Page 2567 - Politics
Yemen clashes rage as Saudi-led coalition says committed to peace
Battles raged Monday near a Yemeni port crucial for humanitarian aid, but Saudi Arabia and its allies said they were committed to de-escalating hostilities with rebels as calls for a ceasefire mount. The United Nations has appealed for urgent peace talks and warned that an assault on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida would threaten millions of lives. Yemeni government forces, backed by a regional military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, say they are now positioned around both the north and south of Hodeida, where clashes have left dozens dead. The city and its port have been controlled by the Huthis -- Iran-backed Shiite insurgents who hail from northern Yemen -- since 2014 along with the capital Sanaa. Rebels and government sources both reported intense fighting in the area Monday, despite calls by the UN and the United States -- which provides military support to the Saudi-led camp -- for an end to the war. A source in the Saudi-led coalition told AFP the clashes were not .
Qatar denies meddling in Bahraini affairs over spy case
Qatar denied Monday accusations it interfered in Bahrain's internal affairs after a Manama court sentenced the head of the Shiite opposition to life in jail for spying for Doha. Bahraini Sheikh Ali Salman was sentenced on Sunday for "acts of hostility" against Bahrain and "communicating with Qatari officials... to overthrow constitutional order". Doha has repeatedly denied accusations of conspiring against Bahrain with Salman, a Shiite cleric who headed the now-banned Al-Wefaq movement. Qatar's foreign ministry on Monday said that the case had been politicised and accused Manama of being "narrow-minded". "The state of Qatar condemns the mentioning of its name in Bahrain's political disputes and internal conflicts," the ministry said in a statement. It added that Bahrain should not resort "to the politicisation of the judiciary or use Qatar's name in favour of political calculation that has proven to be narrow-minded". Shortly after, Bahrain's foreign ministry renewed warnings against .
Farmers' protest: Odisha govt forms inter-ministerial committee
The Odisha government on Monday announced the constitution of an inter-ministerial committee to discuss the demands of agitating farmers even as their 'padyatra' reached the entry points of the state capital. Finance Minister S B Behera, who will head the inter-ministerial committee, appealed to the farmers to have faith in the government and return to their villages. "Odisha government stands committed to the cause of farmers' welfare. The inter-ministerial committee will discuss the demands of farmers," he told reporters. He said Odisha was one of the first states to have an exclusive budget for agriculture and farmers' empowerment. "The state government has been providing loans at one per cent interest to farmers and our irrigation budget has had the maximum growth in the last 10 years," Behera said. Officials said the state agriculture, panchayati raj and cooperation ministers would be part of the inter-ministerial committee. The farmers, agitating under the banner of Naba Nirman .
Gaddam Dharmendra appointed India's Ambassador to Iran
Senior diplomat Gaddam Dharmendra has been appointed India's Ambassador to Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs announced Monday. Dharmendra, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and at present, additional secretary in the MEA here, will replace Saurabh Kumar, who was appointed India's ambassador to Myanmar last month. Dharmendra is expected to take up the assignment shortly, it said. His appointment comes at a time when the global focus is on oil imports from Iran as the US on Monday imposed "the toughest ever" sanctions aimed at altering the Iranian regime's "behaviour". India and China are believed to be among the eight countries that have been given the rare temporary exemptions from the Iranian sanctions. The MEA also concurrently accredited Nina Tshering La, currently Indian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Congo, with residence in Kinshasa. She is expected to take up the assignment shortly, the MEA said.
Oil steady as U.S. sanctions on Iran begin, Tehran defiant
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Monday as U.S. sanctions against Iran's fuel exports began but were softened by waivers allowing major buyers to import Iranian crude for a while, as Tehran said it would defy Washington and continue to sell.
