Page 2739 - Politics
Missing Saudi journalist's Apple Watch may have transmitted death evidence
Missing Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have recorded his own death as he turned on the recording function of his Apple Watch before walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, a Turkish daily reported on Saturday.
Trump says will call Saudi King on missing journalist
US President Donald Trump has said he would call Saudi Arabia's King Salman on missing dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi who is feared killed at the kingdom's consulate in Turkey. Trump's remarks at a campaign event came amidst mounting pressure on him from Congressmen and the media as reports coming out of Turkey suggest that Khashoggi was brutally killed by Saudi officials inside their consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, 59, a Washington Post contributor, had gone there to collect some papers for his marriage. "I will be calling at some point King Salman. I'll be speaking to him yes," Trump said. "We're going to find out what happened with respect to the terrible situation in Turkey, having to do Saudi Arabia and the reporter. And nobody knows quite yet. Nobody has been able to put it all together. People are starting to form ideas. And as they're formed, we'll let you know. But it certainly is a terrible thing," Trump said. The President declined to indicate the nature of his ...
Saudi rejects 'baseless' murder claims over missing journalist
Saudi Arabia dismissed on Saturday accusations that Jamal Khashoggi was ordered murdered by a hit squad inside its Istanbul consulate as "lies and baseless allegations", as Riyadh and Ankara spar over the missing journalist's fate. As the controversy intensified, the Washington Post reported Turkish officials had recordings made from inside the building that allegedly proved their claims Khashoggi was tortured and killed at the consulate. A Saudi delegation arrived in Turkey for talks, officials said on Friday, with the case risking fragile relations between the two. In the first Saudi ministerial reaction to the accusations about Khashoggi's killing, Interior Minister Prince Abdel Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef said that "what has been circulating about orders to kill him are lies and baseless allegations". The Kingdom "is committed to its principles, rules and traditions and is in compliance with international laws and conventions", he added according to the official Saudi Press ...
Voting opens in Malaysia by-election for PM-in-waiting Anwar
Voting opened Saturday in a by-election that is expected to see charismatic Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim win a parliamentary seat and return to active politics as he prepare for his eventual takeover from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar was designated the successor to Mahathir, his former foe turned ally, after they set aside a bitter political feud and joined hands to win a stunning victory in May's general elections. Anwar couldn't participate in the polls due to a 2015 conviction for sodomy a charge he alleged was politically motivated but he was freed after receiving a royal pardon days after the polls. Thousands of voters flocked to polling stations in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson, where Anwar is vying for a seat along with six other candidates. He is expected to easily win. Two weeks of campaigning has seen bigwigs rallying for Anwar, including Mahathir and several ministers. The Election Commission said it expects a 70 percent turnout from more than .
Trump says he'll ask Saudi king about Khashoggi
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he plans to speak with Saudi Arabia's King Salman about the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
UNGA President to instal Vijayalakshmi Pandit's portrait in her office
General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa has said that she draws inspiration from Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the first woman to hold the office, and plans to install her portrait in her office, according to an Indian MP who met her on Friday.
Koreas to hold high-level talks
North and South Korea are slated to hold high-level talks on October 15 to discuss ways to implement the latest summit agreement signed by the two leaders of the Korean countries in Pyongyang last month.The South Korean Unification Ministry said that the two sides would hold the meeting at Peace House in the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ).While South Korea had proposed to hold the talks on Friday, North Korea proposed an offer for October 15, after which the two Koreas agreed, Yonhap News Agency reported.Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the South Korean delegation, while a senior official, Ri Son-gwon is likely to represent North Korea.The two sides will have "consultations in general on how to implement the Pyongyang Declaration in September and decide schedules for follow-up negotiations by field," the Unification Ministry said.The issues that are expected to be brought into the negotiating table would be the plan to launch a joint military
'Turkey has shocking evidence of Khashoggi's killing'
Turkish investigators have claimed that they have "shocking and disgusting" audio and video evidence which shows that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week.CNN quoted a source saying that the evidence showed that there was an assault and struggle inside the building, adding that there was proof that the Saudi journalist was killed.The source added that a Western intelligence service found the source of the evidence, which was considered in a briefing by the Turkish authorities as "shocking and disgusting".Turkish investigators had previously claimed that Saudi Arabia has carried out the abduction and possible killing of Khashoggi, a charge which Riyadh vehemently denied.Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 where he went to the consul to collect some documents to permit him to marry his Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz. He was captured in the camera while entering the building but never came ...
