Page 2285 - Politics
Exit Polls: Congress may win Rajasthan, TRS to retain Telangana (Roundup)
Exit polls on Friday predicted a Congress sweep in Rajasthan and a Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) win in Telangana while giving the Congress an edge over the BJP in a fiercely-contested battle in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Yemen rebels rebuff govt demand for Hodeida withdrawal
Yemen's Huthi rebels will not hand over the key port of Hodeida to the rival government, a rebel representative said Friday, as the two parties met for UN-brokered talks in Sweden. "This is not on the table," Abdulmalik al-Ajri, a member of the rebel delegation told AFP after the Yemeni government said it was seeking a full Huthi withdrawal from the flashpoint port city. The Iran-backed rebels, locked in a war with the President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his allies in a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, control the Red Sea city of Hodeida, a conduit for 90 percent of food imports. The Saudi-led coalition has for months led an offensive to retake Hodeida. The battle has sparked fears for more than 150,000 civilians trapped in the city. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse the rebels of smuggling arms from Iran through Hodeida as well as the defunct Sanaa international airport, a charge Tehran denies. UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths, who has pushed for months for the Yemen talks, .
HC slams Bengal government for sitting on BJP's application seeking permission for rally
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday came down heavily on the West Bengal government for sitting on the BJP's applications seeking permission for its rallies, and modified a single-bench order that deferred the BJP's programme in Cooch Behar till January 9 next year.
Exit polls predict clean sweep to TRS
Exit polls on Friday predicted that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will retain power in Telangana and the gamble by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to dissolve the Assembly ahead of schedule may have worked in his favour.
Exit polls predict Congress edge in MP
A majority of exit polls on Friday predicted a victory for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, which the BJP has ruled since 2003.
Tax men seek jail suptd's nod to quiz VK Sasikala
: Income Tax officials from Tamil Nadu have sought permission of prison authorities here to question V K Sasikala in connection with a tax matter, an official said. Sasikala, an aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa was convicted in a disproportionate asset case and lodged in the Parapana Agrahara central jail here since last February. "We have received a letter from Income Tax Department in Tamil Nadu, seeking permission to question Sasikala in an I-T matter on December 13 and 14," Jail Superintendent Somashekhar told PTI here. Tax sleuths had last year conducted searches at premises linked to Sasikala and her kin over suspected tax evasion in various cities including Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Both TRS, Congress confident of victory in Telangana
With polling coming to an end for the Assembly elections in Telangana on Friday, both the ruling TRS and the main opposition Congress were confident of a victory.
NC not to align with anyone for Lok Sabha, Assembly elections
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Friday ruled out any alliance for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Hope OPEC decides output without hurting consumer nations: Pradhan
New Delhi, Dec 7 (IAN) The government on Friday expressed confidence that whatever decision the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) takes on output cuts to check the fall in crude prices, it would not go against the interests of consuming nations.
Badal, other Akali leaders to seek forgiveness from Akal Takht
The Shiromani Akali Dal leadership will seek forgiveness from the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, in Amritsar on Saturday for any mistake committed inadvertently in the past. The entire leadership including party stalwart Parkash Singh Badal, party's chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, party MLAs and other party leaders will appear before the Akal Takht on Saturday morning, SAD spokesperson and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said Friday evening. The party will seek forgiveness for any mistake committed inadvertently during its (SAD-BJP) ten year regime, Cheema said. The decision to seek forgiveness was taken by the party's core committee meeting held here on Thursday. Notably, the party had faced severe criticism over several incidents pertaining to sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and police firing incidents in 2015 that had taken place during SAD-BJP regime. Akali Dal was also eye of storm over the issue of granting pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh .
Brazil's govt joins Embraer in challenging injunction of tie-up with Boeing
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's government said on Friday that it would appeal an injunction issued Thursday blocking a proposed tie-up between planemakers Embraer and Boeing , joining Embraer, which has also said it will challenge the decision.
Will move SC if needed: Vijayvargiya on WB 'rath yatra' issue
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said Friday that the party would move the Supreme Court "if needed" to hold the much-touted 'rath yatras' across West Bengal. "If needed, we will move the Supreme Court to get justice," he told the media here after the Calcutta High Court modified the single bench order of Thursday and directed the state chief secretary, home secretary and director general of police to sit with three BJP leaders by December 12 and take a decision on the matter by December 14. The Calcutta High Court also came down heavily on the West Bengal government for not responding to letters of the BJP seeking permission for its processions in the state. Vijayvargiya stood by the BJP state leadership saying, "There was no lapse on their part and the entire party stands united and we are with the state (party) president" as he blamed the state government and its policy to "throttle the opposition" for putting on hold the 'rath yatras', which was scheduled to be .
Rajasthan records 74 per cent turnout, seals Raje's fate
Rajasthan recorded a turnout of 74 per cent in polling Friday, sealing the fate of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje whose BJP is hoping to return to power after a tough challenge from the Congress. The Election Commission said 74.02 per cent of voters exercised their franchise, a tally just short of the 75.23 per cent registered in the previous assembly election. The figure is likely to be revised, an EC official said. The police reported a few clashes among supporters but said polling across the 51,687 booths was largely peaceful. Special DG (law and order) N R K Reddy said ITBP jawans opened fire in the air to disperse a mob trying to enter a booth at a village in Alwar's Mundawar constituency. A jeep was torched outside a booth in Bikaner and a motorcycle set on fire near another in Sikar but polling remained unaffected, police said. At places in the border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people walked miles through the desert to cast their vote. In Bundi district's Hindoli area, .
