Page 249 - Politics
Andhra Cabinet to have 5 Deputy CMs: YSRCP's Mohammed Mustafa Shaik
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led state Cabinet will have five Deputy Chief Ministers, confirmed YSRCP MLA Mohammed Mustafa Shaik."There will be five Deputy Chief Ministers in Andhra Pradesh cabinet. The Deputy Chief Ministers will be one each from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Backward Castes, Minority and Kapu community," Shaik said.Jaganmohan Reddy on Friday called on a YSRCP legislative party meeting, which was attended by all the elected party MLAs at his camp office in Tadepalli, Amaravati.All the 150 MLAs of the YSRCP were present in the meeting.In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly election, Reddy's YSRCP got an absolute majority by winning 151 out of 175 seats.
Iran is failing as a nation after sanctions: Trump
Iran is failing as a nation following the sanctions imposed by the United States, President Donald Trump has said, adding that Washington could turn the situation around."They are failing as a nation, but I don't want them to fail as a nation. We can turn that around very quickly but the sanctions have been extraordinary [in] how powerful they have been," he told reporters before holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, reported Al Jazeera.Last week, US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo had said that Washington is willing to negotiate with Iran "with no preconditions".During the meeting on Thursday, Trump and Macron asserted that they do not want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.Macron also said both Washington and Paris want to reduce Tehran ballistic missile programme and "contain" Tehran's activity in the Middle East and achieve peace in the region."I think we do share the same objectives on Iran. We had an accord until 2025 and we want to go further and ...
Pak Foreign Minister congratulates Jaishankar on taking charge of MEA
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday wrote a letter to S Jaishankar congratulating him on his appointment as the external affairs minister of India.Jaishankar took charge of the ministry last week. He served as the foreign secretary when Sushma Swaraj was heading the department during Narendra Modi's first tenure as prime minister.The message from Qureshi comes in the backdrop of Pakistani Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood's visit to New Delhi on the occasion of Eid. He visited the famous Jama Masjid.The MEA later rolled out a clarification stating that it was a "personal visit and there was no meeting scheduled" between Mahmood and Indian officials.
Syria uses familiar tactic in rebel Idlib: Bombing civilians
The father could hardly bear seeing his 18-month-old daughter's panic every time the Syrian government warplanes flew over their home. Every day for a month, she ran to him to hide in his arms, tearful and breathless. Abdurrahim had refused to flee his hometown throughout years of violence, and he was determined to hold out through the new, intensified government offensive launched in April against Idlib province, the last significant territory held by Syria's rebels. But now he had his first child, Ruwaida, to think about. "That look on my daughter's face ... is really what is going to kill me," said the 25-year-old Abdurrahim, who asked that his last name not be published for security reasons. His determination collapsed when an airstrike on May 30 pulverized the house next door, crushing to death three children, one of them a girl Ruwaida's age. He whisked his daughter and wife to a nearby village, hoping it would be safe. The Syrian government and its Russian backer have turned to
US and Mexico: Negotiators claim progress; no deal yet
US and Mexican officials claim to be making progress as they labored for a second day to avert import tariffs. But President Donald Trump is still threatening to impose them as he tries to pressure Mexico into stemming the flow of Central American migrants across the United States' southern border. Vice President Mike Pence, monitoring the talks from his travels in Pennsylvania, said Thursday the U.S. was "encouraged" by Mexico's latest proposals but that, so far, tariffs still were set to take effect on Monday. He added that it would be "for the president to decide" whether Mexico was doing enough to head off the tariffs. Pence said that, among other issues, negotiators had been discussing a potential agreement to make it difficult for those who enter Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S. Mexico has long resisted that request. Trump has threatened to impose a 5% tax on all Mexican goods beginning Monday as part of an escalating tariff regime opposed by many in his ..
