Page 2593 - Politics
In talks with US on Trump's visit to India: MEA
India on Thursday said it was engaged with the US to decide when President Donald Trump can visit the country, days after he declined an invite to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations citing scheduling issues. Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said high-level exchanges are integral part of the strategic partnership between the two countries, and both sides are engaged in discussions on when Trump can visit India. "Both India and the US are in talks to decide when President Trump can come to India," Kumar said at a media briefing. He was asked about the US President turning down India's invite to grace next year's Republic Day celebrations as chief guest. The White House has said Trump's inability to participate was a "purely scheduling issue". Earlier this week, a White House spokesperson, when asked about Trump's decision, had said, "President Trump was honoured by Prime Minister Modi's invitation to him to be the chief guest of India's .
Parrikar in best condition: BJP
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is in the best of health, state BJP General Secretary Sadanand Shet Tanavde said on Thursday.
BJP MP to bring private member's bill on Ram temple
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha on Thursday said that he would bring a private member's bill in Parliament for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and dared the Opposition to clarify their stand on the issue.
TN HC stays strike call by ambulance workers on Deepavali eve
The Madras High Court ordered on Thursday an interim stay on the proposed 24-hour strike by '108' ambulance workers' union in Tamil Nadu on November 5-6 to press their demand for Deepavali festival bonus. A division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice SM Subramonium Prasad gave the order on a public interest litigation filed by P Selvarajan who sought to declare the strike call as illegal. The judges referred to a October 13, 2017 order of the high court restraining the workers from going on strike and warning that those who refuse to drive an ambulance would be penalised for gross contempt of the court. The union has decided to go on strike for 24 hours from 8 pm on November 5 demanding a 20 per cent bonus for Deepavali, which falls on November 6 in Tamil Nadu. The ambulance services in the state are run by GVK EMRI, a non-profit organisation, under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the state-owned Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project. The petitioner submitted that
China defends CPEC bus service as Pak rejects India's protests
Pakistan on Thursday rejected protests by India against a bus service to China, passing though PoK under the ambitious CPEC project, even as Beijing defended the proposed service saying its cooperation with Islamabad has nothing to do with the Kashmir dispute and will not change its principled stance on the issue. According to reports, the new bus service will be launched between Lahore in Pakistan and Kashgar in China via Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on November 3. "We reject the Indian Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) purported protest and statement regarding bus service through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said. India on Wednesday said it had lodged strong protests with China and Pakistan over a proposed bus service between the two countries through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in New Delhi that the bus service will be a violation of India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Kumar said it has ..
Trump says will meet China's Xi as trade talks 'move along'
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said trade discussions with China were "moving along nicely" and that he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G-20 summit, after the two had a "very good" talk.
Merkel in Ukraine to discuss conflict and gas
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Ukraine Thursday to discuss the peace process in the east of the country as well as the controversial expansion of a Russian gas pipeline. The one-day visit is her first since the signing of the Minsk accord in early 2015, which has so far failed to achieve its aim of bringing peace to eastern Ukraine. Talks between the chancellor and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko were underway at his official residence, the presidency said in a statement. Merkel will also meet Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. Talks will focus on flashpoint areas including the self-described separatist Donbass republic and Moscow-annexed Crimea, the Ukrainian presidency said. Moscow has been accused of fuelling a rebel conflict in eastern Ukraine that has cost the lives of some 10,000 people Analysts say the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will bypass Ukraine to bring supplies direct from Russia to Germany, will also be on the agenda. "We know that Mrs Merkel promised .
Patel statue demonstrates Modi's dynamic leadership: Sonowal
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Thursday said here the statue of unity showed the strength of the people of India which was well demonstrated under the 'dynamic' leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The unveiling of the statue by Modi was a glorious and historic event, he said. "This is the strength of Indians. This is strength of our people and this is a strength well demonstrated under the dynamic leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said, referring to the unique features of the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. The prime minister Wednesday unveiled the 182-metre statue, the world's tallest, at Kevadiya. Sonowal said he was proud to be working under Modi's leadership, adding in the march towards development there was a need to work together "hand in hand like a family...with a national spirit," for development. After inaugurating the 'Assam Bhawan,' here, Sonowal said such initiatives would also aid national integration in ...
Goa BJP office bearers meet Parrikar
A number of Goa BJP office bearers on Thursday met ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at his private residence near here. Parrikar, 62, who is suffering from a pancreatic ailment, is being treated at his residence near Panaji after his discharge from the AIIMS in Delhi on October 14. "He is fine," state General Secretary Sadanand Tanawade said after the meeting. "He had called us to meet him. We discussed various issues, Tanawade said but refused to divulge details. Other party office bearers including former minister Rajendra Arlekar, former MLA Damodar Naik, State treasurer Sanjiv Desai and senior executive committee member Datta Kholkar were also part of the meeting. "It was a personal meeting. There is nothing to inform o the media, Arlekar said. Parrikar on Wednesday held chaired a Cabinet meeting during which he cleared various proposals including extension to the debt relief scheme for the people dependent on mining industry. The chief minister also chaired a ..
Pakistan recognises Rajapaksa as Lanka PM
Pakistan on Thursday became the third country after China and Burundi to recognise Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister of Sri Lanka which is facing political turmoil after his appointment. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Ahmat Hashmat called on Rajapaksa and offered congratulations to the former strongman, who was controversially installed as the premier by President Maithripala Sirisena after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe. The High Commissioner reiterated Pakistan's support for continuation and consolidation of democratic process in Sri Lanka, the High Commission said in a statement. He expressed hope that the ongoing political situation will be overcome peacefully and amicably in accordance with the constitution and aspirations of Sri Lankan people. Pakistan became the third nation after China and Burundi to recognise former president Rajapaksa as the new premier. Chinese President Xi Jinping was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Rajapaksa, known for his ...