Freed US pastor leaves Turkey for home
Few hours after a Turkish court released Andrew Brunson in connection to a coup d'etat case, the American pastor has headed back to his home country via Germany in a United States military plane.Earlier on Friday, the court released Brunson, after he was detained for two years for allegedly helping political groups, including Gulen movement, to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a failed coup in 2016. He was charged and sentenced to three years, CNN reported.While appearing before the court along with his wife, the judges decided to release him based on his time already served and his good conduct during the proceedings, his lawyer informed.Following the verdict, US President Donald Trump took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED. WILL BE HOME SOON! My thoughts and prayers are with Pastor Brunson, and we hope to have him safely back home soon!"A native of North Carolina, Brunson worked as an evangelical Presbyterian pastor at the Izmir ...
Allegations of orders to kill Khashoggi 'baseless': Saudi minister
Saudi Arabia's interior minister rejected Saturday claims there were orders to kill missing Riyadh critic and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing them as "baseless allegations and lies". Prince Abdel Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef added that his country was "in compliance with international laws and conventions," the official Saudi Press Agency reported him saying. Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, vanished on October 2 after entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage. Turkish police and numerous media have claimed he was tortured and killed at the consulate. His case risks hurting not just fragile Turkish-Saudi relations but also damaging the image of the kingdom and its ties to the West as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promotes a reform drive at home. The Saudi minister, in the first ministerial reaction to the accusations about Khashoggi's killing, said he welcomed the cooperation between his country and Turkey to clarify the ..
S Arabia welcomes joint action to investigate journalist disappearance
Saudi Arabia welcomed on Friday Turkey's announcement of approving the Saudi request to form a joint team to investigate the Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance in Istanbul, Turkey.
Pompeo urges Turkey to release remaining detained Americans
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged Turkey to quickly release other Americans in detention after it freed a pastor at the centre of a crisis in relations. "Pastor (Andrew) Brunson is finally coming home to America, following a long ordeal for the pastor and his family. We hope that the Turkish government will quickly release our other detained US citizens and State Department locally employed staff," Pompeo tweeted Friday. "The world should know that (President Donald Trump) and the State Department continue to work hard to bring home all American hostages and those wrongfully imprisoned and detained," he tweeted. The United States had imposed tariffs and sanctioned senior government officials to pressure Turkey on Brunson, whose two-year detention had particularly outraged Trump's conservative Christian base. But two Turkish employees of US diplomatic missions remain in jail. One of them, former Adana consulate staffer Hamza Ulucay, was Friday denied release in a separate ...
Freed US pastor Brunson flies out of Turkey, to meet Trump
American pastor Andrew Brunson, freed by a Turkish court after two years in detention, has flown out of Turkey and is set to be received by President Donald Trump at the White House. Brunson, whose detention caused a crisis in ties with Washington, flew out of Adnan Menderes airport in the Aegean city of Izmir on an American military plane bound for the US Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday, his lawyer Cem Halavurt told AFP, adding he would then continue to the United States. Trump, who had applied intense pressure on Turkey to release the pastor, said he would receive Brunson shortly after he arrives in the United States. "Good news, Pastor Brunson is in the air," Trump told reporters as he arrived in Cincinnati for election campaigning. "He is coming to the Oval Office, most likely on Saturday." The Trump administration imposed tariffs on Turkey and sanctioned two senior ministers to free Brunson, whose case has became a cause celebre for the president's conservative Christian ...
