Page 794 - Politics
US warns to veto UN resolution over mentions of reproductive health
The US delegation to the UN has threatened to veto a resolution aiming to prevent rape as a weapon of war and to help its victims, because it contains language about "sexual and reproductive health", a source told CNN.
Akhilesh cries foul over EVM 'malfunctioning'
Citing media reports, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday claimed that EVMs across the country are "malfunctioning or voting for the BJP". He has called it "criminal negligence."Akhilesh tweeted, "EVMs across India malfunctioning or voting for the BJP. DMs say poll officials untrained to operate EVMs. 350+ being replaced. This is criminal negligence for a polling exercise that costs 50,000 crores. Should we believe DMs @ECISVEEP, or is something far more sinister afoot?"Polling for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections is underway at 116 parliamentary constituencies across 13 states and two Union Territories.The seven-phase Lok Sabha election started on April 11. The first phase witnessed 69.45 voter turnout across the country while the election for the second phase was held on April 18 and witnessed 69.43 per cent voter turnout.The result for the Lok Sabha election will be announced on May 23.
Oil supply to Indian refineries is adequate: Government
The government has worked out a contingency plan to ensure that there is adequate supply of crude oil to Indian oil refineries from May onwards when the US lifts the waivers from its Iran sanctions given earlier to major oil importing countries, including India.
Flores: Biden's hugging jokes 'incredibly disrespectful'
A Nevada Democrat who accused Joe Biden of touching her without permission is lashing out at the former vice president for joking about the matter as he considers a 2020 presidential bid. Lucy Flores tells Fox News that Biden has been "so incredibly disrespectful" since she published her recollections of a 2014 encounter. Biden has joked about having permission to hug people after having promised he'd do a better job respecting personal boundaries. Last month Flores accused Biden of touching her shoulders from behind and kissing the back of her head backstage at a political event. Biden has said he doesn't recall that, and in a video promised to learn from criticisms about his displays of affection.
N. Korea confirms Kim Jong-un's Russia visit
North Korean state media confirmed on Tuesday that the country's leader Kim Jong-un will visit Moscow shortly to hold his first summit with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
LS polls: Javadekar, Sule, Hazare vote in Maharashtra
Union minister Prakash Javadekar, NCP candidate Supriya Sule and social activist Anna Hazare cast their votes in the third phase of Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday. Javadekar voted at a booth in Pune Lok Sabha seat, where the BJP has fielded Girish Bapat against Congress' Mohan Joshi, and later said he was hopeful that people will vote for a good leadership and the country's development. "Today when people will cast their vote, they will vote with a hope that India will remain secure and there will be a strong and untainted government. They will vote for good leadership and development," he said. He said people were supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and claimed that the BJP will get over 300 seats to facilitate NDA's return to power with two-third majority. The minister also said that people will "punish" the Congress, alleging that it was "spreading lies". Bapat and Pune's sitting BJP MP Anil Shirole also cast their votes here. In Baramati Lok Sabha ...
"Avarice" of Cong-BJP will crash in LS polls: Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA Tuesday, saying the "avarice" of both the fronts would come crashing down in the Lok Sabha elections as candidates of the CPI(M) headed LDFwould win with a thumping majority. Vijayan cast his vote at a local school in Pinarayi in northern Kannur district along with his family members in the morning. "You will see that the avarice of certain people crashing in the state during this election," he told reporters after exercising his franchise. In an apparent reference to BJP president Amit Shah, Vijayan said those who had led"communal violence" in north India, thought that they could win the heart of people of the state by organsing road shows. The Congress did not even talk about its election manifesto during the party's election campaigns, he alleged. "They hoped that they could garner votes by creating misunderstanding among people. But their dreams are not going to ..
My father's legacy does not apply to me, says Cong's Jodhpur candidate Vaibhav Gehlot
Anxious to move out of the rather large shadow of his father, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress' Jodhpur candidate Vaibhav Gehlot says he has come up the ranks and the party gave him a ticket after seeing his work for 15 years. The legacy of his father, a five-term MP from Jodhpur, does not apply to him, Vaibhav Gehlot said as he gears up to fight his first election. Asserting that he is contesting the election, against BJP incumbent Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on the issue of development, the junior Gehlot also accused the BJP-led Centre and the former Vasundhara Raje government in the state of step-motherly treatment to the constituency. "In 2004, I actively worked in the wards of Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency and participated in the door-to-door campaign in Jodhpur. My father's legacy does not apply to me because, after working for 15 years in the party, I have now got an opportunity to get a ticket to contest the Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency, Vaibhav Gehlot told PTI
Allegations fly as 3rd phase polling begins in UP
Polling began for the third phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday amidst levelling of accusations by candidates.
PM Modi's mother casts vote in Ahmedabad
Heeraben Modi, mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cast her vote at a polling station in Raisan area here on Tuesday.The nonagenarian arrived at the polling booth in a car and was assisted by people inside the booth's premises.Polling in Gujarat began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm, as part of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections that is currently underway.Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi cast his vote at a polling booth in Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ranip area in Ahmedabad. BJP president Amit Shah, who is the Lok Sabha candidate from the city was also present.Urging the people to exercise their franchise in huge numbers, Prime Minister Modi said that the voter identity card of a person is more powerful than an improvised explosive device (IED) used by terrorists."The weapon of terrorism is IED and the strength of democracy is voter ID. I can say with surety that the voter ID is much much more powerful than an IED, so we should understand the strength of our voter ...
