Page 2333 - Politics
Macron to hold crisis meeting after anti-government riots
French President Emmanuel Macron is to hold a crisis meeting on Sunday after anti-government protests in Paris that left 133 people injured and a trail of destruction around the capital. Macron is set to fly into Paris late morning after attending a G20 summit in Argentina and will meet the prime minister, interior minister and top security service officials at the presidential palace. New figures released from the Paris police service showed that 412 people were arrested on Saturday during the worst clashes for years in the capital and 378 were still in custody. A total of 133 had been injured, including 23 members of the security forces who battled rioters for most of the day in some of the most famous parts of the capital. "I will never accept violence," Macron told a news conference in Buenos Aires before flying home. "No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are threatened or that the Arc du Triomphe is ...
Raj polls: Amid BJP-Cong slugfest, several smaller parties trying their luck
As the ruling BJP and its main challenger the Congress slug it out for winning power in Rajasthan, several smaller parties are also trying their electoral luck and there are at least 20 such entities with just one candidate each. As many as 2,294 candidates from 88 political parties are contesting polls for 200-member Rajasthan assembly across 33 districts in the state, one of the biggest states in India, where 4.74 crore citizens are enrolled to cast their vote. While polling will take place on December 7 for 199 seats, the voting has been postponed for one seat due to death of a candidate. While the main poll battle is said to be between the BJP and the Congress, there are many smaller parties and independent candidates in the fray with limited budget and resources and for them fighting is equally important. Some want to reach out to the pubic with an alternative ideology, while others are optimistic about a change in the tradition of electing either of the two big national ...
Encounters in UP are fake: Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that police encounters in Uttar-Pradesh are fake and are being executed allegedly under the patronage of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath."Encounters are to deceive. The law and order worsened at the places where these encounters have taken place," said Akhilesh Yadav. He said that most of the encounters have taken place in Western Uttar Pradesh and law and order situation has worsened there."Not only are the opposition parties saying that these encounters are fake but also the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the court have raised fingers on these encounters," said Yadav. He said the people are falsely implicated as criminals before their encounters and even policemen shoot upon themselves to prove that these encounters are not a fake one.Former chief minister said that 'religious' issues and gods and goddess are deliberately being raked up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the time of ...
TRS, Congress busy in minority appeasement: Amit Shah
Accusing both the TRS and Congress of indulging in minority appeasement, BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday said that parties falling at the feet of MIM can't develop Telangana.
Sunil Arora assumes charge as CEC
Senior IAS official and senior-most Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Sunday took charge as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), a day after Om Prakash Rawat demitted office.
UK Labour will press for contempt if PM May does not publish full Brexit legal advice
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's main opposition Labour Party will press for contempt proceedings against the government if Prime Minister Theresa May fails to produce the full legal advice she has received over her Brexit deal, the party's Brexit spokesman said on Sunday.
I will be PM to take Britain out of EU, says UK's May
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Theresa May said on Saturday she would be the prime minister to take Britain out of the European Union and that parliament should back her Brexit deal to ensure certainty for the future.
Cong leaders offer prayers in temples when polls near, but for BJP they are cultural issues: Rajnath
Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday claimed Congress leaders start offering prayers at temples when elections are near whereas for the BJP it is an integral part of its culture. Addressing a press conference in Alwar district's Bansur, he said temples and cows were not an elections stunt for the BJP. "Congress leaders start offering prayers at temple when elections approach. They are not seen praying in temples earlier. Temples and cows can be an election issue for the Congress, but it is not an election stunt for the BJP. It is integral part of our cultural life," Singh said. Earlier at an election rally in Bansur, he alleged it was because of the Congress, which ruled India for 55 years, that the nation was in the list poor countries and claimed the party had deceived the people. "We (BJP) have not done the politics of pulling wool over people's eyes. We look into the eyes of people," he said. Singh claimed the Congress had established 103 ITIs in 50 years, while the Vasundhara Raje .
Civil society pulls off queue-less voting in booth in Mizoram
A civil society at Project Veng locality in Kolasib town near here have claimed that they managed to avoid long queues, which causes inconvenience to voters, during the Mizoram Assembly elections on November 28. The exercise, called 'Zero-Waiting' or 'Queue-less', was a grand success due to the coordinated efforts of the voters, the vice president of the local branch of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), Lalthlana Ngente, said. The exercise was carried out at the Project Veng locality polling booth near Mizoram-Assam border, Ngente said. The YMA had sought permission from the election department about the programme and got a green signal, Ngente added. The YMA leaders divided all 966 registered voters into groups of 60 people in accordance with the enrolment in the voters' list, Ngente said, adding that each group was allotted half an hour as voting time. The group of voters were notified through public address system and they were asked to reach the polling station at ...
China, U.S. declare 90-day halt to new tariffs - White House
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - China and the United States agreed to halt additional tariffs in a deal that keeps their trade war from escalating as the two sides try again to bridge their differences with fresh talks aimed at reaching an agreement within 90 days.
Russia's Putin says no hard figures on possible oil output cuts
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he had no concrete figures on possible oil output cuts, though his country would continue with its contribution to reducing global production.
'Women wall' in Kerala will polarize communities: Congress
The Congress on Sunday condemned the 'women wall' protest from Kasargode to the Kerala capital announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for January 1, saying it it will only whip up communal passions.
