Page 284 - Politics
BJP, Congress candidates file nomination for Goa Speaker post
Candidates of the ruling BJP and the Congress on Monday filed their nomination papers for the post of the Speaker of the Goa Assembly. The contest is due on June 4.
Newly-elected Arunachal Pradesh MLAs take oath
The newly-elected MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh took oath as members of the Seventh Legislative Assembly on Monday. Pro-Tem Speaker Phosum Khimhun administered the oath to the newly elected legislators on the first day of the two- day session which began on Monday. Chief Minister Pema Khandu was the first to take oath followed by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and the cabinet ministers. Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki was absent during the oath taking ceremony. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Passang Dorjee Sona filed his nomination for the post of Speaker of the Assembly, while BJP member Tesam Pongte filed his papers for the post of Deputy Speaker. The election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker would be held on Tuesday, Assembly sources informed. The BJP led by Khandu won 41 seats in the 60-member Assembly, in the elections held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on April 11 in the northeastern state bordering China. The Janata Dal (United) won seven
TRS wins all three MLC seats in by-elections
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Monday made a clean sweep of the by-elections to three Telangana Legislative Council seats held on Friday.
Rahul Gandhi wishes M Karunanidhi on his 95th birth anniversary
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took to the micro-blogging website to wish DMK Patriarch late M Karunanidhi on his 95th birth anniversary."Remembering Kalaignar Karunanidhi on his birth anniversary. A true leader of the glorious Tamil people, whose memory will never fade away," he stated in the tweet.Earlier in the day, Stalin, along with his party cadres, paid tribute to Karunanidhi by showering the colossal photo of the demised leader with flowers.Karunanidhi, who was Tamil Nadu's longest-serving chief minister, breathed his last in August last year at the age of 94 after a period of prolonged illness.
VK Singh takes charge as MoS for Road Transport and Highways
Former Army Chief, General (Retd) VK Singh, took charge as the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Monday.On his arrival at the office, he was presented with bouquets."I will ensure whatever infrastructure is required by the nation is completed as fast as possible," he told reporters after assuming charge.During the first stint of the Narendra Modi government, VK Singh was a Minister of State for External Affairs from 2014 to 2019.He also briefly served as the MoS (Independent Charge) for Development of the North-Eastern Region. He was later replaced by Jitendra Singh.Singh was appointed MoS (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation from 2014 to 2016.Meanwhile, Nitin Gadkari retained his position as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways.In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Singh retained his Ghaziabad parliamentary seat, defeating SP's Suresh Bansal, his closest rival with a margin of over five lakh votes.VK .
Karunanidhi true leader of Tamil people: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday paid tributes to late DMK leader M. Karunanidhi on his 95th birth anniversary and said he was a true leader of the Tamil people.
Trump to arrive in UK for 3-day state visit
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will arrive in the UK on Monday for a three-day official state visit where he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May amid widespread protests and demonstrations.
Puducherry: V P Sivakolundhu elected as Assembly Speaker
Deputy Speaker V P Sivakolundhu was on Monday elected as the new Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly.The 68-year-old Congress leader was the sole contender for the post.The Speaker's chair fell vacant after Congress' V Vaithilingam stepped down on March 21 to contest the Lok Sabha election from the lone Union Territory seat, which he won with a margin of 1,96,802 votes against his nearest rival K Narayanasamy of All India NR Congress.
Amid uproar over "Hindi imposition", Centre alters draft education policy
After a huge outcry and allegations of Hindi imposition by many states, the Centre on Monday made changes to the new Draft National Education Policy, making the language optional."In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations sometime during secondary school," read the tweaked version of the draft policy.In the original Draft National Education Policy 2019, a three-language formula recommended the inclusion of English and Hindi besides mother tongue in the non-Hindi state, while the Hindi-speaking states were to include English and Indian language from other parts of India.The draft policy had said multilingualism is a necessity of India as of much of the developed world and must be considered a boon and an opportunity for .
White House top economist to leave Trump administration next month
Kevin Hassett, top economist of the White House, known for shaping the 2017 Republican tax law, will leave the administration shortly, announced President Donald Trump on Sunday."Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S. I want to thank Kevin for all he has done - he is a true friend!," tweeted Trump.The 57-year-old, who has served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers since September 2017, will leave the White House next month. He was a staunch defender of Trump's policies.Kevin's departure comes as the United States is dealing with a hostile trade war with Mexico and China.However, he has clarified that his resignation has nothing to do with the escalating trade conflicts."The trade story and the departure story are completely different stories," Kevin told The Washington Post.
Australia promises $250m to Solomons in face of China growth
Australia is to fund a $250 million (US$173 million) grants programme for the Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday, as Canberra confronts growing Chinese influence in the region. Morrison, in his first overseas trip since re-election two weeks ago, unveiled the package amid talks with Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. It came in a three-pronged Canberra initiative with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne highlighting Australia's push for economic security in the region. The grants programme, to cover a range of projects over 10 years, is designed to allow the Solomons to finance urgently-required infrastructure. Further funds will be used to help Solomon Islanders access work opportunities in Australia and an initiative to assist with rugby union development in the country. "Australia and Solomon Islands will continue to work closely together to boost our engagement by strengthening community bonds and tackling .
