Page 678 - Politics

It's the end of a very long story: French ambassador hails Masood's listing

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler on Friday hailed the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN stating that it is "solid proof" of the international community's strong support to India's fight against terrorism."It's very good news for world community and India as well. It's been a long process. We, along with our partners, have played a significant role...It was a very important political decision that was taken because for the first time the world reached a consensus. All members of UNSC reached consensus on listing Masood Azhar...This decision has very concrete consequences," he told the media here."This is solid proof of the international community's strong support to India's fight against terrorism," he said.Ziegler's statement comes soon after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal to blacklist him under the Security Council's Sanctions Committee, paving the way for the designation. The UNSC's decision is largely .

India, France holding joint naval drill, It is unprecedented in ambition: Envoy

India and France have begun a joint naval exercise 'Varuna' off the Goa Coast which will extend to the maritime area near Djibouti in the Indian Ocean and highlight "unprecedented" ambition in terms of scope and scale.

Spanish police bust Bangladeshi-run migrant smuggling ring

Spanish police have smashed a Bangladeshi-run ring which smuggled more than 350 migrants from the Indian subcontinent into the country and gave them fake passports, a statement said Friday. The migrants allegedly paid the ring between 14,000-20,000 euros ($15,500-$22,000) for the journey, police said, adding that 11 people had been arrested in Barcelona where the group was based. The migrants were flown to Algeria, from where they crossed into neighbouring Morocco by foot and were then taken by motorboat across the Mediterranean into Spain. At least 350 people from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were smuggled in by the group, the statement added. The ring comprised several cells. One was charged with recruiting migrants, another organised their stay in transit countries while a third arranged the Mediterranean Sea crossing. The gang fraudulently obtained Algerian entry visas for the migrants in India. Once the migrants were in Spain, they were provided with fake passports ..

Indo-French Varuna exercise will be unprecedented in size and scope: French Ambassador

France Friday said the Varuna naval exercise with India is going to be "unprecedented" in scope and size, and it will further deepen security cooperation between the two countries. The second phase of the ongoing exercise will be held in strategically-located Djibouti in the Horn of Africa where China set up its first overseas military base nearly two years ago. "The exercise will be unprecedented in scope and size... It will also be unprecedented in its ambition," French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler told reporters. The first phase of the annual Varuna exercise began on Wednesday off the Goa coast. France has a military base in Djibouti which is close to some of the world's busiest shipping routes. The envoy said India is the only country with whom France is having such a "complex and comprehensive" military exercise. French Navy's aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers, FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear ...

Manjhi addresses Masood Azhar as Saheb; later terms it as

Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi has courted controversy by addressing Jaish-e-Mohammad head Masood Azhar as Saheb, drawing sharp criticism from BJP. Later, Manjhi retracted and termed the remark as "slip of tongue." Manjhi, an important leader of mahagathbandhan in Bihar which comprises Congress and the RJD, made the comment Thursday while replying to mediapersons query on United Nations declaring the Pakistan based terror mastermind Masood Azhar as global terrorist. PM does branding of everything which is wrong the efforts were on to get Masood Azhar Saheb designated as global terrorist since Manmohan Singh's time but it was just a coincidence that the decision has been taken now. I think that this is not correct for BJP or Narendra Modi to take credit of the issue", Manjhi said. Video of the Manjhi's comment that has gone viral showed him saying that "Had Vajpayee government not taken Masood Azhar Saheb to Kandhar in ..

Putin challenges Washington in Venezuela power play

Russia emerged as a crucial power broker in the crisis in far-away Venezuela this week when Washington accused Moscow of convincing President Nicolas Maduro not to flee to Cuba. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay". Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido. Moscow has its reasons for standing behind Maduro -- he's a rare ally in Latin America and Russia has poured billions into the Venezuelan economy. But analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is also playing the long game, hoping to use Venezuela as leverage in his global tug-of-war with Washington. "Russia is seeking to translate its influence over Maduro -- which is in fact not absolute -- into an opportunity to have dialogue with the United States," Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a .

Pakistan must permanently shut down JeM and stop Azhar's activities: media

The noose around global terrorist Masood Azhar appears to be tightening, a leading Pakistani newspaper commented Friday as it urged authorities to permanently shut down the JeM and not allow the terror group's chief to continue his activities in the country. The UN sanctions committee on the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda on Wednesday designated Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as a global terrorist and imposed sanctions on him over his ties with the Al-Qaeda. The Pakistan-based JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in February and led to a spike in military tensions between India and Pakistan. "After an over two-decade-long career piloting Jaish-e-Mohammad, one of the most lethal jihadi outfits in South Asia, the noose around Masood Azhar appears to be tightening, as the militant mastermind has been designated a global terrorist by the UN Security Council," Dawn said in an editorial. While some segments may see the move as a ...