Strap 'sceptical' Oppn leaders on rockets to Balakot: Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said opposition leaders seeking proof of the Balakot air strike should have been strapped to rockets so that they could have "seen with their own eyes. State BJP minister Pankaja Munde had also made a similar remark recently about sending Congress president Rahul Gandhi to another country with a bomb strapped to him. "We should have strapped some of the sceptical opposition leaders to the rocket, so that they could have seen with their own eyes," Fadnavis said at a poll rally at Virar in adjoining Palghar district Monday. The opposition keeps doubting this government's performance and even raises question mark over the armed forces and their courage, he said. "What can we say about the opposition 'mahakhichadi' (grand mixture). They did not acknowledge the courage of our air force and raised doubts on Balakot air strike. "Had there been an inkling about doubts from the opposition, we could have strapped their leaders to the
BJP workers beat up presiding officer in Moradabad
BJP activists allegedly beat up the presiding officer at booth number 231 in Bilari in the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday.
Harris faces calls to prove her commitment to NH voters
When Senator Kamala Harris made her first trip to New Hampshire, she attracted an enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,000 people who braved a treacherous February snowstorm to see the person vying to become America's first black female president. But as the California senator returns to the state this week, she's in a more challenging position. The number of Democratic presidential candidates has swelled to nearly 20 since her first visit. Some of the spotlight has shifted away from Harris, with attention being lavished recently on Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. Former Vice President Joe Biden's expected entry into the race this week will further reshape the contest. But Harris faces a more fundamental hurdle in New Hampshire: skepticism from some over whether she's fully committed to courting voters in the nation's first primary state. Democrats here famously expect intimate, regular access to candidates. For now, they say they aren't getting that from Harris and are ...
Peaceful, low key voting in Anantnag (10 a.m.)
Voting picked up gradually on Tuesday in rural and hilly areas of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir while it remained very low in urban centres.
China wins Belt and Road fans but criticism persists
President Xi Jinping will lead a hard sales push at a Beijing summit this week, to corral more countries into a global infrastructure project at the core of China's superpower ambitions and win over those who see a strategic threat. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) envisages massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects across 65 countries from Asia to Europe and Africa that collectively account for 30 per cent of global GDP. If fully realised, it could shape the world economic and geopolitical landscape for decades to come. But its scope and ambition have divided Europe, while US officials have called it a "vanity project", and detractors have warned that it is laden with debt risks and opaque deals favouring Chinese firms and labour. Despite the criticism, momentum appears to be on Xi's side, with leaders from 37 countries flocking to Beijing for the three-day summit beginning Thursday. It's the second such event, with an inaugural 2017 summit bringing 29 leaders ...
Each vote is important, says Amit Shah
BJP President Amit Shah declared on Tuesday after voting in the Lok Sabha elections here that "each vote is important".
New IRA admits responsibility for killing N Ireland journalist: media
Dissident republican group the New IRA on Tuesday admitted responsibility for killing Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee during rioting in Londonderry last week, in a statement to The Irish News. The New IRA "offer our full and sincere apologies to the partner, family and friends of Lyra McKee for her death", it said in a statement reported by the Irish newspaper, which said the paramilitary group used a recognised codeword. McKee, 29, was shot in the head late Thursday as dissident republicans clashed with police in the Creggan housing estate in Northern Ireland's second city, also known as Derry. While admitting responsibility, the New IRA attempted to justify its actions by claiming she was killed during an attack on "enemy forces" and accused police of provoking the riot which preceded her death. "In the course of attacking the enemy Lyra McKee was tragically killed while standing beside enemy forces," the statement said. "On Thursday night, following an incursion on the Creggan
Shah casts vote, urges people to vote for nation's security
BJP president Amit Shah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Gandhinagar seat in Gujarat, cast his vote here on Tuesday and urged people to exercise their democratic right for ensuring the country's security and boosting the economy. After casting his vote at a polling booth located in Naranpura area of Ahmedabad city, which comes under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, he asked people to participate in "this festival of democracy". "There is great enthusiasm among voters for the third phase of Lok Sabha polls across the country. I have learnt that people are also participating with enthusiasm in all 26 seats in Gujarat," he said. Appealing people to come out and vote, he said, "Your one vote can provide security to the country. Your one vote can make the country more capable. Your one vote can make the country prosperous and lead it on the path of development." "It is my appeal to the youth as well as first-time voters that you need to vote for building ...
Average 20% polling in Gujarat in early hours
An average 20 per cent polling was reported in the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat during the first two hours till around 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Bengal polls over 16% votes in 5 LS seats in 2 hrs (Second Lead, correcting intro)
Over 12,00,000 voters cast their votes in the first two hours of polling in West Bengal on Tuesday as 16 per cent voting was reported till 9 a.m. in the third phase of the seven-phased polling in the state.