Page 217 - Politics
Internet blackout across Sudan
Landline internet connections were down across Sudan on Monday, a week after mobile online services were cut following a deadly crackdown on protesters. Internet lines from the country's main provider Sudatel stopped working in the capital Khartoum in the early afternoon, an AFP correspondent said, adding the outage had affected embassies, luxury hotels and offices. Cyber security monitor Netblocks said "an almost total blackout" started around noon local time. "It's the first time Sudantel has cut off everything in the country," a spokesman for the group said. "It was not switching off data centres, more like a digital cutting of all lines," he said, adding the monitor first noticed "signs of disconnection" at the weekend. The cuts come as a nationwide civil disobedience campaign entered its second day against the country's ruling generals who took power after the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in April. Protest organisers said the campaign would run until the generals ...
Sushma denies reports of her appointment as Andhra Governor
Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday denied reports that she has been appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
Modi to have bilateral discussions with Macron ahead of G7 summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in August to attend the outreach session of the G7 summit will be preceded by a bilateral engagement with French President Emmanuel Macron, French Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Jean Baptiste Lemoyne said on Monday.
Huawei denies being bound by Chinese spy laws
Huawei's cyber security chief told the UK parliament Monday that the Chinese telecoms giant has been advised it was under no obligation to spy for Beijing if so asked by the Communist state. John Suffolk told a committee hearing that Huawei has sought guidance from its attorneys to see if a Chinese law on domestic companies' cooperation with the government on security matters could force it to conduct foreign intelligence work. The legislation has been cited by US President Donald Trump's administration in its attempts to force governments across the world to drop Huawei from their 5G network development plans. Suffolk's appearance before the UK parliament's science and technology committee came as Britain prepares to publish delayed policy guidelines for the next-generation technology's rollout. "There are no laws in China that obligate us to work with the Chinese government with anything whatsoever," Suffolk said. "Our legal advice is that is not the case." Britain and other states .
Beating Boris: Race to replace UK's May kicks off
The contest to replace Theresa May as Britain's next leader heated up on Monday, with candidates lining up to define themselves against the "bluff and bluster" of frontrunner Boris Johnson. Eleven Conservative MPs are vying to succeed May, who quit as the party's leader on Friday over her failure to take Britain out of the European Union on time. She remains premier until her replacement is chosen, likely in late July, and whoever it is will automatically enter Downing Street. The race is dominated by Britain's looming EU exit on October 31, with leading Brexiteer Johnson, the former foreign secretary, among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the divorce terms or leave without a deal. The bombastic former London mayor has been keeping a low public profile but is campaigning hard behind the scenes, and his rivals tacitly acknowledged he is the one to beat. Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who is battling a scandal over his admission that he took cocaine, jeered at ...
Women travelling in Delhi Metro to and from NCR destinations may get fare exemption: Minister
Women travelling in the Delhi Metro to and from NCR destinations may get benefit of the AAP government's fare exemption scheme if their boarding or de-boarding station lies in the national capital, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said Monday. The government has proposed to allow free ride to women in public transport buses and Metro trains in view of their safety. Delhi Metro trains run across Delhi and also connect NCR destinations including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh in Haryana and Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. "We can do this for such women commuters travelling between Delhi and NCR destinations," Gahlot told reporters. The Transport department and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) are preparing a detailed report on the proposal. The transport department has was directed by Gahlot to prepare a Cabinet note on the proposal by June 11. The government has extended the last date for receiving feedback on the proposal from stakeholders to June 30. ...
Make India $5 trillion economy: PM to secretaries (2nd Lead)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked the top bureaucrats of each government department to plan, create roadmap and take decisions to make India a $5 trillion economy while making "ease of living" their top priority.
Bengal deprived of coal, says Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Centre of depriving the state of getting coal for generating power for the last six months so that the eastern state is forced to resort to load shedding.
New Chief Secretary in Tripura
The Tripura government on Monday appointed senior IAS officer Usurupati Venkateswarlu as the new Chief Secretary of the state, officials said.
For Bengal, BJP may rely on Art 355 to pressure Mamata government
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who on Monday met the Prime Minister and Home Minister and submitted a 5-page report along with an analysis on the post-poll violence in the state, but did not recommend invoking Article 356 that entails dismissal of a state government.
French Minister holds special session with Indian alumni
French Minister of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne on Monday held a special session with Indian alumni of French institutions in the field of business administration, engineering and design visuals here on Monday.Lemoyne is on the official visit to India to do the groundwork for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to France for the G7 summit in August.Speaking to ANI earlier in the day, Lemoyne said PM Modi is scheduled to hold bilaterals with French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the country."President Macron and Prime Minister Modi have a strong relationship personally and that is why he was very happy to invite Modi to join the G7 leaders' meeting at the end of August," said Lemoyne."India can provide a very interesting experience for the work that will be done in terms of numeric. Modi's participation will be preceded by bilateral visit; that could be a very important moment in the relations," he added.In response to the comments
Modi has accepted Macron's invite to attend outreach session of G7 Summit: MEA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the outreach session of the G7 Summit in Biarritz as a special invitee, said a senior official on Monday. The 45th summit of the G7 group of countries is going to take place from August 24 to August 26 in Biarritz in France. "The prime minister has received an invitation from the President of France Emmanuel Macron to attend the outreach session at the G-7 Summit in Biarritz as a special invitee," said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. He was responding to queries relating to comments of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne regarding the invitation extended to India. "The invitation is a reflection of the personal chemistry between the two leaders, a demonstration of our deepening strategic partnership and recognition of India as a major economic power. PM has accepted the invitation to attend the event which will ..
