Page 2382 - Politics
Okinawa to hold US base referendum on February 24
The governor of Okinawa in southern Japan said Tuesday the region will hold a referendum on February 24 over an unpopular project to move a US airbase. The symbolic, non-binding vote may draw renewed attention to the plight of Okinawans, who have fought against the Japanese-US joint plan to close the US Marines' Futenma Air Station in an urban area and move it to a sparsely populated part of the island region. It comes also after years of local protests against heavy US military presence have fallen on deaf ears in Tokyo and Washington. Governor Denny Tamaki, elected in September after campaigning against the relocation plans, said the referendum will be an opportunity for local residents to voice their views publicly. "It is significant as it will serve as an extremely important opportunity for local residents to articulate their wishes. I will encourage as many people as possible to participate in this exercise," Tamaki told local journalists in Okinawa. A vote against the proposed .
Ranbir Singh appointed as Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi
IAS officer Ranbir Singh was on Tuesday appointed as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi. He will replace Vijay Kumar Dev who has been appointed as the Chief Secretary, Delhi Government.Singh is 1991 batch of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.An official order by BC Patra, Secretary, Election Commission read: "I am directed to forward herewith the Commission's Notification No. 154/DL/ 2018.P.Admn. dated 26.11 2018 appointing Dr Ranbir Smgh, IAS as the Chief Electoral Officer, NCT of Delhi in place of Shri. Vijay Kumar Dev, IAS."Dev was appointed as the Chief Secretary following the elevation of Anshu Prakash as Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications.
KCR did nothing for Telangana, only KCR dynasty flourished: Modi
Opening his campaign in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, accusing the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government of doing nothing during its tenure while only the KCR "dynasty" flourished.
Putin warns against 'reckless' moves after Ukraine declares martial law
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine against any "reckless acts" on Tuesday after Kiev declared martial law in response to Moscow's seizure of three of its navy vessels. The Ukrainian parliament late on Monday voted in favour of President Petro Poroshenko's request for the introduction of martial law in parts of the country for 30 days. The decision came as Ukraine and Russia face their most dangerous crisis in years after Russian forces fired on, boarded and captured Kiev's ships on Sunday off the coast of Crimea. The incident was the first major confrontation at sea in the long-running conflict pitting Ukraine against Moscow and Russian-backed separatists in the country's east. It has raised fears of a wider escalation -- in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014 -- and prompted international calls for restraint and offers of mediation. Martial law gives Ukrainian authorities the power to mobilise citizens with military experience, regulate the ...
Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram to vote on Wednesday
Madhya Pradesh will vote on Wednesday to either give the BJP a fourth successive term in power notwithstanding anti-incumbency or give a chance to the challenger Congress to break the saffron party's monopoly over power for the last 15 years.
Foreign Minister of Maldives calls on President Kovind
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Abdulla Shahid called on President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.President Kovind welcomed the delegation led by Shahid and underscored the "uniquely special, close and friendly relationship" shared between India and Maldives."The government of India's vision of inclusive development also extends to our neighbourhood including Maldives. We are always ready to support the socio-economic development of Maldives," a press release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan mentioned.Noting the newly-elected Maldives government's 100-day action plan, President Kovind said: "India will support the government of Maldives' efforts and work in alignment with its identified priorities."Shahid's four-day trip to India is his first official foreign trip after assuming office on November 17.On Monday, Shahid met External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj followed by a meeting with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Shahid is scheduled to ...
Khashoggi killing: Police raid villa near Istanbul
Turkish police and investigators on Monday searched a villa near Samanli on the outskirts of Istanbul in connection with the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The villa was searched as one of the Saudi nationals allegedly involved in the murder had, investigators believe, contacted a compatriot residing near Samanli on how to dispose-off Khashoggi's body parts, CNN reported."We believe this contact was about how to dispose of Jamal Khashoggi's body parts following its dismemberment. Therefore, police teams together with the prosecutor's office have carried out searches on November 26," the prosecutor's office said in a written statement.The property is located in Samanli in the Yalova province, about 90 kilometres south of Istanbul city. Last month, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had mentioned Yalova as one of the areas where a group of Saudi nationals scouted before Khashoggi was murdered.The police personnel and the investigators left the villa after a 10-hour .
