Page 2816 - Politics
Pompeo to meet Kim Jong Un in fresh visit
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will pay a fresh visit to North Korea on Sunday and meet leader Kim Jong Un as the administration's hopes rise of a denuclearisation deal, the State Department said. The rare advance announcement of a meeting with the young strongman came hours after North Korea raised the stakes in negotiations, saying it would not give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for a peace treaty. Pompeo, who is trying to arrange a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, will also head to US allies Japan and South Korea, as well as North Korea's chief ally China with which the United States is engaged in escalating trade and diplomatic disputes. It will be the fourth trip by Pompeo to longtime US pariah North Korea as the Trump administration looks to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "I think it shows forward progress and momentum that the secretary is making his fourth trip in less than a year," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert ...
Trump to host summit with Google CEO, other tech executives: Trump Economic Adviser
The United States President Donald Trump in the coming weeks will hold a meeting with technology industry executives including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday."He [Pichai] committed to come back to the White House," Kudlow, who is also assistant to the President for Economic Policy, told reporters as quoted by the press pool. "We're going to have a little conference. The president will preside over it. We will have the big internet companies, the big social media companies, search companies, and some who are dissatisfied with those companies."Kudlow said he had a constructive meeting with Pichai last week and the Google CEO was very cooperative.Trump's adviser said the exact date for the summit has not been set but it will likely happen in the middle of October.The administration, he added, hopes that Twitter and Facebook executives will also participate in the meeting at the White House..
SCO Heads of Government Council to meet on Oct 11-12: Secretary-General
The 17th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government Council will be held on October 11-12 in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, Rashid Alimov, the SCO secretary-general, said in an interview with Sputnik."The 17th meeting of the SCO Heads of Government Council will be held on October 11-12, 2018, in Dushanbe," Alimov said.He added that the preparation for the meeting had already reached the finishing line, as work on drafting the documents, set to be signed during the meeting, was being finished. According to Alimov, these documents are related, among other things, to the financial area, and to the development of economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation."The heads of governments' discussion will have a primary focus on the implementation of the tasks which the SCO heads of states had set," Alimov said.SCO is also currently reviewing a number of applications from other countries who want to join the bloc in various statuses, Alimov revealed."There are
US reaffirms no rebuilding aid for Syria without progress on political talks: State Dept
The United States reaffirms that it will not provide any reconstruction aid to Syria until there is progress on the UN-led political process, two State Department special envoys said in a joint press release on Tuesday."We also reaffirm there will be no reconstruction assistance and no legitimacy for the Syrian government absent irreversible progress in the UN-sponsored political process," US Special Representative for Syria Engagement Jim Jeffrey and Special Envoy Joel Rayburn said in the release.The officials said the United States is determined to reach a political solution that separates the Syrian government from Iran and its proxies, ensures Damascus does not threaten its regional neighbors, and ensures it guarantees the safe return of displaced persons, among other requests.The Small Group on Syria, which is made up of Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States, last week called on the United Nations to immediately form a ...
Israeli PM thanks US for record military aid deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday thanked the US for a record military aid package deal that has just come into effect.
Protesting farmers reach Kisan Ghat, claim victory
The Central government allowed the farmers to enter the national capital in the early hours of Wednesday, ending the prolonged standoff between the police personnel and protesting farmers.
'Iranian intelligence ministry ordered bombing in France'
France has revealed that Iran's intelligence ministry, which is controlled by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered an attack on an exiled Iranian opposition group's rally near Paris in June."Behind all this was a long, meticulous and detailed investigation by our (intelligence) services that enabled us to reach the conclusion, without any doubt, that responsibility fell on the intelligence ministry," a French diplomatic source told Arab News.The source further said that Deputy Minister And Director General of Intelligence Saeid Hashemi Moghadam had ordered the foiled attack.However, Iran denied France's accusations that one of its diplomats was involved in the alleged bombing."We deny the accusations and forcefully condemn the Iranian diplomat's arrest and call for his immediate release," the foreign affairs ministry said in its statement.