PTI Exclusive: Pak decides to let PM Modi's plane fly over its airspace to Bishkek
Pakistan on Monday decided in principle to let Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aircraft fly over its airspace to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan where he has to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on June 13-14, where his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan would also be present. Pakistan had fully closed its airspace on February 26 after an Indian Air Force (IAF) strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. Since then, it has only opened two routes, both of them pass through southern Pakistan, of the total 11. India requested Pakistan to let Prime Minister Modi's aircraft fly over its airspace to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. The official confirmed to PTI that the Imran Khan government has approved in principle the Indian government's request to let Prime Minister Modi's aircraft fly over the Pakistani airspace to Bishkek. "The Indian government will be conveyed about the decision once the procedural formalities are completed. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will ...
If SC upholds validity of Article 35A, Centre will repeal it through presidential order: J-K BJP
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP Monday said if the Supreme Court upholds the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which provides special privileges to the trouble-torn state, the Centre will repeal the provision through a presidential order. "Article 35A is currently before the Supreme Court and we will wait till the matter is disposed off. If the Supreme Court rules that the Presidential ordinance (of 1954) was wrong, then the matter ends. If the Supreme Court rules that the Presidential ordinance was right, then we will repeal it by bringing a presidential ordinance," BJP state spokesman Ashwini Kumar Chrungoo told reporters here. He said Article 35A was a "fraud" not only with the Constitution of the country but the Parliament as well. "This provision was brought in surreptitiously. We will repeal it as it is our promise to the nation," he added. Chrungoo said the priority of the BJP was restoration of peace in Kashmir for which it will take all steps needed. "For ...
Harsh Vardhan congratulates 'Andhra Governor' Swaraj; later deletes tweet
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday congratulated BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on being appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.Vardhan posted the greeting on Twitter. "Congratulations to senior BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ji on being appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh," the Minister of Health and Family Welfare wrote.[{abdf0b2c-a81f-4197-8156-5fed98e5e679:intradmin/D8tjskBWkAc4imG.png}]He deleted the tweet later.Social media users started congratulating Swaraj after the minister's tweet.Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morch vice-president S G Suryah tweeted, "Smt. Sushma Swaraj has been appointed as new Andhra Pradesh Governor."BJP has appointed several senior leaders as Governors of different states since it came to power in 2014.Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Ben Patel, Satyapal Malik, Ram Naik, former Cabinet Minister Najma Heptulla, senior ...
Andhra to conduct judicial probe into irregularities
The new government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday decided to conduct a judicial probe into irregularities in various departments during the previous government of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Some OCs, SIs not performing their duties in Bengal: Mamata
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "playing games" to create unrest in Darjeeling, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Monday that a section of her police force was not performing its duties properly in 3-4 districts and assured strong action against the errant officers.
WB govt to decide on DA after getting pay panel report: Mamata
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said the West Bengal government will decide on bridging the gap between dearness allowances (DA) of state and central government employees only after getting recommendations from the Pay Commission. Banerjee, however, said she will not let other state- run schemes suffer in order to implement the recommendations of the Commission. The Sixth Pay Commission was formed on November 27, 2015, months before the 2016 assembly election, to restructure the salary of state government employees. Headed by Prof Abhirup Sarkar, the panel was scheduled to submit its report within six months. However, it got periodic extensions and the latest one for another six months came on May 28. "They (state employees) are yelling demanding shortfall of dearness allowance. The Pay Commission is yet to submit its report. It has sought six more months till December. Let it submit its report. Then we will think about it as per our capacity. The government ...
People's expectations should be viewed as opportunity: Modi tells secretaries
Just 11 days after taking over for his second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met secretaries of all departments and told them to work for the "ease of living" since the expectations from the government are huge as reflected by the electoral mandate.
Mamata says violence 'planted game' to topple her govt, BJP observes 'black day'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Centre and the BJP of engineering violence to topple her government, a charge dismissed by the saffron party which observed a "Black Day" in the state to protest the killing of its workers. The BJP said it would not demand President's rule in West Bengal even though "a lawless situation prevails" in the state as Banerjee would then seek sympathy votes, and vowed to "defy" her ban on its political programmes, including victory processions Amid spiralling post-poll violence in the state, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah in the national capital and apprised them of the situation in the state. Unhappy with the Union Home Ministry advisory, Banerjee stepped up attack on the Centre, saying the violence was a "planted game" and rubbished speculation in the media about early polls in the state. "The central government and (BJP) party cadres are trying to ...