Page 2571 - Politics
U.S. ratchets up pressure on Iran with resumption of sanctions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States reimposes oil and financial sanctions against Iran on Monday, significantly turning up the pressure on Tehran in order to curb its missile and nuclear programs and counter its growing military and political influence in the Middle East.
Gold prices hold steady ahead of U.S. elections
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Monday as investors were cautious ahead of the U.S. congressional elections due on Tuesday which will determine whether the Republican or Democratic Party controls Congress.
Over 20 mn cast early votes in US midterms polls
More than 20 million people across the US have already cast their ballots for the crucial midterm elections slated to be held on Tuesday.
N Korean leader meets Cuban president in Pyongyang
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with visiting Cuban president in Pyongyang and discussed "crucial issues of common concern" on the current international situation, the North's state media reported Monday. The visit by Miguel Diaz-Canel comes amid stalled talks between North Korea and the United States and only days after Washington imposed fresh economic restrictions on Cuba. Washington's ties with Havana were fully restored in 2015 after more than half a century of enmity, but have deteriorated since President Donald Trump took office. Communist Cuba is one of North Korea's few remaining allies. "There was an in-depth exchange of views on the crucial issues of common concern ... on the international situation and a consensus of views on all issues was reached," said the official KCNA news agency. Diaz-Canel was greeted by Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju at the Pyongyang International Airport on Sunday, KCNA reported, where he was given a 21-gun salute and later attended a banquet and .
Rajpur BJP candidate Devi Singh Patel passes away
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Madhya Pradesh's Rajpur assembly constituency, Devi Singh Patel, passed away after suffering a heart attack.The BJP leader breathed his last today at 5 am in a Barwani hospital, three weeks ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.The four-time legislator was contesting against Congress leader Bala Bachchan from Rajpur assembly constituency.Patel was elected three times as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Madhya Pradesh's Anjad assembly constituency. He became the MLA for the first time in 1989.The BJP leader will be cremated in his native place Bandrakachchh in Madhya Pradesh.
French territory rejects independence
Voters in the French Pacific territory here have rejected a bid for independence prompting President Emmanuel Macron to say that it showed "confidence in the French republic".
US sanctions on Iran, 'toughest ever,' take force Monday
The United States is reimposing punitive measures targeting the Iranian oil and financial sectors in what US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called "the toughest sanctions ever placed" against Iran. Taking effect Monday, the measures are the most concrete result yet of US President Donald Trump's controversial decision in May to abandon the multi-nation nuclear deal with Tehran. They will directly affect companies from third countries doing business with Iran. They could upset world oil markets, though the US has granted temporary waivers to eight jurisdictions to continue importing Iranian oil. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced the measures on Saturday, saying Trump had "disgraced" US prestige and would be the ultimate loser in the long-running quarrel between the countries. The US side was unmoved. "Sanctions from the United States will be reimposed at midnight tonight," Pompeo told CBS's "Face the Nation." He said what he called "the terror regime" in Tehran ...
Myanmar ethnic festival in Jan
Myanmar plans to hold an ethnic culture and tourism festival here in January next year to promote tribal groups.
Sterling hits two-week peak on smooth Brexit hopes; Asian shares wobble
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Sterling jumped to a two-week high on Monday on hopes Britain was inching closer to a smooth Brexit while Asian stocks started the week gingerly amid worries about tense Sino-U.S. trade relations.
Bhutan matures as a Democracy
Thimphu [Bhutan], Nov 5 (ANI): Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuk had the vision to give his people what they wanted - happiness and democracy. He had been thinking about this at least as early as the beginning of this century and his sagacity determined that it is best to give to people what they want before they try to snatch it.The pursuit was for democracy and Gross National happiness. Thus, in 2006, he abdicated in favour of his son and His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk ascended the throne in 2008. Bhutan held its first democratic elections the same year. Since then, Bhutan has recently held its third consecutive and peaceful election that has led to another peaceful transfer of power. By all accounts, a remarkable feat considering that some other countries have been struggling to have democratic practices firmly in position despite years of democracy moves. Nepal and Pakistan are two of them.The People's Democratic Party, in power since 2013 lost in the first round of ..
AAP leader denies pushing Manoj Tiwari
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amanatullah Khan denied allegations of pushing Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Manoj Tiwari to the inauguration ceremony of the Signature Bridge here on Sunday.Khan told ANI, "When he (Tiwari) was trying to climb the stage, I stopped him, I did not push him. It was obvious from his actions that if he was successful in climbing the stage he would have misbehaved or attacked the Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) and Deputy Chief Minister (Manish Sisodia)."The AAP leader further asserted that Tiwari was not invited to the inauguration ceremony.Khan added, "Manoj Tiwari was not invited to the inauguration of Signature Bridge still he came there with his supporters. They tore our posters and hoardings, showed black flags and attacked our workers. When Arvind Ji arrived, they came near the stage but police did not stop them."Meanwhile, Tiwari claimed that the entire incident took place in front of Kejriwal, adding that he is going to file an FIR over the
Gold bars with PM Modi's imprints a hit in Gujarat jewellery shop
With just a day left for Diwali, a jewellery shop here has attracted the attention of customers by selling gold and silver bars with the imprints of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.Speaking to ANI, a customer said, "Lord Laxmi and Ganesh are worshipped on every Diwali and Prime Minister Modi is also like God to us. This year I will buy these bars and worship Modi Ji."This is not the first time that the shop has manufactured jewellery with imprints of the Prime Minister. Earlier rakhis made of gold with photos of Prime Minister Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani engraved on them were also made by the shop.The shop owner, Milan told ANI, "Diwali is an auspicious occasion. Since the time Narendra Modi Ji took over as the Prime Minister of the country there has always been development and welfare. There has been widespread development in the country and hence I thought of making these .