India to host G-20 summit for the first time in 2022
For the first time, India will host the annual G-20 summit in 2022, coinciding with the country's 75th anniversary of Independence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement at the closing ceremony of the 13th G-20 summit here in the Argentinian capital on Saturday. He thanked Italy for allowing India to play the host. Italy was to host the international forum of the world's top 20 economies in 2022. The 14th edition will be held in Japan while Saudi Arabia will host the 15th. "In 2022 India completes 75 years since Independence. In that special year, India looks forward to welcoming the world to the G-20 Summit! Come to India, the world's fastest growing large economy! Know India's rich history and diversity, and experience the warm Indian hospitality," Modi tweeted after making the announcement. G-20 members comprise Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, ..
Modi, KCR like twins, 'jumla' brothers: Sibal
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday said that there is a "political match-fixing" between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are like 'twins' and 'Jumla' brothers."Congress and TRS criticise each other on the stage but actually they support each other. Like match-fixing in cricket they are involved in political match-fixing among themselves, which the people of the state know very well," said Sibal here while addressing media persons."Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has always supported the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rao are like twins and 'jumla' brothers. Rao has not spoken a word on the rising fuel prices, Rafale deal as he doesn't want to displease the BJP," added the Congress leader.He said that 75 per cent of Telangana population is living below the poverty line and 75 per cent of farmers have taken the loan from the ...
Thousands of Islamists march in Jakarta ahead of elections
Around 100,000 people marched in Indonesia's capital Sunday to mark two years since a demonstration that led to the fall of Jakarta's Christian ex-governor, as presidential candidates seek to rally support ahead of next year's general election. Former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was voted out of office and later jailed for two years for blasphemy following the 2016 protests, in a case seen as an example of rising religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Indonesia. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has seen its reputation for pluralism eroded by a surge in attacks on minorities. Analysts say identity politics and rising intolerance are likely to feature prominently -- along with the economy -- in campaigning for next April's general election across the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago. On Sunday, some 100,000 people joined the peaceful rally, with 23,000 officers securing the event, Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told AFP. The demonstrators --
LS polls: AAP adopts constituency-wise strategy to take on BJP in Delhi
Hoping to open its account in the Lok Sabha elections in the city, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has adopted constituency-wise strategy to target the rural population and other sections of the society to take on "main rival" BJP in all seven seats. Asserting that the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) is "single-handedly capable" of defeating the BJP in Delhi, city unit chief of the party Gopal Rai outrightly dismissed any chance of a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in the national capital. Rai, who also holds the portfolios of labour, employment and development in the Arvind Kejriwal government, said the Congress is not in the fight in the Lok Sabha polls. The AAP has only a "direct fight with the BJP". "We are working on a constituency-specific strategy on all seven seats in Delhi in view of Lok Sabha elections next year," Rai told PTI. In the 2014 general elections, the AAP had fielded its candidates on all seven seats in Delhi, but none of them could secure a win. Talking about the party's ...
India-US Air Force exercise 'Ex Cope India-18' from Monday
The Air Forces of India and the US will begin a 12-day joint exercise "Ex Cope India-2018" on Monday to provide operational exposure to their personnel and undertake mutual exchange of best practices for enhancing operational capability, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
Sidhu wants to become Punjab CM: Manjit Singh GK
Disapproving the "erratic" behaviour of Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief and Akali Dal leader Manjit Singh GK on Sunday accused the cricketer-turned-politician of being ambitious to become the chief minister of Punjab.Manjit Singh, without mincing words, said Sidhu behaves 'erratically' and such attitude does not behove of a responsible politician. The Akali Dal leader also accused Sidhu of having least interest in national security when he talks of Pakistan.Elaborating further on Sidhu's dual personality, the DSGMC chief pointed out: "Sometimes he heaps praises on Narendra Modi beyond description and at other times he vehemently targets him. He even uses derogatory language which should not be used in political discourse." Citing another instance, he said that Sidhu who once criticised Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, is now touching her feet. "Can never understand Navjot Sidhu; he used to call Sonia Ji Italian mummy and .
Elections should be "totally free, fair and ethical": new CEC
Sunil Arora, who took over as the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner on Sunday, sought cooperation of political parties and people to make elections "totally free, fair and ethical". He succeeded O P Rawat who demitted office on Saturday. The Lok Sabha elections, which are due next year, will be conducted by the poll panel under Arora, the 62-year-old former bureaucrat. Besides the Parliamentary polls, the 2019 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will be held during his tenure. He will be in office till October, 2021. After assuming charges, the new Chief Election Commissioner sought cooperation from all stakeholders - political parties, media, civil society organisations and people at large - "in making our elections totally free, fair, peaceful, accessible and ethical." Arora was appointed as Election Commissioner on August 31, 2017. He had been the Information and Broadcasting Secretary, and Secretary in .
US groups urge Modi to take necessary measures to curb rise of Hindutva extremism
Religious freedom activists and several other groups in the US have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take all necessary measures to curb the rise of Hindutva extremism and punish groups involved in violence against religious minorities in the country. The request was made during a briefing titled 'Religious Freedom in India: A Briefing on Capitol Hill', organised by the Indian-American Muslim Council, at the US Capitol on Thursday which was attended by activists, Congressional staffs, State Department officials, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and civil society members. "The failure of Prime Minister Modi to definitively condemn and to definitively distance himself from the extreme elements of his party has played a substantial and significant role in bringing about the situation that we see today," said Katrina Lantos Swett, former Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). India maintains that its Constitution ...