Page 479 - Politics
All ministers of Austria's Freedom Party resigns
All ministers from Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) have resigned, throwing the government into chaos.
MNM seeks action against minister for threatening Kamal Haasan
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) Vice President R Mahendran and General Secretary A Arunachalam have sought legal action against Tamil Nadu Minister for Milk and Rural Development, Rajenthra Bhalaji, for instigating violence against party chief Kamal Haasan.The duo, along with an advocate and State Executive Committee member, met the Police Commissioner in this regard here on Monday.This comes after Bhalaji, in an election rally in Aravakurichi Assembly constituency on May 13, threatened to "cut off" Haasan's tongue for his remarks on Mahatma Gandhi's killer.The actor-turned-politician had stirred a controversy the same day by saying that the "first terrorist in independent India was a Hindu", referring to Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Gandhi.In the complaint letter, they alleged that on the instigation of the minister, a group of people attempted an attack on their party chief on May 16 in Kurur district."We request you to take on record our complaint against Rajenthra Bhalaji ...
US judge backs Democrats' request for Trump financial records
A US federal judge has denied President Donald Trump's efforts to quash a subpoena from Democratic lawmakers to release years of financial documents dating from before his time in the White House. Monday's decision marked the first time that US courts have waded into the conflict pitting the president against the Democrats who, riding on their newfound majority in the House of Representatives, have opened a raft of probes into Trump. Trump, who says he is the victim of "harassment," has refused to cooperate in the investigations focused on his tax returns, his finances or matters related to Russian efforts to tip the 2016 election in his favour. US District Judge Amit Mehta refused to block the House Oversight and Reform Committee's subpoena for accounting firm Mazars USA pending litigation. The lawmakers' April 15 request for records dating back to 2011 followed testimony by Trump's one-time lawyer Michael Cohen that his boss would often change the estimated value of his assets and ..
US not trying to set up negotiations with Iran: Trump
President Donald Trump on Monday clarified that the US has not reached out to Iran for talks.He also said that Tehran has to approach Washington if it wants to negotiate."The Fake News put out a typically false statement, without any knowledge that the United States was trying to set up a negotiation with Iran. This is a false report," Trump wrote in a tweet without specifying any report."Iran will call us if and when they are ever ready. In the meantime, their economy continues to collapse - very sad for the Iranian people!" he tweeted..
Guterres concerned about rising rhetoric between Iran, US
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is very concerned about the rising rhetoric between Iran and the US and warns that any action by either nation could be misinterpreted in a "very volatile region", his spokesman has said.
Trump tells ex-White House lawyer to ignore subpoena
Donald Trump told his former White House lawyer Don McGhan to ignore a subpoena from Congress to testify about the president's alleged obstruction of justice, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has said. The Democrat-dominated Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives has issued a subpoena compelling McGhan to testify. But the White House said that special counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling probe into Trump's links to Russia and alleged attempts to get in the way of the investigation had cleared the president, meaning there was no need for more digging. McGhan himself testified before Mueller's staff for some 30 hours. "The Democrats do not like the conclusion of the Mueller investigation... and want a wasteful and unnecessary do-over," Sanders said in a statement Monday. "The Department of Justice has provided a legal opinion stating that, based on long-standing, bipartisan, and Constitutional precedent, the former Counsel to the President cannot be forced to give such ...
UN Security Council rejects Russian bid to hold Ukraine meeting
European countries backed by the United States have blocked a Russian request to hold a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine's new language law. Last month Ukraine's parliament passed the law, which enforces use of the Ukrainian language in official settings, a move strongly denounced by Russia. Russia failed to garner the nine votes required to hold the meeting, which was requested on Monday, the same day that Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelensky took office. A procedural vote to hold a meeting requires the support of nine countries in the 15-member council. Vetoes do not apply. French Ambassador Francois Delattre told the council ahead of the vote that the Russian call for the meeting was "not intended to have a constructive discussion" but to "put the new president of Ukraine in the worst light." Five countries voted in favour of holding the meeting -- China, Russia, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea and the Dominican Republic -- while five EU members -- Britain, France, ...
21 Opposition parties to meet in Delhi on Tuesday
Two days ahead of the counting of votes for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 21 Opposition parties will meet on Tuesday here to discuss the possibilities of a non-NDA alliance.
Tehran says Trump's 'genocidal taunts won't end Iran'
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the "genocidal taunts" of US President Donald Trump will not "end Iran", as tensions spike between the two countries. "Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won't 'end Iran'," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "Never threaten an Iranian. Try respect -- it works!" he added. In another tweet, Zarif accused Trump of allowing his team to "trash diplomacy" and "abet war crimes -- by milking despotic butchers via massive arms sales". The riposte by Iran's top diplomat followed an ominous warning by Trump, who on Sunday suggested the Islamic republic would be destroyed if it attacked US interests. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again," Trump tweeted. The US president took to Twitter again on Monday, saying Washington has not reached out for talks with Iran and that if the Islamic republic wants to negotiate, it
Be vigil near strong rooms, Priyanka tells partymen
Amid reports of new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being brought to the strong room in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday appealed to the party workers to stay vigil near the strong rooms.