AICC general secretary and the
AICC general secretary and the party in-charge of Assam, Harish Rawat Monday said the killing of five persons in Tinsukia made it clear that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has failed to maintain law and order in the state. The senior leaders of the Congress, including former chief minister Tarun Gogoi have been warning the government for long that its "divisive policy" will lead to further deterioration of law and order but the state government failed to act, he told reporters here. "The killing makes it clear that the state government has been negligent in maintaining law and order. This has been further compounded by the fact that the killers are yet to be traced and apprehended," he said. Moreover, the chief minister has not assured the people that such an incident will not take place again. "Just giving Rs five lakh to the victims' families is not enough and much more is expected from him", Rawat said. The five people, including three of a family, were killed and .
Focus on neutralising terrorism: J-K top cop tells officers
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh Monday exhorted upon the officers of the state police to give attention to "neutralising terrorism" and timely "disposal of crime cases". Lauding his men for their dedication in the rescue operations launched after the recent snowfall and ensuring a smooth and hassle free 'Darbar Move'-- a practice under which the government functions six months each in Srinagar and Jammu, the DGP said whenever faced with a challenge, the state police has come out with flying colours. "The officers should give attention to disposal of crime cases, curbing the bovine and narcotics smuggling and neutralising terrorism," Singh said at a high level meeting here. Civil Secretariat - the seat of Jammu and Kashmir government, Raj Bhavan and other offices reopened here after functioning for six months in Srinagar during the summer season. The DGP impressed upon the officers to continue their good work and also hailed their contribution as first ...
'Good' that Jogi also in fight, but he will hurt Congress more: Raman Singh
Eyeing his fourth consecutive term as Chhatisgarh's Chief Minister, Raman Singh said on Monday it is "good" that his predecessor Ajit Jogi has joined the fray to make it a three-way fight, even as he acknowledged this third force would also impact his party, besides hurting the Congress. Singh, however, quickly added that Jogi's party, Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC), would impact the Congress' electoral prospects more than that of the BJP. Acknowledging that Jogi has also been a chief minister of the state like him, Singh said the former Congress leader is recognised across the state. It is a good thing that his party is fighting election. It will not be a two-way fight (anymore). He will impact both BJP and Congress in this election but his impact will be more on Congress, Singh told PTI in an interview here. Jogi served as Chhattisgarh's first chief minister as a Congress leader from 2000 to 2003, after the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. For nearly 15 years since then, .
Karnataka by poll results tomorrow
: The results for three Lok Sabha andtwo assembly constituencies in Karnataka that Saturday went to the bypolls, seen as a prestigious popularity test for theruling Congress-JDS coalition, will be declared tomorrow. Officials said counting of votes would begin at five centres, one each in five constituencies, at 8 AM Tuesday with a total of 1,248 counting staff deployed. An estimated 67 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypolls for five constituencies. A total of 31 candidates were in the fray from all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JDS combine and the BJP. Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure to that no untoward incident takes place during the counting of votes, police officials said. Police have been deployed around the counting centres and strongrooms where the EVMs are placed, they said. The bypoll results will determine the fate of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife Anita Kumaraswamy, state ...
Moore, Dawson urge voters to combat Trump's immigration policies
Actors Rosario Dawson and Julianne Moore have urged voters to elect Democrats to combat the Trump administrations immigration policies.
Delhi's Signature Bridge opens for public
The iconic and much-awaited Signature Bridge on the river Yamuna was opened for the public on Monday morning, a day after its inauguration.
Pakistani, Russian troops conclude joint military exercises
Pakistani and Russian troops have concluded their two-week joint anti-terrorism military exercises, the military said on Monday.
Joint military drill with Russia has reinforced ties between armies of the two countries: Gen Bajwa
The just-concluded joint military exercise between Pakistan and Russian armies has reinforced the existing relationship between the two militaries, according to Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Bajwa. The Pakistan and Russian armies concluded the third joint military drill on Sunday during which troops from both the countries took part in various exercises and also exchanged mutual counter-terrorism experiences. A Russian Army contingent arrived here on October 22 to take part in the third edition of a joint bilateral military training exercise, Druzhba-III. The two armies conducted various drills in the mountains in Nowshehra district of northwestern Pakistan till November 4, which was also witnessed by Gen Bajwa. "This exercise is great forum to reinforce existing relationship between the two militaries," the Pakistan Army Chief said. Gen Bajwa also visited the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Pabbi in Nowshehra. "The exercise focused on counter-terrorism training of the ...
