Page 2410 - Politics

Brexit deal is best option to protect British economy - finance minister

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain's draft deal to leave the European Union is the best available solution to safeguard the economy and start to reunite a divided country, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Saturday.

Will reach out to friends in Congress, MNF for alliance: Himanta Biswa Sarma on Mizoram polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing "friends" in the Congress, Mizo National Front (MNF) and Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) for alliance, if it gets respectable number of seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Mizoram.Assam Finance Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's strategist in the North East Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday told ANI: "If we get a respectable number of seats then we have friends in Congress, Mizo National Front (MNF) and Zoram People's Movement (ZPM). But first, our aim is to get the respectable number of seats in the upcoming elections." Mizoram goes to polls on November 28 and counting will be on December 11.Underling that BJP will be a major factor in forming the government in the state, the leader asserted: "Once the result is announced, any political formation to form a government, they will need BJP."The leader, who played a crucial role in the Assam Assembly elections in 2016 and Manipur Assembly polls in 2017 in installing the BJP governments ...

As ex-cops, bureaucrats reminisce, they lay bare the time warp India's caught in (Book review)

Have any lessons been learnt as India approaches the 10th anniversary of the horrific November 26-29, 2008, Mumbai terror attack? Precious little, if one goes by the reminiscences of a former Mumbai Police Commissioner about the mayhem that killed 166 people, many of them foreigners, and injured hundreds more.

UP Minister demands Army deployment in Ayodhya

An Uttar Pradesh Minister on Saturday said that the Army should be deployed in Ayodhya to control the situation in the temple town.

EU, UK to hold Brexit summit tomorrow

A Brexit summit is slated to be held on November 25 in Brussels in which prominent leaders from the European Union's 27-member countries and the United Kingdom will sit down for the final round of talks.European Council President Donald Tusk announced on Twitter that he has shared a draft Political Declaration on the future relationship between the EU and the UK with the EU member countries, while stating that the declaration has been agreed at the negotiators' level and "agreed in principle at political level". However, he highlighted that the agreement was subject to the endorsement of leaders on Sunday at the special summit."Sunday 25 November marks the special EU Summit at which leaders of the EU-27 will vote on the deal reached during the course of negotiations," the official website of the UK Parliament stated.EU had released the full text of the draft political declaration on November 22. UK Prime Minister Theresa May also spoke at the British Parliament on the same day ...

Civilian killings must end in Kashmir: CPI(M)

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M Y Tarigami Saturday demanded an immediate end to civilian killings in the Kashmir Valley. "The unabated civilian killings in Kashmir must be a cause of concern for every right-thinking person in the state and the country," Tarigami said. Three civilians, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed in Kashmir in the last three-days. Expressing heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, he said the killings were "highly condemnable". "Killing of civilians can never be a solution to any problem. Whether a civilian is killed by the bullet from one side or the other side, it is a loss of precious human life," he said. "Whose cause is fulfilled by such killings? Unfortunately, it is a Kashmiri who is getting killed every day," he added. Tarigami alleged that by targeting civilians, the parties involved in the conflict were deriving sadistic pleasure. The situation calls for immediate de-escalation from all sides, he said.

Koreas gain UN sanctions exemption for joint rail survey

South Korea said Saturday that the United Nations Security Council granted an exemption to sanctions that will allow surveys on North Korean railroad sections the Koreas want to connect with the South. The surveys would require the South to bring to the North fuel and a variety of goods, including possibly cars to test on northern tracks. The Koreas plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony by the end of the year on an ambitious project to connect their railways and roads as agreed by their leaders. But beyond surveys and tape-cuttings, they cannot move much further along without the lifting of US-led sanctions against North Korea, which isn't likely before Pyongyang takes firmer steps toward relinquishing its nuclear weapons and missiles. The plan to modernise North Korea's outdated railways and roads and reconnect them with the South was among many agreements reached between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who met three times this year amid a ...

OP Rajbhar backs Akhilesh's idea of Army deployment in Ayodhya

Uttar Pradesh Minister OP Rajbhar on Saturday supported former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's suggestion that the Supreme Court should take note of the situation in Ayodhya and Army should be deployed to take control of the matter, if necessary.Rajbhar told ANI that despite the imposition of Section 144 in the state that prohibits gathering of five or more persons at one place, "administration has allowed people to gather in Ayodhya, which clearly indicates the failure of the government"."The Chief Minister is interested in election campaigning when Section 144 is imposed in Faizabad (Ayodhya). The kind of crowd that has gathered there... its responsibility will lie with the Chief Minister," cautioned the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader in the context of the mass gathering to be held by various organisations in Ayodhya over the weekend to build up pressure on the central government for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya."I welcome Akhilesh's ...

Trump asks SC to consider Trans military ban

United States President Donald Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to immediately consider the ban on transgenders serving in the US military, breaking the current judicial protocol that binds the top court to wait until regional appeal courts give rulings on an issue.The lower courts have issued injunctions on the issue but not yet delivered any rulings, reported Sputnik.Insisting that "they cannot afford to wait for lower courts to decide," Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco asked the top court to haste the process, ignoring the fact that no rulings have been issued yet, the Washington Post reported on Friday."The military has been forced to maintain its prior policy for nearly a year," Francisco complained, adding that "without Court's prompt intervention; it is unlikely that the military will be able to implement its new policy any time soon."According to Francisco, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and a panel of senior military leaders along with other experts had ...

Hammond says Brexit deal would have minimum negative impact on economy

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain's draft deal to leave the European Union is not just the best solution to political division but also for the economy, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Saturday.

