Page 527 - Politics
TDP opposes EC's 'undemocratic' order for repolling in 5 booths
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday "strongly opposed" the Election Commission's decision to hold repolling at five booths under Chandragiri and Chittoor parliamentary constituencies and termed it as "partial one-sided and undemocratic"."I am writing this letter to strongly oppose the partial one-sided and undemocratic motivated actions of the EC. The decision to conduct repolling in five polling stations under 166-Chandragiri and 25-Chittoor parliamentary constituencies," Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said in the letter.Naidu said that the decision to conduct repolling was a part of a conspiracy to get his party votes removed on "pseudonymous complaints" of YSP Congress party activists and alleged that the poll body did not act on TDP's complaints.He wrote, "It is highly regrettable and shocking the EC has so far not responded to the request of Special Investigation Team constituted by the state government, shared IP numbers of the computers, from where the pseudonymous ...
Senate confirms Trump official as Justice Department deputy
The Senate has voted to confirm Jeffrey Rosen as deputy attorney general, the second-ranking official at the Justice Department. The vote was 52-45. Rosen replaces Rod Rosenstein, who left the department last week. Rosentein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller and had overseen his investigation. Rosenstein's departure was expected after William Barr became attorney general this year. Rosen was a longtime litigator who served as deputy transportation secretary in the Trump administration. Democrats raised questions about Rosen's lack of criminal law experience. Rosen has pointed to his management experience at the Transportation Department and said he was the chief operating officer of the agency with an USD 80 billion-plus budget.
Venezuela's Guaido confirms Norway mediation effort
Opposition leader Juan Guaido said Thursday he sent delegates to Norway as part of an attempt by Oslo to mediate in the Venezuela crisis, but denied talks were underway with President Nicolas Maduro's government. "There are some envoys in Norway," Guido told a political rally in Caracas. He said Oslo "is trying to mediate" in the crisis. It was the first official confirmation that negotiations were being attempted between the government and opposition after a months-long power struggle. Norway's NRK radio and television network, quoting anonymous sources, earlier reported that talks had taken place at a secret location in the Norwegian capital for "several days" and the delegations were due to return to Caracas on Thursday. "We can neither confirm nor deny Norway's involvement in peace processes or dialogue initiatives," a Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde, told AFP. Several South American media outlets, such as daily ALnavio, also reported talks were ...
Saudi reopens key oil pipeline after drone attack: Aramco
Saudi Arabia has reopened a key oil pipeline, an official said Thursday, after it was shut down by drone attacks claimed by Iran-aligned Yemen rebels. The official from state oil giant Aramco told AFP that the East West Pipeline "is fully operational". Yemen's Huthi rebels had claimed responsibility Tuesday for twin drone strikes on the pipeline from the oil-rich Eastern Province to the Red Sea coast. That came amid spiralling tensions between the United States and Iran after Washington sent a maritime strike group to the region and a series of mysterious sabotage attacks hit ships in the Gulf. The pipeline, which can pump five million barrels of crude per day, provides a strategic alternative route for Saudi exports if the shipping lane from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a vital conduit for global oil supplies, in case of a military confrontation with the US. Saudi Arabia's deputy defence minister Khalid bin ...
Pro-Maduro protestors evicted from Venezuela embassy in US
US police on Thursday evicted the last of a group of protestors who have been occupying the Venezuelan embassy in Washington in support of President Nicolas Maduro, ending a weeks-long standoff. "The liberation of our embassy came about thanks to the struggle of the Venezuelan diaspora," said Carlos Vecchio, envoy for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president earlier this year in a power play against Maduro. "With sacrifice they held the grounds against all adversity," said Vecchio on Twitter. The Maduro administration condemned the eviction, with Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza saying that "once again, the Trump administration has shown that it finds the truth painful. It reacts with arrogance by violating international law." Various police and firefighting vehicles were seen inside the grounds of the diplomatic mission in the US capital, which was taken over last month by a number of left-wing and pacifist activists protesting Guaido's bid to push Maduro ..
Iraqi Airways to resume flights to Syria after 8-year break
Iraq's national carrier is to resume flights to the capital of neighbouring Syria for the first time since the war there erupted in 2011, a spokesman said Thursday. Iraqi Airways will operate a weekly service from Baghdad to Damascus starting Saturday, spokesman Layth al-Rubaie told AFP. Rubaie said the resumption of flights between the two neighbours was "important", citing bilateral trade, tourism and "the size of the Iraqi community living in Syria". The Syrian transport ministry welcomed the decision in a statement on its official Facebook page. Rubaie said the last flight from Baghdad to Damascus took place in December 2011, before the service was suspended due to the conflict that erupted in Syria that year. Most airlines stopped flying over Syria after the conflict broke out, with many taking longer routes to circumvent the war zone. But the conflict has wound down in recent years, after major regime advances against rebels and jihadists with Russian military backing since ...
Biggest party should lead government: Congress
Holding that the biggest political party should get a chance to lead the government, the Congress on Thursday expressed hope that it will emerge as such after the results of Lok Sabha elections are out on May 23.
Mamata destroying Vidyasagar statue vandalism evidence: Modi
Two days after the statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in Kolkata was vandalised during BJP President Amit Shah's roadshow in the city, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of destroying evidence of the incident.
My wife never lies, says Sidhu; Punjab CM clarifies
Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday defended his wife's remarks blaming the state Congress leadership for denying her a ticket from Amritsar.