MP polls: CM Chouhan, Cong's leader of oppn file nomination papers
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Monday filed nomination papers from Budhni seat in Sehore district in the poll-bound state. MP goes to polls on November 28 and votes will be counted on December 11. Budhni, over 60 kilometres from here, is Chouhan's home turf from where he was first elected as MLA in 1990. This would be the fifth time he will be contesting from the seat, close to his ancestral village of Jait in Sehore. At the time of filing nomination papers, Chouhan was accompanied by his wife, Sadhna Singh, sons Kunal and Kartikey, his election agent Ramakant Bhargava and lawyer Shrey Raj Saxena. Before arriving to file his nomination papers, Chouhan and family prayed at his clan deity's temple as well as at the Narmada River, considered holy by Hindus, in Jait village. Addressing party workers ahead of filing his papers, Chouhan mocked the opposition Congress, out of power in the state since 2003, about the condition of roads during its rule. "Everybody knows ...
Mizoram CM writes to PM Modi, seeks chief electoral officer's removal
Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the immediate removal of state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S B Shashank. The people of Mizoram have lost faith in Shashank, who, according to a section of media, had complained to the Election Commission (EC) that principal secretary (home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo was interfering in the poll process, the chief minister wrote. Elections to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly are scheduled to be held on November 28. "As people have lost faith in him, the only solution for smooth conduct of Assembly elections 2018 now would be removal of CEO S B Sashank from office forthwith," the chief minister wrote in his letter to the prime minister. A copy of the letter is available with PTI.
Oil slips as U.S. sanctions on Iran begin, Tehran defiant
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as U.S. sanctions against Iran's fuel exports were softened by waivers allowing major buyers to import Iranian crude for a while, while Tehran said it would defy Washington and continue to sell.
BJP challenges Cong to disclose price it negotiated for Rafale during UPA-II
Accusing Congress president Rahul Gandhi of misleading people on the Rafale deal with France, the ruling BJP on Monday challenged the opposition party to disclose the price at which the fighter aircraft was offered to India during the tenure of UPA-II government. MoS for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal claimed that the price proposed during the UPA-II rule was higher than the deal signed by the BJP-led government and the Congress party was at pain because this dispensation has kicked out middleman from the government-to-government deal. He also said Anil Ambani's company is not the only offset partner of Dassault Aviation as other firms have also tied up with the French manufacturer as offset partners under the Make in India programme. "Congress is talking about the price of the plane which was offered during UPA-I but not UPA-II. Negotiations took place on the first price and the Congress should tell people about the proposed price of 2012-13. That price was higher than the ..
Mandir pitch to hide Modi government's 'all-round failure': CPI-M
The CPI-M on Monday said that the RSS-BJP was raising the Ram temple issue just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to deepn communal polaristion and hide the "all-round failure" of the Modi government.
Indira Gandhi used Hitler's language: BJP
The BJP on Monday criticised senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge for comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Adolf Hitler and said it was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who used the language of former German Chancellor.
Rawalpindi: Shehbaz Sharif Park renamed to Police Martyrs Park
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led Punjab government has renamed 'Shehbaz Sharif Park' here to 'Police Martyrs Park'.Asif Mehmood, the chairman of the Parks Horticulture Authority (PHA) announced the move during an interaction with the media at the Rawalpindi Press Club, The Express Tribune reported.Mehmood further clarified that it was not a politically motivated step but a decision aimed to pay tribute to the police officers who have dedicated their lives in the line of duty.Former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with his alleged involvement in the Ashiana Housing scandal.Mehmood said that Prime Minister Imran Khan's Clean and Green Pakistan Drive was making significant headway towards tackling environment-related issues and changing public outlook towards global warming.He also stated that the government had sanctioned millions of Pakistani rupees for the beautification of Rawalpindi. The