Trump hails Turkish court's decision to free US pastor
President Donald Trump welcomed on Friday's decision by a Turkish court to release US pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested two years ago on terrorism charges.
'India to continue balanced approach towards protecting human rights'
Few hours after India was elected to the United Nations' top human rights body on Friday, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, said that New Delhi would continue its balance and moderate approach towards the protection of human rights across the world.India was elected to the Human Rights Council at United Nations for a period of three years, beginning January 1, 2019, after obtaining 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category.Reflecting on the same, he told ANI, "India's victory today at the UN General Assembly during elections to human rights council is a reflection of high standing that our country enjoys globally. We are grateful to the many friends that we've across the globe who came out and voted in such large numbers to ensure that India got the highest number of votes among all the 18 candidates.""We would like to assure them that India will continue its balance and moderate approach towards the promotion and protection of human rights ...
Sitharaman visits Dassault Aviation plant in France
Amid the raging controversy over the 2016 Rafale deal signed between India and France, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday paid a visit to the production plant of French aerospace major, Dassault Aviation, in Argenteuil near Paris.Sitharaman also met Dassault Aviation's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Trappier there.The Defence Minister is on a three-day visit to France for the first India-France Ministerial level annual Defence Dialogue. She participated in the meeting with her French counterpart Florence Parly.During the defence dialogue held on October 11 in Paris, the two ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of the bilateral defence cooperation, which is a key pillar of the India-France strategic partnership. They also exchanged views on contemporary regional and international developments of mutual interest.Both sides discussed ways to deepen defence-related official as well as operational level interactions. It was agreed to expand the scope and ...
JNUSU president asked to appear before proctorial committee for 'violating' varsity order
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president N Sai Balaji has been asked to present himself before a proctorial committee for allegedly violating an order of the varsity administration, according to a letter sent to him Friday. On September 17, the administration had banned protests, rallies and processions in the varsity till further notice following alleged violence between members of the RSS-affiliated ABVP and the Left wing members. In a letter sent to Balaji, it has been said that he led a procession on October 10 "with outsiders", which was in violation of the notice issued by the varsity's registrar. He has been asked to present himself before a proctorial committee on October 22. "The JNU administration has sent me a proctor notice for marching with contract workers celebrating "One Work One Pay" court judgement. The administration has lost it. First they cut salaries and harass workers and now they are wanting to punish students who are fighting with them for their ..
Have worked to provide security to working women: Modi
Describing the benefits of various schemes including the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed his government has worked towards providing security to females working on night shifts and removing problems faced by women.
Russian FM says independent Ukrainian Church is US-backed 'provocation'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate's decision to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was a "provocation" backed by Washington. He described the move as "provocation by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, undertaken with direct public support from Washington" during a media interview, according to a transcript of the exchange on the foreign ministry's website. "Interfering in Church life is forbidden by law in Ukraine, in Russia and, I hope, in any normal state," he said. The Holy Synod chaired by the Patriarch of Constantinople in Istanbul on Thursday said it had agreed to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has historically operated under Moscow's umbrella. The move was met with fury by the Patriarch of Moscow, who would effectively lose influence over thousands of parishes if they decide to split off and join the new independent church. Earlier Friday, the ...
Sitharaman visits Rafale manufacturing facility in France
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday visited a production facility of French aerospace major Dassault Aviation near Paris where the Rafale jets to be supplied to India are being manufactured, official sources said. They said during her visit to the plant in Argenteuil, Sitharaman spoke to officials of the Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, and took stock of progress in production of the fighter jets whose delivery to India will begin in September next year. Sitharaman arrived in Paris Thursday on a three-day visit in the midst of a massive controversy over the procurement of 36 Rafale jets under a Rs 58,000 crore government-to-government deal between India and France. Last evening, Sitharaman held wide-ranging talks with her French counterpart Florence Parly on ways to deepen the strategic and defence cooperation between the two countries. The talks were held under the framework of the annual Indo-French defence ministerial dialogue which was agreed to during the summit ...