Page 715 - Politics

Sudan protest group says army trying to disperse sit-in

A Sudanese protest group on Monday said the army was trying to disperse a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum by removing barricades, but witnesses said troops had not moved in. Thousands of protesters remain encamped outside the army headquarters, almost three weeks after the military and security forces removed former president Omar al-Bashir from power on 11 April. The demonstrators want the ruling military council to hand over power to a civilian administration. "The military council is a copy cat of the toppled regime. The army is trying to disperse the sit-in by removing the barricades," said the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the group that first launched the protest movement against Bashir's regime. "We are calling on our people to come immediately to the sit-in area. We are calling on the revolutionaries to protect the barricades and rebuild them." Witnesses at the sit-in told AFP that protesters were building up some of the make-shift barricades ..

Indonesia to move capital due to overpopulation, excess floods in Jakarta

Indonesia is planning to move its capital away from Jakarta, the country's planning ministry said on Monday.Incumbent President Joko Widodo's government plans to establish a new centre of government to ensure more equitable development of the country amid environmental concerns and overcrowding issues, The Jakarta Post reported.Indonesia's National Development Planning Agency, also known as Bappenas, presented its initial study on the relocation plan during a Cabinet meeting led by Widodo earlier today, where the top executives discussed alternatives to establish a new political hub somewhere else on the South Asian archipelago."The President has decided in the meeting to move the capital outside Java," Bambang Brodjonegoro, Bappenas' head, was quoted as saying in a press conference after the meeting on Monday.Bappenas presented three alternatives.The first was to keep Jakarta as the capital but establish a government district centred around the Presidential Palace and the National ...

Kangana derides Cong, says Indians were slaves of 'Italian govt'

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has said Indians were, in the past, enslaved by an 'Italian government', in a veiled jibe at the Congress party.The 32-year-old, while speaking to reporters after casting her vote at a polling station in Khar area here on Monday, said, "This (polling day) is a very important day for us, it comes only once in five years. I feel India is gaining independence today in real sense. Earlier, Indians were slaves of British, Mughal and Italian governments. Please exercise your Swaraj (independence) and vote."The 'Italian government' remark is an apparent reference to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was born and raised in Italy. Gandhi was the president of the Congress party for nearly two decades before handing over responsibilities to her son Rahul Gandhi in December 2017.Kangana went on to say that the situation that prevailed in the country was the worst during Congress' government at the Centre."The political leaders used to chill in London and the country

US deputy attorney general who oversaw Mueller probe resigns

US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who chose Special Counsel Robert Mueller to lead the Russia interference probe and protected him from political intrusion, announced on Monday he is stepping down. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Rosenstein said he would depart on May 11, after more than two turbulent years as the number two official in the Department of Justice. The veteran Republican prosecutor, 54, stunned the country on May 17, 2017 when he named an independent lawyer to take on the Russia probe after Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Then-attorney general Jeff Sessions had already recused himself from overseeing the investigation, leaving Rosenstein in charge. That made Rosenstein effectively the one buffer between Mueller and the White House -- a position that became even more crucial when the investigation began examining whether Trump himself had obstructed justice by firing Comey and then trying to have Mueller fired. In his final report released on April .

Canada blocked visit by ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont: lawyer

Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont was denied entry into Canada in March, when he was invited by a Quebec separatist group, the Canadian lawyer challenging the decision said Monday. "We are challenging this decision, which is obviously unreasonable," his lawyer Stephane Handfield, who has appealed the decision in federal court, told AFP. He said Puigdemont had requested and obtained an electronic authorisation (eTA) in February to travel to Canada, required for travellers from visa-exempt nations. Puigdemont was scheduled to land on April 2 in Montreal, but an immigration official sent him an email on March 31 "informing him that his eTA had been revoked, without explanation," Handfield said. A Canadian government official said politics played no part in the decision. The main figure behind Catalonia's secession attempt in 2017, Puigdemont subsequently fled prosecution in Spain. He currently lives in Belgium. The move to ban him from Canada was denounced as "shameful" by ..

