Page 2488 - Politics
Putin: Arms control to top agenda for his meeting with Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin says arms control issues will likely top the agenda of his planned meeting with US President Donald Trump. Putin says the leaders need to discuss the future of the 2011 New START agreement and the situation around the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Trump has declared his intention to withdraw from the INF, which was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Putin said Thursday that if he and Trump meet as expected at the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina later this month, they would also discuss Syria, North Korea and Iran. Putin says he spoke Thursday with US Vice President Mike Pence at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore, touching on arms control and other issues.
Iranian report: 5 abducted border guards freed in Pakistan
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says five of 12 border guards abducted in October by militants near the Pakistani border, have been released. Thursday's report quotes Iran's Revolutionary Guard chief Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying the five have been "handed over to the Pakistani government." The fate of the others remains unknown. Jafari didn't elaborate and there was no comment from Islamabad. Pakistan has promised to help free the Iranian guards. The guards were abducted in a pre-dawn raid near the Loukdan border crossing in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province. The area has seen occasional clashes with Baluch separatists and also drug traffickers. Details were sketchy and Iran has since twice revised the number of the abducted border force, including some from the Iran's vaunted Revolutionary Guard.
MP polls: Amit Shah lists BJP's welfare work to woo tribals, says Rahul suffering from 'Modi phobia'
BJP chief Amit Shah reached out to tribals in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Thursday and informed them about the several welfare measures being taken by the party-led governments at the Centre and in the state. Speaking at a rally in Barwani, which comprises four tribal-dominated assembly seats, scheduled to go to polls along with the rest of the state on November 28, Shah also criticised Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress chief was "suffering from Modi phobia". He claimed Gandhi's speeches were leading to confusion that the Congress chief was addressing BJP rallies as he was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than his party's colleagues and leaders. "Rahul is chanting, Modi, Modi across the country and is suffering from Modi phobia. I heard a speech of Rahul baba, where, instead of speaking anything good or worthwhile, he chanted Modi, Modi," Shah told the crowd. He claimed the Congress had done no good for tribals but the BJP sanctioned the Indore-Manmad rail route for ...
Rahul targets Modi over Rafale: "Watchman sold out"
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning if the pact to buy 36 Rafale jets from France was at all a government-to-government deal.
Congress has lost strength to unite Opposition: Rajnath Singh
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, tearing into the Congress, said that the party has lost the strength in forming a united opposition against the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.He also took a jibe at the main rival political party for not announcing chief ministerial candidate for the state.The Home minister, while addressing the media, said: "Congress has lost all the strength and power to unite the opposition, and trust of the people. They have also not announced the name of the chief ministerial candidate for Chhattisgarh."Claiming that the Congress has not done enough for the poor and farmers of the state, Singh stressed that since the time Raman Singh came to power, Chhattisgarh's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has doubled than the overall rate of inflation. He also claimed that food inflation has also decreased which has given relief to consumers."Dr Raman Singh is in power for the past 15 years and has done a commendable work to develop the state. State ..
Mizoram polls: 209 candidates in fray
A total of 209 candidates are contesting the Mizoram assembly elections. Election to the 40-member state assembly is slated to be held in a single phase on November 28.Of 209, the ruling Congress has fielded 40 candidates while opposition parties in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mizo National Front (MNF), are contesting in 39 and 40 assembly seats respectively.Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is contesting from two seats - Serchhip and Champhai South.The last day of withdrawal was yesterday.The Congress has been in power in the state since 2008.
Alice Wells to visit Singapore
United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells will visit Singapore from November 14 to 16.A press release from the US Department of State stated that Wells is scheduled to take part in bilateral engagements with other partners on the margins of the East Asia Summit (EAS).Wells along with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs W. Patrick Murphy will represent the United States at the US-Australia-India-Japan Consultations to reaffirm a shared commitment to maintain and strengthen an Indo-Pacific region based on clear and transparent rules, with respect for international law.US Vice President Michael R Pence is also in Singapore. Pence held multiple bilateral meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmar Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyu on the sidelines of the EAS 2018.
BJP's cronyism drove economy to its lowest point: CPI-M
Accusing the Modi government of mismanaging the economy, the CPI-M on Thursday said that corruption and institutionalization of cronyism under the government had driven the Indian economy to hit its lowest point.
209 candidates to contest Mizoram Assembly polls
A total of 209 candidates, 67 higher than in 2013, are contesting the November 28 Mizoram Assembly polls, officials said here on Thursday.
Former legislator quits TRS, joins BJP
With the Telangana Rashtra Samithi denying ticket to her to contest the December 7 assembly elections in the state,former Choppadandi MLA and party leader Bodige Shoba quit the party and joined the BJP here Thursday. Shoba, who was apparently disappointed at not being re-nominated for the seat from the ruling TRS, joined the BJP in the presence of Telangana BJP party president K Laxman, senior party leader and Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatraya and former state unit president G Kishan Reddy. TRS chief and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had Wednesday announced the names of 10 more party candidates in the TRS second list, taking the total number of nominees to 117. There are 119 assembly segments. S Ravishankar was preferred over Shoba in Choppadandi SC reserved Assembly constituency of Karimnagar district. Choppadandi was one of the few seats that the TRS had not announced candidates in the first list released as soon as the Assembly was dissolved in ...