SKM govt to clear decks for CBI to probe cases in Sikkim
The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government will soon clear the decks for the Central Bureau of Investigation to take up corruption cases in the border state, a leader of the ruling party has said. A notification issued by the erstwhile Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government in 2010 had mandated the central probe agency to seek its prior consent, before taking up an investigation against any of its officers or public representatives. "It is necessary to bring the CBI as it is the only agency which can bring to book those people who had indulged in large-scale corruption in the last 25 years," the chief minister's political secretary, Jacob Khaling Rai, told reporters on Thursday. The newly formed SKM government has been searching for files related to malpractices by the previous goverment headed by Pawan Kumar Chamling, Rai, who is also the spokesperson of the SKM, said. "We have activated the vigilance department and will contact the CBI soon to probe the ...
Elected 150 YSRCP MLAs attend Jagan Reddy's party meet
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Friday called on a YSRCP legislative party meeting, which is being attended by all the elected party MLAs at his camp office in Tadepalli, Amaravati.All the 150 MLAs of the YSRCP are present in the meeting.It is likely that Reddy will finalise his Cabinet colleagues in this meeting. The selected ministers will swear in tomorrow at the state secretariat.In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly election, Reddy's YSRCP got an absolute majority by winning 151 out of 175 seats.
Police raids sought to intimidate media: ABC Chair
Ita Buttrose, the Chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), said on Friday that the recent raid by the Federal Police on its headquarters was aimed at intimidating the media.
BJP MLAs ask party men to beat officials with shoes
BJP MLA Ram Ratan Kushwaha has asked his party workers to assault government employees and beat them up with shoes if they "continue to harass and threaten you".
Biden now says he opposes ban on federal money for abortion
After two days of intense criticism, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden reversed course Thursday and declared that he no longer supports a long-standing congressional ban on using federal health care money to pay for abortions. "If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment" that makes it harder for some women to access care, Biden said at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Atlanta. The former vice president's reversal on the Hyde Amendment came after rivals and women's rights groups blasted him for affirming through campaign aides that he still supported the decades-old budget provision. The dynamics had been certain to flare up again at Democrats' first primary debate in three weeks. Biden didn't mention this week's attacks, saying his decision was about health care, not politics. Yet the circumstances highlight the risks for a 76-year-old former vice president who's running as more of a centrist in a party where some skeptical activists ..
UAE, Norway, Saudi Arabia claim 'state actor' behind attack on oil tankers
In a veiled reference to Iran, an investigation conducted by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway into the coordinated attack on their four oil tankers off the port of Fujairah last month has concluded that a "state actor" was behind it.The three countries told the United Nations on Thursday in the briefing that there are "strong indications that the four attacks were part of a sophisticated and coordinated operation carried out with significant operational capacity."The countries conducted the assessment of the damage to the four vessels and the chemical analysis of the debris recovered revealed that limpet mines were used during the attack on the four vessels.In a press statement, the countries said that the attacks required trained divers, explosive charges placed under the waterline, near the engines, so as to not sink the ships or detonate their cargoes, which indicated a knowledge of the design of the targeted ships. The countries said rapid withdrawal of the plotters by fast boats .
Rahul Gandhi to visit Wayanad today
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is slated to visit his Parliamentary constituency Wayanad on Friday afternoon. This will be Gandhi's first visit after he won the seat in the recently held Lok Sabha polls.He will stay in his constituency till Sunday during which he will meet party workers and citizens. "I will be in Wayanad, Kerala starting this afternoon and till Sunday to meet citizens and Congress Party workers. It's a packed schedule with over 15 public receptions planned over the next 3 days," tweeted Rahul Gandhi.Rahul had on May 24 expressed gratitude to the people of Wayanad for choosing him as their representative in the Lok Sabha.On May 31, Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requesting him to order an enquiry into the 'suicide' of a debt-ridden farmer from Wayanad. Gandhi also urged him to extend financial support to the family of the deceased.Gandhi, who netted 7,05,034 votes in Wayanad, won by 4,31,063 votes against his nearest rival Left .
Congress mulls proposal for two working presidents
Confronted with Rahul Gandhi's obstinacy in not withdrawing his resignation as Congress President, the party has got into the process of refining its model of having multiple working presidents to run the party.
Cadre review not 'properly followed': DoPT asks CCAs, fixes June 30 deadline (IANS Exclusive)
Considering the pending cadre review of all the Central Group 'A' services, which in some cases are pending for even more than 40 years, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has asked the Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs) to expedite the procedure and submit the proposals by June end.