PM attacks Cong for comparing sliding rupee with his mother

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hit out at the Congress Saturday, days after its leader Raj Babbar compared the rupee's slide with the age of his mother, saying those who did not have issues to talk about, resort to abusing someone else's mother. Addressing a rally here, Modi, in an apparent dig at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, said 125 crore people of the country were the "high-command" of his government, which was "not remote-controlled by a madam". Hitting out at the Congress on Babbar's remarks, he said, "When one doesn't have issues to talk about, he resorts to abusing somebody else's mother." The Congress leader had kicked up a row in Indore Thursday when he compared the falling value of rupee against US dollar with the age of the prime minister's mother. Attacking Gandhi, Modi alleged that "coffers of banks were emptied for the rich during the madam's government". "However, our government opened doors of banks for the needy youth," Modi said. The prime minister asked why .

SC verdict on Ram temple final, all should accept it: Bihar Minister

Bihar Minister Khurshid Ahmad on Saturday said the Supreme Court's verdict in the Ram temple case is final and everyone should accept it.

Government does not need RBI funds yet - finance minister to TV

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India does not need money from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the next six months, the finance minister said in a TV interview telecast on Friday, rejecting opposition charges the government was seeking access to the bank's reserves to fund schemes ahead of the 2019 general election.

Bahrain votes for new parliament but opposition is absent

Polls opened in Bahrain on Saturday to elect a new parliament, but absent from the ballot is the country's Shiite-dominated opposition, whose most prominent figures are serving lengthy prison sentences. Up for grabs are 40 seats in Bahrain's lower house of parliament and 30 municipal council seats. Runoffs will be held next month. It's the second election in Bahrain since mass protests led by the country's Shiite majority erupted in early 2011. The government, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, crushed the Arab Spring-inspired protests with help from Saudi and Emirati forces, but disenfranchised Shiite youth continue to hold scattered street protests in the tiny Persian Gulf nation. Rights groups say Saturday's vote is taking place in a repressive environment that is not conducive to free elections. Just before Bahrain held its last parliamentary elections in 2014, the country's largest opposition bloc, Al-Wefaq, was suspended. Fourteen Shiite candidates won seats in those elections,

Adityanath to hold multiple public rallies in poll-bound MP

With Assembly elections just around the corner in Madhya Pradesh, electioneering has reached its peak in the state.In an attempt to garner support for the candidates belonging to his political party- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday will address scores of rallies in the state's Janpad Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain regions.The assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held for 230 seats on November 28. The result will be declared on December 11.With just a few days left for the polls, the state has been witnessing high-octane campaigning by political parties. Several prominent leaders including, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and many others have been holding several rallies in the state.The elections in the state are being seen as a major political battle between senior Congress leader Arun Yadav and incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as they will face off each other in ...

May heads to Brussels as Spain threatens Brexit summit

British Prime Minister Theresa May was headed back to Brussels on Saturday to defend the planned Brexit divorce deal even as Spain threatened to boycott an EU summit meant to endorse it. May has final day talks scheduled with EU leaders Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, although diplomats said the withdrawal agreement is finished and ready for EU leaders to approve on Sunday. Nothing in the painful 17-month withdrawal process has gone smoothly, and on Friday, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned he might not attend if the leaders do not acknowledge that Madrid holds a veto over the fate of Gibraltar in any post-Brexit negotiation of new EU-UK ties. Visiting Cuba, Sanchez said that Madrid must be allowed to negotiate directly with London on Gibraltar and give its specific assent to any changes to its relationship to the European Union in a future agreement between Britain and Brussels. "If there's no agreement, it's very clear what will happen, there very probably won't be a .

Bahrain heads to polls amid boycott calls

Bahrainis headed to the polls Saturday amid calls to boycott the parliamentary election in which dissolved opposition groups have been banned from taking part. The country's two main opposition groups, the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad, were barred from fielding candidates, prompting renewed calls for a boycott. The polls opened at 8 am local time (0500 GMT) and are set to close at 8pm. King Hamad in September urged voters to take part in the vote, in which officials say 293 people -- including 41 women -- are running for parliament. A municipal poll coincides with the parliamentary vote. At least six people were detained and charged this month for "obstructing the electoral process", according to statements released by Bahrain's public prosecutor. One of the six was Ali Rashed al-Asheeri, a former member of parliament with Al-Wefaq, according to the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. Asheeri had tweeted that he and his family would boycott the polls. Al-Wefaq

Kashmir's mahagathbandhan depends on Mehbooba, Omar (Column: Political Circus)

There has been an element of unseemly haste and even recklessness in some of the recent acts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Such hurried initiatives have been seen in its impetuous bid to start the construction of the Ram temple as soon as possible and now in the peremptory dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.

Cleric who led protests against Asia Bibi's acquittal arrested

The Pakistan government on Saturday announced that the hardline Islamist leader who had led protests against the acquittal of blasphemy charged death row convict Asia Bibi, has been arrested.

Lankan Prez Sirisena to pen book on current political crisis

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who last month abruptly sacked prime minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapksa, will write a book on his "unsuccessful political marriage" with the ousted premier. Sirisena's controversial action on October 26 led to a political crisis in the country with both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claiming to be the legitimate prime minister. Wickremesinghe termed his dismissal as invalid and said he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament. Sirisena, addressing a public gathering on Friday, said the book will be titled 'My unsuccessful political marriage with Ranil'. "I know that people are criticising me right now. I will tell them to wait until I release my book," the President said. Sirisena claimed that despite his action, he had not been isolated. "I know that right thinking people are with me on this battle against the corrupt and the traitors," he added. Sirisena's announcement came hours