BJP shamelessly involved in horse trading: AAP leader Gopal Rai

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the ruling party is "shamelessly involved in horse trading.""BJP leader Vijay Goel yesterday publicly accepted that 14 AAP MLAs are in contact with him. This shows that BJP is shamelessly involved in horse trading and also indicates that BJP has failed in all its strategies in Delhi and is left with this last option," AAP leader Gopal Rai told media here.He added, "Replying to our accusation, Vijay Goel said that BJP is not trying to contact MLAs, rather AAP MLAs are contacting them to join BJP. This is an utter lie. Why would MLAs contact BJP if they have seen what happened with Ved Parkash in Bawana bypolls?"Vijay Goel had on Thursday said that 14 AAP MLAs want to leave the party as the party has gone astray from its objectives.He was replying to the allegations made by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who had alleged on Wednesday that the BJP is trying to buy AAP MLAs.Asserting that the .

Spain says won't let embassy in Caracas turn into 'activism centre'

Spain's foreign minister on Friday warned Venezuela's influential opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez not to turn Madrid's embassy in Caracas, where he has taken refuge, into "a centre of political activism". In a surprise move, Lopez emerged on Tuesday from two years of house arrest to join opposition leader Juan Guaido at a demonstration as the latter called for a military uprising against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Later that day, Lopez sought refuge in the Chilean embassy with his wife and daughter before moving to the Spanish ambassador's residence. "Spain won't allow its embassy to turn into a centre of political activism," Josep Borrell told reporters on a trip to Lebanon, in comments broadcast by Spanish television channel TVE. "We are also confident that, under these conditions, Venezuela will respect diplomatic immunity," he added, also announcing Lopez's activities would be regulated, according to TVE. Lopez, his wife and daughter are currently at the Spanish ...

'Shehzadi' teaching children abuses: Adityanath on Priyanka

Calling Priyanka Gandhi Vadra a "shehzadi", Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday accused the Congress leader of teaching abusive words to children instead of virtues. Adityanath was referring to a video that had gone viral on social media, where children were seen using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of Vadra while she was campaigning in Rae Bareli. "In the age when the children need to be taught virtues, the 'shehzadi' (princess) of the Congress is teaching them abuses. This is the real character of the Congress," the chief minister said at a rally in Fatehpur. Vadra, the Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, said on Friday she had stopped children from raising wrong slogans and asked them to raise good slogans. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had sent a notice to Vadra over alleged use of children in election campaign. Addressing another rally in Rae Bareli, the constituency of Vadra's .

Mayawati takes dig at Modi

BSP supremo Mayawati Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi while referring to a media report targeting US President Donald Trump. "Washington Post newspaper has uncovered a secret that Trump has made over 1000 wrong and misleading claims in 800 days through fact checker data to catch the incorrect declarations of US President Donald Trump. US media is very alert but what is your opinion about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," she said on Twitter. In another tweet, Mayawati said everyone knows that the Bahujan Samaj Partry (BSP) respects women. She added that the BJP was trying to defame her party by "misusing" power during election time.

Modi meets industrialists, actors but not farmers: Stalin

DMK President M.K. Stalin on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not able to find time to meet farmers from Tamil Nadu in New Delhi or even say that their demands will be looked into.

Jordan's king Abdullah II reshuffles top brass

King Abdullah II of Jordan has reshuffled his top brass amid fears of instability in the Arab country. The most prominent change reported this week by state news agency Petra is the replacement of the general intelligence chief. In a letter to the new director, Ahmed Hossni, the king cited "many unprecedented challenges" imposed by regional and international dynamics, according to Petra. Several officials at the influential Royal Court were also sacked. Jordan is an oasis of stability in a turbulent Middle East and it has housed millions of refugees fleeing wars in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. However, local discontent has grown over the increasing cost of living and government mismanagement. Protesters last year forced the king to fire the government. Arab media reports expect renewed demonstrations.

Congress urges EC to take safeguards regarding EVMs

With the counting day for the Lok Sabha polls less than three weeks away, the Congress on Friday urged the Election Commission (EC) to take various safeguards regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs). It also urged the EC to issue certain guidelines to ensure electoral integrity and free-and-fair polls in Amethi. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was part of a Congress delegation that submitted two memorandums to the poll panel regarding the aforementioned matters, told reporters here, "They (EC officials) have listened to these questions sympathetically. We are hoping that they would be taking action quickly." In one of the memorandums, the opposition party has said "the details of each EVM be provided well in advance, including the number of the machine and the polling booth to which it is assigned". Last month, the Supreme Court directed the EC to increase the random checking of voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips from one booth per Assembly segment to five for better voter .