Jagan reversing TDP govt order on CBI may spell trouble for Naidu
In a master stroke, the newly appointed Andhra Pradesh government led by Y.S. Jagan Reddy has reversed the decision of the previous Telugu Desam Party government allowing the Central agencies to carry out raids and investigation. This may spell serious trouble for former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his family in the coming days.
German Foreign Minister to visit Iran to 'save' nuke deal
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will visit Iran next week to hold talks on the landmark nuclear deal and other regional issues, amid brewing tensions between the US and Iran.Maas is expected to visit Tehran on June 10 and will meet top leaders of the Iranian leadership, his spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said."You know our position, we are trying to keep the nuclear deal alive because we believe that it's a good agreement," Anadolu News Agency quoted her as saying.Maas is scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and other senior officials.Ties between the US and Iran soured after Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) last year.Following this, the US slapped a multitude of sanctions on Iran, citing the latter's support to state-sponsored terrorism and conflicts.On the other hand, Iran partially withdrew from the landmark deal which meant that Tehran would stop exporting enriched uranium stocks as against ..
Russia not building military base in Venezuela: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that his country has no plans to send troops or build a military base in crisis-hit Venezuela."Russian military experts in Venezuela are in line with the contract which was signed earlier," Anadolu News Agency quoted Putin as saying to heads of international news agencies here.This comes days after US President Donald Trump had tweeted that Russia "removed most of their people" from the Latin American nation. Moscow has, however, denied the claims.It may be noted that Russia has backed the Nicolas Maduro regime ever since the political turmoil began in Venezuela in January. The country has been firm in its backing in spite of the fact that Maduro's government has been opposed by more than 50 countries, including the US, Canada and the UK.The political turmoil began when Maduro was sworn in for a second term after an election that has since been termed by a majority of international communities as "rigged."The crisis took a sudden twist
UAE probe of tanker attacks points to 'state actor'
Initial findings of an investigation led by the United Arab Emirates of May 12 attacks on oil tankers point to the likelihood that a state was behind the bombings, but there is no evidence yet that Iran was involved, the UAE said Thursday. The UAE along with Saudi Arabia and Norway presented the preliminary findings during a briefing to the UN Security Council, which will also receive the final results of the probe to consider a possible response. The United States has accused Iran of being behind the attacks on the four oil tankers off the Emirati coast, which came at a time of escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. The four vessels -- two Saudi-flagged, a Norwegian-flagged and an Emirati-flagged -- were damaged by explosions that took place within UAE territorial waters, off the port of Fujairah. After assessing the damage and carrying out chemical analysis, the UAE told the council that the attacks were sophisticated and of the type most likely carried out by state ...
Day after checkpost ambush, 14 terrorists killed in Egypt
A day after eight police personnel died in a checkpost attack in North Sinai province, security forces have killed 14 suspected terrorists in Arish city during a raid, the country's interior ministry said on Thursday.On Wednesday, eight policemen had lost their lives after terrorists attacked a checkpoint south of Arish. Five terrorists were shot dead in the operation while the remaining fled the spot, Anadolu News Agency reported.The Islamic State terror group had later claimed responsibility for the attack.The ministry said that security forces later found the suspected terrorists at an abandoned house in Arish and killed all of them.Since 2013, the Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicentre of terrorism and insurgency when the Egyptian Army ousted the country's first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Morsi, in a coup d'etat.
Indian Army condoles death of Territorial Army jawan
The Indian Army has expressed grief over the killing of Territorial Army jawan Manzoor Ahmad Beigh, and extended condolences to the bereaved family.In a statement, the Army on Thursday said, "In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved family and remains committed to their dignity and wellbeing. All ranks of Chinar Corps offer their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family."Briefing about the incident, the Army said Beigh, who was serving with Territorial Army Unit, was shot at by terrorists on June 6 which left him grievously injured at his residence in Sadoora village of Anantnag.He was immediately evacuated to the nearest hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.Beigh, who was unarmed during the attack, was on leaves for twelve days, from June 4, to celebrate Eid with his family. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.