Page 2268 - Politics
Lithuania blacklists Saudi officials over Khashoggi killing
Lithuania has become the latest Western country to blacklist Saudi officials over the slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in October. Rasa Jakilaitiene, spokeswoman for the Baltic country's foreign minister, tells the Baltic News Service the names of 17 Saudi officials have been put on the list "in solidarity with international partners." The region's main news agency said Monday the list includes suspected killers and close advisers to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. BNS said the names were listed by the Lithuanian Migration Department under the so-called Magnitsky law blacklisting people for human rights violations.
Bangladesh begins poll campaigning amid opposition claims of arrests
Election campaigning in Bangladesh began on Monday amid reports of arrests of hundreds of leaders and members of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Kushwaha quits NDA and govt, accuses Modi of betraying backward classes
RLSP president Upendra Kushwaha Monday severed his ties with the BJP and resigned from the Union council of ministers, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of reducing Cabinet to a "rubber stamp", "betraying" backward classes and giving Bihar only "jumlas". Making the announcement a day ahead of Parliament's winter session, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party leader from Bihar said he is open to joining the opposition alliance, which includes Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress. He also claimed the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance would not be able to win a single seat in the state. Kushwaha, whose break-up with the BJP was expected, sharply attacked Modi on a host of issues in his resignation letter, which was also released to the media. He said he felt "betrayed and dejected" by the prime minister's leadership and alleged that "fixing" political opponents and not working for the poor had become the government's priority. The former minister of state for HRD also raised the planks of ..
China slams 'inhumane' treatment of Huawei executive
China on Monday ratcheted up its protest over the arrest of an executive of telecom giant Huawei on a US warrant in Canada, calling reports of her treatment "inhumane" as she seeks her release on bail for health reasons. China's latest tirade over the case came as Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company's founder, faces a Canadian court's decision on bail later Monday in Vancouver. Meng's arrest on December 1 has infuriated Beijing, rocking stock markets and raising tensions amid a truce in the US-China trade war. A Chinese vice foreign minister summoned the US and Canadian ambassadors at the weekend, demanding that the US withdraw its arrest warrant and warning Canada that it faces "grave consequences". Meng, 46, faces US fraud charges related to alleged sanctions-breaking dealings with Iran. In a 55-page sworn affidavit, Meng said she has suffered from severe hypertension for years and has been treated in a Canadian hospital since her arrest. "I continue to feel unwell and I am ..
Wait for Tuesday to know who will be MP CM: Kamal Nath
Congress Madhya Pradesh chief Kamal Nath on Monday voiced confidence that the party will get a majority in the Assembly and it will be clear only after the results are known who will be the Chief Minister.
Mizoram Assembly polls: Counting to begin amid elaborate security arrangements on Tuesday
Counting of votes for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly will begin from 8 am on Tuesday amid elaborate security arrangements, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashish Kundra said. The election was held on November 28 and its result will decide whether Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla of the Congress will be able to return for a third consecutive term in office. Mizoram is the last bastion of the Congress in the northeast. Counting will begin at 13 counting centres in the eight district headquarters, Kundra said Monday. DIG (Northern Range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte had earlier said there would be a three-layer security cordon manned by eight companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), the state armed police and unarmed police personnel during the counting. In the 2013 elections, the Congress had won 34 seats, while its main opposition, the Mizo National Front (MNF), got five and the Mizoram People's Conference bagged one seat. The Congress and the MNF have ruled Mizoram since 1987. ...
People's Front urges Telangana Governor to treat it as single entity
A day before the counting of votes in Telangana, the Congress-led People's Front on Monday urged the Governor to treat it as a single entity and invite it to form the government in case it gets the maximum number of seats.
India-China military drill will have positive impact on ties: Beijing
The two-week long India-China military exercise in Chengdu city will have a positive impact on bilateral ties, an official said here on Monday.
China hopes resumption of Sino-India military drills will provide impetus to bilateral ties
China on Monday expressed hope that the resumption of military exercises between the Indian and Chinese armies that will begin on Tuesday would inject impetus and yield good results for the improvement of bilateral ties. An Indian military team headed by Col Puneet Tomar has arrived in China's southwestern Chengdu city to take part in the 'Hand-in-Hand' military drills between the two armies starting there from Tuesday, the Indian Embassy here said. Officials earlier said both sides would field 100 personnel to take part in the seventh edition of the exercises. The inaugural ceremony would be held on Tuesday and the drills would be concluded on December 23. The drills are being held after a gap of one year as they could not be held last year because both armies were locked in a 73-day standoff at Doklam in the Sikkim sector. Asked about how China viewed the exercises being resumed after Doklam, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said "we hope this can have a good results". He .