Want to work for people on very large scale: Aparajita Sarangi
Soon after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Aparajita Sarangi on Tuesday said that getting into politics will provide her with a bigger platform to work for people on a very large scale."I want to work for people on a very large scale. Politics is the only platform which provides this kind of opportunity. I strongly feel that getting into politics will provide me with a bigger platform and I'll be able to work with people of Odisha much better," Sarangi told ANI.Sarangi was inducted into the BJP at the residence of party president Amit Shah. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP's Odisha Chief Basant Panda were also present on the occasion.The 1994-batch IAS officer is scheduled to return to Odisha tomorrow and will be welcomed by the BJP leaders of the state unit.Sarangi, who was serving as the Joint Secretary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) under the Ministry of Rural Development,
Will bring Private Member Bill for Ram temple construction: Tiwari
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday said that he would bring a Private Member Bill in Parliament for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
"Family-ruled" TRS and Congress playing "friendly match" in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday accused the TRS and Congress of perpetuating family rule and said the two parties were playing a "friendly match" in the Telangana elections. Reaffirming the BJP's commitment to inclusive growth, Modi, addressing his first election rally in the state, said vote bank politics has harmed development like "termites". "The chief minister of Telangana and his family thinks they can get away with doing no work like the Congress.... They have adopted the style of the Congress which ruled for 50-52 years without doing anything. But that cannot happen now," he told an election rally in Nizamabad. "TRS and Congress are family-ruled parties playing a friendly match in Telangana polls," he said. Accusing the TRS government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao of not keeping its promises, Modi said the chief minister had once said he would transform Nizamabad into a smart city like London but the place was still grappling with shortage of water, electricity .
Cong should've given Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee: Farooq Abdullah
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday hit out at the Congress party for not conferring former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee with the Bharat Ratna.Vajpayee was presented the country's highest civilian award at his residence in 2015, few months after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government came to power."Vajpayee told me that when he made his 1st speech, Nehru went to him and said Atal you will be the PM of this nation one day. He coming from an RSS background realised that this nation can't be built by one, but by all. Those who built this in the past can't be forgotten. The point I have against Congress is that they should have given him the Bharat Ratna when he was in alive and in good health," Abdullah said at a book launch event in the capital.Abdullah also accused Narendra Modi of not maintaining the dignity of the Prime Minister's Office and credited former prime ministers Rajiv and Indira Gandhi ..
Trump warns Brexit may harm UK-US trade
President Donald Trump warned Monday that the deal taking Britain out of the European Union may inadvertently hamper trade between London and Washington. "Sounds like a great deal for the EU," he said at the White House, before adding that "we have to take a look at seriously whether or not the UK is allowed to trade." "You know, right now, if you look at the deal, they may not be able to trade with us, and that wouldn't be a good thing," he said. "I don't think they want that at all. That would be a very big negative for the deal." He expressed hope that Prime Minister Theresa May will "be able to do something about that." The British leader on Sunday closed 17 months of complex talks with Brussels by sealing Brexit arrangements with the 27 other EU heads of state and government. However, May faces a difficult task getting parliamentary approval for the deal.
Ex-Odisha cadre IAS officer joins BJP
Former Odisha cadre IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi joined the BJP on Tuesday in the presence of the party's National President Amit Shah here.
Taking on MP CM, Congress' Arun Yadav confident of being giant-killer
Pitted against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) citadel here, former state Congress chief Arun Yadav is confident of emerging a giant-killer, asserting the alarming rise of the "sand mafia" and the Vyapam examination scam will be the Chief Minister's political Waterloo.