Goa MLAs have broken record with defections: Gadkari
Goa has broken all records in the country, as far as defection of MLAs is concerned, senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, adding that MLAs hop parties in Goa as casually as if they are strolling in a garden.
Libya's Haftar tours Rome and Paris amid military stalemate
Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has launched a military offensive against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, held surprise talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome on Thursday ahead of a visit to Paris next week, officials said. Conte said he urged Haftar to call a ceasefire to his assault on the government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, who also travelled to Rome and Paris for talks last week. "It was a fairly long meeting, a lengthy exchange of information," Conte told journalists. "I informed him of the government's position. We want a ceasefire and we feel that the political path is the only solution." Conte said last week that he wanted to meet Haftar after his talks with Sarraj. The Libyan military chief, whose forces control large swathes of the country's east, will travel next week to Paris for talks with President Emmanuel Macron, his office said. "The goal will be to discuss the situation in Libya and the conditions for resuming a political ...
Mamata would not have been CM but for EC: Modi
Slamming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the role of the Election Commission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said she would not have been the CM if the poll panel had not ensured free and fair elections by deploying Central forces.
EU defends military reforms against US attack
The EU on Thursday defended its push to reform the European defense industry in a retort to US accusations that the overhaul would shut out allies such as Washington from European projects. The skirmish over military spending comes as transatlantic ties are at a long-time low with fears running high that cooperation at NATO could be endangered. In a letter seen by AFP, two senior officials said that the European Union "remains fully committed to working with the US as a core partner in security and defense matters" despite the planned changes. However, the EU officials also insisted that the mooted reforms are merely a reflection of rules already imposed by the US. "The transatlantic trade balance is resolutely in favour of the US," they insisted. The US concerns, set out in a letter on May 1 from two of President Donald Trump's top defence officials, focused on the European Defence Fund (EDF), a seven-year 13-billion euro (USD 14.6 billion) pot approved by the European Parliament ...
No issue if Congress doesn't get PM's post: Azad
In a significant remark ahead of results of the Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday said his party will not make it an issue "if the Prime Minister's chair was not offered to it".
Amarinder refutes Sidhu's wife's charge but minister says 'my wife will never lie'
Days after his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu stirred up a controversy by alleging that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and senior Congress leader Asha Kumari ensured that she was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from Amritsar, Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday backed her accusation, saying she would "never lie". "My wife has that much strength and moral authority that she will never lie. This is my answer," Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is Tourism and Culture minister, said when asked about his wife's allegations. However, denying the charge, the chief minister said in Patiala that she had been offered Congress ticket from Amritsar or Bathinda seat, but she refused it. Singh also said he had no role in denying ticket to Kaur from Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, saying ticket allocation was done by the Congress high command in Delhi and they chose Pawan Kumar Bansal. On May 14, Congress leader and former MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu had alleged that it was Amarinder Singh and party's Punjab affairs in-charge Kumari
BJP, Cong locked in keen contest in MP's Ratlam-Jhabua seat
The BJP's Guman Singh Damor, who made a successful electoral debut in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, is locked in a high-stakes battle with Congress MP from Ratlam-Jhabua, Kantilal Bhuria -- also the father of the former's rival last year, Vikrant. After retiring as engineer-in-chief from the public health department, Damor contested from the Jhabua assembly seat on BJP ticket last year and defeated Vikrant with a margin of nearly 10,400 votes. Now, Damor is challenging Bhuria Senior -- a five-time Congress MP who has lost only one election. Bhuria was defeated by Congress turncoat and BJP candidate Dileep Singh Bhuria in the 2014 general election. However, he wrested the seat from the saffron party in the 2015 bypoll, which was necessitated after Dileep Singh's death. He defeated the late BJP MP's daughter, Nirmala, with a margin of 88,000 votes. The electoral battle for Ratlam-Jhabua -- a tribal-dominated seat in western Madhya Pradesh which is considered a Congress ...
India, Iran discuss ways to expand people-to-people contact
India and Iran discussed ways to expand people-to-people contacts between the two countries through smoothening of visa-related processes including longer duration of e-visas, an official statement said on Thursday.
Final phase of campaigning ends in Bengal
With the Election Commission curtailing the campaigning time by invoking the Constitution's Article 324 for the first time, canvassing ended at 10 p.m. on Thursday in nine parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal that will vote in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 19.
Police raid on Venezuelan embassy in Washington slammed
Rome, May 16 (IANS/AKI) The Italian upper house of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee chair on Thursday deplored an unauthorised police raid on the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC and the arrest of four pro-government activists.
Goa CM has tough task of running coalition govt: Gadkari
Union minister Nitin Gadkari Thursday said Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant faces the tough task of running the coalition government in the state, as keeping all the alliance partners together is a challenge. Gadkari, who was in Goa to address the party's public meeting in support of candidate Siddharth Kunkolienkar for the Panaji bypoll, said the stability of the government was an important criterion for Goa's future development as envisaged by late chief minister Manohar Parrikar. The by-election to Panaji Assembly segment is scheduled to take place on May 19. "While taking ahead the vision of Parrikar, the journey of chief minister Pramod Sawant is not going to be easy," he said, adding that it may be difficult for him keep all the alliance partners together. "Goa's pace of development will face hurdles if there is instability in the state. The results of this election (Panaji by-election) is directly linked to the stability of the government," the minister ...