K'taka Cong leader appeals Muslims to 'join hands' with BJP if need arises
Amid poor numbers given by exit polls to the Congress in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Roshan Baig Monday dropped hints of quitting the party, and humbly appealed to Muslims to compromise with the situation, if NDA returns to power. "Well if NDA is coming back to power, I humbly appeal to Muslim brothers to learn to compromise with the situation," he told a section of media here. Asked if that means Muslims should join hands with BJP, Baig said if need arises, they must as the Congress had given just one ticket to a Muslim leader in Karnataka. "If needs be, (Muslims) must join hands. We must not remain loyal to one party. What happened to Muslims in Karnataka? The Congress gave just one seat," he blurted. Asked if he will take a decision to quit Congress in coming days, Baig said if needs be, he would do it. "If needs be, I will do it because we (Muslims) cannot remain in a party with disgrace. We live our lives with grace and dignity. Where we will ...
Mamata-Naidu meet over post poll strategies
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, who have been pivotal in stitching an opposition alliance against the BJP, met here on Monday to discuss the post poll strategies and their concerns over EVMs.
US has not reached out to Iran for talks: Trump
President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington has not reached out for talks with Iran and that if Tehran wants to negotiate, it will have to take the first step. "The Fake News put out a typically false statement, without any knowledge that the United States was trying to set up a negotiation with Iran. This is a false report," Trump wrote in a tweet that did not specify what report he was referring to. "Iran will call us if and when they are ever ready. In the meantime, their economy continues to collapse - very sad for the Iranian people!" Trump tweeted. Trump has blown hot and cold over Iran, leading many in Washington to fear he is rushing to conflict, but then indicating that he has no desire to embroil the United States in another distant war. On Sunday, he upped the temperature with a tweet that warned of "the official end of Iran" should the country attack the United States. The Trump administration is piling the pressure on Iran by ripping up a hard-fought international ...
Austrian far-right ministers to resign en masse amid 'Ibiza-gate' fallout
All remaining ministers from Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) are to resign, a party spokesman said Monday, after one of their number, Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, was fired in the fallout from a corruption scandal that has brought down the government. Conservative chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who called for fresh elections on Saturday over the affair, said Kickl would have to leave office to ensure a "complete, transparent investigation" into the scandal that has ended a coalition many on the European right had held up as a model ahead of key European Parliament polls later this week. Kurz's FPOe deputy, Heinz-Christian Strache, stepped down as vice-chancellor and party leader on Saturday after recordings published by German media showed him offering government contracts in return for campaign help to a fake Russian backer in a villa on the Spanish resort island of Ibiza. Elsewhere in the footage, Strache appears to hint at ways political donations could escape legal ...
Exit polls have been wrong many times earlier: Gehlot
Contending that exit polls have proven wrong many times, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said that Congress shall present a good performance in Lok Sabha elections as the results come out on May 23.
Pranab hails Election Commission for its perfect role
Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hailed the Election Commission for "perfectly" conducting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said democracy succeed in India due to perfect conduct of polls by various Election Commissioners.
Opposition parties to approach EC on Tuesday
A delegation of opposition parties will meet the Election Commission on Tuesday to complain about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the VVPAT slips.
NDA will win 45 seats in Maha, says state BJP chief
Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve Monday said the NDA would improve its 2014 tally in the state by winning 45 out of total 48 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP and the Shiv Sena had jointly won 42 constituencies in 2014 elections. "The BJP and the Shiv Sena had jointly won 42 seats in 2014 elections, but this time we will win 45 seats. Not a single seat we are going to lose which we had won in 2014," Danve said, adding that the Opposition parties would have to accept this fact. He dismissed the exit poll prediction of the Sena facing any backlash in elections. "Sena had won 18 seats in 2014 and was the biggest partner of BJP in the Centre. I do not think Sena will face any problem," he added. The seven-phase elections to 542 seats of 543-member Lok Sabha ended Sunday. Counting of votes is scheduled for Thursday. Most exit polls have forecast another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with some of them projecting that the BJP-led NDA would get over 300 seats to ...
Delhi govt releases Rs 206 cr to NDMC; Hindu Rao doctors likely to end strike Tuesday
Delhi government on Monday released around Rs 206 crore to the cash-strapped North Delhi Municipal Corporation, even as doctors of the civic body-run Hindu Rao hospital went on strike demanding payment of pending salaries. Officials said Delhi government has released around Rs 459 crore as basic tax assignment, which is 25 per cent of 2019-20 budget estimates, to the five civic bodies in the city. The doctors of Hindu Rao hospital went on strike on Monday, demanding payment of their salaries due for three months. NDMC officials have said the salaries could not be paid due to delay in release of funds from Delhi government. The share of NDMC in Rs 459 crore released by Delhi government to the civic bodies is approximately Rs 206 crore, said NDMC officials. NDMC commissioner Varsha Joshi thanked Delhi government for release of the funds in a tweet. "Grateful to Delhi Govt for finally having released the first quarter Basic Tax Allocation for the current financial year, which was due in .
WB: EC imposes Section 144 in Bhatpara for undefined time-period
Section 144 has been imposed in West Bengal's Bhatpara Assembly constituency for undefined time-period to deal with post-poll violence, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Monday.Section 144 prohibits the assembly of more than four people in an area.Special Police Observer for West Bengal Vivek Dubey said a strength of 200 companies of central forces will be retained in the state to assist in counting and handling possible post-poll violence."Strength of 200 companies of central forces will be retained in West Bengal to assist in counting and handling any post-poll violence. This force will be deployed all over the state. Remaining 510 companies will move out of the state," said Dubey.The ECI's decision comes a day after clashes broke out between the workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Bombs were also hurled during the assembly by-poll on Sunday.