Maha Assembly adjourned twice over Maratha quota issue
The Maharashtra Assembly was adjourned twice on Tuesday over the issue of tabling in the House of the State Backward Class Commission's report recommending quota for the Maratha community. The Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have been demanding since last week that the report be tabled in the Legislature. As soon as Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde called for the Question Hour on Tuesday, Congress' Deputy Leader in the House Vijay Waddetiwar requested that the House be adjourned for 10 minutes since a meeting of group leaders of various parties was underway in the Legislature premises. Bagde then adjourned the Lower House for 10 minutes. Later, when the House reassembled, presiding officer Subhash Sabne adjourned it till 12.15 pm. Before Sabne entered the Assembly to announce the second adjournment, Waddetiwar came in and asked all the opposition members to come out of the House. Earlier, an opposition leader said outside the Assembly that the state government .
French Senate official arrested for 'North Korea spying': sources
Intelligence agencies have arrested a senior French civil servant on suspicion of spying for North Korea, a judicial source in Paris said. Benoit Quennedey, the president of the Franco-Korean Friendship Association who has written a book on the isolated nation, was placed in custody on Sunday. The Paris prosecutor was investigating him over the "collection and delivery of information to a foreign power likely to undermine the fundamental interests of the nation", said a judicial source on Monday. Investigators from France's DGSI domestic intelligence agency are looking into whether Quennedey provided information to Pyongyang, the source said. Daily television show Quotidien reported that his Senate office had been raided. The inquiry began in March. According to the Senate website, Quennedey is a senior administrator in France's upper house of parliament in the department of architecture, heritage and gardens. He has written frequent articles on North Korea and travelled extensively ..
Putin has 'serious concern' over Ukraine martial law
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed "serious concern" over Ukraine's decision to impose martial law, the Kremlin said Tuesday, after a confrontation at sea between the two countries. In a phone conversation with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin also said he hoped the German leader could intervene to rein in Kiev. Putin "expressed a serious concern over Kiev's decision to put its armed forces on alert and to introduce martial law," the Kremlin said in a statement following the call. He also said he hoped "Berlin could influence the Ukrainian authorities to dissuade them from further reckless acts," it added. A fresh crisis unfolded on Sunday when Russian forces boarded and captured three Ukrainian ships, with Moscow accusing the vessels of illegally entering Russian waters off the coast of Crimea in the Sea of Azov. The surge in tensions prompted the Ukranian parliament to vote Monday in favour of martial law in border areas for 30 days. Martial law gives Ukrainian ...
Jack Ma, China's richest man, is a Communist Party member
Jack Ma, founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, is among the world's richest people but he has now emerged as a member of another club: China's 89-million-strong Communist Party. The billionaire's Communist bona fides were revealed by the People's Daily, the party's official mouthpiece, in an article praising contributors to China's development. He is not the first nor likely the last Chinese super-rich capitalist to join the party, which counts property titan Xu Jiayin and Wanda Group founder Wang Jianlin among its billionaire members. But Ma's membership had not been known until now as China's richest man had previously suggested that he preferred to stay out of politics. In Monday's article, the People's Daily said Ma was a party member who has played an important role in pushing China's Belt and Road global trade infrastructure initiative -- a pet project of President Xi Jinping. He has also been honoured as one of the "outstanding builders of socialism with Chinese ...
Modi seeks Telangana people's blessings for BJP
Ahead of his election rallies in Telangana on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought people's support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the December 7 Assembly polls.
US deplores Russian action in Kerch Strait, extends support to Ukraine
The United States expressed "deep concerns" over the November 25 seizure of three Ukranian ships in the Kerch Strait by Russia and firing from the Russian side that injured Ukranian crewmen.Calling the incident a "dangerous escalation and a violation of international law," US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo condemned the "aggressive" action by the Russian side."We call on Russia to return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crew members, and to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, extending to its territorial waters," Pompeo said in an official press release.The State Department's spokesperson, Heather Nauert, further mentioned that the Secretary of State had called Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to reiterate US' support for Ukraine. Poroshenko, in turn, expressed his gratitude for the support while outlining the importance of Western nations remaining united in the face of Russian "aggression"."We call on both .