IS leaders to be 'delivered justice' after al-Baghdadi tape: US

The United States vowed Monday that it would track down and defeat surviving leaders of the Islamic State movement after its elusive supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared to speak in a newly released videotape. The US-led coalition against the group will fight across the world to "ensure an enduring defeat of these terrorists and that any leaders who remain are delivered the justice that they deserve," a State Department spokesman said. In Baghdadi's first purported appearance in five years, a cross-legged speaker said to be the world's most wanted man referred to the group's defeat last month in its final redoubt of Baghouz and threatened revenge attacks. US government analysts "will review this recording and we will defer to the intelligence community to confirm its authenticity," the State Department spokesman said. But regardless of the video's authenticity, the spokesman said that the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, had been battered. "ISIS's territorial defeat in Iraq ..

Catalonia's ex-leader Puigdemont banned from EU polls

Spanish election authorities on Monday banned Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont, who fled the country in 2017 after a secession attempt, from running in upcoming EU polls. Puigdemont slammed the move in a tweet as a "legal scandal and a coup to democracy". The electoral commission decision, seen by AFP, also excludes Toni Comin, who was in Catalonia's regional government when the secession bid happened and is now in self-exile in Belgium. Clara Ponsati, another former Catalan minister who fled Spain and planned to run in the European Parliament elections, has been banned as well. No reason was given as to why they were banned from running. The commission would not comment when contacted by AFP. Puigdemont's party, Together for Catalonia, accused the electoral commission of wanting to "silence and push aside" Puigdemont "so that he can't explain what he represents at the heart of European institutions." Puigdemont, Comin and Ponsati were all part of a push to hold an ...

Ex-diplomat says US should pay N. Korea in prisoner deal

A former US diplomat confirmed Monday that North Korea asked for USD 2 million to release an American student who had fallen into a coma after alleged torture -- and said Washington should pay it. Joseph Yun, a veteran US diplomat who had flown to Pyongyang in 2017 to bring back 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, said that North Korea presented him with a bill for his medical expenses. He said he called up then secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who he believed then sought a green light directly from President Donald Trump. Tillerson "got back to me very quickly thereafter to say, yes, go ahead and sign," Yun, who has since left government, told CNN. The Washington Post first reported the payment demand, after which Trump, describing himself as "the greatest hostage negotiator" in US history, tweeted that nothing was paid to North Korea. But Yun said that Trump's decision means that the United States should pay. "If you've signed, if you promised another government from the US government that .

IS chief refers to Baghouz, Sri Lanka in first video in five years

The Islamic State group's elusive chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has purportedly appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released Monday by the jihadist organisation. It is unclear when the footage was filmed, but the man said to be Baghdadi referred to last week's deadly attack in Sri Lanka and to the months-long fight for IS's final bastion Baghouz, which ended in March. "The battle for Baghouz is over," he said, sitting cross-legged on a cushion and addressing three men whose faces have been blurred. "God ordered us to wage 'jihad.' He did not order us to win," he said. In a segment in which the man is not on camera, his voice referred to the April 21 Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed 253 people and wounded nearly 500, as "vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz". The man said to be Baghdadi insisted IS's operations against the West were part of a "long battle," and that IS would continue to "take revenge" on members who had been killed. "There will be .

US embassy reports gunfire near Haiti mission

The US embassy in Haiti reported gunfire on Monday near its diplomatic compound as it urged bystanders to take cover. In a travel alert, the US State Department said that gunfire had come from the "rear entrance to the embassy" in Port-au-Prince. It said the staff had taken shelter inside the embassy. "If you are traveling to the embassy, find a safe area to shelter," it wrote on Twitter. State Department officials did not immediately have further details on the incident, including whether it was ongoing. Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries, witnessed widespread riots in February when thousands of people took to the streets demanding better living conditions. Haiti's President Jovenel Moise earlier this month appointed a new prime minister to tackle mounting problems, including insecurity in the capital.

