Page 539 - Politics
Yemen still at crossroads despite rebel pullback: UN envoy
The UN envoy for Yemen warned Wednesday that despite a rebel withdrawal from key ports, the country still faced the threat of plunging into all-out war. "Despite the significance of the last few days, Yemen remains at the crossroads between war and peace," Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council. Yemen's government and Huthi rebels must press on with further redeployments of forces and return to the negotiating table for talks on a broader peace settlement, he said. "There are signs of hope," he added, but there are also "alarming signs" of war. The envoy delivered the warning after the Huthis pulled out of three Red Sea ports, in line with a ceasefire deal reached in Stockholm in December. The pullback from Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa marked the first concrete step to implement the Stockholm agreement, which was hailed as a breakthrough in efforts to end the war. The Huthis handed over control of the ports to a "coast guard", but some government officials said these forces ...
Congress slams EC decision on poll campaigning in Bengal
After the Election Commission curtailed campaign timing for the remaining nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal by a day due to violence, Congress on Wednesday slammed the poll panel's decision, terming it an "unpardonable betrayal of the Constitution".
EC decision taken at BJP's direction, says Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the Election Commission's decisions to curtail election campaigning and remove two senior officers have been taken on the direction of the BJP, its President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Iran 'will want to talk soon': Trump
President Donald Trump on Wednesday predicted that Iran will "soon" want to negotiate and denied any discord in the White House over moves that critics say could lead to war in the Middle East. "Different opinions are expressed and I make a decisive and final decision -- it is a very simple process," Trump tweeted. "I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon." Trump blasted the media reports about a turmoil in the White House over a series of steps taken by the administration to up pressure on Iran, saying "there is no infighting whatsoever." The United States on Wednesday ordered non-essential staff to leave its embassy in neighbouring Iraq, claiming there is an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked Iraqi militias. Ten days ago, Trump also ordered an aircraft carrier and nuclear-capable bomber planes to deploy to the Gulf. Democrats in Congress demanded that the Trump administration brief them on what it considers to be the Iran threat, warning that the US legislature has not approved
Sudan military suspends talks until roads cleared: Protesters
Sudan's army rulers on Wednesday suspended talks on installing civilian rule until demonstrators remove roadblocks put up in parts of Khartoum, protest leaders told AFP. "The military council has suspended the talks. They asked us to dismantle barricades in parts of the capital," said Rashid al-Sayid, a spokesman for the Alliance for Freedom and Change. He was referring to barricades put up by demonstrators on some key roads that have angered the generals. "The military council has told us that the protesters must dismantle the barricades and go back to the sit-in" outside the army complex where thousands have camped for weeks, Sayid said. Another protest leader, Ahmed al-Rabie, confirmed the ruling military council's condition for a resumption of negotiations with the protest movement.
Iran vows to defeat US 'economic war'
Iran's Defence Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami vowed Wednesday to inflict the "bitter taste of defeat" on the United States in its "economic war" on the Islamic republic. Hatami was speaking to Revolutionary Guards veterans in Tehran with tensions riding high a year after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, leading to renewed economic sanctions on Tehran. The relations between the two countries have deteriorated even further in recent weeks as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on Iran over alleged threats from Tehran. "The proud nation of Islamic Iran will once again... pass this sensitive period of time with its head held high, and force the bitter taste of defeat onto the American-Zionist alliance," Hatami said, referring to the US and its ally Israel. Washington said on Saturday that in response to the alleged threats from Iran, it was deploying an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery to bolster an aircraft carrier .
Iran prepared to counter military threats: Minister
Iran is at the highest level of preparedness to counter any military threat against the country, Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said.
EC decision jolts Trinamool; Left opposes too
The Election Commission's unprecedented step of curtailing poll campaign in West Bengal by 20 hours in the wake of repeated instances of violence has come as a jolt to the ruling Trinamool Congress, with its supremo Mamata Banerjee going hammer and tongs at the poll panel.
UAE says will 'retaliate hard' against Yemen rebel attacks
The UAE said it will "retaliate hard" if Yemen's Huthi rebels attack civilian facilities, a day after rebels claimed drone attacks that shut down a key Saudi oil pipeline. "We will retaliate and we will retaliate hard when we see Huthis hitting civilian targets like what happened in Saudi Arabia," the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, told journalists in Dubai.
Kamala Harris open to reforming Supreme Court
Kamala Harris says she is "open" to a debate over reforming the Supreme Court. Campaigning in New Hampshire on Wednesday, the Democratic presidential candidate and California senator said she'd consider increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court. She said she'd also consider term limits and limiting the number of nominees a president can put forward. Her comments come after Alabama approved a ban on nearly all abortions, a move that's part of a larger effort by conservatives to press the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Harris and other Democratic presidential candidates have roundly criticized the measure.
Amarinder's career will end after LS polls: Sukhbir
Shiromani Akali Dal president SukhbirSingh Badal Wednesday accused Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of "reneging" on poll promises and claimed the Congress leader's career will end after his party loses the Lok Sabha elections. Badal also dared Singh to make his performance a poll plank in the Lok Sabha elections. "This election will see the end of Amarinder's career and he knows it. That is why he has already started naming his successors so that he can have a man of his choice still in saddle after he is thrown out," Badal said in a statement here. "Captain sahib actually wants someone dependent on him to succeed him. But only one thing is certain at this stage and that is that Amarinder will not remain the CM after the Congress debacle in Punjab in these elections and this will draw curtains on his political career. Hence, there is desperation in his outbursts against Akalis," the SAD chief added. Badal's remarks came after Singh, while addressing a rally in Pathankot in ...
