Page 590 - Politics
Subpoenas issued for Trump's tax returns
The chairman of a US Congressional committee has issued subpoenas for President Donald Trump's tax returns, the committee told CNN.
House Democrat issues subpoenas for Trump tax returns
A top House Democrat has issued subpoenas for six years of President Donald Trump's tax returns, giving Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig a deadline of next Friday to deliver them. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., issued the subpoenas Friday, just days after Mnuchin refused to comply with demands to turn over Trump's returns. Mnuchin told the panel he wouldn't provide Trump's tax records because the panel's request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose," as Supreme Court precedent requires. Neal reminded the two Trump appointees in a Friday letter that federal law states that the IRS "shall furnish" the tax returns of any individual upon the request of the chairmen of Congress' tax-writing committees and that Ways and Means "has never been denied" a request. The White House and the Democratic-controlled House are waging a multi-front battle over investigations into Trump and the administration has been refusing to comply ...
Mueller won't testify next week, talks ongoing: House Democrat
Robert Mueller, the US special counsel whose report on Russian election interference has shaken a divided Washington, will not testify before Congress next week, a top Democrat said Friday. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler had wanted Mueller to testify on May 15, but he said a date for the highly anticipated appearance before lawmakers remained under discussion. "It won't be next week," Nadler told reporters. "But we're negotiating with him, we're talking to him and the Justice Department." Nadler has said that the committee would subpoena Mueller if necessary, but expressed hope that such a step could be avoided. Nadler's comments came two days after his committee -- the panel empowered to initiate impeachment proceedings against a president -- voted along party lines to recommend that Attorney General William Barr be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the unredacted Mueller report and its underlying evidence. Mueller has said that Barr, in his own .
Pak to continue talks with IMF on bailout over weekend
The talks between cash-strapped Pakistan and the IMF will continue over the weekend after the parleys between the two sides reached a deadlock due to Prime Minister Imran Khan's reservations over heavy taxation the people would have to bear, according to a media report on Saturday. Head of IMF Mission to Pakistan Ernesto Rigo is currently in Islamabad as the country hopes to strike a deal with the global lender for a three-year bailout package totalling around USD 6.5 billion. We have made good progress in our discussions with the visiting IMF Mission. Consultations will continue over the weekend, Khaqan Hasan Najeeb, the spokesman of the Finance Ministry, was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune. Sources in the ministry of finance said that there were at least three main sticking points that led to inconclusive talks till the last day of the IMF visit. As of Thursday, the top management of the Ministry of Finance was hopeful to conclude the deal and the IMF team had planned to ...
People will reject Modi, says Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said people of India will reject Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team in the Lok Sabha elections.
Trump takes over national 'Fourth of July' event
US President Donald Trump has effectively taken charge of the countrys premier Fourth of July celebration in Washington, moving the gargantuan fireworks display from its usual spot and making tentative plans to address the nation from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, according to top administration officials.
BJP, Cong spreading rumours to create confusion amongst SP-BSP workers: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday alleged that leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress were spreading rumours to create confusion amongst SP and BSP workers in Uttar Pradesh. He also claimed that the BJP was indulging in caste-based politics and spreading hatred and its government was based on lies and hatred."Prime Minister Modi came to Pratapgarh and said that SP is not with BSP thus helping others to create confusion between the workers and leaders in both the parties. First BJP said this and now it is being heard that Congress is also spreading such rumours at places where Lok Sabha elections will take place on Sunday," Yadav told ANI here"The SP-BSP alliance is strong and they are contesting as one. They are spreading such rumours because the people are not with them," the SP leader said."Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP blame others for things they do or want to do. BJP is doing caste-based politics and politics of spreading hatred among ...
US shifts $1.5bn to border wall from Afghan war budget
Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan, has notified Congress that he intended to shift $1.5 billion that had been designated for the Afghanistan war and other projects to help pay for work on President Donald Trumps proposed border wall.