Digvijay refutes reports on Congress infighting
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh on Thursday refuted media reports that said he got into a spat with senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia during a party meeting over ticket distribution.
Report on Malawi court halting Gandhi bust unveiling 'incorrect': MEA
India Thursday described as "incorrect" a media report that a court in Malawi had ordered halting of work on a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, and said its unveiling by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu during his visit to the African country would go ahead as scheduled. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, while responding to a question on the media report that a high court in Malawi stopped the inauguration of Mahatma Gandhi's bust, said the Malawian government had put out a strongly-worded statement highlighting the role which Mahatma Gandhi and India played in the development of Africa. The report had claimed that campaigners in Malawi won an injunction on Wednesday to temporarily halt work on the bust of Mahatma Gandhi. "This is an incorrect report. I just had a word with the people who are there travelling with the Vice President. There was a section, a group of people who had made a certain argument, that argument has been dismissed very strongly by the ...
Kejriwal dares Haryana CM to visit Mohalla Clinics
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday dared Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to visit any Delhi government Mohalla Clinic after the latter dubbed them "halla" clinics.
Campaigning for Nov 3 Karna bypolls comes to an end
Campaigning for the November 3 bypolls to three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka came to an end Thursday, with a BJP candidate pulling out of the contest and returning to the Congress. In a major embarrassment for the BJP, two days before the Ramanagara assembly bypoll, its candidate against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife quit the contest on Thursday and returned to the Congress. With BJP's L Chandrashekhar withdrawing his candidature, Kumaraswamy's wife Anita Kumaraswamy, is expected to have a smooth sail facing a virtual no-contest. Bypolls for three Lok Sabha constituencies-Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya and two assembly constituencies- Ramanagara and Jamkhandi, will take place Saturday. Counting of votes will be on November 6. Congress and JD(S) that are ruling coalition partnersin Karnataka have decided to fight the bypolls unitedlyagainst the BJP. Congress has fielded its candidates in Jamkhandi and Ballari and JD(S) in Shivamogga, ...
MP polls: Cong takes U-turn over induction of Vyapam scam accused
Two days after the Congress announced the induction of former BJP leader Gulab Singh Kirar into the party in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, the opposition party "disowned" him Thursday after realising that it had targeted him in connection with the Vyapam scam earlier. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is watching with glee the Congress's discomfiture over Kirar, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader, in the run-up to the high-stakes Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, scheduled to be held on November 28. The saffron party said Kirar had no association with it and his cross-over to the Congress will have no bearing on it. On October 30, the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress had announced the induction of Kirar into the party in Indore in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi and other leaders. "In the presence of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP MLA from Tendukheda Sanjay Sharma, ex-MLA Kamlapat Arya and Gulab Singh Kirar got membership of the Congress. Welcome to Congress ...
Forces from Egypt, 5 other Arab nations to start joint drill
Ground, air and naval units from five Arab nations are arriving in Egypt to join their Egyptian counterparts for war games, according to the Egyptian military, in the first sign that a military alliance proposed by Washington for its Middle East partners may be gaining traction. A military statement late Wednesday said forces from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan will take part in the November 3-16 exercises codenamed "Arab Shield" and to be held in western Egypt. Lebanon and Morocco are taking part as observers. The announcement came a little more than a month after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in New York with the foreign ministers from the six nations participating in this month's war games plus those from Oman and Qatar to advance the idea of creating a Sunni alliance uniting America's Middle East partners against Shiite and non-Arab Iran. However, the Egyptian military statement made no link between the war games and the proposed alliance, ..
Armenia to hold early parliamentary polls in December
Armenia will hold early parliamentary polls in December after parliament was dissolved following the failure to elect a prime minister for the second time over the past week. The move came as a result of political manoeuvring by acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan who has long sought to hold snap parliamentary polls and tighten his control over the chamber. He said the election had been set for December 9.
Trump says border troops could hit 15K, surprising Pentagon
President Donald Trump says the number of military troops deployed to the US-Mexican border could reach 15,000 roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily. The Pentagon says "more than 7,000" troops were being sent to the southwest border to support the Customs and Border Protection agents. Officials said that number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 under present plans. The troop numbers have been changing at a dizzying pace, with Trump drawing a hard line on immigration in the lead-up to the mid-term elections. Just last week officials were indicating that about 800 to 1,000 might be sent. On Monday, officials announced that about 5,200 were being deployed. The next day, the Air Force general running the operation said more than the initially announced total were going, and he pointedly rejected a news report that it could reach 14,000, saying that was "not consistent with what's actually being ...
After Patel statue, Netaji kin demands one for the revolutionary leader
BJP leader and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose on Thursday urged the Centre to unveil a statue of the revolutionary leader at the India Gate in New Delhi on his next birth anniversary, January 23, which he said, should be declared 'Liberation Day'.
SAD, SGPC stage dharna against Cong govt in Punjab over 'distortion' in history book
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) began a 48-hour dharna here on Thursday against the Congress government for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community by "denigrating" Sikh gurus in the newly published Class 12 history book of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB). Before the sit-in, SAD activists gathered at Sri Akal Takth, the highest sit of Sikh religion, and offered prayers seeking speedy justice to the victims of 1984 riots. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal then led party leaders and workers to the Town Hall where they began their dharna, demanding an apology from the Congress government for "denigrating" Sikh history. They also demanded registration of cases and arrest of those who prepared and distributed the "distorted" history book. The opposition party gave the government a two-day ultimatum to act against the guilty. Badal alleged that it was clear that facts had been "distorted" in the history book as ...