Maha BJP chief didn't help his campaign, says Sena MP Khaire

Senior Shiv Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire who is seeking re-election from Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra alleged Friday that state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve did not support him. The Sena and BJP have joined hands for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra which got over last month. Danve was backing his son-in-law, Kannad MLA Harshvardhan Jadhav in the election, Khaire alleged here, a charge the BJP denied. Jadhav, a rebel Sena leader, is contesting from Aurangabad as independent. Danve was not following the "coalition dharma", Khaire said. "I have sent a complaint to BJP president Amit Shah, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and have also taken up the matter with my party chief Uddhav Thackeray," Khaire added. At Danve's rally in Aurangabad a week before the election, Jadhav had told the media that his father-in-law was supporting him. The BJP denied Khaire's allegation. State BJP general secretary Sujitsinh Thakur said the party cadre in Aurangabad ...

Cong-JDS imposing "emergency like situation" in Karnataka: BJP

Accusing the Karnataka government of imposing an "emergency" like situation in the state,the opposition BJP has asked it to focus on governance, insteadof randomly arresting people in the name of some "ridiculed strange act". "Dear Karnataka government, random arrest of people in the name of some ridiculed strange act, won't help you. Pleasefocus on governance. And do the needful. #EmergencyInKarnataka" Karnataka BJP said in a tweet. The BJP's attack on the government isseen as a reaction to the arrest of a journalist of a web portal andanother person here for allegedly circulatingfake news and a morphed photo of Chief Minister H DKumaraswamy and a Kannada actress. A Gangadhar, owner of UKSuddi.in and Ajith Shetty Heranje, a BJP sympathiser, were arrested Thursday, a police officer at the High Grounds police station said. State BJP General Secretaries Arvind Limbavali and C T Ravi have hit out at the Congress-JD(S) coalition government fortheir action on "nationalists" in

India's respect increased globally under PM Modi: Sushma Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Friday that the country saw an unprecedented development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and its respect has increased globally. Addressing a 'Vijay Sankalp' dialogue here, Swaraj referred to the 'honour' India received at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet after Modi took charge. She said Pakistan's chair was vacant as the country had boycotted the OIC meet, citing India's presence at the convention. Swaraj said the demand for declaring Masood Azhar as a global terrorist was going on since 2009. But due to the diplomatic acumen of the prime minister, Azhar was declared a global terrorist on May 1. Referring to the plans and achievements of the central government, the minister said many remarkable works were done in the last five years. She said Modi gave equal status to Muslim women by bringing a law against triple talaq.

Britain's main parties get Brexit bruising in local elections

Britain's two main political parties, the ruling Conservatives and the Opposition Labour Party, suffered a severe Brexit bruising as local election results poured in from around the country on Friday. The Liberal Democrats celebrated a major boost to their figures as voters overwhelmingly used the polls, to elect local councillors in nearly 250 councils across England and Northern Ireland, to punish the main parties for failing to find a solution to the ongoing Brexit uncertainties. Smaller parties like the Green Party also gained hundreds of seats, but the far-right pro-Brexit UK Independence Party (UKIP) lost much ground. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is facing renewed calls to resign, appeared at a Conservative party conference as the damaging results continued to pour in and admitted that voters had sent the "simple message" that her party and Labour had to "get on" with delivering Brexit. "These were always going to be difficult elections for us and there were some ...

AAP insulted Anil Bajpai on 'multiple occasions': Alka Lamba

Disgruntled AAP legislator Alka Lamba Friday claimed that Anil Bajpai moved to the BJP out of "self respect" as he was "insulted" by the ruling party in Delhi on "multiple occasions". Bajpai, who joined the BJP on Friday, is the second lawmaker from the AAP to join the saffron fold in the last two months. The development comes at a time when AAP leaders, including the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, have accused the BJP of indulging in horse trading. "Bajpai's decision to leave the BJP would negatively impact the AAP more than him. The party has insulted him on multiple occasions. His age and physical disability was not even taken into consideration by the party. "The AAP MLA has taken this step not for money but for his self respect. The AAP should definitely think over it," Lamba, who is the MLA from Chandni Chowk, said. Bajpai, the AAP's Gandhi Nagar legislator joined the saffron party here in the presence of Delhi BJP in-charge Shyam Jaju and Union minister Vijay ...

Indo-French naval exercise biggest ever this year: Barbry

The naval exercise between India and France this year is the biggest ever with a combined fleet of ten ships, including two aircraft carriers, taking part, said Sonia Barbry, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Friday. She told PTI here that the scale of the exercise, titled Varuna 2019, also indicated that India now has a naval fleet that is of "Western standard". Varuna 2019 began off the coast of Goa on May 1 and is slated to continue till May 10. The French Navy's aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, destroyers FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine are participating this year. From India, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, Teg-class frigate INS Tarkash, Shishumar-class submarine INS Shankul and Deepak-class fleet tanker INS Deepak are taking part in the drill. The exercise has close to3,000 French Naval officers participating in it. "The annual naval exercise Varuna has been scaled