Centre planting evidence against Vadra to divert attention from elections loss: Lawyer
Robert Vadra's lawyer on Friday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the premises of close associates of his client at the behest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government to plant false evidence against the businessman to divert attention from the probable loss of recently-held Legislative Assembly elections.Vadra, son-in-law of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, is being investigated by the ED in connection with a land deal. Vadra's advocate Suman Khaitan claimed that the ED officials raided "close associates" and business partners of Vadra in Delhi without even showing any search warrants."They (Centre) have not found any evidence since last four-and-half years. So they wanted to come, lock the door, plant evidence today. They will lose elections and to divert attention, they will claim that they found the evidence (which is actually) manufactured and planted," Khaitan told media here."On the basis of law, can they conduct raids without letting ..
Exit polls suggesting BJP is on back foot, people endorsing Congress: Cong
Buoyed by the predictions of exit polls for assembly elections in five states, the Congress Friday said the polls are clearly suggesting people are endorsing it as an alternative and the BJP is on back foot. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party denied such claims and said the exit polls have been consistently under-projecting the BJP's tally in all elections since 2014. "The Congress can bask in gloat on exit poll results but this happy feeling would be short-lived," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said. The exit polls Friday predicted a tight finish between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and a win for the opposition party in Rajasthan. Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who is also party's contender for the top post in Rajasthan, said "The anger was very palpable against the BJP in these elections and people were willing and happy to accept the blueprint given by the Congress. People want answers for questions which they have avoided for the last ...
US scraps UN meeting on North Korea human rights
The United States has dropped a bid to hold a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea's human rights record after failing to garner enough support for the talks, diplomats said Friday. The decision to scrap the meeting held every year since 2014 also comes as the United States is seeking a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea had written to council members last month to urge them to block the US request for the meeting that shines a spotlight on Pyongyang's dismal record. The US has, every year since 2014, garnered the nine votes needed at the council to hold the meeting, despite opposition from China. But diplomats said that only eight countries supported the US request this year, with non-permanent member Ivory Coast refusing to bow to pressure to lend its backing. China, which has strong expanding ties in Africa, has argued that the Security Council is not the venue to discuss human rights as a threat to international ...
Ex-FBI director Comey back before Congress
Former FBI director James Comey, sacked by President Donald Trump in 2017, began testifying Friday before US lawmakers for the first time in over a year, but this time out of the camera glare. The closed-door Capitol Hill appearance comes amid turbulence at the White House, and mounting intrigue over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Moscow. Comey smiled as he walked past reporters towards a House meeting room, telling them "maybe later" he would answer questions. Trump's bete noire had pleaded for a public hearing after he was subpoenaed by members of the outgoing Congress in November, but House Republicans including some of Trump's allies insisted on a private session before the judiciary and oversight committees. In May 2017 Trump abruptly sacked Comey, who was the senior official leading a criminal investigation into possible collusion with Moscow to ...
E Guinea army chief-of-staff fired: Presidency
Equatorial Guinea's army chief-of-staff, who was only appointed to the post in October, has been sacked by the president, state television has reported. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the oil-rich country with an iron fist for 39 years, fired Colonel Ruslan Hermes Nguema Oyana for "irregularities committed in the exercise of his functions," said a presidential decree issued Thursday evening. Obiang, 76, seized power in the small former Spanish colony in 1979 and has faced a string of coup attempts during nearly four decades in office. In January he fired four senior regime officials, including his grandson, on suspicion of collusion with a foiled December 2017 "coup". Critics accuse him of brutal repression of opponents as well as election fraud and corruption. Oyana's deputy, Division General Lamberto Nguema Micha, has replaced him. He had only been appointed to the post on October 12, on the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from Spain. Several other ...
DR Congo army officer arrested over murder of UN experts
A DR Congo army officer suspected of involvement in the 2017 murder of two UN experts has been arrested by a military tribunal trying the case, the prosecutor said Friday. "Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having prepared the mission that led to the murder of two UN experts and their Congolese assistants," said Colonel Jean Maurice Lianja, the military prosecutor in Kananga. The killings took place in March 2017 in the restive central Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The victims were Zaida Catalan, a Swedish woman of Chilean origin, and American Michael Sharp, who were killed by "terrorist" militiamen, according to Congolese authorities. They were investigating violence in Kasai for the UN Security Council. The suspect Mambweni was allegedly heard on a recorded message speaking with a woman believed to have been Catalan who wanted him to set up contact with family members of Kamuina Nsapu, a militia chief killed by security forces ...
Trump says China trade talks 'going very well'
US President Donald Trump said Friday negotiations to defuse the high stakes trade conflict with China are "going very well". Trump met China's leader Xi Jinping at the weekend and agreed to a 90-day tariff truce in order to find a more permanent solution to the costly dispute, but messages since have been mixed, roiling global stock markets "China talks are going very well!" Trump tweeted. Washington and Beijing have exchanged steep tariffs on more than USD 300 billion in total two-way trade, locking them in a conflict that has begun to eat into profits. Traders were initially buoyed by the apparent deal agreed at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires but questions were quickly raised about the details -- and whether the world's top two economies could actually resolve their differences. That was compounded by news that a top executive at Chinese telecom giant Huawei had been arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the US over allegations the firm had broken sanctions linked to ...