Kurdish leader Barham Salih elected as Iraq President
Veteran Kurdish leader Barham Salih has been elected as the President of Iraq.According to Gulf News, Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) selected Salih to take over from Fuad Masum.Gulf News quoted Sa'adi Berah, a PUK spokesperson as saying, "Barham is the sole nominee for the post of president. PUK leaders have voted today on this decision after he (Barham) accepted all the conditions of the PUK."The elected president Salih will have to assign the candidate of the largest bloc to the post of prime minister, to form a government.Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said that he won't run for the post of prime minister for a second term.The Shiite-led blocs on Tuesday had agreed to nominate Adel Abdul Mahdi who has earlier served as the vice president, for the post of prime minister.In Iraq, the formation of a new government is also on hold since May, as even after hard-fought parliamentary poll, the results were later subject to a recount.
Chouhan tags Rahul's 'Made in Bhopal' remark as 'illogical'
Ridiculing Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his "Made in Bhopal" remark, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that the former is making laughable and illogical statements.Last month, the Congress president, during his visit to the poll-bound state, said that he wishes to see 'Made in Chitrakoot' and 'Made in Bhopal' written on mobile sets instead of 'Made in China.'"Within five years, people would see phones with 'Made in Chitrakoot, Bhopal' tag, if Congress is voted to power," Rahul had said during a rally in Bhopal.Reacting to his statement, Chouhan told ANI: "Don't understand why the person, who could not bring 'Made in Amethi', despite being a Member of Parliament from there, is saying such baseless things? Does he think that the public will accept whatever he says? He is making laughable remarks.""You could not do anything in your constituency, what will you do here? Congress is the one who gave birth to corruption in Indian politics. They have .
Protesting farmers march towards Delhi
Amid massive deployment of security personnel at Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border, thousands of farmers were reinforcing their march to the national capital.
Iraq elects new president in step toward forming government
Iraq's parliament elected a veteran Kurdish politician as the country's new president on Tuesday, a step toward forming a new government nearly five months after national elections. State TV said Barham Salih, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, won 220 votes out of the 273 lawmakers who attended Tuesday's session. He was among 20 candidates for the post, including one from the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party. The two parties have dominated Kurdish politics for decades. Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq's presidency a largely ceremonial role is held by a Kurd, while the prime minister is Shiite and the parliament speaker is Sunni. Iraq held elections in May 12. The new president will have 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a new government. The prime minister-designate will then have 30 days to submit his cabinet to parliament. Shiite lawmaker Hamid al-Moussawi said the lawmakers were supposed to ...
Raje a lioness, but her biggest hunt is farmers: Pilot
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot on Tuesday alleged that the farmers in the state were dying but Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was busy in her 'Gaurav Yatra'. Pilot was addressing a public meeting in Sangod town of Kota district, held on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. On Raje's reported claim that she would fight for the people of the state like a lioness, Pilot alleged that though she was a lioness, her biggest hunt was farmers. The 'moong daal' is being sold Rs 125 per kilogram, the prices of diesel and petrol are skyrocketing, and the farmers were not able to sell their crop at the government-support price, he said. The Congress leader retorted to Raje calling him a novice and referred to the party's victory in the Ajmer by-elections. The 41-year-old acknowledged that he certainly had to learn a lot, but in politics, he would give Raje such a defeat in the upcoming assembly elections that she would not be able forget it for a long time. Pilot asked the public to question the
Bodies of 11 migrants recovered off Morocco coast: authorities
The bodies of 11 migrants were recovered and another 32 people were rescued in the sea north of Morocco, authorities in the North African country said on Tuesday. A boat carrying migrants ran into trouble on Monday off the coast of Nador, in the northeast of the kingdom, local authorities told AFP. "Thirty-two sub-Saharan Africans were saved and the bodies of 11 migrants were recovered," the same source said, without giving further details. The death toll was put at 34 dead by organisations that aid migrants. Spanish rights activist Helena Maleno tweeted: "34 dead, among them a baby, when a makeshift boat with 60 people on board sank... off Morocco". Morocco has seen an influx of migrants trying to reach Europe, most of them on boats bound for Spain or via the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. More than 40,000 migrants have reached Spain since the start of the year, including around 35,000 by the sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Government ready to consider seven demands; farmers reject assurances
With representatives of farmers holding discussions with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the government on Tuesday agreed to take "effective measures" to fulfill seven of the 15 demands.