Officers told to issue as many Red Cards as possible to SP-BSP workers, scare people from voting: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed on Saturday that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will post a clean sweep victory in Uttar Pradesh with the BJP managing to win perhaps only one seat in the sixth or seventh phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.He also alleged that the BJP wants to win through 'Red Card' with election officials being instructed to issue as many notices as possible to the SP and BSP workers"Red cards are being issued to SP-BSP workers to prevent them from voting. Is the BJP government's image clear?..... Is there no one there with a criminal background in that party who was issued a Red Card?," Yadav told ANI."BJP is conspiring to scare people so that they do not cast their votes. But then only our workers are being provided red cards to show that BJP has a clean image because they know every class of the society is going to vote in favour of the SP-BSP," he said.The SP leader alleged that BJP is afraid of losing as people have cast their votes in favour of the ...
Election makes business bloom for florist in UP
Heat waves in Uttar Pradesh during the summer usually lead to slump in the flower business. Flowers wilt due to heat and except for marigold that survives in hot weather, florists avoid stocking up on other varieties of flowers.
Bishnupur: Candidate husband barred from entering constituency, wife pitches in to campaign
A school teacher by profession, little did Sujata Khan know that she would have to move out of her cushy world among children and get airdropped into the grinding heat and dust of electioneering. She actively campaigned for her husband, the BJP candidate from Bishnupur Lok Sabha seat Saumitra Khan. Saumitra is probably the only candidate in the country who cannot enter his constituency to campaign, having barred by the court from the limits of Bankura district, within which his constituency Bishnupur is situated. The Calcutta High Court, as a condition for granting anticipatory bail in connection with some cases against him, had directed Saumitra not to enter Bankura district. The Supreme Court had allowed him to enter the district only on the day of filing nomination papers. Saumitra, who was elected as a Trinamool Congress MP in 2014, left the party in January 2019 to join the BJP. "I left the TMC since it has ceased to be a party of gentlemen," he said. He claimed to have been ...
Modi like bride who only jangles bangles but doesn't work: Navjot Sidhu
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu's targeted Narendra Modi with a sexist jibe on Saturday by comparing the Prime Minister to a bride who only makes noise with bangles but doesn't make enough chapattis. The Punjab minister also called Modi "liar-in-chief, divider-in-chief and business manager of Ambani and Adani", with reference to TIME magazine's latest cover."Modi Ji uss dulhan ki tarah hain jo roti kum baelti hai aur chudiyaan zada khankati hai taaki mohalle walon ko yeh pata chale ki woh kaam kar rahi hai. Bas yahi hua hai Modi sarkaar mein (Modi ji is like the bride who makes less chapattis but makes noise with her bangles so that neighbours know she is working. This is what happened during Modi government)," Sidhu said while addressing media in Indore.The Congress leader said elections are being fought for the welfare of people and not against the BJP as the party is "looting the country"."I raise issues against the Prime Minister so that the future generation do not point ...
Really hope the best candidate wins LS polls: Gautam Gambhir
Bharatiya Janata Party's East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir on Saturday said he really hopes that the best candidate ends up winning the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.Gambhir visited Bangla Sahib gurudwara a day before Delhi is scheduled to go on polling. "I wished that who so ever is the best candidate from the East Delhi constituency should win the election. I believe in god, and I really hope that the best candidate ends up winning the election. I am not here to boost my candidature, I really hope the best candidate wins," Gambhir told ANI."The type of response we have received, I really think the hard work will pay for us. I am new in politics, so I am not aware of the support one gets. The type of hard work we have put in, I think it has paid off for us, rest depends on the people. There's one message that winning or losing will go on, but one should not stoop so low that you fail to recognise your conscience," he added.Gambhir has been surrounded by controversy as Aam Aadmi ...