Ensure CIC is free from govt interference: Acharyulu writes to Prez
Former Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu Monday wrote to the President to ensure that the new chief information commissioner and information commissioners have independence with regard to the 'term, status and salary' as provided by the Right to Information Act. In his letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, Acharyulu urged that their term, status and salary shall not be "as prescribed by the central government" as contemplated by the present government in the proposed amendment to the RTI Act. The RTI Act provides for a term of five years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier, for the chief information commissioner and information commissioners. The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the chief information commissioner shall be the same as that of the chief election commissioner and an information commissioner shall be the same as that of an election commissioner. The Centre had recently contemplated to alter the service conditions
Campaigning underway in Bangladesh polls amid opposition arrests
There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds of people have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Bangladesh began campaigning Monday for a year-end election. More than 100 million people are registered to vote on December 30 for either Hasina's Awami League and its allies, or a beleaguered opposition that says it is being hobbled by police. On the eve of the campaign launch, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which hopes to deny Hasina a record fourth term, said nearly 2,000 of its supporters had been arrested. Police said those detained since the election was announced in November -- including a number of candidates about to hit the hustings -- had prior warrants for their arrest. But the opposition said Hasina and her party were following a pre-election "blueprint" designed to stifle her rivals and intimidate their voters. "The government wants to hold a lopsided election. These arrests
Will win in Telangana, says Cong-led alliance
Leaders of the Congress-led alliance in Telangana was upbeat on Monday over the combine's electoral prospects in the state, discounting exit polls, most of which predicted that the TRS would return to power. For its part, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has repeatedly said that it would get a second term with a two-third majority. Congress leaders have claimed that the alliance would win 75 to 80 seats in the 119-member Assembly, which went to the polls on December 7. "I strongly feel that 'Prajakutami' (People's Front) will come to power," Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) president Prof. M Kodandaram, told PTI on the eve of the result day. The 'Prajakutami' comprised the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the TJS, and the Communist Party of India (CPI). Kodandaram dismissed exit polls forecast, saying he does not know the method and "sources" used in such post-poll surveys, and added that the alliance would be a clear ...
Oppn leaders meet to forge an united front to fight BJP in 2019 LS polls
Top leaders of over a dozen opposition parties including the Congress and the TMC met here Monday as part of attempts to forge an united front to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) skipped the meeting held on the eve of the winter session of Parliament starting tomorrow. The meeting held in Parliament annexe also comes a day ahead of the results of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram Assembly polls. The opposition meeting was coordinated by Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and a number of opposition leaders were invited. It was preceded by parleys among leaders of opposition parties with Naidu meeting West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and DMK chief M K Stalin holding talks with AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Besides Banerjee, Kejriwal and Stalin, the meeting was attended among others by former prime ministers .
Kushwaha blasts Modi as he quits NDA, government (Third Lead)
RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday quit the BJP-led NDA and the Modi government, charging Prime Minister Narendra Modi with betraying Bihar and with pursuing an "opaque style of functioning and non-democratic leadership style".
May pushes Brexit deal as EU court offers way out
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday began a final push to persuade parliament to back her Brexit deal as the European Court of Justice ruled Britain was free to halt withdrawal from the bloc unilaterally. The court ruling will fuel calls for a second referendum to stop Brexit and comes on the eve of a once-in-a-lifetime vote by MPs that will determine the fate of Brexit and could lead to May's downfall. Her splintered government appears to be facing a heavy defeat in parliament on Tuesday on the draft withdrawal agreement she signed with Brussels last month. The text defining terms on which the island nation leaves its main trading partner after 46 years is the most important to go before the House of Commons in years. A big loss could spark immediate challenges to May from both within her Conservative Party and the opposition Labour ranks. It would also leave the tortuous Brexit process in a state of flux -- and raise the prospects of a no-deal scenario -- less than four ...
BJP mocks Oppn meet, asks them to reveal PM candidate's name
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has mocked the scheduled meeting of opposition parties in New Delhi on Monday, and said they should first declare a prime ministerial candidate before thinking of ousting the Narendra Modi government. In a major step towards forming an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front, top opposition leaders will huddle in the national capital to discuss forging a grand alliance to take on the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "It's really good to see opposition parties trying to forge an alliance to fight against us. But first, let them declare their prime ministerial candidate, then they should dream of fighting against us and ousting us," he said Sunday. "We have Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Who is their PM candidate?" Vijayvargiya added. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reached New Delhi to take part in the meeting. Taking a dig at Banerjee, senior BJP leader Mukul Roy said she should clarify whether the Communist Party of ...
HC rebukes state for job recruitment ad under Maratha quota
The Bombay High Court Monday chided the Maharashtra government for issuing an advertisement for job recruitment under the new legislation providing reservation to Maratha community even as petitions challenging the same are pending before the court. The HC said such "irreverent situations" should be avoided and that the government should give courts some "breathing space" to hear the petitions. A division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice M S Karnik asked the government why was it in such a rush to fill up the positions when it knew that petitions challenging the Maratha reservation decision were due for hearing on Monday. The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions on the Maratha quota issue. While few of the petitions challenged the government's decision to provide 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the Maratha community, several others were filed in support of it. Advocate Gunaratan Sadavarte, appearing in a petition ...
DMK president Stalin meets Delhi CM Kejriwal
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin along with party members including Kanimozhi, A Raja and TR Balu on Monday met with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.The DMK president also invited Kejriwal for the inauguration ceremony of the statue of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, which is scheduled to be unveiled in Chennai on December 16.Earlier in the day, Stalin also held a meeting with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in the national capital on a range of multiple issues.
MP polls: Cong will win more than 140 seats, says Kamal Nath
A day ahead of Madhya Pradesh assembly poll results, Congress state unit chief Kamal Nath on Monday expressed confidence over winning more than 140 seats.When asked about the chief ministerial candidate, Nath brushed it aside. He told ANI: "We will win more than 140 seats. Wait till tomorrow; everything will be clear by then."However, incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too had recently expressed confidence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the election.In Madhya Pradesh, the majority mark is 116 for the 230-seat Assembly.According to exit polls, both BJP and Congress are going neck and neck but falling short of a clear majority.The state went for voting on November 28, and the results will be announced on December 11. As many as 2,899 candidates were in the fray including 250 women and five third gender candidates.The tenure of the Assembly ends on January 7, 2019. The BJP has been in power in the state since 2003 and is seeking a fourth straight term.
Kushwaha quits NDA - and as Minister
RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and as a Union Minister, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had betrayed the people of Bihar.