Mamata sees "dirty politics" behind NRC in Assam
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that "dirty politics" is going on in the name of publication of the final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam as names of genuine voters have been struck off the list. The Trinamool Congress supremo asserted that she was not against the Assam government, but she does not support NRC. "I still believe that dirty politics is being played in the name of the NRC. Names of genuine voters have been struck off the list. We do not support this," Banerjee said during her visit to Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. She was here to take part in the birth centenary celebrations of Binapani Devi Thakur, known as 'Boroma', the revered 'mother' of the Matua community. The community originally hailed from present-day Bangladesh and migrated to India over the past five decades. Banerjee has been very critical of the BJP-led government at the Centre since the publication of the final draft of Assam's
Maha: Nanded Cong leaders ask Chavan to contest Assembly polls
Congress leaders from Nanded have asked its Lok Sabha MP and Maharashtra unit chief Ashok Chavan to contest Assembly polls instead of seeking renomination for the 2019 general elections. According to Congress sources, the issue was raised by party leaders at the review meeting called by Chavan to take stock of the political situation in Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats. These sources said Nanded-based leaders asked Chavan, a former Maharashtra chief minister, to contest the Assembly polls scheduled later in 2019 instead of the Lok Sabha. Chavan, sources said, told these leaders that a decision in this regard would be taken by the party's central leadership. Sources said leaders from Nanded also told Chavan that his wife Ameeta Chavan, or either of his daughters, should be fielded from Nanded Lok Sabha seat. Chavan represented Bhokar assembly seat in Nanded in 2009 before winning Nanded parliamentary seat. The Bhokar assembly seat is currently held by his wife Ameeta. ...
Opposed to formation of any military alliance in Indo-Pacific: Vietnam
Vietnam Thursday was non-committal in backing the "Quad" or quadrilateral coalition among India, the US, Japan and Australia, saying it welcomes any initiative to bring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region but is opposed to the formation of any military alliance. Vietnam's newly-appointed envoy Pham Sanh Chau also emphasised on the need to maintain peace, security, stability and freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea, adding his country does not want the region to be a "theatre" of power-play by major powers. "Vietnam welcomes any initiative for maintenance of peace, security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. However, we do not want to see a military alliance formed because we believe that it is not conducive to the security environment in the region," he told reporters. The envoy was asked whether Vietnam supports the quadrilateral coalition among the four powers. "If any country wants to gang up, use force or trying to use force, then it ..
Thais take ASEAN chair, haunted by past summit chaos
Protests, broken windows and dignitaries forced to flee by helicopter -- Thailand's last stint as host of Southeast Asia's biggest summit was devoured by political chaos. But as the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) passed Thursday from Singapore to Thailand, Bangkok is hoping unrest will not spoil its year in the spotlight. The annual ASEAN summit has become a major stop on the diplomatic circuit, even drawing leaders from the US, China, Japan and Russia. Thailand's chairmanship means ASEAN will be hosted by a military dictatorship the same year it plans to hold elections. The kingdom is notorious for its fractious, disruptive and sometimes violent street politics. Thailand's generals will be desperate to avoid a repeat of 2009 when protesters from the pro-democracy "red shirt" faction smashed their way into the summit venue in the resort city of Pattaya demanding elections. Pandemonium ensued, with a number of leaders having to be rescued from a ...
Mizoram civil societies hail EC move to replace poll officer
The Election Commission's move to replace S B Shashank as Mizoram's chief electoral officer was welcomed on Thursday by the civil societies that had spearheaded a movement to seek the poll officer's ouster. "We welcome anybody as state CEO, except Shashank, who was working against the interests of the Mizo people by making an all-out effort to register Bru voters in the Tripura relief camps without following established procedures," Vanlalruata, chairman of the NGO, Coordination Committee, told PTI. The poll panel announced in the morning that IAS officer Ashish Kundra was being appointed as the chief electoral officer of the state with immediate effect. The civil societies would cooperate with the new CEO if he was willing to work towards free, fair and peaceful polls, Vanlalruata added. The committee -- an apex body of civil societies and students' organisations in the northeastern state -- had sought Shashank's exit from the state shortly after the state election commission removed
Rajnath jibes at Afridi's remark
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday made light of Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi's comment on Kashmir, saying "what he said is right".
Rahul has Modiphobia: Amit Shah
BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday took a dig at his Congress counterpart, saying Rahul Gandhi was "afflicted with Modiphobia" and that is why he chants "Modi-Modi".
Chaos in Lanka parliament as Speaker comes under siege
Sri Lankan lawmakers on Thursday exchanged blows and threw objects at each other, leaving at least one of them bleeding, as MPs loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena surrounded the Speaker in his chair after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who lost a floor test, demanded fresh elections to resolve the raging political turmoil. Trouble erupted when Speaker Karu Jayasuriya agreed to a request from ousted premier Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) that a vote be taken on a statement made by Rajapaksa demanding fresh polls. Jayasuriya had allowed Rajapaksa to make a statement as a member of parliament after stating that he does not recognise the claim of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader who lost a no-confidence motion on Wednesday. "I was the president and premier, so this prime minister's post is not important," Rajapaksa said. "I urge all 225 members to join me in calling for a fresh election. We want a general election," he said, adding that a fresh ...
Odisha invites industry to tap opportunities in defence & aerospace sectors
Mr Chopra briefed the industry on the comprehensive ecosystem in place and the policy measures that have been initiated, including the recently announced Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy aimed at creating a robust defence industrial base.
PM to inaugurate KMP Expressway, Ballabhgarh Metro line on Nov 19
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate several projects in the state of Haryana on November 19. The projects include the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway and the Ballabhgarh-Mujesar Metro line.The Prime Minister will address the public at the Jan Vikas Rally in Sultanpur. He will also lay the foundation stone of Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal.The Haryana government has constructed the KMP Expressway or the Western Peripheral Expressway. However, the cost of land acquisition, utility shifting and project preparation, etc for both the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (executed by National Highways Authority of India) and Western Peripheral Expressway (KMP Expressway) was borne by the Government of Delhi, Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of Haryana in the ratio of 50:25:25 respectively.The Expressway is around 136 kilometres long.The Prime Minister inaugurated the Eastern Peripheral Expressway or the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway on May 27 in ...