trump on his visit to Japan and South Korea in late June, as per the US State Department.The US official will be joining Trump after paying a visit to India and Sri Lanka from June 24 to June 30, reports Xinhua.Washington will be holding talks over the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula during its respective meetings with the two East Asian nations.He will be present during the US President's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, which is slated to be held in Osaka from June 28 to 29.Morgan Ortagus, the Spokesperson for the US State Department, added that Trump and Pompeo would then head to South Korea to hold a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.This comes as denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have hit a roadblock after the second summit between the two countries in Vietnam earlier this year. No signs of thaw can be seen ..
4 Governors, including Rajasthan's Kalyan Singh, meet Amit Shah
Governors of four states including Rajasthan met Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday and discussed various issues concerning their respective states, officials said. Apart from Rajasthan's Kalyan Singh, the governors who met the home minister are Gujarat's Om Prakash Kohli, Karnataka's Vajubhai Vala and Uttarakhand's Baby Rani Maurya. The governors met Shah separately and a home ministry official described the meetings as courtesy calls on the new Home Minister, who assumed charge on June 1. The home minister discussed with the governors issues concerning their respective states, the official said.
Punjab: Sangrur residents angry over borewell death of toddler
People in Punjab's Sangrur district held protest against the state government on Tuesday over the death of a two-year-old boy, who fell into a 150-feet-borewell on June 6 and was pulled out after a frantic operation lasting nearly 200 hours.The protestors expressed anger against the administration over the delay in reaching out to the toddler, Fatehveer Singh, who was rushed to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research here."The body is in a decomposed state and a foul smell is emanating from it. It seems that the child died two days ago," said an employee at the hospital's mortuary.Angry over the incident, some residents believe the authorities didn't do enough to save the child.Fatehveer boy fell into an abandoned borewell last week outside his house. In the joint operation, the NDRF and local administration dug a parallel pit to rescue the child.There was not enough space in the 9-inch diameter borewell for the child to move. But a movement in his body was noticed ..
Virendra Kumar to be Pro tem Speaker of Lok Sabha
Former Union Minister and seven-time MP Virendra Kumar will be the Pro tem Speaker of the new Lok Sabha which will have its first session on June 17.
J-K bank case: I-T officials raid offices, locations linked to Dy Mayor of Srinagar
The Income Tax (I-T) department on Tuesday raided office and other business locations linked to Deputy Mayor of Srinagar, Sheikh Imran in connection with Jammu and Kashmir bank case.Ten premises linked to Imran in Srinagar, Delhi, and Banglore have been raided by the I-T sleuths so far.The Anti Corruption Bureau on June 8 had registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act to look into allegations related to illegal or fraudulent appointments made by the officials of J & K Bank.More details are awaited.
North Korea demands US ends hostility one year on from Singapore
North Korea on Tuesday called on the US to "roll back its hostile policy", a day before the first anniversary of a historic summit between its leader and president Donald Trump. The first-ever meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president took place on June 12 last year in Singapore, where Kim Jong Un and Trump signed a vaguely-worded deal to achieve "complete denuclearisation". But a second meeting in Vietnam in February ended abruptly as the two failed to agree on what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. The joint statement from the Singapore meeting "of great historic significance is now on the verge of turning into a dead document as the US shuns its implementation", said the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It added the "arrogant and unilateral policy" of the US would never work with North Korea. "There is a limit to the DPRK's patience," it said, using the acronym for the North's official name, adding: ...
New York Times to cease political cartoons after anti-Semitism row
The New York Times has announced it will no longer include daily political cartoons in its international edition, weeks after apologising for publishing a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deemed anti-Semitic. The cartoon, published in April, depicted Netanyahu as a guide dog wearing a Star of David collar and leading a blind Donald Trump -- who was wearing a kippah, or a Jewish skullcap. It prompted an uproar within the Jewish community, with Israel's ambassador to the UN likening the drawing to the content of Nazi propaganda tabloid Der Sturmer. Editor James Bennet said the paper had planned for a year to cease running political cartoons in the international print version of the Times, in line with the US edition. The decision will come into effect on July 1, Bennet said in a Monday statement. Patrick Chappatte, one of the paper's leading cartoonists, said the decision was directly related to the Netanyahu cartoon. He condemned the publication of the ...
Patnaik meets PM Modi
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. He met the PM days after being sworn in as the chief minister of the state for the fifth consecutive term. The Prime Minister's Office tweeted a picture of the two leaders meeting here. The Biju Janata Dal, which secured 112 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly in the recently concluded elections, has been in power in the state since 2000 and Patnaik elected as CM in all the terms.
SC agrees to hear plea filed by the students in Maharashtra EWS quota case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the plea of the students pertaining to the PG medical admissions in Maharashtra.The petitioners are claiming that they are compelled to seek post-graduate medical admission in private medical colleges, having exorbitant fees, after the apex court scrapped implementation of the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in the state.The bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee said that it would hear the plea of students who want to be considered for admission to government colleges.On June 4, the Supreme Court had scrapped EWS reservation for the current academic year, reverted the reserved seats to open category, and directed government to "conduct fresh counselling for PG medical seats in the state of Maharashtra for the academic year 2019-2020 by issuing fresh advertisements".The judicature also directed the state government to conduct fresh admissions for only open category students. The order had further stated that "no student .
Karnataka, Arunachal governors meet PM
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. The Prime Minister's Office tweeted a picture of the meeting. The ruling JD(S)-Congress alliance in Karnataka has been under strain for the past few moths. A cabinet expansion is on the cards as rebel legislators are using defection as a bargaining chip to procure ministerial berths. Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (retd) also called on the PM, the PMO said.
Army jawan killed in 'unprovoked ceasefire violation' by Pak Army
A jawan on Monday was killed after Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Poonch sector on the line of control (LoC), the defence ministry said."At about 17:00 PM on June 10, Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Poonch Sector on the line of control (LoC). In the incident, Lance Naik Mohammad Jawed was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries," a press release by Defence Wing PRO said.28-years-old Jawed hails from Village Marrar of Bihar's Khagaria district and is survived by his wife.
Pompeo to visit Delhi before Modi-Trump meeting
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he will be visiting India later this month to build on "an incredibly important relationship" that is "closely tied economically".
Hong Kong chief says extradition law will go to legislature
Hong Kong's leader says a highly controversial extradition law will proceed to the territory's legislature. Carrie Lam's comments on Tuesday came after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory over the weekend to the legislative proposal that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protest appeared to be Hong Kong's largest in more than a decade and reflected growing apprehension about relations with the Communist Party-ruled mainland. Lam said the government had considered concerns from the private sector and altered the bill to improve human rights safeguards. The full Hong Kong legislature is expected to resume debate on the amendments on Wednesday, and a vote is expected this month.