AAP asks Punjab MLAs to find 'clean' candidates for 2019 polls
The AAP leadership in Delhi Tuesday asked its MLAs in Punjab to start looking for potential candidates "with a clean image" for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In a meeting in the national capital, under the chairmanship of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, senior leaders of the party discussed several issues, including its preparation for the 2019 polls, reaching out to former leaders. However,the eight dissident MLAs led by Sukhpal Singh Khaira stayed away from the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and the party's Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia. "We have been asked to look for suitable candidates for 2019 Lok Sabha elections," AAP legislator from Sunam, Aman Arora, said. "We will look for candidates with good character and a clean image, and it will be the main criteria for shortlisting a candidate," he said. These candidates can be from among volunteers, senior leaders, those who are contributing to the cause of Punjab and are connected with the
Farmers' protest turns violent, stir to continue; Govt agrees to consider some demands (Intro Roundup)
As the nation celebrated Gandhi Jayanti, hundreds of farmers on Tuesday faced police baton in a clash at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border when they were prevented from entering the national capital even as the government agreed to consider seven of their 15 demands.
Government will take forward farmers' cause: Shekhawat
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the farmers' protest Tuesday on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border was one of the few successful agitations and the government would take forward their cause. The minister of state for agriculture's remark came after a meeting with the protesting farmers, who said they were not "satisfied" with the assurance and stayed put on the border here and in other places. Shekhawat was rushed to meet the farmers after an emergency meeting was held under the chairmanship of Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The minister said he has been associated with farmers' issues and he could say with "certainty" on Lal Bahadur Shastri's birth anniversary that there have been only a few successful agitations like this in the past. Shekhawat said a committee of chief ministers will also look into the farmers' demand. "Representatives of farmers along with ministers of the UP government Laxmi Narayan and Suresh Rana held discussions on a range of issues at Rajnath Singh's ..
$5bn S-400 deal, defence cooperation on Putin's India visit agenda
A contract for the supply of five regiments of Russia's S-400 air defense missile systems to India worth USD 5 billion will be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to India, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.This comes a day after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will address the issue of defense industry cooperation during his visit to India."Putin will indeed visit India, an official visit of the President of Russia will take place. Indeed, a whole range of documents is expected to be signed, and indeed the issue of defense industry cooperation will be on the agenda. I cannot provide any further details," Peskov had told reporters on Monday.Elaborating further about the defense industry cooperation, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov talked about the S-400 Triumf system being the key feature of the visit."The key feature of this visit will be the signing of a contract for the supply of the S-400 Triumf air defense missile system ...
T-14 Armata top priority of Army Chief's Russia visit
The Indian Army is looking to procure 1,770 multipurpose future ready combat vehicles (FRCV) to replace the aging force of T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs).Russia's T-14 Armata FRCV is a key contender for the deal that is likely to be priced at over USD 4.5 billion.This development came after Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat started his six-day visit to Russia on Monday, in what is being seen as an attempt to lend impetus to the bilateral strategic partnership.The visit coincides with a bilateral annual summit scheduled for October 5 in New Delhi during which defence deals worth over USD 10 billion are likely to be signed.The Indian military delegation led by General Rawat is scheduled to meet the top brass of the Russian Armed Forces and key military formations and establishments. Russia's T-14 Armata FRCV is likely to figure in the discussions between the two militaries.A statement by the Indian Defence Ministry read, "The visit is yet another milestone in giving impetus to the ...
You tried Modi, now trust Congress to take India forward: Rahul
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of following divisive politics and making false promises, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the people "tried" the BJP leader but his government "got punctured" and it was time to trust the Congress to take India forward. The Congress president invoked Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of adherence to truth and communal harmony to hit out at the Modi government and alleged the prime minister was fighting against the same ideals for which the Father of the Nation sacrificed all his life and took three bullets. Addressing a rally here to kick off the Congress's programmes in the 150th birth anniversary year of the father of the nation, Rahul Gandhi also targeted the Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal and on issues related to defaulter businessmen Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. "The thieves of India, with the help of Narendra Modi, turned lakhs, crores of black money into white. Modiji took money out of your pockets and put it in the pockets of ...