Taiwan lashes back at Chinese defense minister's threats
Taiwan lashed out at the Chinese defense minister's renewed threat to use force to assert China's claim to the island, accusing Beijing of creating unease in the region and seeking to "expand its hegemony." A statement from the Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council targeted comments Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made in Singapore on Sunday in which he said China would "resolutely take action" to defend its claim to Taiwan and the South China Sea. The council asserted later Sunday that Taiwan has never been a part of the People's Republic of China and would never accept Beijing's threats. It accused China of "challenging international norms and order" and said Beijing's claim to seek peaceful development had been recognized internationally as "a lie of the ages." "We need to remind the public that the Chinese Communist Party is practicing anti-democracy, anti-peace between the two sides of the strait and further resorting to war. This is the main cause of the tension in the Taiwan Strait ...
Khalizad discusses Afghan peace process with Pakistani leaders
US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad held discussions with the Pakistani leadership, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the Afghan peace process and the positive steps that Pakistan can take to advance it. Afghan-born chief American negotiator Khalilzad has held six rounds of direct talks with Taliban envoys in the Qatari capital of Doha since the process began last fall to bring an end to what has now become the longest US overseas military intervention. The Pakistani government takes credit for arranging the US-Taliban peace dialogue by using its contacts with the Afghan insurgent group. The US Embassy in Islamabad in a statement said that Khalilzad visited Islamabad on June 2 and held discussions with the Pakistani leadership on developments in the Afghan peace process. He met Prime Minister Khan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary Aftab Khokher and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa. "Ambassador Khalilzad briefed ...
Trump announces departure of WH economic adviser
US President Donald Trump has announced that Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will depart "shortly", and promised to name a replacement soon.
Declare 550th Parkash Parb as National Tolerance Day: Punjab CM
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the 550th Parkash Parb of Guru Nanak Dev as National Tolerance Day, an official said on Monday.
Tiananmen 'immunized China against turmoil': Chinese daily
A Chinese state-run daily defended the government's handling of the Tiananmen protests on Monday, saying it "immunized" China against turmoil in a rare editorial about the crackdown on the eve of its 30th anniversary. Hundreds or by some estimates more than a 1,000 unarmed civilians were killed when troops and tanks were deployed to extinguish the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing on June 4, 1989. The Global Times' English-language edition hailed the Chinese government's handling of what it called the "incident" in an editorial titled: "June 4 immunized China against turmoil". "As a vaccination for the Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future," wrote the nationalist tabloid, which is affiliated to the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily. The paper echoed comments by China's defence minister, General Wei Fenghe, who defended the bloody crackdown as the "correct policy" at a ...
Tripura govt sends DGP on long leave
The Tripura government has sent the Director General of Police, Akhil Kumar Shukla on long leave and given charge of the state police chief to ADGP (Law and Order) Rajib Singh, an official said on Monday. A notification issued by the General Administration department said Shukla was sanctioned 'Earned leave' of 70 days from June 1 to August 9 along with permission to leave the station. The DGP is likely to return to his post and station on the expiry of leave, the notification added. However, an official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on condition of anonymity said the state government was "not happy" with Shukla's performance in maintaining law and order and he was told to go on "forced leave". Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on May 28 had appealed to all parties to stop political violence in the state and had warned of stern action against the perpetrators irrespective of political identity. Deb said that 186 cases of violence were registered in the state
TN govt mandates dress code for staff reflecting Tamil culture
The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order for all state government staffs to wear attire permissible to them reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress in order to "maintain the decorum of the office".As per the order, women will have to wear "sarees or salwar kameez or churidaar with dupatta of the sober colour" and men will have to wear "formal shirts with formal pants" reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress.An order issued by the personnel and administrative reforms department signed by chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan dated May 28 stated, "...while in duty, saree/salwar kameez/churidaar with dupatta, for females staff and formal shirts with formal pants reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress, for male staff."It added that "casual attire shall be avoided".The order further stated that the dress code prescribed in para 541 of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual is required to be modified on the following lines to "suit ...
Canada temporarily suspends operations at its embassy in Venezuela
Canada temporarily suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela on Sunday, as per the Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland."At the end of this month, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire. Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately," Sputnik quoted Freeland as stating.However, Freeland added that consular assistance would be provided to its citizens in Venezuela through Canada's embassy in Colombia.Venezuela has witnessed large-scale protests ever since its President Nicolas Maduro took oath in January. National Assembly President Juan Guaido proclaimed himself to be the President of Venezuela amidst a crowd of cheering protesters, demanding Maduro's immediate exit.The United States immediately backed his claim, followed by other countries like UK, Spain, Japan, who
Modi, Imran to be at same venue in Bishkek next week; will they meet?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan will be at the same meeting room and may even share a table at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan next week.While there is no formal meeting scheduled between the two Prime Ministers as of now, there are chances of exchange of pleasantries by them.After the Lok Sabha elections got over and Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed back to power, Islamabad was hoping that there could be a scope for revival of talks and its offer may come from New Delhi. Imran Khan had called Prime Minister Modi to congratulate him on his victory and expressed willingness to work together for peace in South Asia.In fact, Imran Khan sprung a surprise when in the middle of Lok Sabha elections, he said that a comeback of Modi and BJP will be good for India-Pakistan relations.Prime Minister Modi dashed hopes when he invited leaders of BIMSTEC for his swearing-in, a move which is seen as an apparent attempt .