UN chief tells China to uphold rights in Xinjiang

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of ethnic Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang region during talks with Chinese leaders and stressed that China must fully respect human rights, his spokesman said Monday. Guterres faced calls to speak out on human rights during his visit to Beijing where he attended a summit on Saturday of China's prized Belt and Road Initiative and held talks with President Xi Jinping. The UN chief delivered a three-point message that stressed that human rights must be upheld in the fight against extremism, while recognizing China's sovereignty and condemning terrorism. "Human rights must be fully respected in the fight against terrorism and in the prevention of violent extremism," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "Each community must feel that its identity is respected and that if fully belongs to the nation as a whole." As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, ...

BJP councillor who used to sell tea elected North Delhi mayor

BJP councilor Avtar Singh, who used to sell tea for a living, was on Monday elected unopposed as the new mayor of North Delhi. Singh is also the first Dalit Sikh to reach the position. He was nominated for the election by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and was elected unopposed in the election held at general house meeting of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said a senior municipal corporation officer. Singh is a very hard working BJP cadre. He has used his hard work to reach to the post of mayor from his humble beginning as a tea seller," said a senior Delhi BJP leader. The election of mayor is indirect in which councilors of the civic body participate. The BJP has a majority in NDMC. The term of mayor is for one year. The third term of the five-year tenure of the corporation is reserved for SC candidates to become mayor. Earlier, Anju Kangra, BJP councilor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation was elected mayor of the Civic body. Anju Kamlakar, BJP councilor, is also stated to be

IS chief Baghdadi reappears on video, vows revenge

A man, appearing to be the Islamic State leader's Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, has appeared in a video posted on the terror group's media network, vowing revenge for loss of the "caliphate's territory" in Iraq and Syria, reports said on Monday.

Religious freedom in India continued 'downward trend' in 2018: USCIRF

Citing India as one of the countries where it is increasingly difficult to separate religion and politics, a US federal government appointed commission on Monday alleged that religious freedom in India continued a "downward trend" in 2018. US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its annual report on international religious freedom, said that in several countries where it found deteriorating religious freedom conditions in 2018, it also found increased "securitisation and politicisation" of religion. For example, in countries like India, it is increasingly difficult to separate religion and politics, a tactic that is sometimes intentional by those who seek to discriminate against and restrict the rights of certain religious communities, the USCIRF said. And the very governments perpetrating or tolerating these abuses often decry interference in internal affairs when they are rightfully admonished for their deplorable religious freedom and human rights records, ...

BJP complains to EC against Rahul

The BJP on Monday complained to the Election Commission against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for violating model code of conduct by making malicious allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.

67% vote in MP, 70% in Chhindwara by-poll (Fourth Lead)

Around 67 per cent voting was recorded in six parliamentary constituencies -- Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara -- and by-election for the Chhindwara Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, the state Election Commission sources said, here on Monday.

BJP complains to EC against Bengal violence

The BJP on Monday complained to the Election Commission against violation of model code in West Bengal, citing various incidents.

BJP candidate meets Trinamool strongman Mondal on poll day

Embarrassing the saffron leadership, the BJP's candidate for West Bengal's Jadavpur constituency, Anupam Hazra, who was expelled by Trinamool Congress for anti-party activities, on Monday met the state's ruling party strongman Anubrata Mondal at the Trinamool party office here in Birbhum district.

385 nominations filed for Punjab's 13 LS seats

On the last day of filing of nominations, 188 candidates filed their papers in Punjab for 13 Lok Sabha seats on Monday.

EC to decide on Tuesday on poll code complaints against Modi, Rahul Gandhi

A decision on Shah's reported remarks on 'Modi ji ki vayu sena' made in West Bengal on Monday will also be taken on Tuesday