Shameful fall for once-independent EC: Cong on Bengal campaign curtailment
The Congress came down heavily on the Election Commission on Wednesday after it cut short the campaign period in West Bengal in view of violence, saying it has been a "shameful fall for a once-independent constitutional body". Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the use of Article 324 by the EC is an "unpardonable betrayal of the Constitution" as the poll body has failed to maintain a level-playing field. "Today is a dark day in the history of democracy. EC's order on W.Bengal negates the due process under Art 14 & 21 and abdicates its Constitutional duty under Art 324 to ensure level playing field. This is an unpardonable betrayal of the Constitution!" he tweeted. He alleged that the poll panel had failed to act on his party's complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. "Over 11 complaints filed with EC against PM Modi & Amit Shah- No action. Violence by BJP and intimidation by Amit Shah-No action. Now, permit Modiji's rallies on ...
It will be mistake for Veerashaivas to vote for Cong as it insulted Veerendra Patil: Yeddyurappa
Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa has said it will be a mistake for the Veerashaiva community to vote for the Congress again as the party "insulted" its tallest leader Veerendra Patil, who had served as chief minister twice. "It will be a mistake on the part of Veerashaiva community members living in this part of the state if they vote for the Congress, which had heaped insult and brought ignominy to their leader Veerendra Patil, who had helped the Congress win about 178 seats in Karnataka," Yeddyurappa told a public gathering in Kalaburgi district's Kalgi village on Tuesday. He was campaigning for the party candidate for the Chincholi Assembly bypoll. Patil, who hailed from the Veerashaiva community, was the chief minister twice -- from 1968 to 1971 and from 1989 to 1990. He was born in a middle-class family in Chincholi in Kalaburgi district. The bypoll to Chincholi has been necessitated by the resignation of sitting member Umesh Jadhav, who quit the Congress to join the BJP. .
Vandalisation of Vidyasagar's bust politically motivated: Sachin Pilot
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot Wednesday condemned the vandalisation of a bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, saying it is a politically motivated step ahead of elections. A bust of Vidyasagar in a college named after the reformer was vandalised in violence between BJP and TMC workers on Tuesday. The violence broke out during a roadshow of BJP president Amit Shah in Kolkata. "It is a politically motivated move to break the bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. We condemn such an incident," Pilot said at a rally here. He exuded confidence that the Congress-led UPA will form the next government. "The Modi government is on its way out. They will be defeated because people of this country are fed up with their misrule. They have not fulfilled a single promise they had made during elections in 2014. They will be defeated in this election," the Congress leader said. Asserting that there is a "wave of change" across the country, Pilot said the BJP's "desperate" bid .
Clamping Art 324 in WB unconstitutional; it's EC gift to Modi,
Attacking the Election Commission of India for curtailing the campaigning for the last phase of polls in West Bengal, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said it is an "unprecedented, unconstitutional and unethical gift" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah by the poll panel. Banerjee, also the chief minister, said she had never seen this type of EC which is "biased and full of RSS people". "There is no such law and order problem in West Bengal that Article 324 can be clamped. It is unprecedented, unconstitutional, unfair, unethical and politically biased decision" against which the state will move the Supreme Court, she said. "Mr EC has given a gift to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah (by invoking Article 324) in West Bengal for vandalising the statue of Vidyasagar," she claimed at a press conference held at her Kalighat residence. Kolkata witnessed wide-spread violence during BJP president Amit Shah's massive road show Tuesday. A bust of 19th ...
Mamata Banerjee trying to trample her opponents: Tomar
A day after violence marked BJP chief Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, Union minister Narendra Tomar Wednesday alleged that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was trying to trample her political opponents, sensing her defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. "The base of Trinamool Congress is violence and it is heading for a defeat in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. She is totally flustered and that is why she is throwing the Constitution, law and protocol to the wind and trying to trample her opponents," Tomar told reporters here. "I strongly condemn the act of instigating the riot to stop the BJP chief's roadshow," he said, adding that Banerjee should remember that his party has come out stronger whenever it was oppressed. He said the TMC would lose badly and the BJP would come to power with a huge mandate on May 23. "It is unfortunate for WB that earlier the Communist parties had resorted to dictatorship there," he added. He said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi ...
Classic case of constitutional breakdown: Jaitley on Bengal
Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday took a swipe at West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress as he dubbed the Election Commission's decision to cut short the poll campaign in the state a "classic case of breakdown of constitutional machinery".
Army soldier injured in blast near LoC
An Army soldier was injured on Wednesday in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, defence sources said.
White House says not signing 'Christchurch call' against online extremism
The United States will not join an international bid to stamp out violent extremism online, the White House said Wednesday, while stressing that Washington backs the initiative's aims. "While the United States is not currently in a position to join the endorsement, we continue to support the overall goals reflected" in the so-called "Christchurch Call," the White House said. The initiative is named after the New Zealand city where a far-right gunman massacred 51 people at two mosques in March while broadcasting his rampage live on Facebook. It has been spearheaded by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and France's President Emmanuel Macron. The White House said in a statement that the private sector should regulate its content, but also stressed the need to protect free speech. "We continue to be proactive in our efforts to counter terrorist content online while also continuing to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press," it said. "We encourage technology ...
Chappals hurled at Kamal Haasan
Chappals were hurled towards a vehicle from which actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan was addressing an election meeting in the Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday evening, police said. One person has been detained, the police said, adding that the chappals missed the target and fell on the crowd. Haasan, founder of new political outfit Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), kicked up a controversy this week with his comment that free India's first extremist was a Hindu, a reference to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.