US issued strongest sanctions on Iran ever: Trump
With just a few hours before the sanctions on Iran comes into effect, United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said that his administration has issued the strongest sanctions ever on the Middle East country.Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump was quoted by CNN saying, "The Iran sanctions are very strong. We'll see what happens with Iran (after that). But, they are not doing very well. It's a big difference since I have been in office."He added, "When I came to office, if you go a day before, it looked like Iran would take over the Middle East. And now nobody's talking about that. Iran sanctions will go into effect and they are strongest sanctions that our country has ever issued."Earlier on Friday, tweeted a "Game of Thrones" image of himself with the words "sanctions are coming".The White House confirmed the re-imposition of toughest sanctions on Iran, which were lifted by former president Barack Obama under the 2015 nuclear deal.Washington imposed the ...
'Rafale deal under UPA was mother of all Make in India initiatives'
As the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections inch closer, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad once again launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre and his 'Make in India' initiative, claiming that the Rafale deal inked under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure was "the mother of all Make in India initiatives".Azad said, "The provision of buying 18 aircraft from France and manufacturing the remaining ones in India was the mother of all Make in India initiatives.""Biggest initiative for Make in India was done by the UPA government. The contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) could have generated jobs for 24,000-25,000 engineers," he added.The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister asserted that procuring the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets from France under the new deal by the Modi Government was a joke on the Make in India initiative.Azad said that if 108 jets were made in the country, by the state-run aerospace and defence company HAL as was
S Korea, US to resume military drills from today
South Korea and the United States will resume their battalion-level marine exercises on Monday, which were suspended in exchange for a detente with North Korea.Military officials said that the two countries will begin their joint training around the southeastern port city of Pohang. The military drill will comprise 500 troops from the South Korean Marine Corps and the US III Marine Expeditionary Force, Yonhap News Agency reported.The Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP) was suspended in May for six months after Washington and Seoul were engaged in efforts to facilitate good relations with Pyongyang."The KMEP will start from November in accordance with the South Korea-US annual plan. It is an annual tactical combined forces training aimed at maintaining our joint Defence posture," a Marine official said.The two countries were supposed to conduct 19 rounds of training as part of the exercise in fiscal 2018 (from October 2017 to September 2018), but only 11 of them were carried out.Last .
Assad discusses formation of constitutional committee with Russian envoy
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has discussed the formation of the constitutional committee with the visiting Russian President's Special Envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev.
UK to urge Security Council action over Yemen
Britain on Monday announced that it was urging UN Security Council partners to act over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, saying there now "appears to be a window" for a peace deal. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt agreed with the UN's Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths "that the time was right for the Council to act to bolster the UN-led process," according to a Foreign Office statement. "For too long in the Yemen conflict both sides have believed a military solution is possible with catastrophic consequences for the people," said Hunt. "Now for the first time there appears to be a window in which both sides can be encouraged to come to the table, stop the killing and find a political solution that is the only long term way out of disaster." Britain will use "all its influence to push for such an approach", he added, saying there was "a small but real chance that a cessation of hostilities could alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday ...
Poland: Exit poll gives centrists edge in key mayoral races
An exit poll suggested Poland's populist ruling party lost mayoral runoff elections Sunday in key cities including Krakow and Gdansk, though it wasn't immediately clear how hundreds of other local races were leaning. Poland's local elections have received more international attention this year amid the rise of populist governments in other parts of Europe and around the world. Poland's ruling Law and Justice party has taken a hard stance against migration, like US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary and the coalition government leading Italy. Law and Justice also has clashed with the European Union over moves to assert more control over the courts. Results from the first round of voting two weeks ago and projections from Sunday's runoffs indicated the party's populist approach to governance was rejected by voters in Poland's larger cities, which have seen mass anti-government protests in the three years since Law and Justice came to power. At the same time, .
Indian diaspora enjoys reputation of being peace-loving community: VP in Malawi
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the Indian diaspora enjoys a reputation of being a peace-loving community.While addressing the Indian community here, Vice President Naidu said, "I am happy that the Indian community enjoys a reputation of being a peace-loving community and has been able to assimilate well with the locals."Hailing the contribution of the diaspora in the economic activities of Malawi, the Vice President underlined that the community has made significant contributions in the African nation."I am happy to note that you have made a significant contribution to finding a place of leadership, in the economic activities of the country. Some of you have attained positions of excellence, in your respective professions. Your strong and wider involvement in economic activities of Malawi is noteworthy, " he said.Vice President Naidu underlined that "the Indian cultural heritage kept alive various Indian festivals celebrated with full religious fervour and with ...
Pak: Twitter suspends TLP chief Khadim Rizvi's account
Twitter on Sunday suspended the account of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Rizvi, following a request by the Imran Khan-led government to take action against his tweets inciting violence during the protests against the verdict of Asiya Bibi case.On visiting his handle, a notification appears on the screen which reads - "Account Suspended".The step was taken after Rizvi and his TLP supporters had urged people to resort to violence in the aftermath of the verdict last week. The TLP chief also criticised several state institutions by writing inflammatory statements as claimed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, The Express Tribune reported.Earlier, Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that the social networking giant turned down the PTI government's request to pull down Rizvi's account.On Saturday, Rizvi and senior TLP leader Afzal Qadri were among the 500 people booked for rioting and disrupting normal life in various parts