Eight LS seats in West Bengal to go to polls in sixth phase
Eight Lok Sabha constituencies spread across five districts in West Bengal will go to polls in the sixth phase of general elections on Sunday. The ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front constituents - the CPI(M), the CPI and the AIFB - are the main contenders in the eight seats, where the fate of 83 candidates will be decided by a 1,33,69,749-strong electorate. In this phase, polling will be held in Jangal Mahal - the forested region of Bankura, West Midnapore, Jhargram and Purulia districts, which used to be a Maoist hotbed, during the erstwhile Left Front government. To ensure free and fair polling in Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST), Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur (SC) constituencies, the Election Commission will deploy a total of 770 companies of central forces, which will cover almost 100 per cent of the 15,428 polling booths, EC officials said. All the eight seats covering four Jangal Mahal districts and East Midnapore,
Trump lawyer Giuliani threatens, then abandons, Ukraine trip
Democrats denounced a plan by President Donald Trump's personal attorney to push Ukraine to open investigations that he hopes could benefit Trump politically, decrying it as an overt attempt to recruit foreign help to influence a US election. But Rudy Giuliani late Friday said he does not plan to go to the Ukraine because of concerns about who he would be dealing with there. "I've decided ... I'm not going to go to the Ukraine," Giuliani told Fox News Friday night. "I'm not going to go because I think I'm walking into a group of people that are enemies of the president ... in some cases enemies of the United States, and in one case an already convicted person who has been found to be involved in assisting the Democrats with the 2016 election." His statement left many unanswered questions about what Giuliani might do about his Ukraine concerns. Earlier, Giuliani had said he would to travel to Kiev in the coming days to urge the Ukrainian government to conduct a pair of investigations: .
Chaotic scenes at Hong Kong legislature over extradition law
Hong Kong's legislative assembly descended into chaos Saturday as lawmakers for and against controversial amendments to the territory's extradition law clashed over access to the chamber. At least one lawmaker was taken from the chamber on a gurney after apparently fainting during the morning melee, in which legislators pushed and shoved each other on the floor, amid seats and tables and in an adjoining hallway. The amendments have been widely criticized as eroding the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's legal independence by making it easier to send criminal suspects to mainland China, where they could face vague national security charges and unfair trials. Under the "one country, two systems" framework, Hong Kong was guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years following its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997. However, China's ruling Communist Party has been seen as increasingly reneging on that agreement by forcing through ...
Bengal BJP chief up against Trinamool's organisational might in Midnapore
A red citadel for 34-long-years before the Trinamool Congress bucked the trend in 2014, Midnapore is set to witness a high profile Lok Sabha battle between West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh and veteran Congressman, now Trinamool Congress leader, Manas Bhunia.
To deter Iran, US to deploy Patriot missile battery, Navy ship in Middle East
Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, the Pentagon on Friday approved the deployment of a Patriot missile defence battery and a Navy ship to the Middle EastThe Pentagon said the deployment was "in response to indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against U.S. forces and our interests," Anadolu Agency reported.It follows the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the region earlier this week.Acting Defence Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan told Fox News that the Patriot battery is "a long-range, all-weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft."While the USS Arlington is a navy ship that transports marines, amphibious vehicles, conventional landing craft and aircraft that have the capabilities to support an amphibious assault."These assets will join the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a U.S. Air Force bomber ...
Pompeo to visit Russia to discuss bilateral ties, arms control
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would make his maiden trip to Russia next week to meet his counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral relationship between the two countries and a wide range of other issues including arms control, Iran, N Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela. Pompeo's visit to Moscow and Sochi on May 13 and 14 comes days after US President Donald Trump spoke over phone with Putin for about an hour earlier this week over various matters, including Venezuela and a potential three-way nuclear deal that includes China. An issue high on the agenda for their discussions will be arms control. President Trump has made clear that he wants arms control agreements that reflect modern reality," a senior State Department official said on the condition of anonymity. "These agreements must include a broader range of countries and account for a broader range of weapon systems than our current bilateral treaties with Russia," the official said. The ..
US deploying more Patriot missiles to Middle East
The US has announced that it will deploy additional Patriot missiles to the Middle East after officials said intelligence indicates Iran and its proxies could be planning to threaten American forces and interests in the region, the media reported.